Generally, 3 to 5 days are required for drying whole shrimp. 

 These are usually not completely dried but retain a fair quantity of 

 moisture. The primary purchaser completes the drying in his establish- 

 ment. 



For diy-peeling purposes the shrin^ are allowed to dry more 

 thoroughly. After drying they are thrashed and winnowed to remove the 

 heads and shells. 



Canning 



There are seven canneries on the west coast of Mexico that 

 operate partially or entirely on shrin^). One cannery in Guayraas and 

 one in Los Mochis did not pack shrimp during the 1955-56 season, but 

 one in Topolobampo, one in Culiacan, and three in Escuinapa were in 

 operation. 



No records are available of the ntiraber of cases of shrimp 

 canned in Mexico. It is estimated that about 1.1 million pounds of 

 whole fresh shrimp are processed by canning each year. This amount 

 would yield a pack of about 25,000 cases. All Mexican canned shrimp 

 are wet pack. 



The peeled meats (all peeling is done by hand) are blanched in 

 a strong boiling brine for about 5 minutes. They are then placed for 

 cooling on screens which are covered for protection from flies. Stray 

 pieces of shell, feelers, legs, etc., are removed from the cooled meats 

 which are then packed, by hand, into cans and weighed. In some plants 

 thei cans are filled with cold brine and then heated in an exhaust box 

 before capping. In others they are filled with hot brine and capped 

 immediately. The sealed cans are then processed. When processing is 

 completed, the cans are immediately cooled in a tank of fresh water. 

 After cooling, the cans are permitted to dry before labeling and packing 

 in cardboard cartons. 



The canned shrimp are sold throughout Mexico. 



Freezing 



About 75 percent of the Mexican slirimp catch is frozen for 

 export to the United States. For processing and transporting frozen 

 shrimp there are 38 freezing plants, 9 freezing ships, and i; transport, 

 boats. 39/ Freezing capacity is over 600,000 pounds daily. 



39/ Not all of this equipment is in operation. Durirg the 1955-56 

 season at least seven plants and three freezing boats were not in use. 



108 



