FISHES OF OUR NORTH ATLANTIC SEABOARD 
27 
of all over 11 inches. He also would forbid 
the capture or sale of all below or above 
that limit; would protect the “berried” 
Lobster and fix a bounty for each one 
delivered to the fishery authorities. He 
would have young Lobsters reared to the 
bottom-seeking stage in hatcheries, thus 
liberating them when the perils of infancy 
are past. 
FISHES OF GEOLOGIC HISTORY 
Jordan observes that when a fish dies 
it leaves no friends. Its body is promptly 
attacked by scores of scavengers, ranging 
from the one-celled Protozoa and bacteria 
to members of its own species. The flesh 
is soon devoured, the gelatinous substance 
of the bones decays and leaves the phos¬ 
phate of lime content to be absorbed by 
the water. Hence the multitudes die 
without leaving any trace behind. Once 
in a great while a few teeth, or a fin spine, 
or a bone buried in clay may endure, but 
the exceptions are notably rare. 
It is because of this condition that few 
traces of the earliest fishes of the geologic 
past have been left. An expedition from 
the Smithsonian Institution, some years 
ago, unearthed, near Canon City, Colo¬ 
rado, what are believed to be the oldest 
fish remains known to science. They 
come down from the Lower Silurian age, 
a time when neither man nor mammal, 
nor reptile, nor any other living land ani¬ 
mal with a backbone, had yet appeared— 
a time, indeed, when some of the deepest 
sandstones we know were being laid 
down. 
FORCES OF DISTRIBUTION STILL AT 
WORK 
From early geologic times many things 
have played important roles in determin¬ 
ing the distribution of the various species 
of fish. We see those same forces at 
work to-day. 
In New England waters only a beggarly 
34,000 pounds of Bluefish are taken 
annually, while from there to Delaware 
Bay the yearly catch amounts to more 
than 3,000,000 pounds. 
In the case of Cod, the situation is re¬ 
versed, there being some eighty times as 
many Cod taken north of Long Island as 
south of that latitude. 
There are practically no Croakers in 
New England, but a plentiful supply off 
the New Jersey shore. 
There are few Herring in waters be¬ 
tween Long Island Sound and Delaware 
Bay, while the Menhaden are most abun¬ 
dant there. Temperature is regarded as 
the principal influence in thus separating 
the fishes in these two parts of our North 
Atlantic waters. There are some species 
that seem to be equally at home above or 
below the latitude of Long Island, such 
as the Alewife, the Butter-fish, the Sum¬ 
mer Flounder, and the Scup. 
Boston is easily the fishing capital of 
the New World, and yields only to 
Grimsby, England, as the world’s leading 
fishing port (see illustration, page i6). 
In the North Atlantic fisheries, Canada 
has 43,000 men employed, as against 76,- 
000 for New England and the Middle 
Atlantic States. 
In the United States fisheries north of 
Delaware Bay, the Menhaden takes first 
rank in the weight of the catch, with 
256,000,000 pounds to its credit. 
MENHADEN LEAD IN WEIGHT OF 
CATCH 
There is a wide gap between it and the 
next group, which includes the Herring, 
Haddock, and Cod, with 98,000,000, 89,- 
000,000, and 86,000,000 pounds, respec¬ 
tively, as the weights of their annual 
catches. 
Then there is another wide gap, fol¬ 
lowed by another group, which includes 
the Pollock, with 25,000,000 pounds; the 
Flounder, with 22,000,000; the Hake, 
with 21,000,000; and the Whiting, with 
20,000,000 pounds. 
The Mackerel leads the fourth group 
with 17,000,000 pounds, the Weakfish and 
the Scup following second and third. 
The Alewives head the group of four 
next in importance, with 5,000,000 
pounds. The Butter-fish, the Croaker, 
and the Bluefish contribute 4,600,000 
pounds, 4,236,000 pounds, and 3,362,000 
pounds, respectively, to the total catch. 
The Cusk and the Bonito are the other 
species that show an annual catch of more 
than 2,000,000 pounds. . 
The Lobster fishery yields over 12,000,- 
000 pounds, nearly half of the product 
being taken from the Lobster pots of 
Maine. 
The abounding wealth of the United 
States and the high per capita income of 
the people have made them able to in¬ 
dulge their whims rather than their needs 
