In the neighbourhood of Bruges and Ostend whitings are frequently salted; and conveyed for sale into the interior of France and Germany, where, in general, they are considered preferable to salted cod.
211. COAL-FISH, or PILTOCKS (Gadus carbonarius), are a kind of cod with three dorsal fins, no beard on the under jaw; the under jaw longer than the upper, the side line straight, and the mouth black within.
They are frequently two or three feet long, and twenty pounds and upwards in weight.
These fish are indebted, for their name, to the dark colour which their body generally assumes when they have attained their full growth. To the inhabitants of the Orkney Islands, and of the extreme northern parts of Scotland, they afford a most important supply of food, at a season of the year when the poor are deprived of almost every other means of subsistence. At the approach of winter, when the seas are stormy, myriads of these fish run into the bays; and they continue in the immediate neighbourhood of the same coasts till the months of February and March. They are nearly as important an object of pursuit on account of their livers as for their flesh. From these is obtained a considerable quantity of oil, which is used for burning in lamps, and for numerous other purposes. The young Coal-fish approach the Yorkshire coasts in the months of July and August, and, when four or five inches in length, they are much esteemed as food; but the older fish are so coarse and bad, that, where other food is to be obtained, few people will eat them. By being salted and dried, however, they are rendered firm and palatable.
Coal-fish are usually caught with lines. The best bait for them is a sprat or a limpet parboiled. The Shetlanders use the latter; and, seated on the rocks projecting over the water, or in boats, they are very expert in catching them. A man, holding a rod in each hand, will frequently draw them up as fast as he can put down his lines. He keeps a few limpets in his mouth, and baits his hook at a single motion with one hand, assisted by his lips, and with the greatest ease and certainty. The fish thus caught are generally those of the second year's growth, and are not much larger than herrings.
212. POLLACK (Gadus pollachius) is a fish belonging to the cod tribe, with three dorsal fins, no beard to the under jaw, the under jaw longer than the upper, the tail-fin forked, and the side line much curved.
The usual weight of the pollack is six or seven pounds, but it sometimes much exceeds this.
In the Baltic Sea and the Northern Ocean, particularly in those parts where the bottom is rocky, and the sea much agitated, these fish appear, at stated seasons, in great shoals, playing about on the surface in all directions and in the most sportive and agile manner. Near Lubec and Heligoland they are sometimes caught, in immense numbers, in nets, or with lines and hooks baited with a feather, a small fish, or a bit of the skin of an eel. They frequent some of the southern parts of our coasts in the summer, and the eastern shores of Yorkshire in winter.
As an article of food, pollacks are usually considered inferior to whiting, but, in some places, they are much esteemed. On the Continent they are sometimes salted, and eaten during Lent by the inferior classes of people.
213. LING (Gadus molva) are a species of cod which have two dorsal fins, a small beard on the under jaw, the under jaw longer than the upper, and the tail fin rounded.