rOLLACK. 



507 



tlic iiiarket-])lace of Kiel under tlie name of "Spanish 

 Salmon, ' according to MuBirs and IIeincke, who place 

 the bound:ir\' of its extensi(jn in the Baltic off the 

 coast of Mecklenburg. A solitaiy specimen of the 

 I'ollack, '2'.) cm. in length, is stated by NiLSSON to have 

 been taken in the Baltic off Esperod, nortii of Cimris- 

 liamn, near Kivik". This specimen was taken in an 

 Eel-pot, on the 2.5tli of September. With this excep- 

 tion tlie Pollack is mdcnown on the Baltic coast of 

 Sweden and off Bornholm. 



Tlie largest specimens are taken in summer, when 

 the Pollack enters the island-belt of Bohuslan in shoals, 

 and ])ursues tlie fry of other fishes, especially of the 

 Herring {s/Uiiuir). Among these it makes great havoc, 

 ascending right up to the surface to seize them. Du- 

 ring these assaults of the Pollack one may continually 

 see whole bodies of Herring-fr-\- thi-ow themselves out 

 of the ^\•ater to escape their enemy, who in his turn 

 follows their example to make sure of his prey. From 

 the disturbance and the noise thus caused at the sur- 

 face, the fisherman easily remarks the approach of the 

 Pollack, and is never disappointed of a good haul when 

 the seine is shot on these occasions. 



As long as the Herring-fry remain on the coast, 

 tlie Pollack stays there too; but ^vhen they depart, it 

 speedily retires into deeper water. Young Pollacks 

 are, however, found along tlie shores periodically, at 

 longer or shorter intervals, all the autumn and even 

 at the beginning of winter: Imt these specimens are 

 never taken in so large numliers as the older ones 

 during tlie summer months. 



The Pollack seems to lie the least \"oracious of its 

 congeners. Its food is composed of small marine ani- 



mals and especially of Herring-fry. In the island-belt 

 of Boluisliln it is at least exceptional that a Pollack 

 should be taken on an}' of the lines there in use. It 

 has long Ijeen known, however, that the Pollack is not 

 always deficient in the voracity that characterizes the 

 Cods in general, but sometimes freely takes a liook. 

 Thus, tlie Pollack is taken at certain spots and in cer- 

 tain seasons, both on the French'' an<l f^nglish' coasts, 

 witli a kind of running-line from a row-boat or a sail- 

 ing boat. A bait of Sand-eels is best, though artificial 

 bait may also be used. 



The spawning-season of the Pollack is said, like 

 that of the Whiting, to occur in winter. 



Among all the common species of the genus the 

 Pollack is the least esteemed in Scandinavia, no great 

 value being set upon its flesh, \\liich is undeniably 

 rather dry and, like that of the Coalfish, requires care- 

 ful preparation to render it palatable. Still it is eaten 

 everywhere where this fish occurs, parti}- fresh, and 

 partly salted or dried. 



The only engine in which Pollacks are taken in 

 any quantity on the coast of Bohuslan, is the seine. 

 The fishery is not equally productive every year, how- 

 ever, this depending on the greater number of Pollacks 

 that enter the inlets in certain years, from the causes 

 described above. Instances are known of the catch of 

 a hundred large Pollacks at a single haul of a very 

 small seine, and half a boat-load has often been taken 

 in a ]\Iackerel-seine. Only slight attention is paid, 

 however, to this fishery, and it is pursued onl}' when 

 time admits. 



(Fries, S.mitt.) 



" Esperod is a coiumon place-name in Scania. One place of this name lies near Hiiganas. NlLSSON evidently refers to the one adopted 

 in the text, but a confusion is perhaps not impossible. 

 '' See DuHAMEL. 1. c, p. 120, pi. XXI, tig. 3. 

 "" Day, 1. c. p. 298. 



