The Fishing IndustryGibbs, William E. (William Edward)
History
The Fishing Industry
Gibbs, William E. (William Edward)
Fisheries; Fisheries -- Great Britain
Many pelagic fish, e.g. carp, trout, salmon, look for their food while
swimming through the well-lighted surface water.
Demersal fish—flat fish, cod, haddock, etc.—seek their food by scent
and touch. The cod possesses a barbel attached to its chin, by means of
which it feels for its food.
The Angler or Devil fish is a curious creature, from three to four
feet long, and appearing to consist almost entirely of head. It has a
large mouth, and teeth that are hinged so as to admit food, but prevent
it from escaping. The devil fish has a long feeler on the top of its
head, terminating in a tassel which, moved by the water, attracts the
attention of small fish and lures them to their fate. This tassel is
a sensory organ and, when it is touched by the small fish, the angler
fish snaps upwards with unerring aim at a point immediately in advance
of the tassel.
The dog fish seeks its food exclusively by scent. If its sense of smell
be destroyed, it ceases to feed spontaneously.
The sole also seeks its food by smell. It is quite unable to recognize
a worm by sight or touch, even when hung just above its head, but feels
aimlessly over the ground seeking it by smell.
=Reproduction.= Fish are male and female and, with few exceptions,
reproduce their kind by laying eggs. The number of eggs laid by an
individual female fish during a single spawning varies greatly,
according to the species. The average number of eggs spawned by a
single female fish in the course of one season, is—
Ling 18,500,000
Turbot 8,600,000
Cod 4,500,000
Flounder 1,000,000
Sole 570,000
Haddock 450,000
Plaice 300,000
Herring 32,000
Shark } {A few—not more
Dog fish} {than a dozen.
Skate }
[Illustration: FIG. 7
HERRING EGGS—×5]
[Illustration: FIG. 8
PLANKTON CONTAINING FISH EGGS—×3
The large egg is that of a plaice: the smaller ones are cod and whiting.
The copepod is a calanus.]
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