CHAPTER VII 



PRIME AND OFFAL 



ALL the fishes that are trawled from North Sea waters 

 are divided into two great classes prime and offal. 

 The prime is composed of the upper ranks of fishes, and 

 the vast lower orders constitute the offal. Naturally 

 enough, the prime goes to the high and rich community 

 ashore, and the offal to the people. The exception to 

 this rule is found mostly on the North Sea, where the 

 fisherman may, if he is so disposed, regale himself with 

 a sole or turbot, the primest of the prime ; but he seldom 

 does so, for he prefers to send the best and most valuable 

 of his catches to market. He is content with the inferior 

 sorts ; but even these, when cooked as North Sea men 

 can cook them, are delicacies such as are seldom found 

 on inland tables. Yet fish can be too fresh, and there 

 are species which are tough and rather unpalatable 

 when taken straight from the net to the galley. These, 

 like freshly killed beef, are better for twenty-four hours' 

 keeping. 



Soles come easily first amongst the prime. Nothing 

 gladdens the heart of the fisherman more than a good 

 haul of this aristocrat of the deep, for, however erratic 

 the market may be, there is always a certainty of profit 

 on the catch. It seldom happens that the supply of sole 



