The Washington herald., 1908-08-19
JUST A YANKEE FISH.
A Domestic Near-SturEeOn That Fur
nfshes "ImPOrted- DeIicacies.

A Domestic Near-SturEeOn That Fur
nishes "ImPOrted- DeIicacies-
An American fish Of queer build and
many names has been supplying the do
nestle market with genuine Russian
caviar and dried sturgeon for the last
dozen years L a5ounds in the lakes and
rivers Of LOUISIANA. Mississippi. and Ar
kansas. and is variously termed bIl6sh.
blIdom. pad6le-fsh- spoon-billed cat. and
spoon-bilIed sturgeon The naturaIIsts call
it the Polyodon spatuIa- No living speci-
men has been exhibited IN an aquarium
The fish welsh up 70 40 pounds and
growsst0 SIX feet in length. yielding from
eight 10 sixteen pounds Of roe. OF caviar
\ fat. bony paddle extends from the up
per Jaw about one-third the length OF the
body and gives the fsh a ErotesqUe.
awkward look. especially when II leaps
/ sportively out OF the water and falls
I backward with a mighty splash The
fms and tail are sharklike. while the skin
Z Is devoid Of scales and has Shiny secre-
/ ton like the catfish The upper part Of
1 the body Is a slate color and The lower
I side is a CHINA white
It is a near relative Of the sturgeon.
Saws Al-1-El--S L4Le
( Magazine and both belong 10 the ganoid
/ group Of fishes. which existed Iong before
I modern fish developed The ganoids are
/ named from a hard enamel substance
! ganoin. found on the armor of many OF
! them Fishing for polydon IS a profitable
/ business. many thousands Of dollars often
/ being cleared in SIX months season a
{ fisherman at Lake Washington, AIissisSip-
/ p. uses two gasoline launches two large
/ seining barges. and a dozen rowbCats
I with which 20 handle his seires- each
! more than a mile in length. The lake Is a
Z river .-cut-cff.~ about twelve miles in
/ length. and connected with the 2Iississip-
Z pi by a chain Of small lakes and bayoUs
! seventy miles long
I The seine Is wound on huge reel built
/ on the seining barge. and the barEe is
/ rOwed in an oval course while the net IS
unwound into the water This puts a net
fence around the fish as they feed thirty
/ feet under water. The Uewinding OF The
| seine when the barge is anchored drives
[ them into a roundup box beneath The
1 surface 1t takes four hours 10 wind Up
/ the net. then the roundup box IS lifted
I and its lively contents dumped into the
boats As many as a hundred and fifty
/ barrels Of FISH have been taken AT a sin
gle haul in Lake Washington though ter
| barrels Is considered a fan. catch at the
present time. After the head and viscera
| have been renoved-there are practically
no bones in the sturgeon family - the
/ bodies are packed in barrels and shipped
/ to the Northern markets for sale as
/ smoked sturgeon" The flesh is said tC
! equal the genuine article in quality. Cav
iar IS prepared from the eggs Of the fe.
male fish. which are in two large masses
held together by membranes The masses
Of roe are strained through wire screens
Of small mesh, which let the eggs pas.
through into a tub. leaving the mem
branes behind The tUbfUl OF eggs Is
treated with salt and water. strained fol
twelve hours. and IS then packed in al
alright keg for shipment 10 market Th'
caviar brings the fisherman about - cents
| 4 pound.
| The study Of the polydon in his native
haunts shows that he feeds along the sof
and muciv lake bottoms. perhaps usins
his snout extension 20 sgitate t,e Igh
bottom material As 1t rises in the wate
the FISH. with his big mouth open. glide
! along. taking in the agitated substanc
| and srraining il with his gill needles
Some whales strain their food in a Ik
manner The principal food obtained +
this way by the polydon Is the tin
water feas.~ which belong to the era
, and lobster class. and are almost micro
scopic in size The fsh spawn in ruuuiu
streams and rivers. They are rapidly q
( u1inishing IN numbers owing 20 the releui
+. less pursuit Of commercial fishermen
Z one fisherman shipped from Mississippi
s one season $3.50 pounds Of fish and 5.9.
1 rounds Of caviar.