74 DE SCRIP TION OF IMPOR TA N T FISHERIES A ND THEIR PROD UC TS 



Table 5.3. Miscellaneous Species of Bottom Fish 



these species enters the fresh fish trade whole, dressed, or as fillets. 

 Handling methods are very similar to those described in detail for the 

 other species and there do not appear to be any major problems peculiar 

 to these species alone. 



Fish Sticks 



A relatively new type of product which has been increasing rapidly 

 in usage during recent years is the breaded fish sticks and the related 

 fish portion. Since these products are manufactured from groundfish such 

 as cod and haddock, their production and manufacturing methods will 

 be discussed here. 



Tish sticks are rectangular, frozen portions of fish flesh that have been 

 sawed or cut from blocks of frozen fish fillets, coated with batter, breaded, 

 and then usually precooked before being refrozen. Fish sticks were the 

 first such product to be developed, and their United States production 

 has reached a fairly stable quantity of the order of 60 milHon pounds 

 or so per year. Fish portions are uniformly shaped, frequently square, 

 pieces of boneless fish flesh cut from a frozen block of fillets, battered, 

 breaded, and usually marketed uncooked. These fish portions, because 

 of their uniform size, are much in demand for use in restaurants and 

 institutions. Breaded portions are a more recent development than fish 

 sticks, and their annual production in the United States is still rapidly 

 increasing. From 1958 to 1961, United States fish portion production 

 increased from 22 million pounds to 60 million pounds. Production of 

 various forms of breaded fish sticks and fish portions is shown in Table 5.4. 



The largest production of fish sticks takes place in the Atlantic Coast 

 states, particularly in Massachusetts where the groundfish industry is 



