THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 129 
eels and lampreys, portions of the bellies of cod and mackerel, the eyes 
of these and other fishes, and indeed almost any form of refuse fish. 
Dead fish of any kind are also used to constitute bait for taking lob- 
sters. 
(7) The roe of fish.—There is no question but that the roe of fish con- 
stitutes a very large percentage of the food of the inhabitants of the 
sea, as it is only by the provision for the destruction of the large propor- 
tion that particular species are prevented from increasing in undue and 
overwhelming numbers. It is rarely that any fish can resist the attract- 
iveness of fish roe, the eggs of trout and salmon being used largely in 
California for this purpose when nothing else has any attraction. 
Besides the use of the roe of fishes as food for man it constitutes an 
important element on a large scale in the sardine fisheries of Europe. 
The salted roe of the cod and of the mackerel is prepared for this pur- 
pose and shipped, to the extent of many millions of pounds, about 
9,000,000 pounds of cod roe (worth $600,000), and one or two millions of 
that of the mackerel, having been furnished in one year by Norway. 
Small shipments have been made from the United States to Europe for 
the same purpose. 
These eggs are used especially for attracting schools of sardines into 
the vicinity of the gill-nets, and for that they are considered almost in- 
dispensable.* It is a question whether this same roe could not be em- 
ployed advantageously in the mackerel fishery as a toling-bait of a 
more satisfactory character éven than the finely-chopped flesh of fish 
It keeps much more readily than any other, and its use, if not already 
attempted, should be experimented upon, as the roe both of the cod and 
the mackerel until recently has been a refuse product. It is worth 
considering whether it may not be prepared and used to advantage for 
the purpose in question. t 
(8) Squid.—The squid, one of the cephalopods, a group of the mol 
jusks, is also a highly important element in the question of bait for the 
capture of deep-sea fishes, especially the cod and its allies, and occurs 
in overwhelming numbers along the entire coast of the eastern United 
States and of the Dominion. Of this there are two principal forms 

*According to De la Blanchére, Le Péche et les Poissons, 1,500,000,900 of these fish are 
brought into the port of Concarneau alone, this being only one of many from which 
the industry is carried on in France, Spain, and elsewhere. 
t All bait as above referred to is used fresh whenever it can be done. It is, however, 
preserved in various ways, sometimes by drying, more frequently by salting. The , 
use of ice of late years has come into play very extensively and constitutes a necessary 
element in most fisheries whether for the preservation of the bait itself or of the fish 
when caught. For the most part the bait is preserved by keeping ice in contact with 
it. It is probable, however, as already suggested, that hard freezing may more ad- 
vantageously be substituted in many cases as being more likely to retain the same 
attractiveness that freshly-caught bait presents. It is quite probable that by using 
special apparatus and adjustments the hard freezing may be conducted at very little 
expense. 
S. Mis. 90-9 
