FISHES OF OUR NORTH ATLANTIC SEABOARD 
15 
THE SOURCE OF CAVIAR 
The picture shows Russians taking the fish eggs for making this famous delicacy. 
by the Mackerel. A thousand and one 
methods are available. 
None is more nearly certain among 
fishes than that which removes those 
failing to make proper use of the art 
of camouflage. Note the hues of a Her¬ 
ring in the color section (see Color Plate, 
page 47). Its back corresponds to the 
shades of the water in which it thrives; 
viewed from the air, it has low visibility. 
Its belly corresponds to the appearance of 
water when viewed from beneath the sur¬ 
face. The fishes best protected by their 
camouflage escape their enemies most 
frequently, and therefore have a better 
chance to reproduce. The ones that are 
least protected fall victims more easily, 
and therefore are less likely to reproduce. 
USING THE ART OF CAMOUFLAGE 
So, even if ever so little in each genera¬ 
tion, the process goes on—ever the better 
fitting each and every thing that repro¬ 
duces life to the environment in which 
its fortunes are cast. 
The Flounder, the Halibut, or the Sand 
Dab, lying on the sand, has harmonizing 
blotches imprinted all over the upper part 
of its body, imitating the various kinds 
of sand on which it lies, whether that be 
common brown sand, crushed coral, or 
rotting lava. The least successfully ca¬ 
mouflaged individuals face the greatest 
peril and the most successfully concealed 
ones enjoy the greatest safety. 
Man’s succeSvSesin breeding horns off the 
ox, the long nose off the wild boar, and 
great size into draft horses, are but a few 
passing examples of throwing Nature’s 
processes into high gear and hastening 
the transformation. He has done less in 
this respect with the fishes than with 
almost any other form of life, for the rea¬ 
son that he has had less control over them. 
But, even at that, he has been able to 
breed pugnacity into fishes, as witness the 
fighting fish of Siam, where the natives 
have fishfights as exciting to them as 
are cockfights to the masses in Spanish 
America. 
While not a fish, the Lobster, belong¬ 
ing to the crustacean group of animals, 
supports one of the most interesting and 
important fisheries of the American 
shores of the North Atlantic. 
The Lobster, biologically, is a closer 
relative of the spider than of the fish, and 
the problem of saving the Lobster fish¬ 
eries from utter depletion is one of the 
most difficult with which the fish cultur- 
ists have to deal. 
