SEA PRODUCTS AND FURS

The world’s fish-catch amounts probably to more than one-quarter of a billion dollars in value and employs upward of a million people; in the United States 200,000 are employed. In some localities, such as the oceanic islands, far distant from the grazing lands of the continents, the flesh of fish is about the only fresh meat obtainable. Even on the continents fish is more available and cheaper than beef. The fish-producing areas pay no taxes; they require no cultivation; moreover, they do not require to be purchased. In general, fish supplements beef as an article of food; it is not a substitute for the latter.

The whale-catch excepted, fish are generally caught in the shallow waters of the continental coasts. The fish, in great schools, resort to such localities at certain seasons, and the seasons in which they school is the fisherman’s opportunity. For the greater part, such shallows and banks are spawning-places. Most of the fish, however, are caught off the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America, these localities being nearest to the great centres of population.

Whales.- The whale is sought mainly in cold waters, and at the present time the chief whaling-grounds are in the vicinity of Point Barrow. In the first half of the nineteenth century whale-fishing was an industry involving hundreds of vessels and a large aggregate capital. The industry centred about New England seaports.

The train-oil obtained from the blubber of the animal was used partly as a lubricant, but mainly for illuminating purposes. For this purpose, however, it has been superseded by coal-oil, gas, and electricity. It is still in demand as a lubricant, but the whale-oil of commerce is quite as apt to come from the blubber of the porpoise or the sea-cow as from the right whale. Whalebone is a horny substance taken from the animal’s jaw, and is worth from three dollars to eight dollars per pound. It is used chiefly in the manufacture of whips. For other purposes, steel, hard rubber, and celluloid have taken its place.

The substance called spermaceti is derived from the sperm-whale, an inhabitant of warm ocean-waters. Spermaceti is identical in its physical properties with paraffine, and the latter is now almost universally its substitute.

Ambergris, thought to be a morbid secretion or disease of the sperm-whale, is found in the body cavity of the animal and also in masses floating in the sea. It is used chiefly to give intensity to the odor of perfumes, and the best quality brings as much as five dollars per ounce. Most of the ambergris of commerce is obtained from the neighborhood of the Bahama Islands.

Cod.- In the amount of the product the cod-fisheries are the most important. The meat of the fish is not strong in flavor, and it is cured with little expense. So valuable is the annual catch that the banks and shallows which the schools frequent are governed by international treaties.

The cod is a cold-water fish, and the fishing-grounds are confined to rather high latitudes. The coast-waters of the Scandinavian peninsula and the shores of the Canadian coast, especially the Banks of Newfoundland, are the chief areas. The fishing-grounds of the Canadian coast are closed to foreign vessels inside a three-mile limit; beyond the limit they are occupied mainly by Canadian, French, and American fishermen. By the terms of treaties foreign vessels may enter the three-mile limit under restriction to purchase bait and food-supplies, and to cure their fish.

A large part of the cod-catch is exported. Tropical countries buy much of the product. In such countries it is more wholesome than meat; it is cheaper; moreover, the salted cod will keep for an indefinite length of time. A large part of the catch is sold to the Catholic states of Europe and America, where during certain times the eating of the flesh of animals is forbidden. Gloucester, Mass., London, England, and Trondhjem, Norway, are great markets for salted fish. The oil from the liver of the cod is much used in medicine.

Herring, Alewives, and Sardine.- The herring is a much smaller fish than the cod, and, commercially, is much less important. They school in about the same waters as the cod, but are caught at a different season, gill-nets being usually employed. Practically no distinction is made between full-grown herring and alewives of the same size. The fish are usually cured by smoking, pickling, or salting, and in this form are either exported or sold in interior markets.

The true sardine is found in latitudes a little farther south than the schooling-grounds of the cod. The most important fisheries are along the coasts of the Latin states of Europe. Sardine fishing is a great industry all along the New England coast of the United States, but the “sardines” marketed from this region are young herring. Indeed, nearly all sorts of small fry are sold in boxes bearing spurious French labels.

Salmon.- Most of the salmon are caught in the rivers flowing into the North Pacific Ocean. The fish are caught in traps and weirs at the time of the spring run, when they ascend the river to spawn. The rivers are frequently so congested with the salmon that thousands of tons are caught in a single stream during the run.

The salmon canneries of the Columbia River are very extensive establishments, but in the past few years they have been surpassed by the Alaskan fisheries, which produce not far from fifty million pounds each year. The dressed fish is cooked by steam, canned, and exported to all parts of the world. The growth and development of the industry has also made an enormous demand on the tin mines of the world. Canned salmon is the largest fish export of the United States. There are extensive salmon-fisheries in Norway, Japan, and Russia.

