New-York tribune., 1908-07-26
CATCHING YOUR CAVIAR
Il Domestic Near-Sturgeon That
Furnishes Imported" DeEcacies.

An American fish of queer build and many names
has been supplying the domestic market with
genuine Russian caviar and dried sturgeon
for the last dozen years. 1t abounds in the lakes
and rivers of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas
and is variously termed billish, billdom. paddle
fish. spoon-b billed cat and spoon-bed sturgeon.
The naturasts cali 1t the Polyolon spatula No
living specimen has been exhibited in aquarium.
The fish weighs up 140 pounds and grows to six
feet In length yielding from eight to sixteen
pounds of roe caviar. fiat. bony paddle ex-
tends from the upper jaw about third the
length of the body and gives the fish grOtesque.
awkward look. especially when it leaps sportivsly
out of the water and falls backward with mighty
splash. The fins and tail are sh4;klKe. while the
skin Is devoid OF scales and has Shiny
tion like the catfish. The upper part of the body
IS slate color and the lower side is china white.
It Is a relative of the sturgeon. says Charles
r. Stockard in THE century NJ tgaZine. aui both
belong to the ganod group of fishes. which existed
long before modern fish developed. The ganoids
are named from a hard enamel substance ganoin,
found on the armor of many of them Fishing for
poyodon is a profitable business, many thousands
of dollars often being cleared in six months sea-
son. fisherman at Lake Washington Mississippi.
uses two gasolene launches, two large seining
barges and a dozen rowboats with which to handle
his seines. each more than a mile in length The
lake is q river cutoff" about twelve miles in
length, and connected with the Mississippi by a
chain small lakes and bayous seventy miles long.
seining barge and the barge is rowed in an oval
course while the net is unWound into the water
This puts net fence around the fish as they feed
thirty feet under The rewindng OF the
seine when the barge is anchored drives them into
a roundup box beneath the surface 1t takes four
hours to wind up the net, then the roundup bcx
IS lifted and its lively contents dumped into the
boats. AS many hundred and fifty barrels of
fish have been taken at single haul in Lake
Washington. though ten barrels is considered a
fair catch at the present time After the head and
viscera have been removed-there practically
bones in the sturgeon family-the bodies are
packed in barrels and shipped to the Northern
markets for sale smoked sturgeon. The flesh
is said TO equal the genuine article In quality
Caviar is prepared from the eggs OF the female
fish. which in two large masses. held together
by membranes. The masses OF roe are strained
through wire screens of small mesh. which let the
eggs pass through into a tub, leaving the mem
branes behind. The tubful of eggs is treated with
then packed in an alright keg for shipment to
market The caviar brings the fisherman about 70
cents pound.
The study of the polyodon In his native haunts
shows that he feeds along the soft and mucky
lake bottoms. perhaps using his snout extension to
agitate the light bottom material. As 1t rises In
the water the fish, with his big mouth open. glldes
along taking in the agitated substance and strain
ing It with his gill needles. Some whales strain
their food In a like The principal food
obtained in this way by the polyodon is the tiny
water heas" which belong the crab and
lobster class. and are almost microscopic in size.
The fish spawn in running streams and rivers
They rapidly diminishing In numbers owing to
the relentless pursuit of commercial fishermen. One
fisherman shipped from Mississippi in season
ss500 pounds Of fish and s,s+o pounds Of caviar.