598 ANNUAL KEPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1917. 



There are various reasons for this, one of them being that there 

 has been engrafted on the national habit the irrational custom of 

 eating fish but one day each week. Another is that fish has not been 

 as carefully handled as it should be, with the result that at times it 

 has not reached the consumer in the best condition, and the latter has 

 thought that he does not like fish, when in reality his distaste has been 

 for stale fish. There are other reasons which it is not necessary to 

 discuss, as many of them are being overcome by the " eat more fish " 

 campaign which is being so vigorously waged as a war measure. The 

 people are beginning to eat more fish, and the problem now is to give 

 them the fish to eat. 



In consideration of what has been said about the abundance of the 

 supply of fish food in the sea, the obvious way of meeting the de- 

 mand woidd be to catch more fish, but unfortunately this can not be 

 easily done, under present conditions, by the simple expedient of in- 

 creased effort. Fishing involves the use of labor and material and, 

 particularly when conducted on the high seas, requires experience 

 and skill, while the diversion of many of the J^oung and active fisher- 

 men to military duties, especially in the Navy, has left a gap which 

 it would be difficult to fill at any time, but especially so now when 

 the demands for labor in other fields are insistent and the pay is 

 lucrative. In addition, a number of the best fishing vessels have 

 been called to naval service, and the war demands for linen thread, 

 which is extensively used in making gill nets, are making it difficult 

 to maintain even the existing intensity of some of our most important 

 fisheries. 



The case, however, despite difficulties, is far from hopeless, and 

 the consumption of fish can be easily doubled with present facilities. 

 Unnecessaiy restrictions on some of the sea fisheries may be relaxed, 

 but as fishery legislation is intended for the conservation of the ulti- 

 mate supply care must be exercised in letting down the bars lest the 

 future be jeopardized for the sake of the present. There are also 

 enormous wastes in the spoilage of fish in transportation to the mar- 

 kets and awaiting sale, and these may be overcome by better care 

 and icing of the fish, the avoidance of long hauls when markets may 

 be found nearer to the points of production, more expeditious 

 handling by the transportation companies, and more prompt con- 

 sumption, such as can be induced by making every day a fish day, 

 instead of holding the supply to meet the exclusive demand of Fri- 

 day. Fishermen work every day, and that part of their catch which 

 is a week in reaching the table is often not as fresh as it should be, 

 and in many cases is spoiled beyond usableness. 



There is another great waste which can be readily corrected 

 through the cooperation of dealers and consumers, and it is the par- 

 ticular purpose of this article to call attention to it, although the 



