Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-06-29
Fashions in Fish
BY Frederic J. Haskin

HkNa
Washington, y. c., June 27.-The re-
cent rumor that sharks are being sold
in the New York fish markets under
the name OF sword ash has created a
great deal of alarm among fish eaters.
or course there Is no particular rea-
son why people should not eat sharks,
since the meat Is as food as that or
other fish and therefore is never rec
ognized when served under a different
name on the menu. Besides, the shark
has always shown polite desire to
eat us, which deserves the reward OF
like appreciation. But In the matter
of food we Americans are conserva,
tive people we have certain precon'
ceived ideas about our diet which re-
mains practically the same In spite OF
the ceaseless endeavors on the part OF
scientists to introduce curious foreign
vegetables, new teas and species OF
marine fish into the market. ~ AKA
One radical innovation was success
fully instituted after many years OF
persuasion by the bureaus Of fisherfes,
and this was the adoption OF the Amer
lean tile fish as permanent addition
to. the fish menu. From this first ex-
perience the bureau has learned to be
cautious, and now should 1t recon-
mend the marketing of sharks and dog
fish to fishermen 1t would recommend
also the wisdom of irreproachable
names. 1t is to be noted, however,
| that our foreign population 10 mot 80
fastidious To them the rumors that
meat Is getting scarce have long ap-
peared as facts and dog fish and cat
! fish are considered very desirable sub
stitutes. &E
| Not only does the popularity Of a
certain species Of fish depend upon
the custom Of the country--according
; to what our ancestors ate-but It var
les with different sections of the coun-
try. The founder, for example, Is
highly priced in some fish markets and
absolutely rejected by others; and the
same Is true Of the cat fish. Moreover
on the Atlantic coast no fish is valued
quite so highly as the shad. After
some trouble the bureau of fisheries
succeeded in introducing the shad in
to the waters of the Pacific coast and
then people would not eat 1t because
| 1t had too many bones. Now this fish
is becoming extremely scarce on the
| Atlantic coast, the Hudson, the Con-
necticut and the Merrimac rivers,
! which were formerly prolific sources,
yielding none whatever, and the Della
ware and the Potomac showing great
reductions Already great quantities
are being received annually by way
of refrigerator cars from the Pacific
coast, and it is estimated by experts
that 1t will not be many years before
this will be the entire source Of the
supply.
| Halibut Is another fsh which has
been almost completely wiped out on
the Atlantic coast yet 1t Is In great
demand because Of it's long established
popularity The main supply of hall
but now comes from British Columbia
and Alaska, and also from Washing
ton and Oregon where large numbers
have recently been discovered. Yet
every year hundreds Of edible fish
known as sa robins are recoverr' In
the hauls Of the Atlantic coast fisher
men and thrown back or destroyed be-
cause unfortunately 1t Is not the Gus
tom to eat them. On the Pacific coast
the same thing is done with the so
called black cod, which Is not cod at
all. great numbers being thrown away
annually for the reason that there Is
no market for them. The bureau OF
fisheries eventually hopes to do with
the black cod what 1t has done with
the tile fish which has reached con-
sumption of three hundred tons a
month in New York alone.
There is also another fish that might
be used more extensively IN the
American markets with very good re-
suits This is rose colored fish known
as the red cod on the Pacific coast
and the red perch and rose fish on the
Atlantic coast, both coasts Astounding
in them. In other words the United
States possesses a big supply Of un
usual marine fishes that would offer
means of escape from the high price
of beef II people would only eat them
In Europe, on the contrary, there is
much more economy in fish as In ev'
erything else. If the people refuse to
eat certain variety of fish fresh, 1t Is