—The rock bass is a very common fish particularly abundant in the fresh waters of the northern central portions of the United States. It is the fish which the American boy, living near small streams, most delights to catch. The size of the rock bass varies largely according to the magnitude of the body of water in which it lives. The average weight of the fish in streams of ordinary size is probably about a pound, though often it is considerably more. The rock bass has been propagated to some extent by the Bureau of Fisheries and has been introduced into waters where it formerly did not occur.
Salmon.
—The salmon is one of the most important food fishes of the United States. It belongs to the genus Oncorhynchus. The five species of this genus are, in America, confined to our Pacific coast. Of these species the one known as blueback or sockeye is found most abundantly in the Fraser and Columbia rivers and in Alaska, the silver salmon in Puget Sound, the chinook salmon in the Columbia, and the dog salmon along the coast from California to Bering Sea. The salmon begin running early in the spring and the early run is considered of greater value than the later. The habits of the salmon in the deep waters of the ocean are not very well known. It is only when they come into fresh water for spawning purposes that their life history can be well studied. It is believed, however, that they do not go very far from the shore. The run of salmon on the Pacific coast usually begins about the latter part of March and lasts through the spring and greater part of the summer. On account of the great abundance of these fish on the Pacific coast and the distance from large markets the canning industry has developed with great rapidity. In fact on the Pacific coast the product of salmon fishing is devoted almost exclusively to canning purposes. In the canning of salmon no particular care is taken, and perhaps none at all to designate upon the can whether its contents are of the early salmon or the later, less valuable run. It is claimed by many authorities that the salmon of the Pacific coast of America, taken all together in their relation to the economic problem of fish food, are the most important and valuable fish in the world.
Composition of a Pacific Coast Species.—
| Fresh. | Dry. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water, | 63.61 | percent | ||
| Protein, | 17.46 | „ | 52.31 | percent |
| Fat, | 17.87 | „ | 49.05 | „ |
| Ash, | 1.06 | „ | 2.92 | „ |
Composition of Atlantic Salmon.—
| Fresh. | Dry. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water, | 63.61 | percent | ||
| Protein, | 21.60 | „ | 61.45 | percent |
| Fat, | 13.38 | „ | 36.88 | „ |
| Ash, | 1.41 | „ | 3.81 | „ |
The above data show that the Pacific salmon are richer in fat than the Atlantic salmon. In fact in the edible portion of the fish the fat is almost as great as the protein.
Another species of Pacific salmon is the humpback salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), which appears in great abundance in the rivers of Alaska, but not every year,—usually coming in larger quantities in alternating years. As a fish to be eaten fresh, this is one of the very best of the salmons. Owing to the pale color of the flesh, this species does not hold as high a rank for canning purposes. It cans well, however, and the product is very palatable and doubtless very nutritious. The trade-name of the canned product is “pink salmon,” as its flesh is of a paler color than that of the chinook salmon or red salmon. Another species is known as dog salmon. It is found in considerable abundance from California northward to Bering Strait, spawning usually late in the fall. It is considered as the least valuable for food purposes, although it is now coming to be used very extensively by freezing, in which form it finds a ready market both in this country and abroad. When canned it is put on the market as “chum.” Its chief interest at the present time is on account of the fact that it is sometimes sold under the names of better species.