Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/237

 FISHERIES 229 stinence. They are mostly taken first to Malta. The chief fishery is at the Kerkena islands. Portugal competes with Tunis for the posses- sion of the Greek market. The lakes near the city of Tunis, especially Bizerta, containing various species, the most important of which are the gray mullet and the bream, supply the home market with fresh fish. The roes of the mullet, prepared as buttarga, and exported prin- cipally to Italy, are the chief source of revenue. The Norwegian fisheries, extending along the entire W. and N. coasts of that country, including the adjacent islands, are the most productive in Europe. During the months of January, February, and March, the cod and herring visit in immense numbers the fiords which indent these shores. There is also a summer fishery for herring, when the best quality of fish is taken. The average annual product of herring is 1,000,000 barrels. The rivers abound in salmon, and large numbers of lobsters are sent to the London market. The exports of salmon and other fresh fish in 1871 amounted to about 76,000 cwt., of which 2,000 cwt. were salmon, and 70,000 cwt. mackerel. In that year 24 vessels, with a tonnage of 1,032 and 248 men, were fitted out for the walrus or sea-horse fishery at Nova Zembla and Spitzbergen, which brought in a catch valued at about $27,000 ; the shark fish- ery employed 28 vessels, with a tonnage of 895 and 173 men, and the product was of about the same value. In 1860, 276 vessels, 2,632 boats, and 13,786 men were engaged in the herring fishery, and 5,675 boats and 24,- 266 men in the cod fishery. In 1868 the ex- ports of fishery products amounted to about $8,000,000 ; in 1869, $9,600,000 ; in 1870, $10,900,000, of which over $6,000,000 were the value of cod-fishery products, and over $4,500,000 of the herring fishery. The actual gain to the fishermen employed in 1868 was $4,760,000 ; in 1869, $4,600,000 ; in 1870, $4,- 930,000; in 1871, $5,530,000, of which $3,420,- 000 represent the cod fishery, $1,840,000 the herring fishery, and $270,000 the other fish- eries. The chief markets are Spain, Prussia, Sweden, Russia, and Holland, which receives the greater part of the cod-liver oil. In Den- mark, fishing is pursued to a considerable ex- tent along the coasts. The cod is the principal fish, though flounders and herrings are also taken, and in smaller quantities salmon, por- poises, and oysters. In 1865, 337 vessels, with a tonnage of 5,330 and about 4,000 men, were employed. The principal fisheries, however, are at the dependencies of Greenland, the Faroe islands, and Iceland. Whale and seal oil is the chief item at Greenland, and codfish at the other points. Iceland in 1853 em- ployed in the fisheries 25 decked boats and 3,481 open boats, with about 7,000 men ; in 1870, 63 large decked boats and 3,092 open boats, with from 2 to 12 oars each. The large boats are employed generally in the shark fish- ery, which is carried on mostly on the N. side of the island ; the smaller boats in the cod and herring fishery, though the latter is little pur- sued. Salmon are found in the rivers near Reykiavik and at the north of the island, and small quantities are exported. The exports of fishery products in 1864 were 64,352 quintals of fish and 8,962 barrels of roe and oil; in 1865, 29,307 quintals and 9,972 barrels ; in 1866, 39,350 quintals and 9,722 barrels ; in 1867, 83,619 quintals and 15,045 barrels; in 1868, 41,824 quintals and 9,335 barrels; in 1869, 56,865 quintals and 8,721 barrels. The exports of an average year are 50,789 quintals of salt fish, 2,136 of dried fish, 1,188 barrels of salt roe, and 9,105 of liver oil (chiefly shark), valued at $290,108. The total imports into Denmark in 1870 were : salt herrings, 11,829,- 126 Ibs. ; other fish, 3,427,128 Ibs. ; in 1871, herrings, 19,104,738 Ibs. ; other fish, 5,494,110 Ibs. The exports in 1870 were: fresh fish, 2,090,709 Ibs. ; herrings, &c., salted, 5,928,580 Ibs. ; in 1871, fresh fish, 2,188,165 Ibs. ; her- rings, &c., 13,553,236 Ibs. Among other Euro- pean nations, the Dutch for several centuries took the lead in the fisheries, and the herring fishery was long a chief source of their wealth. It has, however, much declined. In 1867 Holland employed in the deep-sea fisheries 89 vessels, with an aggregate tonnage of 27,650 ; number of men in vessels and boats, 11,830. The value of the catch in 1866 was : herrings, $665,668; cod, ling, whiting, &c., $2,328,920; anchovies, $600,500; total, $3,595,088. The imports in 1871 were 14,090 tons of salt her- ring and 50,600 quintals of cod ; exports, 67,- 110 tons of salt herring, 84,241,000 smoked herrings, 23,680 quintals of salt cod, 80,600 of dried cod, and 6,850,800 Ibs. of fresh sea fish. The number of fishing boats employed in Belgium in 1871 was 263 of 8,963 tons, em- ploying 1,623 men ; the value of imports for consumption was $1,472,600. The annual value of the catch is about $500,000, of which about $200,000 are the product of the cod fish- ery. The principal maritime fisheries of Rus- sia in Europe are: the Caspian sea, which produces immense quantities of sturgeon, seals, &c. ; the Black sea and sea of Azov, yielding the herring, tunny, salmon, sea trout, and an- chovies; and the Baltic, furnishing cod, hali- but, salmon, lampreys, &c. The White sea, abounding in herring, cod, and halibut, fur- nishes almost the sole support of the inhabi- tants along its coast. The river fisheries are im- portant, the Volga being the most productive, abounding in sturgeon, and supplying large quantities of caviare. Lakes Ladoga, Onega, and Ilmen, and White lake, contain valuable fisheries. The product of all these sources has been estimated at $11,500,000, of which about one half is the value of the sea fisheries.. The coasts of Asiatic Russia swarm with fish, but the fisheries are undeveloped. The waters of China abound in fish, and it is estimated that one tenth of the people of that empire de- rive their food from the water. The coasts