70 DE SCRIP TION OF IMPOR TANT FISHERIES A ND THEIR PROD UC TS 



the filleting line. Recently some plants have installed filleting machines 

 for the small fish, but all the large fish and most of the small are hand 

 filleted. Only rarely are the skins removed from ocean perch fillets. 



Packing. From the filleting line the fish are conveyed to the brining 

 tank and then to the packing line (Figure 5.2). Fish from some areas may 

 be parasite infested, the fillets from these fish being inspected by candling. 



Figure 5.1. Ocean perch iced in pen prior to filleting. (F. T. Piskur, U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service.) 



A specially constructed table is used for this procedure. Usually a conveyor 

 belt carries the fillets along the center of a wide table. On each side 

 transluscent glass or plastic panels are set into the surface of the bench 

 and illuminated from underneath by incandescent or fluorescent lamps. 

 The candlers inspect each fillet and cut all parasites out of the flesh with 

 scissors. The fillets then go to the brine tank where they are dipped in a 

 salt brine. The concentration varies with different plants but is usually 

 10° sahnometer. 



