The Republican journal., 1880-01-15
Fish and the Fisheries

The fifth volume Of tile reports Of the
United States commission Of Fish and
Fisheries" at the head Of which is Prof.
Spencer + Baird, secretary Of the smith
sOnan Institution, has been printed and.
Ike those which have preceded ii
abounds in solid information. designed To
benefit all those who are engaged in OBJ
tanning sustenance from the ''Vasty deep"
In a practical sense, one Of the most i'm
portant discoveries Of the past wear, was
the existence upon our coast, in great
abundance OF a deep water fish, known
to naturalists as the pole, OF crag ll0un-
der with amouth 100 small to take hook
big enough to haul il to the surface
from the depth Of water IN which
it lived. With the "beam tr2Wl," used
on board, the professor aud his as
sistants often took five hundred pounds
of this delicate and hitherto unknown
fish at haul during the last summer.
Abiding to the great need that exists for
obtaining information in the fishing season
as to the haunts OF our food fishes along
| our coasts, the professor refers 10 the
system which prevails in Norway, through
which the inhabitants in the fishing dis
tricts are notified 10y telegraph, from day
TO day, as To where the schools of fish up
on the coast have struck in; and he adj Z
vlses a similar system 10 the United
States. AS the fisheries of the Lottoden
Islands, OF the northwestern coast Of
Norway, present many analOgieS to our
own coast fisheries. the report Of the OBJ
seryations of the two eminent naturalists
Of that country, Dir. Brock and Dr.
Sars IN relation to the management Of
the Norwegian fisheries are given. Be
sides their statements the report embOl-
les great many new facts upon the
progress OF fish CIlturc in the nited
States. But the most interesting paper
Of all in the volume, is that from Prof. e.
Brown Goode. entitled 1.-The History Of
the American Mcnhadcn." 1t occupies
800 pages Of the volume, and is is inter
esting as a romance, While dealing strict
ly with scientific and commercial facts
Mr.. Goode shows, by Well-youchcd-for
statements, that this mcnhadcn fishery
along our Atlantic coast, which only
lasts for a few months in the wear, is
equal III volume, and SURPRISES in ave
rage profit, the whole whale fishery Of
the ntcd States These fish are not a
great deal larger than a good-sizcd her
ring, but they are very fat and very
abundant at certain Seasons in some
wears. In lN15, the amount of oil eN-
tractcd from them by a fleet of 97O sail
ing vessels and G' steamers, was 2,GlS,-
47o gallons. In 1876, the quantity was
considerably increased, and, in l-77, the
calculation was arrived at, that 81 1924.
900 fish were caught producing >, 426.
90 gallons Of oil, with -, 40 tons of fer
tilzers, each ton Of which had a CONNER
cial value equal to Peruvian guano. Near
ly two millions Of capital is invested in
this fishery, and more than twenty five
thousand bodied seamen find profit
able employment in its prosecution. The
learned professor agrees with all the eX
perienced fishermen with whom we have
ever conyersed upon the subject, that all
the fish captured from the sea, either by
lines, seines or weirs, do not make the
slightest impression on the population OF