238 MARINE FISHERIES OF NORTH CAROLINA 



DRYING OF THE CRUDE SEAWEED 



Boat loads of seaweed are towed to drying racks built along the shore or 

 above shallow water. The racks are constructed of poles with poultry wire 

 or fish net fastened to the tops. They are about 3 feet wide, 4 feet high, 

 and of various lengths. Seaweed is spread on them in a layer about 6 inches 

 thick. From 2 to 4 good drying days are needed for each batch. The seaweed 

 is usually turned over at least once. 



Since fishermen do not wash seaweed with fresh water to remove salt 

 and mud, about 10 pounds fresh weight make i pound di:y weight. If 

 washed or thoroughly rained upon, from 15 to 20 pounds fresh weight are 

 required to make i pound dry weight; thus seaweed bought from fishermen 

 must be regarded as constituting less than 60 per cent by weight of agar- 

 yielding material. 



YIELD 



A factory yield of 20 per cent agar, based on weight of raw material as 

 purchased, is actually a yield of approximately double that amount because 

 of the salt, mud, and moisture it contains. By laboratory methods, a yield 

 of 45 per cent is commonplace, since clean, thoroughly dry seaweed is used. 



ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS 



Approximate total amounts of dry seaweed collected each year in North 

 Carolina since processing began are given in Table 2. Fishermen received 

 10 cents per pound for this material. 



In Table 2, figures for 1943 include some seaweed collected in 1942, 

 when pilot plant production was first undertaken. The great abundance of 

 seaweed that developed in North Carolina waters in 1942, 1943, and 1944 

 is not shown by Table 2 since collections during these years did not make 

 a noticeable decrease in quantities present in the water. Countless tons 

 washed ashore and decayed. Figures for 1945 and 1946, however, are repre- 

 sentative of quantities available as fishermen were encouraged to gather all 

 they could find, and factory production facilities were increased. Unfortu- 

 nately, the crop was poor both years, probably because of excessive rainfall 

 and low salinities. Oysters were killed in many localities. 



As shown in Table 2, fishermen were paid about $67,200 for 672,000 

 pounds of seaweed during the first four years of the agar industry in North 

 Carolina and over 100,000 pounds of agar were produced at a time when 

 it was classified as a critical war material. Although the value of economic 

 seaweeds in North Carolina does not compare with that of the more impor- 

 tant fisheries, its collection, localized between Beaufort and Atlantic, has 

 seasonal importance. Seaweed is collected during summer and fall. In addi- 



