THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 17 
V. General political considerations —Under this head are included the 
subject of the fisheries in relation to the State, bounties, inspection, in- 
ternational relations, &c. | 
I propose to consider the subject of the fish and fisheries of Eastern 
North America substantially as given above, although I shall not be 
able to follow the various subdivisions in equal detail, indeed omitting 
some of them entirely for the present. So much yet remains to be 
known in regard to many of*the topics enumerated that [ can only 
hope that the meagerness and incompleteness of what I may say of 
them will call attention to the fact and secure the co operation of others 
in a future more reliable rendering of the whole subject. 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS IN REGARD TO THE SPECIAL IMPOR- 
TANCE AND VALUE OF THE SEA FISHERIES. 
It may be safely stated that as a source of animal food to man the 
sea is the great fountain head, and that without this resource the sup- 
ply of such food would be comparatively limited and far inferior to the 
demand of the various populations of the globe. 
In the much greater proportion of ocean to land this reservoir of food 
is practically inexhaustible, and not only do the people living near its 
shores find a daily supply for consumption in a fresh state, but by 
proper methods of preparation and preservation the product of the sea 
can be fitted for long-continued keeping and for transportation to dis- 
tant markets, where fishing is difficult, or into the interior, where it is 
impracticable. It is not a little remarkable that abundant as is the 
supply of fish in the warmer portions of the world it is impossible to 
preserve them there, and consequently, in Catholic countries especially, 
where the consumption of fish on certain days is a necessity, the colder 
countries of the North are drawn upon to furnish cod, haddock, hake, 
herring, ete., to their own great profit. It is difficult to make a caleu- 
lation as to the comparative amount of animal food derived from the 
ocean and the land, but itis stated (Report of the British Sea Fisher- 
ies, 1866, I, p. xvi) that the weight of trawled fish supplied to the Lon- 
don market amounts to 300 tons daily, and is nearly equal to the total 
amount of beef, and that the price paid to the fishermen for this food is 
only one eighth of that paid to the first producer of the beef. It is also 
a gratifying and important consideration that the sources of food in the 
sea are very far from being all made use of, and that while in regard to 
the best known and most highly appreciated fish improved methods are 
constantly being devised for successfully increasing the amount of the 
catch at less expense, there are a vast number of sea animals which, 
while highly prized in some portions of the world, and really of supe- 
rior excellence and wholesomeuess as food, are despised elsewhere. In 
time, however, such prejudices will be overcome and the various spe- 
cies referred to fully appreciated. 
S. Mis. 90-—2 


