The Fishing IndustryGibbs, William E. (William Edward)
History
The Fishing Industry
Gibbs, William E. (William Edward)
Fisheries; Fisheries -- Great Britain
Of these different groups or species, the marine fishes are
industrially by far the most important, for at least two-thirds of
all the fish in the world live in the sea, and the capture of these
sea-fish in enormous quantities constitutes the fishing industry, with
which we are concerned.
The different species of marine fishes can be divided into three
well-marked groups, according to their habits and habitats.
[Illustration: FIG. 2
COD (_Gadus morrhua_)
Length up to 5 ft.; usually caught at about 3 ft.
_Food._—Small crustaceans, molluscs, and young fish.
_Range._—North of Norway and Iceland to the Bay of Biscay, and
from Greenland to New York.]
(1) There are the true deep-sea fishes that live at the bottom of
the sea, for example cod, haddock, plaice, sole. These are called
“demersal” fish. Fish, like birds, inhabit a medium that is
continuous throughout the world. A glance at the map of the world will
show that the three great oceans—Atlantic, Indian and Pacific—are
united in the southern hemisphere. In Tertiary times, it is practically
certain that the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans were also united
at Darien, and that the Mediterranean was united with the Red Sea.
Apart, therefore, from differences in local conditions, for example
of temperature and food supply, there is practically no obstacle to
the world-wide distribution of any particular species of fish. At
the bottom of the sea, the temperature, the food supply, and the
general conditions of life are singularly uniform all over the world,
consequently there are no barriers at all to the dispersion of demersal
fish, and we find various species widely distributed in all seas.
Demersal fish, on the whole, are more primitive in type than those that
live nearer the surface. They have well-developed senses of touch and
smell by means of which they hunt for their food. They differ markedly
in structure and shape from surface or shallow-water fish, their bodies
being designed to resist the greater pressure of deep water. The
body is generally lean and is enclosed by a wall of muscular fibre.
Shallow-water fish, if introduced into deep water, would be crushed
inward by the pressure. Similarly, the deep-living, demersal fish are
unable to accommodate themselves to shallow water and, if placed in it,
soon become unhealthy. A cod floats helplessly on its side when placed
in shallow water, owing to the dilatation of its swimming bladder. If
the bladder is pricked it collapses, and the fish is able to regain an
upright position. This is done when cod and other similar demersal fish
are kept alive in sea-water tanks on board ship, to be delivered to
the markets alive. In Denmark, fish are delivered alive to the shops.
When fishes from great depths are brought to the surface, their bodies
break into pieces owing to the reduced external pressure, the scales
start from their skin and the eyes from their sockets.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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