The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-05-13


resistance when gilled, but because OF
their great weight aud bulk thoy nre
rather hard to get into n lont. When
once In, however. they seen, to lose all
heart, and can be rolled Hike logs. y
large roi1lale pra"cow' Is about all TINT
the two nen forming n boats crew are
able TO handle Tho nets are usually
worked once II day being hauled III at
slack water, and the fishermen como
back to camp on the ebb tide.
For some years bnck there has leen
All almost constant decline III tho NUM-
her OF sturgeon taken by the fishermen,
and one Of tho best evidences OF the
rnte of decline Ia given by tho rate at
which the average for each net Tor the
season has diminished. In 1890 TINS aver
age was GO; In 1891, It was %; ~ 1872 40;
in 1893. go; II, 1896, q; IN 1897, 20; IN 1878,
II; ana In 1890, It had fallen to FISH
per not fail OF nearly eighty-seven per
cent. III ten years
Tho sturgeon Is one OF tho andron,o,'s
fishes-thnt Isl 1t lives in tho sea or some
largo body Of water, and comes up into
the rivers to spawn, M does tho shau,
the salmon and others, and It Is during
this spawning season that 1t Is captured.
1t differs from the ordinary fishes, IN
having a skeleton composed OF carthage
instead Of bone. and its ski nbcnrs Il NUM-
} her Of rows OF hard plates or bones that
( fern an incomplete coat Of arlnor. There
are two species, corrt,only found on the At
lantic coast, knoxn to science ms the
Acipenser sturio or common sturgeon,
and the Acipenser brevirostrls, or short
noscd sturgeon, but only the former IS
of any commercial Importance. Tho conf
non sturgeon often nttalns q length or
ten feet or more, whio the Bhort-nosed
species rarely exceeds three feet and is
not Eilled in the largo meshed nets. a few
nre taken In the shore sclnes and they are
fairly common In other hnuls along tho
river
,rhe run Of sturgeon usually begins early
in April when the fish come up out OF
deep wator and seek brackisll or nearly
fresh water. to spawn. The run is al
rocted ia some extent by temperatures;
warm air and water increasing the num-
bers ana making the fishery more profit
a bio, while a cold spell will check or stop,
the migration. A very rainy season VIII
materially lessen the numbers that VIII
come UP from the sen, fact supposed 10
pe due to the costal waters being so
freshened that the schools remain near
the river mouths to discharge thoirJ spawn.
The spawning habits are not well known.
It Is supposed that the young are
Matched III fresh or brackish water, but
they must leavesit very quickly as the
sfry arc not found in the rivers. The young
sturgeon, or "lnammoses'' are destroyed
In great numbers by shad fishermen, be-
cause they get entangled in the shad
nets and do them serious damage ana
this practice has mucn to do with the
decline Of the sturgeon fishery. Ihere
Is a widespread belief among the Usher
men that the .'mammoses" are not the
young OF tho sturgeon, or at least OF
tho common sturgeon. because lt LOOKS
SO unlike the adult, but the same arsu-
ment would show that q tadpole is not
the young OF the frog. In many m
stances the short-nosed surgeons mas
been mistaken for the young OF the com
mon species. and; the .Twriter has had
many a hard dIscusslon with fishermen
to convince them that such was not the
case. The proper protection OF the
"lnammoses' Is the first step toward the
re-establishment Of the sturgeon fishery
The fishermen classify their catch as
fellows: Cow fish" females having
.'hard" or immature roe, such as Is used
i'll preparing caviar: runners or fe-
males having soft" roe. nearly ready
for spawning and unfit for caviar
"slunkers." or females that have already
deposited their spawn, and bucks"
which includes males OF all kinds The
last three classes are of value only for
the flesh and are not so much sought
as the COWS" which make up about
two-thrds OF the catch, while bucks"
will average about one-tcnth Of the whole.
The fishermen try to 1and the COW
fish" alive and as soon as the landing
stage or buchering float is reached, the
tail Is chopped off with an axe 80 that
the blood will run freely and the fish
die quickly. A. few minutes later the
opera tor makes four cuts In the abdomen
on either side of an imaginary line down
the center, to be used as hand holds
IN sklnning the fish. A long slit is then
made down the whole length Of tho alb
domen ana the skin thrown back, ex-
posing the roe. If this be In proper
condition, it is carefully taken out and
put into buckets. The skin Is then en-
tirely stripped on. and the backbone re-
moved, leaving the fish boneless. Tho
dressed meat is then packed In Ice and
shipped to Now York, but some car
cases are not skinned, but arc merely
tagged and shipped-generaly to Phila-
delphia. AS taken from the water, the
females will weigh about $50 pounds, and
the males will average about IS pounds;
but when dressed for shipment, the fe-
male carcasscs weigh about 100 pounds,
and the males about 50 pounds. A small
business Is done In oil and scrap from
refuse sturgeon but is insignificant.
The sounds or swim bladders of tho
Russian sturgeon supply8n large part
of the gelatno or islnglass Of COM
merce, but those or the American stur-
geon arc of too coarse texture TO be
used In this way In Russia tho spinal
cords arc prepared for food, but this Is
not done In America. except to limited
extent on the Columbia River There Is
n small demand for tanned sturgeon skins
ms an ornamtntal leather, but It Is hardly
sufficient to be considered an Industry.
The roe Is by far tho most valuable
product Of the sturgeon, MS 1t Is the part
from which caviar is made. TO prepare
It, the hard roe Is placed In large chunks
on stand. the top Of WHICH Is small
mcshcd sieve, Below this screen Is y