The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-02
CApIARE's RISING PRICE.
The Catch Of sturgeon, EspccIaIiy In the Oct
aware, T. " Less Yearly.

tue sntfH OF StuFktOu' tApffiAli' w " ''''
aware. a. Growing Less yearly.
Tho great decline In the catch Of sturgeon
In American waters Is one OF the rcisous for
the large increase In the value ol caviafe, which
sold a. low as 50 a key in 1855 aud n high 49,
siO5 a keg last year. G. iare i the most valuable
by-product obtained from the sturgeon. lnll
recently nearly all Of the caviafe obtained IL
this country was sent 10 Germany John
n. Cobb. an agent OF the United State- Fish
Commission, has been Investigating fot the
Government the sturgeon fishery of Della
ware River and Bay. This Is the largest SUR
geon fishing ground In this country. Years
ago the Delawa River and Bay swarmcd
with these huge feb. They we're a nuisance
In the river because Of the damage which they
did TO the fish nets. Since 1870, however. stur
geon fishing has been pushed 30 cnergctically
that unless the fish are protected they are
threatened with determination.
There has been a continuous decrease In
the number OF sturgeon taken by fishermen
for tho past ten years. The Delaware fisher
men use gill nets to rapture the sturgeon and
their season begins early In April and closes
about the middle OF June. The fishermen
live during the season on small vessels or I'M
mense scows fitted with a cabin at either end
III their camp is near a swanIy shore. .Mr.
cobb explains the use Of the gill nets, which
average about $50 ia'hOins In length and
twenty-one feet IN. DEF ia.
The nets are always drifted. The fisher
men generally go out about two or three hours
board. As the fish feed near the bottom, the
nets must be arranged so as 20 reach close I %
the bottom. This Is done by sinking the cork
Lne the necessary distance below the surface
by means OF extra heavy leads on the lower
line. and the net IL kept track of by attaching
TO II wooden buoys, called 'dabs, by means OF
ropes. The fishermen. drift along behind
their net, usually about the middle oft. Should
a buoy indicate that anything had been cap
tured In the net. the fishermen at once take IN
that section. and If a fish has been gilled l. IS
hauled into the boat and the not f. reset The
sturgeon are taken aboard by means Of long
handled hooks Of round iron. Although from
~ ~, II to yS ten G nfi in lSSn Ean .H"y stTHSs, e ~ yf,FFg Fry
boat they seem TO lose all heart. and are gem
ernlly rolled in like a log. They max" a rather
owI ing to their great bulk and weight The
two men forming the crew have all they can
conveniently handle when a big female stur-
geOn Is taken. A fisherman at Bayside has
been known TO handle a seven-foot female
-ingie-handed, but this was a very unusual
occurrence, Tho net is usually. fshei but
ne fishermen come back to camp with the
The cownsh which have hard roe of the
kind used In preparing caviar are the most
valuable, being worth from SO. 70 SOS zach,
the latter price having been paid for az extra
pawned.. or with soft spawn which cannot
be used for caviar. and bucks, or male Ash,
are valuable only for their flesh. The To-
taken from the water and the males only sixty
five pounds each. Fertilizer and oil are made
from the refuse Of the sturgeon. The caviar
After the eggs have been removed from
the fsh, they arr, PLACED IN large chunks upon
meshcd. screen. On the under Side is arranged
a 2inc-linnd trough. about eighteen inches
deep. two feet wide. and four feet long, The
aAr.WA- .AaNIW~ HaNIa NlA 40 ~ aNruFZ hnHE
and forth over the screen. The, mesh, Is lust
large enough T. let the eggs drop through,
and rs they are sennrgt"f from the membrane
by the rubbing, they fail through into the trough
and are thenre drawn on into tubs by means Of
a sliding door at the end Of the trough, AFTER
all the roe has been separated. the tub is re-
moved and a certain proportion Of the host
lnneburg Germany snlt added TO the roe,
after which TIE OPERATOR carefully stirs and
mixes the mass with his hands. The most
delicate part of the whole operation i in the
manner Of mixing. No direct rule can he
given for doing this portion Of IN" work, ~
the condition OF the roe regulates the time
consumed and the manner Of handling. It
requires practical experience 10 become pro-
iicient.
After adding the salt, the mass Of eggs first
dries up.but In ten or fifteen minutes tho strength
Of the salt draws from the cggs their watery
constituents and n copions brine Is formed which
can be poured OF when the tub becomes too full.
The saltet eggs are poured into very fine
meIthed S,IveS wnich hoia about Yen ponnni
long, sloping boards. with narrow strips nailed
on each side. On these the sleeves are placed
and are left there from eight 10 twenty hours
In order TO drain thoroughly. The Eggs have
now become the caviar Of and are
transferred to small casks Of. either oak or
pine. which have been steamed in order 10 pre-
vent any possible leakage. tho casks are COW
cred and Above To stand until the gas escapes
and the eggs settle. The vacant space caused
by the settling Is then fllei an the cusk hea ell
up and nut In n cool place until ready for ship
ment. The casks cost about 81 each and hold
about 1856 nouns net II requires about eleven
quarts.of salt TO prepare a kcg Of caviar.
Formerly only the har+ roe wa use in maxi
Ing caviar. but some Of the fishermen have be-
como 80 expert that they can hanllc roe which l.
me ium soft ana still prepare a fair grade Of
caviar"
Mr.. Cobb estimates that i,04s kegs Of caviar
were prepared In 1907 from sturgeon caught
in the Delaware River and Bay an these were
sold for Q .73s. During tho season Of 1899
only 100 kegs Of caviar were obtained from this
same district.