REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 155 



generally bhese fish have to be turned out of the nets, only to reenter perhaps on the 

 next tide. Some effort has been made to market at least a portion of the catch, and 

 it is to he hoped that a method will he discovered for utilizing quantities of this 

 species. In view of its abundance and cheapness it seems pertinent to suggest the 

 possibility of its profitable utilization by canning or smoking. Its delicate flavor 

 should make it an excellent article of food when canned, or, if lightly salted and 

 prepared like kippered herring and finnan baddies, a demand might be created 

 which would consume great quantities of what is now essentially a waste product. 



While small quantities are utilized in a fresh condition or for salting, 

 in most places the whiting is regarded as having no market value, and 

 fully nine-tenths of the quantities taken are discarded. It is especially 

 abundant in the region of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where it is taken 

 in large numbers each year in pound nets set for mackerel and other 

 fish. When this section was visited June 1-12, 1893, there was an 

 exceedingly large body of whiting in Cape Cod Bay and the pound nets 

 were filled with them; one net at Provincetown on June 9 contained 

 309 barrels, and some nets had been dismantled so that the trouble of 

 having to turn the fish out might be obviated. 



The abundance of the Avhiting at that time and its non utilization 

 prompted an inquiry into its possible food value and economic impor- 

 tance. According to the statements of the weir fishermen, there are 

 often 400 to 500 barrels of whiting in some nets at one time, and in a 

 single week as many as 2,000 barrels will be taken. Many of the fish 

 must be caught a number of times, for as long as the school remains 

 they continue to enter the traps. An estimated annual catch of 100,000 

 barrels would probably be below the actual figures. 



The run of whiting in Cape Cod Bay usually begins in the latter part 

 of May and continues about two weeks. The fish are in a spawning 

 condition at this time. There is also another well-marked run in the 

 fall. Scattering fish are taken throughout the pound-net season. The 

 fish thus obtained are usually from IS to 24 inches long and weigh about 

 2 pounds, although many smaller fish are taken. 



It may be said that practically no use is made in the Cape Cod region 

 of the whiting in a fresh state. A few are at times shipped to iSTew 

 York where they bring the same price as haddock, and to Boston where 

 there is little market for them; small numbers are used for lobster 

 bait. The opinion is unanimous as to the excellent food qualities of 

 the whiting in a perfectly fresh condition. The fiesh is very sweet and 

 palatable, and the fish is generally regarded as equal to cod, haddock, 

 and hake, and, by some, preferred to those fish. The fish is by some 

 persons considered too soft to bear shipment well, with the present 

 methods of preservation; others, however, say that when properly iced 

 it keeps as well as any other fish. Objection is made to its use fresh as 

 bait in the line fisheries on account of its softness. 



In this region the whiting is generally regarded as a nuisance. Its 

 advent interferes with the run of better fish, such as mackerel and 

 herring, and no large catches of the latter are made while the whiting 



