FISHES AS FOOD 



271 



fishery from very early times. Its flesh is eaten both when fresh 

 and in the preserved condition. Pickled Tunny (Saltamentum 

 Sardicum) was considered a delicacy by the ancient Romans. 

 The Italian tunny-fishery, of which Sardinia and Sicily are the 

 chief centres, is a considerable industry, which yielded over 

 ,111,000 in 1902. It commences in spring, when the fish ap- 

 proach the shore to spawn, and the shoals are either driven into 

 shallow water and surrounded by a series of strong nets, or else 

 chased into a sort of net-labyrinth, in the innermost compartment 

 of which they are slaughtered with clubs, boat-hooks, and the like. 



Fig. 1198. Striped Red Mullet (Mulliis sunmMetus} 



THE RED MULLET FAMILY (MULLID^E). The members of 

 this family are mostly tropical fishes, but one species, the 

 Striped Red Mullet (Mullus sunmilletus, fig. 1198), is common 

 in the Mediterranean, from which it ranges to the Canaries and 

 Norway. It is taken in some numbers off the south and south- 

 west shores of England by means of small drift-nets known as 

 trammels. Average specimens weigh about half a pound. It 

 is a particularly handsome fish, of bright -red colour (except 

 below), with several narrow yellow bands along its sides. There 

 is also a Plain Red Mullet (M. barbatus], without the stripes, 

 which is common in the Mediterranean, and is occasionally taken 

 in British waters. Most probably it is a distinct species. 



The Red Mullet is universally regarded as a delicacy, and its 

 flavour has suggested the popular name of " sea woodcock ". The 

 epicures of ancient Rome were extravagantly fond of it. On this 



