AQUATIC PRODUCTS IN ARTS AND INDUSTRIES. 229 



price per gallon. A distinctive characteristic is its strong odor when 

 warm, resembling that of ammonia; but this may be removed by 

 proper refining. It is estimated that from 10,000 to 15,000 gallons of 

 dog-fish oil are prepared on the New England coast annually, nearly 

 all of which is combined with and sold as cod oil for currying purposes. 

 Captain Atwood writes : ^' 



When I first began to go fishing, in 1810 to 18i20, the dog-fish fishery was consid- 

 ered one of the most valuable fisheries that we had around the shore . They appeared 

 here in the spring and were very plenty, and would last a day or two and then all 

 would be gone. Then you would not see a dog-fish again all summer, but about the 

 10th or middle of Septemlier they came to us again, returning South. They would 

 stay into November, and during that time the fishermen would get — a man and 

 a boy — all the way from 8, 10, to 15 barrels of oil. Twenty-five years ago we 

 would occasionally see dog-fish in the summer. The last fifteen years they have 

 been here all summer. During the war they were plenty all summer, and the 

 livers sold for $1 a bucket, and now they are worth but 20 or 25 cents. 



On the coast of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, large 

 numbers of dog-fish are taken for conversion of the livers into oil. 

 which finds a ready sale, owing to the high cost of other oils on that 

 coast. These fish are reported especially abundant in the vicinity of 

 Queen Charlotte Island, in British Columbia, where they are cap- 

 tured by the Indians. The livers of 100 dog-fish yield 6 or 8 gallons 

 of oil, and the rest of the carcass is utilized for fertilizer. Not only 

 is there an abundance of this oil jsroduced for local use, but also 

 much for export. As long ago as 187(), about 60,000 gallons were 

 exported from Victoria, at a valuation of 40 cents per gallon.* The 

 present annual product is said to exceed 200,000 gallons. New York 

 dealers have received some good sam]3les which indicate a very low 

 weather-test, but owing to the duty and freight rates little has come 

 on the Eastern market. 



Dog-fish oil has been used on the Pacific coast in competition with 

 other oils with most favorable results, being "equal, if not superior, 

 to oil supplied to Her Majesty's ships by the service, both for lubri- 

 cating and lighting puri)oses."'^ 



Similar species of dog-fish are taken on the coasts of Norway, Chile, 

 and elsewhere, the fisheries being confined to the summer n\onths and 

 the catch secured with nets as well as with hooks. 



Along the Atlantic coast of the United States but little attention 

 is given to the capture of sharks for economic purposes, notwith- 

 standing the manj^ species which occur there in comparatively large 

 numbers. In several localities on the southern coast small fisheries 

 are prosecuted during the winter months, for then the yield of oil 

 is greatest. Among the species taken, other than those above men- 

 tioned, are the sand or yellow shark {Carcharias Uttoralis), which 



aFishery Industries of United States, Sec. I, p. 674. 

 6 Report of tlie Commissioner of Fislieries of Canada for 1876, p. 346. 



ePoui-teentli Aniiu;il R.port of tile Department of Marineand Fislieries of Canada for the year 

 1881, p. ai4 of supplement No. 2. 



