Shrimp may be frozen either for direct distribution through 

 wholesale and retail channels or for further procesGing, e.g. breading. 



Shrimp are readied for the market in any one of five different 

 ways by freezing establishments, i.e. in the frozen headless, frozen 

 peeled and deveined, frozen cooked and peeled, uncooked frozen breaded 

 and cooked frozen breaded form. 



Plant capacity . --The findings and recommendations with respect 

 to freezing plant capacities resulting from the plant efficiency survey 

 made by the First Research Corporation are listed below. 



Among the plants surveyed that packed only frozen headless 

 shrimp , capacity was governed by two factors, namely, availability of 

 shrimp and size of freezer facilities. None of these plants was operat- 

 ing at capacity at the time of the survey nor fully utilizing its 

 freezing facilities. 



In certain installations which processed a variety of end- 

 products, capacity usage of freezer space was more general due to 

 production diversification. 



It is believed that all operators who limit themselves to the 

 packaging and freezing of frozen headless shrimp only , expose their 

 enterprise to all the inherent hazards of a "one crop" operation and all 

 adverse econouiic factors pertaining thereto. 



Freezer installations were visited that, in addition to a large 

 volume of frozen headless shrimp, also processed such end-products as fish 

 and shellfish, fruits, vegetables, etc. Packers of frozen headless shrimp , 

 not generally operating at capacity, should investigate the practicality 

 of diversifying their end-products to realize full equipment potential. 



Pl ant procedure — typical operations . — In the course of its sur- 

 vey First Research Corporation established that mechanization in freezer 

 establishments was limited in scope. In nearly all of the six plants 

 visited mechanization was limited to a conveyor system for transporting 

 the product to the grading machine, the blast freezer installation proper, 

 and a glaring device. The operations involved in readying frozen headless 

 shrimp for the market were as folloirs: (see figure V - 53) 



1. Receiving and unloading: Where plants are located dockside 

 the shrimp are unloaded directly from the vessel to the plant; where they 

 are located ai/ay from the water, the shrimp are trucked from docltside to 

 the plant. Some dockside plants, during periods of scarcity, have shrimp 

 ti-ucked in from other ports. 



In some ai'eas the shriDip are washed and weighed Immediately 

 after they come off the vessel; in other areas the catch is paid for on 

 the basis of "packed out" weight, thus eliminating the initial weighing 

 upon discharge of the cargo. 



