Fisheries 
105 
served by salting, smoking, or drying. Cod caught on the Labrador 
coast are marketed in Spain, in Italy, and even in Greece. 
The kinds of fish caught in the North Atlantic. Haddock and hali- 
but are caught with the codfish. Halibut are larger than cod and 
their flesh is more highly prized. Next to the cod and haddock in the 
Atlantic fisheries come the mackerel and herring. Mackerel swim 
near the surface of the water in schools and hence are caught in great 
nets, called seines. Seining mackerel is even more exciting than catch- 
ing codfish, and the profits run higher if the schools are numerous. 
Oyster fishing. Although the oyster is wholly different from a 
fish, it is called a shellfish, and oyster catching is included in fisheries. 
The oyster lives at the bottom of shallow bays, such as are found on 
the Atlantic coast between Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras. Chesa- 
peake Bay, the largest of these, is the most important oyster region 
in the world, while Long Island Sound is second in importance. The 
oyster industry furnishes about one third of the total value of all 
the fisheries of the United States. 
PACIFIC COAST FISHERIES 
The salmon is the most important fish on the Pacific coast, with 
the cod and halibut next in order. 
Salmon fishing. During the spring or summer, along the whole 
coast from the Columbia to western Alaska, the salmon ascend the 
rivers in order to lay their eggs in fresh water. At such times traps 
and rows of stakes and nets, called weirs, are set in the rivers; they 
often capture so many fish that the large canneries at the mouths of 
the rivers find it difficult to handle the catch even by working night 
and day. So great is the catch in the weirs of Washington and 
Alaska that this country is able to satisfy its own needs and export 
$5,000,000 worth besides. Each year the salmon fisheries of Alaska 
alone yield products worth several times the $7,200,000 paid to Russia 
for that territory in 1867. 
Refrigeration of fish. In most parts of the United States, the 
fish sold as * fresh *’ halibut come from our Pacific coast and especially 
from Alaska. Each year more than 20,000,000 pounds of halibut 
and 13,000,000 pounds of salmon are frozen as soon as they are taken 
from the waters of the Pacific and are kept in that condition till they 
reach thousands ef markets scattered over the country. It is said 
that they are quite as nutritious and have quite as good a flavor as 
fish that have been caught only a few hours. When thawed, however, 
they spoil more rapidly than do fresh fish.