186 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



salting of fish would produce salted fish which when 

 freshened would not differ greatly from fresh fish, 

 yet at present there is no great demand for such 

 improvements. 



In Europe salting is still the most important 

 method of preserving fish. The ports of Grimsby, 

 Lowestoft, Yarmouth, Hull, Ramsgate, Scarbor- 

 ough, and Whitby in England; Lerwick, Aberdeen, 

 Leith, Buckie, Peterhead, Frazerburgh, and Wick 

 in Scotland; and Ijmuiden in Holland; Stavanger, 

 Bergen, Aalesund, Kristiansund, and Tromso in 

 Norway ; and Geestemiinde, Nordenbram, Auzhaven, 

 and Altona in Germany are all important fish-salt- 

 ing centers. 



The salting of fish is on the decline in America. 

 Quaint old Gloucester, which was formerly the lead- 

 ing American fishing port, still retains its prestige 

 as the great fish-salting center, but even there some 

 of the fish salters have learned to can their fish. 

 Other centers, such as Portland, Boothbay Harbor, 

 and Eastport, Maine; Havre de Grace, Maryland; 

 Reedville, Virginia; Edenton, North Carolina; and 

 a few places further south still retain some activity 

 in the fish-salting industry, but the business is also 

 shrinking. Recently, on the other hand, the salting 

 of herring has become one of the important Alaskan 

 fishery industries. Many salmon are also salted on 

 the Pacific coast, where the industry is operated in 

 conjunction with the salmon-smoking business. 



The preservation of fish by salting is no more dif- 

 ficult than the curing of hams or the drying of beef, 

 and can be used by any housewife to preserve a sur- 



