THE BOTTOM FISHERIES 75 



centered. However, an increasing proportion of the manufacturing of 

 these products is now located in other areas, with several plants, for 

 example, now operating in the Midwest and in California. Most of the 

 frozen fish blocks from which the sticks and portions are prepared are 

 imported from Canada, Iceland, or elsewhere. 



Table 5.4. Production of Breaded Fish Sticks and 

 Fish Portions in the United States in 1961 



In the following sections the steps used in the manufacture of fish 

 sticks will be described. These include (1) the freezing of fillet blocks, 

 (2) cutting of sticks from the frozen blocks, (3) breading and battering 

 of the fish sticks, (4) cooking of the coated sticks, and (5) packaging 

 and refreezing of the sticks. Fish portion production is carried out in a 

 fairly similar manner. When raw sticks, a minor item, are prepared step 

 (4) is omitted. 



Freezing of Fillet Blocks. Since fish sticks are cut to a stipulated dimen- 

 sion and a certain number placed in a package to give a predetermined 

 weight, it is vital that the frozen block of fillets from which the sticks 

 are cut be of uniform density to insure equal volumes having equal 

 weights. This requires the fillets to be packed together evenly without 

 air spaces and to be frozen under pressure. The fillets are carefully hand- 

 packed into waxed paperboard boxes with a uniform arrangement of 

 fillets lined up to avoid air spaces. For freezing, two blocks are put into 

 a metal tray and then loaded into a plate freezer. The boxes are slightly 

 over-filled with fish so that, when freezing under pressure takes place, 

 all corners of the box are uniformly filled. The dimensions of the box 

 vary according to the specifications of the purchaser, but slabs or blocks 

 in the range of 14 to 15 pounds are common. Four blocks are ordinarily 

 boxed together in one master carton. 



Cutting of Sticks. The sticks are cut while the block is still frozen and 

 shortly after it has been removed from cold storage. Cutting is in three 



