DCHP-1 Online
West India fish Esp. Nfld, Hist. 
the lowest grade of cod for export. Also West India and West Indies.
- 1818 West-India fish: the refuse of the whole. These last are invariably sent for sale, to feed the Negroes of the Caribee Islands.
- 1832 First, the merchantable, which are those of the finest quality and colour; second, the Madeira, which are nearly equal to the first; third, West India fish. . . .
- 1883 [The fish] are "culled" or sorted into four different kinds called Merchantable (the best), Madeira, West India . . . and Dun, or broken fish, which will not keep and is intended for home use.
- 1936 (c1960) Seven dollars for large fish, and five for your small, / Pick out your West Indies and wait till the fall.
- 1818 West-India fish: the refuse of the whole. These last are invariably sent for sale, to feed the Negroes of the Caribee Islands.