60 FRENCH FISH COMMERCE. [CHAP. n. 



Iceland. A very large number of codfish were taken, and the 

 report to the Minister of Marine says that the ships of war 

 011 the station afforded help to eighty-three of the vessels, and 

 that the health of the crews was remarkably good during the 

 whole season, eighteen vessels only requiring the aid of the 

 surgeon, and these vessels had only two invalids each. This 

 is instructive as showing the care that is taken in the selection 

 of healthy crews, and of the pains of their Government to keep 

 them healthy, and it must be admitted that, so far as physique 

 is concerned, the French seamen are fine-looking fellows. 



The commercial system established in France for bringing 

 the produce of the sea into the market is of a highly-elaborate 

 and intricate character. The direct consequence of this 

 system is, that the price of fish goes on increasing from its 

 first removal from the shore until it reaches the market. This 

 fact cannot be better illustrated than by tracing the fish 

 from the moment they are landed on the quay by the fisher- 

 men through various intermediate transactions until they 

 reach the hands of the fishmonger of Paris. The first agent 

 into whose hands they come is the ecoreur. The ecoreur is 

 usually a qualified man appointed by the owners of the 

 vessels, the municipality, or by an association termed the 

 Societe d'Ecorage. He performs the functions of a wholesale 

 agent between the fisherman and the public. He is ready to 

 take the fish out of the fisherman's hands as soon as they are 

 landed. He buys the fish from the fisherman, and pays him 

 at once, deducting a percentage for his own services. This 

 percentage is sometimes 5, 4, or even as low as 3i per 

 cent. He undertakes the whole risk of selling the fish, and 

 suffers any loss that may be incurred by bad debts or bad 

 sale, for which he can make no claim whatever upon the 

 owner of the boat. The system of ccoragc is universally 

 adopted, as the fisherman prefers ready money with a 

 deduction of f per cent rather than trouble himself with any 



