430 



OKDERS OF FISHES— THE PADDLE-FISH 



and personal observations, I should place the 

 average length of the Paddle-Fish at 45 inches, 

 and weight 25 to 30 pounds. 



The U. S. Bureau of Fisheries' records show that 

 this fish is now coming into use as food, and is find- 

 ing a ready sale in the markets of the region it in- 

 habits. In some places its flesh is smoked and sold 

 as sturgeon. Its eggs, which are very numerous, 

 and greenish-black in color, make excellent caviar, 

 and are being so utilized at Louisville, Kentuckj', 

 and along the Mississippi, in Mississippi and 

 Tennessee. 



In 1S99, sixteen states participated in the 

 catching of Paddle-Fish, Mississippi leading with 

 981,080 pounds, and followed by Arkansas, Ten- 

 nessee, Illinois and Missouri, in the order named. 

 The total catch was 2,543,950 pounds, valued at 

 S82,343. 



In a limited sense the Paddle-Fish inhabits the 

 Mississippi "\'alley, from Louisiana to Jlinnesota, 

 the Ohio, and the Missouri to South Dakota, 

 which is a wide range for a fish so peculiarly 

 formed. 



