170 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



cases receive relatively little for their efforts. The 

 men who catch the fish do not get much for them; 

 usually, in fact, they do not receive more than a 

 small fraction of the price the fish bring at retail. 

 Neither do the retailers get rich, for fish is a perish- 

 able commodity and must be packed in ice and 

 shipped by express. If the market is poor, the fish 

 must be sold nevertheless, even though their sale en- 

 tails a loss. Express rates are high because fish must 

 be handled expeditiously and re-iced, often. When 

 one considers the great distances which the fish must 

 be transported by water and by rail, it seems remark- 

 able that fresh marine fish in excellent condition may 

 be purchased in every city in the United States. And 

 even more remarkable is the fact that in most places 

 their cost is no more than that of meat. In many 

 cities, even as far as three hundred miles from the 

 coast, fish caught one day are eaten the following 

 day. Few persons ever consider the systematic effort 

 necessary to place fresh ocean fish upon the tables 

 of the inhabitants of inland cities. If the diner in a 

 restaurant orders halibut, it must have been brought 

 from either the Alaskan banks or those of the NortK 

 Atlantic. If he orders salmon, it must have come 

 from the Pacific coast. The order of red snapper 

 must have been brought from the Gulf of Mexico. 

 When these facts are taken into account, it is really 

 amazing that a fish dinner costs less than a steak 

 dinner. 



