364 The National Geographic Magazine 



mathematics, law, economics, book- 

 keeping, elementary fisheries, technol- 

 ogy, and English. The department of 

 fisheries technology has special instruc- 

 tion in marine food products, marine 

 industrial products, bacteriology, ap- 

 plied mechanics, industrial chemistry, 

 chemical mechanics, applied zoology, 

 applied botany, law, economics, book- 

 keeping, and English. In the depart- 

 ment of pisciculture the subjects are 

 fresh- water culture, salt-water culture, 

 protection of fish, embryology, bacteri- 

 ology, oceanography, chemistry, applied 

 zoology, applied botany, law, economics, 

 book-keeping, and English. Provision 

 is made for postgraduate investigations 

 and for various special technical inqui- 

 ries. The institute has an annual income 

 from the government amounting to 

 $70,000. Its numerous graduates obtain 

 excellent positions as directors of fish- 

 ing, fish curing, and fishcultural estab- 

 lishments. The Japanese Fisheries So- 

 ciety deserves mention. It was organ- 

 ized about twenty-five years ago, and 

 has done excellent work directly and in 

 cooperation with the government. It 

 publishes a monthly journal, and has 

 4,979 members. 



While the Japanese high-sea fisheries 

 (cod, whales, halibut, fur seals) are im- 

 portant, as are the river and lake re- 

 sources, it is the shore fisheries alone 

 that give to Japan its unique position 

 as a fishing nation. 



Of the most valuable products, many 

 are identical with ours. The principal 

 difference in the fisheries of the two 

 countries is the relative extent to which 

 particular species are utilized. Herring 

 is the king of fishes in Japan, just as it 

 is in some European countries and in the 



world, considered as a whole. This fish 

 is worth $4,000,000 yearly to the Japa- 

 nese, and is particularly abundant in the 

 northern provinces. Next in importance 

 comes the sardine, valued at $3,700,000; 

 it is extensively canned, and is also eaten 

 fresh and sun dried. Their bonito, very 

 similar to ours, ranks third in value, the 

 annual sales being $2,000,000. It is 

 prepared in a peculiar way, and is al- 

 ways kept on hand as an emergency 

 ration in Japanese houses. A fish sim- 

 ilar to our scup or red snapper, and 

 known as "tai," is the favorite for 

 fresh consumption, and is worth about 

 $2,000,000 yearly. Other prominent 

 products are mackerel, valued at $1,000, - 

 000; tunny or horse mackerel, $900,000; 

 amber fish or yellow tail, $1,000,000; 

 squid and cuttle fish, $1,500,000; ancho- 

 vies, $800,000; prawn, $700,000, and 

 salmon, $600,000. 



The Japanese have no fisheries com- 

 parable with our shad, alewife, menha- 

 den, striped bass, white fish, pike, 

 perch, lake trout, soft crabs, sponge, and 

 lobster. Their oyster and clam fisheries 

 are insignificant by comparison with 

 ours, and so, too, are their salmon, 

 mullet, cod, and halibut. On the other 

 hand, our herrings, sardine, anchovy, 

 yellow tail, tunny, squid, prawn, aba- 

 lone, shark, and bonito and seaweed fish- 

 eries are trivial compared with theirs, 

 and we have no cuttlefish, sea cucumber, 

 or coral fisheries. The recent growth 

 of the Japanese coral industry has been 

 marked, and the Mediterranean corals, 

 which for centuries have monopolized 

 the world's markets, have already taken 

 second place. Much of the Italian out- 

 put of coral ornaments is now made from 

 imported Japanese raw products. 



