874 
SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 
The rank odour emitted by the Smelt offends the 
taste of many; but the flesh is good, and the belly 
between the spawning-seasons full of fat. Among epi- 
cures it is esteemed as a delicacy, after the disagreeable 
smell has been removed by very simple culinary me- 
thods. The fish must also be carefully gutted, especi- 
ally if in breeding condition, to rid it of the numerous 
intestinal worms, which penetrate even into the air- 
bladder. It is best fried and served with lemon-juice 
or vinegar, but is often boiled or stewed in sauces. 
It is also split and dried for future consumption, and 
in this state may be eaten without further preparation". 
Another method is to soak the dried flsh in lye, and 
afterwards dress it for table like other stockfish. In 
addition to its utility as human food, the Smelt also 
possesses importance as one of the best baits for pre- 
readiness. When the Smelt spawns on shores or off 
headlands, it is taken with drag-nets, which differ from 
an ordinary seine only in the comparative fineness of 
the meshes. This fishery is pursued only at night, bon- 
fires being not unfrequently lit on shore by the fisher- 
men, in the belief that the fish, enticed by the glare, 
come nearer land.” The well-known Smelt-fishery in 
the Norrstrom off Stockholm is carried on with large 
hoop-nets (tig. 219), such as are in general use at many 
places among the island-belt of Stockholm, to secure 
all kinds of small fishes for bait. These hoop-nets, 
usually about 3 — S l / 2 in. in diameter, are let down and 
hoisted up from a boat, with the aid of a long pole erected 
obliquely upwards in the stern; and a hand-net is em- 
ployed to scoop the fish out of the large net. The Smelt 
is also caught on the hook with a bait of shrimps, 
Fig. 219. 
Smelt-fishing with hoop-net from a boat. 
datory fishes of a greater size; and in several localities 
where it is taken in too great a quantity for imme- 
diate use, it is even made into guano. 
Of the Smelt-fishery Ekstrom writes, “It is during 
the spawning-season that the Smelt is taken in any 
quantity, the fishery being commonly conducted in the 
following manner. Across the straits or the rivers to 
which the Smelt ascends in order to spawn, fences are 
built of green spruce branches, arranged so as to leave 
gaps at the deepest parts of the channel. At these gaps 
the fisherman stations himself with a scoop-net large 
enough to fill the opening and breaded of meshes so 
fine that the Smelts cannot slip through. This net, 
which is distended on staves, he lets down into the 
opening, and takes up after a longer or shorter interval 
according to the numbers of fish that come up, the take 
being then turned out of the net into a coble held in 
sand-hoppers (Gammaroids), worms, or bits of fish; but 
this method is successful only when used for the large 
Smelts, the slorn or nor skiing as they are called in 
some parts of Sweden 'when they occur in solitary 
specimens among the smaller Smelts. 
Man is not the only enemy which the Smelt has 
to fear; it often falls a victim to predatory fishes and 
waterfowl. Although its great fecundity can, no doubt, 
compensate in most cases the losses inflicted by an ac- 
tive fishery, still it is advisable to protect the young fish. 
In lakes where the Smelt is wanting, it may easily 
be introduced, and is very useful, especially as food 
for other fishes, in particular for the Pike-perch, as 
Nilsson has pointed out. The impregnated eggs may 
be transported from one lake to another, or with a little 
care the spawning Smelt may be conveyed alive during 
the cool season in vessels filled with pure water. 
“ “It used to be split and dried and was thus considered to add a peculiar relish to the morning dram of spirits”. Day. 