Other Fish.- Mackerel and haddock are caught near the shores of the North Atlantic. Most of the mackerel-catch is pickled in brine and sold in small kegs known as “kits.” The menhaden-catch of the North Atlantic is converted into fertilizer. The halibut is a large fish that is rarely preserved. The area in which it is caught is about the same as that of the cod. Shad are usually caught when ascending the rivers of the middle Atlantic coast. In the United States, Chesapeake, Delaware, and New York Bays yield the chief supply. The bluefish and barracuda are warm-water fish. The market for fresh fish has been greatly enlarged by the use of refrigerator-cars.

The sturgeon is captured mainly in the rivers and lakes of the temperate zone. Those of the Black Sea sometimes attain a weight of 2,000 pounds. The flesh is of less importance than the eggs, of which caviare is made. Russian caviare is sold all over Europe and America, and not a small part of the product is made in Maine. The caviare made from the roe of the Delaware River sturgeon is exported to Germany. The tunny is confined to Mediterranean waters.

The anchovy is caught on the coast of Europe; most of the product is preserved, or made into the well-known “anchovy sauce.” The bêche-de-mere, or “sea cucumber,” is a product of Australasian and Malaysian waters. Almost the whole catch is purchased by the Chinese, and it is exported to all countries having a Chinese population.

Oysters and Lobsters.- The oyster is among the foremost sea products of the United States in value. The oyster thrives best in moderately warm and sheltered waters. The coves and estuaries along the middle Atlantic coast produce the best in the world. Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound yield the greater part of the output. In the latter waters elaborate methods of propagation are carried out, and the yearly crop is increasing both in quality and quantity. The output of the Chesapeake beds has decreased materially; that of the Long Island Sound beds has increased.

Oysters are plentiful along the Pacific coast of the United States and also in European coast-waters, but they are inferior in size and quality. The use of refrigerator-cars and vessels has extended the trade to the extent that fresh oysters are shipped to points 2,000 miles inland; they are also exported to Europe. Baltimore is the chief oyster-market.

The consumption of the lobster has been so great that the catch of the New England coast has decreased about one-half in the past fifty years, and the United States is now an importer. Most of the import, amounting to about one million dollars yearly, comes from Canada. The so-called lobsters of the Pacific coast of the United States are not lobsters, but crayfish.

Fish Hatcheries.- The demand for fish has grown so great in past years that in many countries the waters, especially the lakes and rivers, are restocked. The eggs are hatched and the young fry are fed until they are large enough to take care of themselves. The chief hatchery and laboratory of the United States Fish Commission is at Woods Holl, Mass. As many as 860,000,000 eggs, small fry, and adult fish have been distributed in a single year. The State of New York has also a similar department for restocking its waters.

Sponge.- This substance is practically the skeleton of a low order of animal, growing at the bottom of the sea. The sponge is cut from the place of attachment, and the gelatinous matter is washed away after putrefaction. The chief sponge-fisheries are in the neighborhood of Florida and the Bahama Islands.

Seal.- The fur-seal is an amphibian, found only in cold waters. A few pelts are obtained along the Greenland coast, but the chief sealing-grounds of the world have been at the Pribilof Islands, in Bering Sea. The pelts of the young males only are taken. The rookeries of the Pribilof Islands have been so nearly exhausted, that the killing season has been suspended for a term of years. Much illicit seal-catching is still going on, however.

The skins are taken to London, via San Francisco, where the fur is dyed a rich brown color; London is the chief market for dyed pelts; San Francisco for raw pelts; and New York, Paris, and St. Petersburg for garments. The pelts of the sea-otter are obtained mainly in the North Pacific Ocean.

Other Furs.- The furs employed in the finest garments are in part the pelts of land animals living in polar regions. The sable, stone-marten, otter, beaver, and red fox are the most valuable. The Persian lamb, however, is not a polar animal. The Russian Empire and Canada are the chief sources of supply. The Hudson Bay Company, with head-quarters at Fort Garry, near Winnipeg, controls most of the fur-trade of North America; the Russian furs are marketed mainly at Lower Novgorod. Leipzig, Germany, is also an important fur-market.

Enormous quantities of rabbit-skins from Australia and nutria from Argentina are imported into the United States and Europe for the manufacture of the felt of which hats are made. The amount of this substance may be realized when one considers that not far from two hundred million people in the two countries wear felt hats.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

Note an instance in which the search for deep-sea fishing-grounds has resulted in the discovery of unknown lands.

Why are not whale products as essential now as a century ago?

What international complications have arisen between the United States and Great Britain concerning the cod-fisheries? the seal-catch?