282 



PRESERVATION METHODS 



fish clean and cool for these few hours has been shown to be most impor- 

 tant for the best keeping quality. Day fishermen frequently carry a small 

 amount of ice for this purpose. 



Unloading (Figure 22.2) is the final operation for the fishermen who 

 must transfer the fish from the iced bins by hand, shovel, or pugh to the 



Figure 22. 



Service.) 



Icing haddock aboard an Atlantic trawler. {U.S. Fish and Wildlife 



unloading box or net. The ice is removed and the fish are dumped on a 

 table or a belt for grading. Buyers grade most fish species before washing 

 since the slime provides a quick index to the quality. The fish are generally 

 weighed in tared carts or boxes. During these unloading and transfer oper- 

 ations, it is common to find that iced fish may increase several degrees in 

 temperature. 



