The retained fish were sexed and sorted into color-coded baskets by sex. For most roundfish, this was done by cutting a lengthwise slit near the dorsal side and checking the gonads. For flatfish, the cut was made crosswise near the dorsal edge of the blind side, about a finger’s width posterior to the stomach. For sculpin, the cut was made lengthwise in the center of the dorsal side. For the smaller flatfish, the ovaries were often visible only as a translucent “waterdrop” in the cut; the testes were not particularly visible. Halibut and Greenland turbot gonads were much more obvious. The pollock were the easiest. Frequently, their ovaries were full of safety-cone-orange eggs, and the testes filled the body cavity in off-white spirals. Bigmouth and great sculpins were the hardest. Their skin is loose and tough, making it difficult to cut. The gonads were on the other side of the stomach, which was often quite full and distended. In one great sculpin, there were three whole medium-sized pollock in the stomach! Skates did not need to be cut: the claspers make it clear which are male.
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© 2004 Teresa Jewell
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