Figure 4. — Sea lion prepared for skinning. 



Figure 5.- -Deck hooks inserted into hide at neckline allow 

 ship's gear to pull carcass away from hide. 



done, starting from the neck, by cutting 

 around the carcass as close to the 

 bone as possible down the length of the 

 carcass (fig. 6). This resulted in a 

 blanket of bone-free meat. After 

 flensing, the carcass was dropped over- 

 board (fig. 7). The meat, along with 

 the shoulders and livers, was placed 

 on the deck of the ship to cool over- 

 night. 



The internal temperature of the 

 sea lions at the time they were proc- 

 essed ranged from 99° to 102° F. Since 

 the night air temperature averaged 

 46° F, the meat was cooled to between 

 50° and 60° F. 



On the morning after the butcher- 

 ing, the shoulders were boned and all 

 of the meat was ground in a 15 -hp. 

 grinder through a 3/4 -inch plate (fig. 

 8). The ground meat was carried by 

 an auger-type conveyor into a hopper. 

 From the hopper the meat was passed 

 through an adjustable door into poly- 

 ethylene bags (fig. 9). The bags were 

 rested on a scale and each one was 

 filled to 50 pounds. A wood frame was 

 used on the scale to keep the bags 

 from tipping during filling. The bags 

 were fastened shut with wire staples. 

 The livers were packaged in the same 

 manner, except that they were not 



