354 
AMERICAN FISHES. 
“ During this season some of the small vessels fish exclusively for Pol¬ 
lock, ‘ seizing up ’ their lines a number of fathoms from the bottom, and 
at times the fish bite as fast as the fishermen can haul them. Early in 
in November a crew of four men landed 10,420 pounds, or about 1,100 
fish, the result of less than two days’ fishing. Owing to a foolish prejudice, 
the price is always low, at times being less than thirty cents per one hun¬ 
dred pounds. The average weight of the fish is about nine or ten pounds, 
and during the spawning season the sexes are taken in about equal 
numbers. ’ ’ 
In the Bay of Fundy and along the coast of Maine the capture of young 
Pollock from the rocks is a favorite amusement. At Eastport these fish 
are often called “ Quoddy Salmon.” Hinds states that in the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence they are known as “ Sea Salmon this name may refer both 
to their active and voracious habits, and to the excellence of their flesh in 
those localities. 
The spawning of the Pollock occurs in the German Ocean, according 
to Wittmack, from December to February ; in Scotland, according to 
Parnell, in February, after which it remains out of condition until May. 
About the Loffodens, as indicated by the observations of Sars, the breed¬ 
ing time corresponds with that of the Codfish, the young Pollock being 
found in early summer in company with the young Cod, swimming under 
the protection of the jelly-fishes. 
The Pollock is one of those species whose value as an article of food is 
very much underestimated. Many persons who have investigated the 
subject accurately prefer salted Pollock to salted Codfish, although the 
flesh is not so white. Its value for use in the fresh state, we think, de¬ 
serves the highest commendation. 
Pollock are more highly prized in New Brunswick than anywhere else 
on the Western Atlantic coast, and the pollock fishery was in 1850 pro- 
nonnced by Perley the most valuable and extensive of the deep-sea fisheries 
of the Bay of Fundy. It is stated by this authority that directly after the 
spawning season the fish is lank and almost worthless, but that it becomes 
in good condition again in August and improves as the season advances. 
The liver of the Pollock yields a great quantity of oil, proportionally 
much more than that of the Cod. It is probable that most of the cod-liver 
oil in the market is more or less adulterated with pollock-liver oil. No 
one has yet demonstrated that its medicinal properties are inferior. The 
eggs of the Pollock are very large, and great quantities of them have been 
in past years salted and exported to France. 
