WHITING. 
491 
persons row out to tish for Whiting whose means ren- 
der it a question more of pleasure than of profit. 
The Whiting, like all its near relatives, is a fish- 
of-prey, and may well he regarded as the boldest and 
most voracious of them all, especially if we take its 
smaller size into consideration. It lives exclusively by 
prey, attacking not only feeble victims, such as crusta- 
ceans and worms, but principally small fishes. The 
Herring especially attracts its attention. When large 
shoals of Herrings enter the island-belts, the Whiting 
collect and continually annoy this 'weak and defenceless 
fish. The movements of the Whiting are fairly quick 
when in the act of seizing its prey, but at other times 
it swims slowly, seldom lying still on the watch for 
some victim, but roving steadily about, letting nothing 
escape its notice that may serve as food. Though 
several specimens may often be seen in company, the 
Whiting does not lead a sociable life, and does not 
assemble in large shoals even during the spawning- 
season. It is no great wanderer, but stays all the year 
round in the neighbourhood of its birthplace and the 
places that it knows. It prefers fairly deep water with 
a soft, sandy bottom, and is seldom caught on a rocky 
bottom, except where small patches of sand occur. The 
ordinary depth at which the Whiting may be found 
during the whole summer, is between 12 and 16 fa- 
thoms. Towards autumn it ascends into shallower 
water, and in the month of October the fry and the 
smaller specimens haunt the shore and the piers at a 
depth of no more than a foot. Like the Cod it some- 
times enters large rivers, at least where there is a 
layer of salt or brackish water at the bottom; and Malm 
states that in the River Gotha the Whiting goes up to 
Hising Bridge, and is often caught by boys fishing at 
Stora Boinmen Bridge in Gothenburg. 
About Christmas the ovaries and milt-sacs begin 
to develop, and in February they have generally reached 
their full size; but the spawning takes place later in 
the year, though the season varies considerably. In 
April one may find some fish that have spawned, others 
that are ready to spawn, and others still with hard roe. 
The Whiting does not spawn in so large companies as 
many other species, especially most fresh-water fishes, 
but retires quietly out of sight into deep water, so 
that we have no trustworthy information on this point. 
However, what we have now learnt of the spawning 
of the Cod and of the development of its eggs floating 
in the sea, probably applies on the whole to the spatvn- 
ing and the early stages of the Whiting as well. Early 
in the summer the eggs are hatched, and the fry may 
then be seen assembled in fairly great number under 
the large jelly-fish ( Ci/anea capillata), in which the sea 
abounds. Thus the fry of the Whiting, like those of 
the Cod and other fishes, fly for shelter to these crea- 
tures, and feed upon the crustaceans which live as 
parasites in the body of the jelly-fish or adhere to its 
long, filiform, and slimy tentacles. During the sum- 
mer it is useless to look for the fry close in shore, 
and small Whiting from 10 to 12 cm. long may often 
be seen keeping close to a jelly-fish for hours, follow- 
ing its sluggish movements in a manner that seems to 
indicate a certain intimacy and mutual confidence be- 
tween these strangely-assorted companions. From this 
fact ignorant fishermen draw the false conclusion that 
O 
the Whiting “is generated” in the jelly-fish and reared 
by them. 
At first the fry grow pretty rapidly, being between 
10 and 12 cm. long when they make their way to the 
shallows in October. Some fishermen are of the opi- 
nion that the Whiting is capable of reproducing its 
species in its second year; but no decisive proof of 
this is procurable, and the assertion is positively con- 
tradicted in other quarters. 
During the whole winter the Whiting keeps to its 
autumn haunts, and does not return to deep water 
before the spring. 
Among all the Gadoid species the Whiting, when 
cooked fresh, has the finest and most palatable flesh, 
and is, therefore, in high repute for the purposes of 
the table. When salted or dried it loses a great por- 
tion of its good flavour, and is much inferior to most 
of the larger species. In Scandinavia it is only seldom 
cured in the latter manner, and never for sale; but if 
a fisherman takes a larger quantity of Whiting than he 
can dispose of fresh or consume himself, he is obliged 
to have recourse to oue of these methods of preserving 
the remainder for his own use. When dried, the Whit- 
ing grows as hard as dry glue, and is therefore known 
in England as bu dehorn. 
The Whiting-fishery gives employment to most of 
the island fishermen at the periods when no more im- 
portant and lucrative fishery occupies their time and 
attention; and is pursued all the year round by the 
old and weak, as well as by children, who are inca- 
pable of taking part in the more important fisheries, 
and whose presence is not required there. 
