FA \t>i:/rh' i-()<)i> FisiiFs 



fi: 



liiis hoiMi lirou^lit to tlu' not ice ol' the tiadi' 

 liy the riiitoil States Hurciiii of Fislu-iios. 

 Tlu- only coiniiioii <ish found on unr coiist 

 wli'n'li nii<ilit. from the i>()int of \ iiw of sci 

 I'licc, liavc a riy;lit lo tlic n.inic is virtiiallv 

 worthless for food, stn.-ill with vcrv roii<;li 

 scales so that it can scarccl.v lie drawn 

 throu^'li til.' iiand tail lirsl. it is said tliat 

 if a hojj slionid »illi'ni|'t to cat one ot' tliesc 

 fishes tail lirst, lie woulil l)e choked liv it; in 

 soiiio localities it j^oes In- the name of "hojj; 

 choker." While Ave are discussiiifj the sub- 

 ject of tlounders ami soles it is a|ii>roiiriate 

 to mention a small s|>ecii's known as sundial 

 or sand flounder Avhich is rather common 

 locally on sandy bottoms. This fisli is really 

 one of the most delicious found in tlu^ sea 

 lut jiroliably never will laidv iii^h in the 

 market because it is not (il)tainaiil(' in suf- 

 licient (numtity to bcconic known. I'^urther- 

 inore, its flesh is transparent, so that if the 

 fish l)e held to the light tlie shadow of an 

 ojtaqne obje<'t may be seen readily through 

 it, whidi gives the impression of its being 

 very mean and pooi-. The J']uroi)ean turbot, 

 of which it is the closest American relative, 

 shares in this translucency of flesh to some 

 extent. 



The second ten fishes foi- which there is 

 great demand in the New York uuirket com- 

 l>risc something like the following: white- 

 fisli, mackerel, butterfish, pompano, sea bass, 

 red snapper, ]>orgy, sheepshead, weakfish, and 

 sea trout. Weakfish, sea bass, and butterfish 

 are obtainable in large quantities in local 

 waters. Weakfish, sea bass, porgy, and 

 slieepshead are objects of pursuit by the 

 local fraternity of salt-water anglers. Eed 

 snajijiers and pompano are among the most 

 excellent southern food fishes which may be 

 sliipped in good condition and considerable 

 (juantity to the New York market. The 

 whitefish is perhaps the most important 

 fresh-water si)ecies taken in our inland fish- 

 eries; it is allied to salmon and trout. Sea 

 tiout is the southern representative of our 

 weakfish, and is somewhat better flavored. 

 Doubtless its name of trout — to which, by the 

 way, it has not the least ichthyological right 

 — aids its sale here, trout being a familiar 

 Knglish liousehold word. The mackerel, like 

 the cod and the halibut, is a traditional food 

 of Hnglish-sj)eaking jieoples, and even salt 

 mackrrtd has a large sale, although to the 

 writer's mind it is one of the least enjoyable 

 forms of nourishment ])ur<diasable. White- 



fish has very delicate white meat and is most 

 delicious broili'd. Also, a fine large good- 

 londit ioncd icd snappii- baked is unsnr- 

 passed. 



Availability of .-i steady supjily of' anv 

 species is luie ol' the rec|iiisites for its |iroper 

 ;i ppieciat ion in the market. The eastern 

 salmon supply is \cry l;irm'ly c'xhausteii, but 

 I'lesh salmon :ii-e broiieht on i<-e I'lom the 

 I'acific coast. Throne;li the winter these are 

 mostly steeiheads. In spiing the Chinook 

 salmon is runniTig in tin' Columbia and 



other I'ai'ilic riv<Ts and al t a week later 



makes its ajipearance in the .\e\v ^"o|•k m;n- 

 ket. The cold-stoi'age salmon here is very 

 largely the silver sahnon, a western fish that 

 runs later in the season than the Cldnook 

 ami that can be rnuLiht in <|nan1ities when 

 Pacific Slope ii\ers are low. These fisji 

 when taken aie a|i|iroariiin^ the spawning 

 period and therefore in ])Oorer llesli than the 

 other s])ecies; cold storage does mit improve 

 their quality, ami the fresh fish wIumi it 

 comes into tlu' market, although moie expen- 

 sive, is well Avorth the difference. 



During periods of the year when the blue- 

 fish is not taken in the latitude of New 

 York it is imi)0i'ted from jioints farther 

 south. Through the wintei- a lai'ge amount 

 of Spanish mackerel is sliipped north from 

 Florida. It is jirojjcrly cleaned and packed 

 there, and in excellent condition when it 

 appears on our tables. Cod and halibut 

 reach us from the north, being taken off 

 the shores of New Englanrl and on the off- 

 shore and Newfoundland banks, although 

 of late years I believe the latter species es- 

 pecially has decreased in the Atlantic, and 

 a good deal of it comes from our Northwest 

 Coast. 



The market in a metropolis like New York 

 is in part controlled by foreign elements in 

 the population that have brought from 

 their home countries the taste for special 

 kinds of fish. Thus we find that there is a 

 large sale of skates to Freiudi peoi)le living 

 here, the skate being an important market 

 fish on the northern coast of France, and 

 highly esteemed. 



As to the food excellence of any kiml of 

 fish, the condition in which it is marketed 

 plays as important a part as does the species. 

 Certain fish dealers of intelligence become 

 very exj)ert in judging the intrinsic merit of 

 the wares they ha mile. If one can select 

 sni-li i) i-oli;il.|e dealei- who has been proved a 



