A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)

by David Starr Jordan

Fig. 197.—Golden Surmullet, Mullus auratus Jordan & Gilbert. Woods Hole, Mass.

Fig. 198.—Spanish Mackerel, Scomberomorus maculatus Mitchill. Family Scombridæ. Key West.

Side by side with these belongs the whitefish of the Great Lakes (Coregonus clupeiformis). Its flesh, delicate, slightly gelatinous, moderately oily, is extremely agreeable. Sir John Richardson records the fact that one can eat the flesh of this fish longer than any other without the feeling of cloying. The salmon cannot be placed in the front ranks because, however excellent, the stomach soon becomes tired of it. The Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus), with flesh at once rich and delicate, the great opah (Lampris luna), still richer and still more delicate, the bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) similar but a little coarser, the ulua (Carangus sem), the finest large food-fish of the South Seas, the dainty California poppy-fish, miscalled "Pampano" (Palometa simillima), and the kingfish firm and well-flavored (Scomberomorus cavalla), represent the best of the fishes allied to the mackerel.

Fig. 199.—Opah, or Moonfish, Lampris luna (Gmelin). Specimen in Honolulu market weighing 317½ lbs. (Photograph by E. L. Berndt.)—Page 323.

Fig. 200.—Bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix (L.). New York.