VIII 



OUR FOOD FROM THE SEA 



Our food from tlie sea, barring a few minor products, such as 

 the delicious and nutritious " carrageen " jelly made from the 

 Alga Chondrus crispus, is in the main obtained from our great 

 commercial sea -fisheries, the discussion of which in their 

 scientific aspects is a very large subject obviously only to be 

 outlined, with a few examples of difierent methods of investi- 

 gation, within the limits of a single lecture. It is scarcely 

 necessary to emphasise the vital importance of our sea-fisheries. 

 The harvest from the sea was never of more importance to the 

 nation than it is now and probably will be for some years after 

 the war. The sooner all classes of the population learn to 

 appreciate the value of fish as a highly nutritious food the 

 better it will be for the welfare of the community, and the 

 greater will be the encouragement to those concerned in the 

 industry to use their best endeavours both to increase the 

 supply and to make the best possible use of it by preserving 

 the produce so that nothing be allowed to go to waste. 



There is still much to be done in the two directions (1) of 

 exploiting local and periodic coastal fisheries and discover- 

 ing the best methods of making available for future use what 

 cannot be consumed at the moment ; and (2) of educating the 

 pubhc to overcome prejudice and make a fuller and more 

 systematic use of unaccustomed but excellent fish-food, such 

 as, for example, the summer-caught, rich-in-fat herring cured 

 in brine as a winter food. I shall have more to say farther on 

 as to the value of such salt herring as a source of fat, highly 

 desirable under present circumstances. 



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