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however, it has been superseded by coal-oil, gas, and electricity.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
_beche-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?
[Illustration: NORTH AMERICA]