NOTES ON SOME SELDOM MARKETED SALT- 

 WATER FISHES 



By John Treadwell Nichols 



Probably in the long run the best food fishes, and those 

 most readily accessible for market purposes, are the ones 

 that it is customary to use as food. On the other hand a 

 casual survey shows many salt water forms which, though 

 eaten in foreign countries, are not utilized in America. 



It seems to me that this is a matter which is particularly 

 appropriate for the American Fisheries Society to bear in 

 mind, to the end that the utilization of fishes for food shall 

 be based on a true knowledge of their value, influenced as 

 little as possible by custom and prejudice. I therefore ven- 

 ture to submit a few brief notes, personal experience with 

 fishes which are not regularly marketed. 



The mud cat. Leptocottus armatus, is a salt water sculpin 

 of small size, very abundant the length of the Pacific Coast. 

 Like all the sculpins it has a large spiny head, and probably 

 more or less on that account is not eaten. At Seaside, Ore- 

 gon, a Chinaman had cut the heads off a number of them and 

 was taking them home to eat. With the heads gone they 

 looked something like tomcod. He said they were very 

 good. Some small ones about five inches long, from sandy 

 bottom in summer, were fried. They were very sweet and 

 palatable, though their meat was not very firm. 



The sea robin, Prionotus carolinus, is a very abundant 

 fish in all salt waters near New York. It has a large, hard 

 spiny head and is generally thrown away when caught. A 

 large one about a foot long and a smaller, about eight inches 

 long, were eaten fried. Both were moderately good but the 

 larger had a strong muddy taste, perhaps due to the water 

 where it was taken. The fish is a rather close relative of 

 the European gurnards, some of which are highly prized for 

 the table. 



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