Preservation and Disposition of the Catch 



'%en tunas and sharks, which formed the major part of the catch, were 

 on the line, the main line was pulled in by means of a line hauler. Two or 

 three fishermen were stationed at tlie side-port (gangway) to detach the 

 sections of line. One of these men would bring the fish in to the sice of 

 the boat, and another one or two of them would haul the fish aboard with a 

 gaff -hook. 



Fish of over 10 kan /about 30 pounds/ in weight which were still lively 

 had to be hoisted aboard with a v/inch. Even in the case of fish below this 

 weight, and when handling sharks, it was more effective and faster to get 

 them safely into the boat by using the winch. Once the fish were on deck 

 they were struck two or three hard blows with a mallet on the top of the 

 slcull or the upper jaw. "/hile they were stunned the hooks were rem.oved. 

 Then the sharks and the tunas were laid out separately on the deck. 



■'iTjen a good mu;ber of them were on deck, or the sun's rays were strong, 

 or the temperature v;es especially high, it was necessary to stow the fish 

 within about thirty m.inutes or as soon as possible. The reason for this 

 is that the so-celled "birrring" of the fish can take place in less than 

 one hour after capture. 



The prenaration of the fish was extremely simple. In the case of the 

 tiojias a 3 tc /. inch cut was made with a large knife just posterior to the 

 anus, the viscera were loosened from their attachm.ents, and the v/hole 

 digestive tract was drawn out through the gill openings. The fish was 

 then well washed with sea water and prepared for inx.ediate stowage in 

 the cold storage space. In the case of sharks the head was removed and 

 the animal '.vas eviscerated. Then the fins and tail were cut off. The 

 carcass was washed with sea water and immediately stov/ed in cold storage 

 in such shape that it could be opened up the back later so that the hide 

 and flesh m.ight be utilized. The lengths and weights of the tuna were 

 recorded before they were thrown into the fish-hold. No such record /as 

 made for the sharks, but it is thought that an average weight of 7 Van 

 would not be far off the true figiure. This nrocedure for handling the 

 fish was the sar.e whether few or m,any were taken, and skipjack and dolphin 

 which wer-^ taken were treated in the sar.e way as the tunas. 



'-S for the refrigeration equipment of the vessel, I had heard that 

 in the South Seas fishery investigations of 193S the im^perfection of this 

 equiprient v^^e responsible for the failure of the expedition, and therefore 

 before leaving Japan a great deal of emphasis was placed on its repair. 

 At present it can freeze lA tons per day and make 7 tons of ice, truly 

 an excellent capacity for a fishing boat of the 200-ton class. The 

 direct expansion ammonia refrigerating unit keeps the cold storage hold 

 at -16*-" C. and the freezing comipartFient at -37° C. while freezing and 

 transporting 15,000 kan of fresh fish. During this voyage there was not 

 the slightest trouble with this equipment and it did good work from 

 beginning to end in the freezing and holding of the catch, and the 

 preservstion of perishable foods and drinking water. At first the fish 



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