of operations in the larger and more modern plants. Fish are cleaned 

 on long cleaning tables having workers on both sides with, in a typical 

 installation, 50 to 75 cleaners to a table » Several such tables are 

 operated in a large plants 



A modern cleaning table generally has three moving belts. The upper 

 belt is used for conveying the cleaned loins to the packing machine. 

 The middle belt conveys the whole fish to the cleaners. At one end of 

 the table, racks containing baskets of precooked tuna from the cooker are 

 unloaded on to the middle belt and the tuna conveyed the length of the 

 belt and ronoved as required t^'- the cleaners on each side of the table. 

 The lowest belt, which moves In the opposite direction from the other two, 

 is connected to the table top by open chutes opposite each cleaner. 

 Waste and parts of tuna unsuitable for the grated pack are discharged 

 into these chutes and are carried back to the beginning of the line and 

 thence by a conveyor to the meal and oil plant. The table work top is 

 on a level with the middle belt so that the heavy tuna can easily be 

 slid from the belt to the worker without undue liftixig,, 



When tuna are to be hand-packed, the cleaned loins go on to boards 

 (about 26" X 18") which carry tuna on a belt to the guillotine krdfe. 

 If the fish are to be ma diine -packed, these boards are not used; and the 

 loins are placed directly on the moving belts. 



In cleaning the fish, the head is removed and the skin and fins 

 scraped off. The fish is split, and the backbone ranovedo Each half 

 is split again longitudinally and the dark meat carefully scraped away. 

 The flakes suitable for canning are placed in large pans. The content 

 of these pans is usually emptied into a larger container on a cart which 

 is rolled along the line by a worker who carefully inspects the flakes 

 before collection in order to be certain no fins, bones, skin., or other 

 undesirable constituent is present. Sometimes an inspector also works 

 at the end of the lower belt just before the reflise enters the conveyor 

 to the reduction plant. He removes any edible flakes whioh may have been 

 carelessly or accidentally dumped on to the refuse belt. 



In the larger plants containing a number of lines, some may be used 

 for chunk pack and others for solid pack. Usually one or two separate 

 lines are always used for packing the flake and/or grated pack. 



In smaller plants the cleaning operation is nearly the same except 

 that shorter and fewer cleaning tables are employed. In almoat all 

 plants a moving belt is used for ccnveying the vAiole fish to the cleaners. 



295 



