THE VENEZUELAN SALT-FISH INDUSTRIES 



and developed and better salting methods devised. As pointed out elsewhere in this report, 

 Venezuela potentially can produce 75,000,000 pounds of salt-fish in excess of local re- 

 quirements. This is approximately one-half of the total salt-fish requirements of adl of 

 the other Caribbean countries. 



The kind of salt-fish products generally consumed in the Caribbean area can best be 

 illustrated by citing a portion of the import figures for Puerto Rico, the largest Carib- 

 bean salt-fish importer. 



By species, the imports of salted, pickled or cured fish by Puerto Rico during 1943, 

 aa reported by the General Supplies Administration were as follows: 



Species Pounds 



Codfish 17,142,227 



Herring 363,500 



Salmon 1,677,436 



PoUock 192,550 



Haddock 17, UO 



Hake 52,316 



Mackerel 1.112.749 



Total 20,558,188 



Dry-salted codfish (bacalao) constitutes the bulk of the imports, Canada, Newfound- 

 land, and the United Kingdom supply most of the salt-fish consumed in the Caribbean coun- 

 tries. It is usually shipped in 224-, 400-, 448-, or 560-pound casks, net weight. Fish 

 with a moisture content of 43 percent or less is generally preferred, since it keeps better 

 than wetter fish. Cod, pollock, hake, and haddock are neither boned nor skinned. The color 

 varies from light yellow through deep orange. Although fish heads ai'e highly esteemed by 

 Caribbean consumers, dry-salted fiah are almost always received without the head. The mois- 

 ture content and color are the chief criteria in Judging quality. Previous mention was 

 made of "reddening" of fish. Customs officials look for this condition when Judging quality 

 and will not allow the entry of fish displaying a pronounced red color. Reddening some- 

 times does occur, however, after the fish are on the market and fish displaying the color 

 are often sold, but consumer* usually consider this condition to be a first indication of 

 decomposition. 



Although the varieties of fish produced in Venezuela are not the same as those now 

 imported into Caribbean markets, it is believed that there would be no consumer prejudice 

 to Venezuelan dry-salted fish. If prices for the different species were maintained at the 

 same level consumers would probably enjoy the wider choice of food products. 



The mission examined many samples of fish for quality (Table 12) from the standpoint 

 of possible increased consumption in Venezuela and for export markets. The samples were 

 from 3 to 10 weeks old at the time of examination. Many of the samples exhibited red dis- 

 coloration but there was some indication that fish of certain species do not discolor as 

 quickly as others. Several factors, among which are differences in composition of the fish 

 flesh, purity (bacterial) of the salt, and differences in moisture content between samples 

 would influence this condition. It was also noted that the curbina and bagre samples were 

 discolored more than others. The flesh of both fishes is soft and "gelatinous" and this 

 tends to support the theory that the composition of the flesh influences the degree of red- 

 dening. 



Fish prepared experimentally were included in the samples examined. These were ronca- 

 dor, robalo, pargo, and barbudo which were shade-dried for 1 week. After a 10-week storage 

 period the robalo and barbudo displayed a red discoloration, whereas the roncador and pargo 

 did not. The discoloration in the experimental saunples was not as pronounced as in the 

 commercial product and the flesh was considerably lighter in color. The only major dif- 

 ferences in the preparation of the experimental samples were that: (1) more salt was used 

 (30 percent by weight), (2) the fish were "butted" instead of "kenched", and (3) they were 

 shade-dried for a period of 1 week. The experimental samples were more thoroughly dried 



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