El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-09-24
Sturgeon are Disappearing
Fish, Which Once Was the Most
Plentiful in American Waters,
Is Now Almost Extinct.
~ frederic J. Haskin--

| w The united states 1lSh commits
w sion is much disturbed over the
enormous decrease in the sturgeon
| products of this country. From being
i one of the most plentiful varieties of
| fish, sturgeon has become the least
numerous, and its total extinction
! seems threatened. Various experiments
/ with sturgeon culture have been IN
| dertaken in different parts of the
| country under the auspices of the ma
| uonal or state fish commissions or by
/ private parties. None of them as yet
! has given hopeful results.
Delaware River Depleted.
Some idea of the decrease of the
sturgeon can be bad from the records
most important sturgeon grounds of
this country. In 1890 the catch there
amounted TO 5,O32,175 pounds, valued
at $119,610. By 1900 it had so dimin-
ished that the reports give a catch OF
only 50 1867 pounds, valued at less
than 100000. Since then the decrease
, has been so great that no sturgeon
worthy of record are to be found in
the Delaware river. The entire stur-
geon industry in that locality has been
abandoned, excepting for the efforts
OF sturgeon culture now in progress
The decrease has been almost as
great in other parts of the country.
! Originally sturgeon was widely dis
tributed, being found along the Allan
tic coast, in the inland rivers and lakes.
and practically in every state except
those on the gulf of Mexico. It is now
scarce in every place. Last year the
IlSh commission established an expert
mental field for the purpose of find
ing out whether Matching sturgeon in
the Lake of the Woods or its tribu-
tartes would be feasible About a mil
lion and a half eggs were installed
near the mouth of the Rainy river. A
pound was prepared in connection with
the hatchery. Seven large surgeons
caught in nets were retained in this
pound for some time, during which
they were carefully examined No tan
glble results were obtained, however.
The Investigations are now being ex-
tended into Canadian waters with the
ment
For number of years consideration
mas Deen given to importing sturgeon
from Europe for the purpose of breed
ing an additional supply in this cOun-
try Horace d. Knowles of Whining
ton. Del, recently United States minister
to Bolivia, has for years been interest
ed IN the restoration of sturgeon
to American waters. He represented
this government in ROumania several
years before In 1909 he returned
with an offer from the Roumanian
government to present to the United
states all the sturgeon eggs and fry
needed 10 restock the streams OF this
country All that was necessary was
Tor the United States to transport
them TO this country and see that they
to secretary Knox, but no steps were
taken toward an immediate acceptance
of it
Eggs Fail to Hatch.
For number of years indications
have pointed to the fact that the de-
crease in American sturgeon is at least
partially because the eggs do not
hatch- This fact is not explained, but
IS the subject of close study in several
experiment stations.
It was during the SOS that the stur-
geon industry reached its greatest
height along the Delaware river. At
tnaI time sturgeon were not appreci-
ated as food, SO the fishermen slaugh-
tered them because they DESTROYED the
light nets used for catching shad and
other fish, Then came the demand for
caviar, which is made from sturgeon
pound, so that the fishermen hunted
sturgeon the year around There
was no law TO protect the fish and
this greed of fishermen led to q de-
crease The caviar productions in this
country reached S7,OOO,OOO in 1888 1t
dropped to SS,000,00O in the early SOS
and Is now hardly worth cOnsidera-
Ion- caviar has always been the most
costly food product sold in the United
states A single sturgeon has been
known TO yield as much as $40 worth /
OF eggs IN addition to the value of the |
The process Of making caviar is sim
pie and requires little machinery. The /
eggs taken from the fresh fish are
all the membrane. A recipe recorded |
IN the United States patent office in 1
1901 Tor making caviar directed that !
the eggs should be packed in salt IN !
til they rise in the brine. They are /
then spread out in sheets an inch thick 4
70 dry Afterwards these sheets are /
oroken up finely and mixed with oil /
taken from the liver of the male Stur- 1
geon- This oil restores the flavor /
taken out in the brine
Fresh caviar is sold but little in
high favor in Russia. 1t consists of
sturgeon eggs mixed with salt and
served within two or three hours after
they have been taken from the fish. I
tresh caviar is so popular in Russia
that live surgeons are transported TO Z
Moscow in order that the eggs may be
taken Just before they are to be eaten. |
MOST or the caviar now eaten in this !
country is imported from Russia. al
though epicures claim that the Ameri- |
can product is vastly superior. Recent
consular reports state that the caviar
manufacturers in Europe are much /
exercised over the pure food laws which
nave lately gone into effect in this
country. These laws forbid the use
of boracic acid, a preServative much I
used in preparing caviar for export |
The methods of making Russian cav I
lar are most unsanitary, especially in
the smaller towns. The caviar put I'D
In the Unitde States in clean well op-
Grated factories would be considered
much mc-~ desirable by anyone wit
Messing the process in the two coun-
Once King of Food Fish.
Sturgeon used to be regarded as the
king of food fish. A fisherman who |
took sturgeon from the Thames river
was required by law to send it imme-
diately to the royal household The !
wealth of sturgeon found in the Ameri-
can colonies was at one time the pride
of England and sturgeon meat formed
one. OF the. principal exports of the
early colonists- In 1850 the English
court granted to Thomas Rogers of
a license ito make
meat provided that he shall /
present to the court a bowl of good
sturgeon every Michaelmas court"
The sturgeon which Rogers was Ii
cenSed 10 make" was in all probability /
a picked product, because picked stur-
England dish.
Most OF the sturgeon sold in the
United states is smoked, although a !
certain amount, especially from the I
north Pacific coast, is preserved in !
,old storage. Smoked sturgeon is in /
sreatest demand among the German !
-esldents OF large cities. The business
)I SMOKING sturgeon was begun in I
-ool IN New York. For years a million /
POUNDS or more of smoked sturgeon
we're produced annually in this cOun-
~. sturgeon smoking along the I