124 DESCRIPTION OF IMPORTANT FISHERIES AND THEIR PRODUCTS 



the preservative is easily canceled by over-long fishing trips and careless 

 practices in icing and sanitation. 



Actually, a review of handling and icing methods has indicated that 

 more can be gained without use of preservatives if the level of practice 

 throughout the fishing fleet can be raised. To this end, the National 



v^/iraZ/Yy *s!jni prove yuc lit L^iiicic/incs 



for 



HALIBUT FISHING VESSELS 



Handling of Catch 



1. Carry a full crew — never leave port undermanned. 



2. GaH fish only in head. 



3. Never release hook by striking halibut across checker. Avoid bruising fish. 



4. Stun fish quickly to prevent deck thrashing. Club fish in head only and avoid strik- 

 ing body. 



5. Gut and clean fish thoroughly. Leave no part of gut to start spoilage. 



6. Remove all "sweet meat" and blood by scraping with a water-flushing scraper. 



7. Put dressed fish below deck for icing immediately. (If delay is necessary, place fish 

 black side down in checkers and cover with wet sacks.) 



Icing 



8. Prepare a smooth bed of ice from 8 to 12 inches deep in bottom of pens. 



9. Use enough ice to cool fish rapidly. Use thermometer. Keep fish temperature below 

 35° F. 



10. Build ice bank along all sides of pen from 4 to 6 inches thick and from 6 to 8 inches 

 thick against skin of boat. Keep this bank higher than the iced fish at all times. 



11. Pack fine ice into poke of fish. 



12. Place black side down on ice, tail to tail (heads pointing forward and aft). 



13. Use shelving when iced fish reaches a depth of 3 to 4 feet. 



14. Cover shelving with bed of ice at least 2 inches thick. 



15. Ice heavily on the top layer of fish — extra heavily at points where ice melts the fastest. 



Sanitation 



16. Remove all pen boards from stanchion grooves after every trip. Equip all pen boards 

 with eye holes for easy removal. 



17. Use metal or solid, smooth, painted wooden pen boards. Discard old and worn out 

 pen boards. 



18. Scrub deck, pen boards, stanchions and all surfaces of the hold, using clean water, 

 a detergent and a stiff bristle broom. 



19. Rinse scrubbed surfaces with a strong chlorine solution. 



20. Use the Halibut Score Sheets to arade yourself. A score of 90 or more is Grade "A". 



Figure 9.2. Quality improvement guidelines for halibut fishing 

 vessels. 



Fisheries Institute in cooperation with the halibut industry and the U.S. 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries prepared and distributed to the fleet 

 during 1959 ''Quahty Improvement Guidelines" for halibut fishing 

 vessels. These guidelines (Figure 9.2) summarize good practice aboard 

 the vessel and can be used conveniently by the fishermen in the form of 

 a check list. Linda and Slavin'^ have pointed out that chlorinated sea 



