In a few plants the racks containing baskets of precooked fish are 

 stationed between the rows of cleaning tables, and workers carry 

 baskets of precooked fish are stationed between the rows of cleaning 

 tables, and workers carry baskets of tiona to the cleaners, as required. 

 In a number of the smaller or older plants, especially vrtiere hand-packing 

 is used, the boards of cleaned loins are carried by hand to the guillotine 

 and packing line. 



The rate at which fish can be cleaned varies with the skill of the 

 worker and the size of the fish. A greater weight of fish can be 

 cleaned if the fish are large than if they are small. In labor contracts 

 between unions and the canneries, standards of the rate of cleaning 

 are sometimes set. Thus in the Columbia River area a standard of eight 

 fish per hour is mentioned. However, if a good job of cleaning is dene, 

 seldom are more than six albacore cleaned per hour. It is to the ad- 

 vantage of the cannery to see that the cleaner does not work so fast as 

 to be careless about turning out a well-cleaned tuna loin, to produce 

 more flakes than are absolutely necessarj', or to discard flakes in the 

 waste chute. Some canneries use piece-work rates with a bonus for pro- 

 duction above a minimum quota while other canneries operate strictly 

 on an hourly rate. Although the piece-work rate results in greater 

 output pel" worker, it generally produces a definitely inferior product 

 with greater loss or diversion of a portion of what should have been 

 solid pack pack to the flake pack. An increase in yield (due to the 

 high proportion of operating cost being charged against cost of fish) is 

 much more important than a proportionate increase in cleaning rate. 

 Thus, a simple calculation shows a loss of an extra 1 percent of fish 

 going into the waste chute will not compensate for an increase in clean- 

 ing rate of 20 percent. 



Where piece-work is employed closer inspection is a necessity. In 

 some plants inspectors or supervisors travel up and down the cleaning 

 line inspecting the output of each worker, and in addition loins, flakes, 

 and waste are separately inspected to prevent waste. 



Costs of the cleaning operation (estimated from information furnished 

 by plant superintendents) varied from about 331^ per case in the most 

 efficiait plants to about 55^ per case in the less efficient plants. 

 Possibly an average of 45^ per case might be typical. These figures are 

 for yellowfin tuna. When skipjack tuna is processed costs are much hi^er 

 owing to the small size of this species. 



296 



