106 
Modern Business Geography 
Fic. 83. Drying fish on the beach near Genoa. Because of the clear, hot sunshine fish are cured 
in this way in all the Mediterranean countries. On our North Atlantic coast, the handicap of 
foggy weather is being overcome bv the use of artificial heat. 
The fur-seal. The Pacific Ocean is noted also for its seal ¢fisher- 
ies,” so-called, although the seal is no more a fish than is the oyster. 
The world’s most famous herd of fur-seals raises its young on the 
cool, moist Pribilof Islands, an American possession in Bering Sea. 
So reckless was the killing of these seals that by 1911 the herd had 
been reduced to about 4 per cent of the number that it had when 
we purchased Alaska in 1867. Since 1911, however, our govern- 
ment, with the assistance of Canada, Russia, and Japan, has pro- 
tected the herd by forbidding fishermen to kill the seals in the open 
sea and by restricting the killing on land. 
FRESH-WATER FISHERIES 
Nearly every river in the United States yields many fish both for 
sport and for the fish market. The Mississippi River and its trib- 
ataries supply more than all the rest combined. The chief kinds are 
catfish, carp, and black bass. Although Illinois comprises only a 
small part of the area of the Mississippi system, its share of the fish 
taken from these rivers is about one third of the total. 
The Great Lakes are well stocked with herring, trout, yellow perch, 
and whitefish. All that are caught find ready markets in the many 
large cities on the borders of the lakes. The greatest quantities of 
fish are taken from Lake Michigan and Lake Erie, which have many 
people living on their shores.