Goldfish. See [page 256].
Haddock (Gadus æglefinus) is a fish of the same genus as the cod, and much resembling it in general appearance; but distinguished by a notched tail and a white line along the side. In habits the two are much alike, being voracious, eating anything edible, but largely clams and the like.
Halibut (Hippoglossus vulgaris), the largest of all the flat-fish and in form more elongated than the flounder or the turbot. The halibut, though esteemed for the table, is not to be compared in quality with the turbot; its flesh is white and firm, dry and of little flavor. It attains a great size; specimens have been caught weighing at least five hundred pounds, and one caught in Iceland was little short of twenty feet long.
Herring (Clupea harengus) belongs to the order of bony fishes and is spread over the whole North Atlantic. It is of great economic importance, and occurs in large schools, swimming through the sea with open mouths, scooping up the minute life for food. Immense numbers are taken both here and abroad, the annual catch for Europe and America being estimated at a billion and a half pounds. The young are also taken in vast quantities and are preserved as American sardines. With us most of the adults are smoked and dried.
Mackerel (Scomber), a genus of fishes which also includes the tunny, bonito, and sucking fishes. It is an important food fish occurring in the North Atlantic and characterized by its slender shape, the series of little finlets on the tail and the deeply notched caudal or tail fin. It is taken both by hooks and by seines. Some are eaten in the fresh condition and some are salted. It goes in large schools. Allied is the Spanish mackerel of our southern waters and the large horse mackerel which is more common in the Mediterranean, where it is called the tunny.
Perch (Perca).—Spiny-finned fishes, well represented by the Fresh-water Perch (P. fluviatilis), which is widely distributed in lakes, ponds, and rivers in Europe, Northern Asia, North America and Britain. It is of a greenish-brown color above and golden yellow on the under parts, with six or seven indistinct dark bands on the back. In length it measures about eighteen inches, and its height is about a third of this. It sometimes weighs from three to five pounds, and a prize of nine pounds has been recorded.
Porgy.—A food fish on the eastern coast from Cape Cod south, known also as scup. It should not be confounded with the pogy or [227] menhaden, one of the herrings, which is taken extensively for oil.
Pollack (Gadus pollachius), a fish, belonging to the cod genus. It is about the size of the coal-fish, is active in habit, and is frequently caught. The lower jaw projects beyond the upper, and there is no barbel. It has commercial value in the English Channel and off the coasts of Newfoundland. Allied species, which promise a valuable future, abound from Puget Sound to Alaska on the Pacific coast.
Salmon (Salmo), a genus of well-known fish which inhabits both salt and fresh waters, and ranks among the food-fishes. It generally attains a length of from three to four feet, and an average weight of from twelve to thirty pounds, but these limits are frequently exceeded. The adult fish is a steel-blue on the back and head, becoming lighter on the sides and belly.
It usually continues in the shallows of its native stream for two years after hatching, and during this period it attains a length of eight inches. When the season of its migration arrives, the fins have become darker and the fish has assumed a silvery hue. It is now known as a smolt or salmon fry. The smolts now congregate into shoals and proceed seaward. On reaching the estuary they remain in its brakish water for a short time and then make for the open sea. Leaving its native river as a fish weighing, it may be, not more than two ounces, the smolt, after three months’ absence, may return to fresh water as a grilse, weighing four or five pounds. In the grilse stage, the fish is capable of depositing eggs. After spawning in the fresh water the grilse again seeks the sea in the autumn, and when its second stay in the ocean is over it returns after a few months’ absence as the adult salmon, weighing from eight to ten pounds. The salmon returns as a rule to the river in which it passed its earlier existence. The fertility of the fish is enormous.