The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-03-08
FACTS ABOUT goldfish.
Next to Herring, the Most Important
Gift of the Sea to the Human

1t inhabits both of the northern divi-
sions of the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans and even the polar sea to u
distance beyond the Arctic circle.
The Dutch claim the honor of hav-
ing been the first race to discover its
food value. and tradition says they
ate it in the fourteenth century. How
ever. we have authentic records that
the Banks of Newfoundland were vis-
tied by the French as early as 1904
and by the Spanish about a dozen
years later. 1t is said that Cape Cod
was first so called by Bartholomew
Gosnold In 1902, who caught SO many
fish off the coast that che pestcred his
deck with them"
Even that gallant explorer capt.
John Smith, much exalted over his
luck while fishing at the Isle of Shoals
in 1914 In writing of It he says:
What sport doth yield a more pleas
ing content and less hurt of charge
than angling with a hook and crossing
the sweet air from isle to isle over
the silent streams of the quiet sea-
Thus 1t will be seen that the Banks
and Shoals were recognized as inn
portant fishing stations-an honor
| they retain to this day.
Although our south county cannot
| boast of a catch sufficiently large to
| equal even the smallest one taken on
| the Banks, yet She brags about indi-
| Nidual fish of by no means contempt
| ible size, and the yarns spun by her
fishermen are on a parallel in regard
to veiacity with any told in the world
The cod belongs to the same order
| as the hadduck. halibut. founder. tur-
| bot and other similar fishes. The dis
tinCtiNc Characteristics of the supCieS
| are: Three durSal and two Nentral fins
without Spines and u small appondage
| tcallod barbule) hanging from the
| lower jaw. which latter indicates that
| the cod is "A deep sea fish. \ notice
able feature is that the swim bladder
! has no connection with the gullet.
! which proves its use for hydiStatiC
| purposes alone. When the organ is
| expanded the specific gravity of the
fish IS lesscned, and it can thus rise
| to the surface of the water but. If
| contracted, the animal sinks
The Gadus MOnhua (the Gods scien-
| tiiic name) is OF the Galidoe family and,
! unlike other members, i, not a migra-
| Tory iiSh. but lives in great colonies
ON limited territory. When fresh
| from the water the back of the cod
! Is n grecnish brown color, thickly
/, spotted with reddish yellow dots. It's
belly is silvery opaque white ana
| the fins are a pale green. II may be
distinguished from the Eaddock, with
which it commonly feeds by the lat
eHal line that runs from the end Of its
GlllS To its tail. ON the haddock this
| line is a dark color, while on the
cod it is pure white.
The cod spawns in February. from
| 4ooO,000 to 100000 eggs being the de-
post "f a single female. By the end
of spring the young fish have grown
To about an inch in length. However.
they are not suitable for market be-
fore their third year. when they us
ually measure three feet and weigh
| anywhere from twelve to twenty
pounds apiece. II is a rare thing Gn
the South county, for the Goldfish to
attain Il weight greater than twent.
five or thirty pounds. Upon the Banks
few are caught which weigh greater
over eighty, and those that weigh from
twenty-five to fifty pounds are more
common. Two men can catch up-
wards of 800 fish in a day OFF the New
foundland coast. South county fisher
men are more conservative IN their
stmate.
The fish is of the greatest food value
during the three months previous to
Christmas. 1t is then caught by
means of long" or hand" lines cast
off from the shore o. from n boat.
When the warm weather of spring
arrives the cod resorts 10 deeper
water-usually from twenty-five to
fifty iathoms--as it is strictly a cold
water fish. Here it feeds upon worms
sand cells. shell fish, crustacca anG
other small fish of various kinds.
During this season. which may last
; from April until fail, the men live in
rough shanties along the coast in order
to be near their work, as the vocation
= occupies all their time. Since the fish
now dwell in too deep water for the
seine or handlneS To be used adVan-
tageously, they are caught by a pro-
cess known as crawling" which was
first introduced into this country about
1900 by the French.
\ trawl consists Of main line about
5000 feet in length, having shorte,
> ones, which are generally thhty-siS
p inches long. with a strong iron hook
tied TO each. attached TO the main
line from three to six feet apart. ~
| that every trawl has from 500 to GOT
5 hooks upon II, Each end of the main
% line has a small anchor attached To it
ANA two buOys, which may be nothing
| more than empty kegs, are also fas-
: tened, one at eithr end, by means oI
long ropes 1t is customary to put q
70 short pole in the head of each buoy
q To which II attached q flag bearinf
the initials of the owner or other trade
g mark by which he can tell his prop
t. crty at a short distance.
= CLANS Holsters, squid, herring ant
T. other small fish are used to bait tht
hooks with Each fish will bait fou
Il or five hooks. Squld is preferable t,
= al the others, but cannot always bc
. obtained. AS fast as the hooks ar'
II paited the trawl Is Coiled up in tul
made out OF a barrel that has beer
s sawed i'm halves. The main line Il
n wound against the sides of the tub
d and the bdited hooks fall toward tn
center TO bait a trawl usually take
# from one to two. or two and one hal
# hours but II is sometimes done dur
n ing the fishermens spare moments.
n When the men are ready to go on
o the trawl is put into the boat alon
With an extra keg of bait-to be use
a i'm case il Is necessary to rebait any q
: the hooks on the trawl lines alread
d set. A jug of water is customaril
y carried under the seat in the stern, an
+ few sceptical men surleptitiousl
conceal half dollar in their trouser'
, pocket as safeguard against shipwrec
n upon a desert island off the coast G
South county.
The system of trawlinG is somewha