32 THE FISHING INDUSTRY 



The Angler or Devil fish is a curious creature, from 

 three to four feet long, and appearing to consist almost 

 entirely of head. It has a large mouth, and teeth that 

 are hinged so as to admit food, but prevent it from 

 escaping. The devil fish has a long feeler on the top of 

 its head, terminating in a tassel which, moved by the 

 water, attracts the attention of small fish and lures them 

 to their fate. This tassel is a sensory organ and, when 

 it is touched by the small fish, the angler fish snaps 

 upwards with unerring aim at a point immediately in 

 advance of the tassel. 



The dog fish seeks its food exclusively by scent. If 

 its sense of smell be destroyed, it ceases to feed 

 spontaneously. 



The sole also seeks its food by smell. It is quite unable 

 to recognize a worm by sight or touch, even when hung 

 just above its head, but feels aimlessly over the ground 

 seeking it by smell. 



Reproduction. Fish are male and female and, with 

 few exceptions, reproduce their kind by laying eggs. 

 The number of eggs laid by an individual female fish 

 during a single spawning varies greatly, according to 

 the species. The average number of eggs spawned by 

 a single female fish in the course of one season, is 



Ling 18,500,000 



Turbot 8,600,000 



Cod 4,500,000 



Flounder .... 1,000,000 



Sole 570,000 



Haddock .... 450,000 



Plaice 300,000 



Herring .... 32,000 



Shark , (A few not more 



Dogfish f (than a dozen. 



Skate I 



