'COALFISH. 
503 
( MaUotus viUosus ) and Herring, the fry of the Cod, 
and a small crustacean ( Thysanopoda inermis), which 
according to Saks (Indberetning for Aaret 1874) also 
forms the food of the blue whale (Bcdcenoptera Sibbaldii ) 
on the coast of Finmark, seem to guide the wanderings 
of the Coaltish in search for food. In April it ap- 
proaches the coast of Finmark, and arrives there, says 
Collett, in an extremely lean condition, probably after 
the spawning, but soon puts on flesh when it has 
feasted a short time on Capelin. There is tumult and 
disturbance at the surface of the sea when the shoals 
of Coaltish chase their prey, with a splashing and lash- 
ing in the water like the noise of the sharpest hail- 
storm. In summer the shoals assemble at the spots 
where the u kril" ( Thysanopoda inermis) are collected 
by the currents. Sars° describes from eyesight how 
the Coaltish prey upon the Cod fry. “It was a regular 
battue, the hunt almost seeming to be pursued in 
common and on preconcerted lines. So far as I could 
judge, the plan was as follows. The Coaltish sur- 
rounded the fry on all sides, and by drawing the circle 
closer and closer drove them together in a dense mass, 
which they then proceeded by a sudden manoeuvre to 
chase up towards the surface. The wretched victims 
thus found themselves attacked on both sides: under- 
neath they had the voracious Coaltish, which in the 
excitement of the chase often leapt high out of the 
water, and above them hovered hundreds of screaming 
gulls, which with marvellous swiftness and unerring 
aim watched their time and swooped down at the spots 
where the Coaltish appeared, to seize their share of the 
prey. ’ The Coaltish is just as eager in its pursuit of 
the Herring; and during the Herring-fishery in Bohus- 
lan it has been known in its rapacity to rush up on 
dry land. 
The difference between old and young Coaltish 
is not confined to the coloration, but also extends to 
their habits, and the fishermen of all nations have, 
therefore, given them a number of different names k 
In Bohuslan the old Coaltish are known as Sej, Grasej 
(Gray Coaltish), or Grasik. At this age they prefer 
deep water with a rocky bottom, and hardly ever come 
close in shore. The young, which are called Smasej 
(Small Coaltish) and Nailer, choose their haunts in the 
fjords and in shallow water. The whole life of this 
fish, however, as well as the form of its body, is a 
blending of the characters of the Cod and the Mackerel. 
Both large and small Coaltish, especially the latter, 
show traces of the activity of the Mackerel. In sum- 
mer, among the islands, the young specimens are seldom 
seen at the bottom, but generally swim in mid-water, 
roving along the shores in large shoals, especially 
where there is a current, in which case they keep to 
the surface and often leap high above it. 
In the Cattegat, according to Ekstrom, the Coal- 
tish spawns in spring, at the end of March or begin- 
ning of April. In Massachusetts Bay Earll found the 
spawning-season to be in November and December. In 
a female 3 ft. 3 in. long and 23 1 / 2 lbs. in weight he 
estimated the number of the eggs at about 4 million, 
and in another female 2 ft. 87 2 in. long and 13 lbs. 
in weight, at about 2 1 /, million. In Bohuslan the fry, 
about 60 mm. long, appear along the shores in July; 
and in May Malm saw a large shoal of Coaltish of the 
second year, about 2 dm. in length, taken off Hellevik- 
strand. In the stomach of one of these young speci- 
mens, which was 22 cm. long, he found 77 Herring-fry, 
each about 40 mm. in length. At the approach of 
winter the young Coaltish repair to deep water. 
The old Coaltish are taken, like the Cod, with 
hand-lines ( dorj ) and long-lines and in gill-nets. The 
young specimens are caught in the seine and, in Nor- 
way, in the sack-net ( Syckenot ), a square seine which 
is allowed to sink, and is drawn straight up by four 
boats, each with a line attached to one of the four 
corners of the net, as soon as the shoal of Coaltish 
which has been observed, is over it. 
The Coaltish is sometimes salted in the same way 
as the Cod, but is of less value when cured in this 
manner. It is generally dried. The young specimens 
are eaten fresh, or salted and consumed by the poor. 
The dried Coaltish which is sold under the name of 
Stockfish (i. e. dried on poles, stock = stick), is known 
in the north of Scandinavia as JRotskdr, and is prepared 
as follows. The fish is killed and gutted, and then 
split along the back and belly, so far down towards 
“ Indberetning for 1866 og 1867. 
b Hardly any fish has borne so many different, names according to age and locality. Brown-Goode (1. c.) enumerates 52 different 
names for the Coalfish in various parts of England. In Norway, according to Nilsson, the Coalfish is called Mort until it is 15 cm. long, 
Pale, while its length is between about 22 and 44 cm. (i. e. in its second and third .years); and does not bear the name of Sej until its 
fourth year. 
