OUR FOOD FROM THE SEA 203 



the civilised world in the promotion and utilisation of their 

 important fisheries both marine and fresh-water. Their 

 experts seem to be equally successful in devising new methods 

 and in conducting an active propaganda. The establishment 

 of a new fishery, the provision of the necessary markets and 

 the all-important demand on the part of the public are pro- 

 moted simultaneously. The method seems to be to boom one 

 fish at a time : in 1916 it was the Tile-fish, and in 1917 the 

 Dog-fish, under a new name. Our European food-fishes have 

 been known to the public for centuries, and their names, such 

 as herring, cod and plaice, are very old ; but the " tile-fish " 

 is new to the markets, and the name is a recent invention. 

 When, as the result of scientific exploration, the fish was found 

 in quantity and introduced to the fishermen and the public, 

 and it became necessary to find a name shorter than the 

 zoological designation Lopholatilus chatnaeleonticeps, the 

 terminal part (" tile ") x of the generic title was taken and is 

 now firmly established in common use. When the fishery had 

 been in existence for twelve months (1916) the known catch 

 amounted to upwards of 10,250,000 pounds, valued at more 

 than $400,000. During the fiscal year 1917 the tile-fish 

 landed reached 11,641,500 pounds, and the receipts of the 

 fishermen exceeded $477,730. 



Having established this fishery, the Bureau then entered on 

 a campaign to convert one of the most destructive and neglected 

 fishes of the Atlantic coast, the spiny dog-fish, into a valuable 

 asset ; and the first step taken was to suggest a change in the 

 name of the fish for trade purposes. We are told that people 

 in all parts of the country will eat " cat-fish " but are preju- 

 diced against " dog-fish," so the Bureau altered the name of 

 the latter to " gray-fish," which " is descriptive, not pre- 

 occupied, and altogether unobjectionable." 2 There was ap- 

 parently at first much prejudice and opposition to be over- 

 come, but the Commissioner tells us that " an early feature of 

 the campaign was the complete change in the fishermen's 

 attitude after they had become fully informed as to the 



1 And possibly also because of the tile-like markings on the head. 

 2 Commissioner's Report for 1917. 



