William E. Gibbs

“ The art of fishing is one of the oldest in the world, yet even to this day the fisherman is simply a hunter, gathering where he has not sown, and differing little, save in mechanical efficiency, from his primitive ancestor fishing with spear and trap. ”

“ The superior power and equipment of the big steam trawlers and drifters, properly utilized and encouraged, should be one of the most valuable industrial assets of the State. We are not a great food-producing nation; on the contrary, in the years before the war, we actually imported more than 40 per cent of our total food requirements. We are surrounded by seas that teem with every form of edible fish. British enterprise has built up a fishing industry which is the greatest and most efficient in the world. ”

“ The fish, both male and female, are closely crowded together on the spawning grounds, so that the fertilization of the eggs is fairly complete. With few exceptions, the eggs of most species are buoyant and float to the surface, where they drift in the warm surface water until, happily, they hatch. Unhappily, however, a very large proportion of them never reach maturity, for, either as eggs, embryos or larvae, or post larval young fishes, they soon fall a prey to marauding fish. ”

“ The original food value of a fish is generally diminished by the cooking process. The fish may be boiled or broiled for direct consumption, or it may be steam cooked in cans and sealed up for future consumption, as in the canning industry. When oily fishes, such as herrings, are cooked, the oil globules burst and some of the oil is lost, and the food value of the fish becomes correspondingly less. When salted fish is soaked in fresh water before being cooked, some of the gelatin and other coagulable proteins are extracted from the flesh. ”

“ Just as man and all land animals depend ultimately for their food supply upon grass and other green-leaved plants which, under the influence of sunlight, are able to transform the inorganic constituents of the atmosphere and the soil into organic foodstuffs—albumen, fat, carbohydrates—so the minute unicellular marine plants of the plankton are able, under the influence of sunlight, to convert the inorganic constituents of their environment into fat, albumen and carbohydrate. Upon these minute organisms, therefore, directly or indirectly, all marine life depends. ”

“ Unlike the trawl net, the drift net generally catches one kind of fish only—either herring or mackerel—drift net fishing being carried on at a time when these fish come together in shoals near the surface for the purpose of spawning. The trawl obviously only captures fish living at the bottom. At the same time, of course, it captures all the fish at the bottom, whether immature, or useless star fish, etc. The drift net, on the other hand, is generally used for a particular kind of fish—herring, mackerel, sprat—and only catches fish above a certain size.
A drifter may be as much as 90 ft. ”

“ A long strip of netting was attached to upright stakes, to form an enclosure with an opening towards the sea, constructed like a fishing weir in such a way that the fish enter the enclosure at high tide and are unable to escape. ”

“ Many fishes, particularly in tropical waters, are remarkable for their bright and gorgeous colouring. It is impossible to preserve these colours in their natural brightness after the fish have been taken from the water, but amongst the brightly coloured corals, and anemones and seaweeds, in the crystal clear water of their natural environment, they flit like gorgeous tropical birds in a tropical forest. ”

“ The numerous varieties of planktonic life can thus be divided into two groups: those minute animal and vegetable organisms that pass the whole of their existence at the surface of the sea—the true constituents of plankton all the year round—and the eggs and larvae of many species of fish that are found among the plankton only at certain times of the year—notably in spring and summer. ”

“ Demersal fish, as they complete the larval stage of their development and descend into deeper water, have to rely for their food either upon the various species of young shellfish and crustacea that drop from the surface water as they develop, or hunt for their food amongst the small fish, mollusca, crustacea, worms and seaweeds of the sea-bottom. Plaice feed chiefly upon cockles and other mollusca, which in their turn feed upon diatoms. The cod is almost omnivorous, greedily devouring small fish, crustacea, worms or mollusca; its favourite food, however, is shrimps and prawns. ”

“ The lobster fishery is entirely confined to the shallow water near the shore, and can only be replenished and maintained by the young lobsters that hatch out in that neighbourhood. Large quantities of lobster spawn are destroyed every year when berried lobsters are caught. It is estimated that, on an average, 30 per cent of the lobsters caught are berried females. The fishermen either remove the spawn and throw it back into the sea—where, of course, it almost certainly becomes fish food—or sell it to be used in making certain special sauces. ”

“ To-day the preparation of fish, dried fruits, desiccated vegetables, etc., is a world-wide industry.
Generally speaking, decay organisms can only develop in a moist environment. All fresh foodstuffs contain a large proportion of water. The removal of this water effectively checks decay. Drying alone, however, does not always produce a permanent “cure,” as the foodstuff is always liable to get moist again. For that reason it is customary to combine the drying process with treatment with an antiseptic substance such as salt. ”

“ Most small fish in ponds and streams reflect their surroundings so well, and are coloured and marked in such a way, that they are almost invisible to the large fish, for example pike, that prey upon them. Generally, they reveal their presence by the flash of light reflected from above by their scales, as they turn suddenly to snap at a morsel of food. In the same way, many predatory fish, e.g. the angler fish, resemble their surroundings so closely that the fish for which they are lying in wait swim within easy reach of them without perceiving their danger. ”

“ Certain kinds of shellfish, for example oysters, mussels, cockles, live in the sand or attached to the stones or seaweed on the seashore, generally between high and low watermarks. They obtain their food from the water as it streams over their gills. They require adequate room for growth and development, and constant irrigation by water containing sufficient floating food. When mussel beds or oyster beds become overcrowded, the fish are ill-nourished, their health is impaired and their growth is arrested. ”

“ A flap of netting suspended some distance inside the mouth of the net serves as a valve. It is easily lifted by the incoming fish, but tends to prevent their escape.
The netting is of hemp, the mesh gradually increasing from one inch at the cod end to about two inches near the mouth, and is preserved with tar.
When fishing, the vessel moves ahead at a steady, slow rate of from two to three miles per hour, dragging the trawl behind it. Smacks always trawl with the tide. If they trawl against the tide, the net is lifted from the ground. ”

“ The net is essentially a circular disc of netting, to the circumference of which small weights are attached at regular intervals. A cord is attached to the centre of the net, and the fisherman, standing knee-deep in the water, grasps the net by its centre, swinging it round his head, and casts it so that as it approaches the water it opens out, and with a soft splash sinks through the water until it lies outstretched over the fish. ”

“ On the fishing grounds, both mature and immature fish are mingled together, and in capturing the one it is practically impossible to avoid netting the other. To some extent the capture of immature fish is avoided by making the mesh of the net of such a size that the smaller fish can escape. With drift nets only mature fish are caught, the small ones escaping; but with trawl nets it is otherwise. The trawl net is essentially a large string bag that is drawn open-mouthed along the sea bottom, scooping up wholesale all bottom-living fish, such as cod, haddock, sole and plaice. ”

“ Gradually he acquired a knowledge of the conditions of temperature, moisture, and quality of soil that favoured the growth of his plants. Finally, he discovered the principle of the rotation of crops, and, by this, not only increased the productivity of his land but also laid the foundations of a systematic agriculture. Of recent years agriculture has been rapidly developing into a science. ”

“ Very little spawning takes place during late winter and spring, i.e. just after minimum sea temperature. Each local race (or species) appears to spawn at a constant time of the year. The date of the annual spawning, and hence the herring fishing season, varies from point to point round the coast. Herrings caught at different places show well-marked differences in appearance and quality, which are evidently due to differences in species and feeding ground. The food value of the herring will depend also upon the time of the year at which spawning occurs. ”

“ Shrimps are caught with a fine-meshed trawl net, drawn by a boat or by horse and cart, or with push nets or hose nets. One great objection to shrimping is that the shallow, sandy areas on which it takes place are much frequented by young fish—particularly dabs, plaice, soles, whiting and codling. Owing to the small mesh of the shrimp trawl, these small fish are captured in large numbers and are generally dead or dying when discharged from the net. ”

“ PREFACE In this little book I have tried to describe concisely, yet clearly and comprehensively, the great work of our sea fisheries. It is notoriously difficult to write a small book on a large subject, and I expect there are many who will detect sins of omission. ”

“ Amongst pelagic fish are included some of the smallest (plankton) as well as some of the largest (whales) of all living creatures. Pelagic fish pass their whole life swimming at or near the surface. They enter the shallow water offshore only for prey or, in some cases, periodically to spawn. The majority spawn in the open sea, far from land. Unlike demersal fishes, the distribution of the different species of pelagic fishes depends very much upon local conditions of light, water temperature, and the character and quantity of food available. ”

“ In summer the adipose tissue forms two distinct layers, one situated just below the skin, the other being parallel to the first, but separated from it by a layer of muscular tissue. In winter the oil content becomes so small that these layers of adipose tissue disappear. A comparatively small amount of oil is contained in the liver of the fish.
In gadoid fishes, e.g. cod, as well as in skates and rays, the oil is almost entirely confined to the liver. During the summer the liver grows larger and richer in oil, until sometimes the oil amounts to more than half the total weight of the liver. ”