68 U. &. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
INTRODUCTION 
The sardine industry dates back to about 1845, when the first 
sardine canneries were established in France.? Since then sardine 
canning has developed on a large scale in Spain, Portugal, Norway, 
and the United States, and to a small extent in England, Canada, 
Chile, India, Sweden, and Algeria. The following quotation gives 
an idea of the relative importance of production in the different 
countries: 4 
For the decade 1904 to 1913 the average annual world pack is estimated at 
approximately 175,000,000 pounds. Of this amount the United States produced 
about 34 per cent, Spain 26 per cent, Norway 17 per cent, France and Portugal 
each 11.5 per cent. Production in other countries is negligible. 
Sardine canning is an important part of the fishery industry of 
the United States. In 1926 over 3,800,000 cases were packed, having 
a value in excess of $14,500,000 (Table 1). These figures place this 
industry next to that of salmon canning in importance and, exclud- 
ing Alaska salmon, first among the canned fishery products of the 
United States. This industry, too, can be expanded greatly, not 
only in the United States but throughout the world, there being 
large quantities of herring, pilchards, and like fishes suitable for 
canning as sardines from which to draw. In time this expansion 
undoubtedly will take place, largely as an economic necessity, to 
help meet the increasing world demand for cheap food of high pro- 
tein content. Certain packs of sardines, as will be pointed out later, 
do meet this need. 
American canned sardines, however, encounter very keen compe- 
tition, and if we are to capture and hold our share of the world mar- 
kets our products must be high in quality as well as low in price. 
The Bureau of Fisheries took » cognizance of these facts and since 
1920 has been conducting research upon the preparation of fish for 
canning as sardines, making available fundamental scientific infor- 
mation heretofore lacking upon this important subject and working 
toward the development of better and cheaper methods of preparing 
the fish. This document is a report of the investigations made in 
this field. _ 
These investigations were for the most part carried out in the 
bureau’s experimental laboratory at San Pedro, Calif., and in neigh- 

2 Much confusion exists concerning the term ‘‘sardine.’’ Various clupeoid fishes throughout the world 
are called sardines, as well as the canned products prepared from these fish. In the United States the Cali- 
fornia pilchard and the Atlantic sea herring are used by sardine canners; in Norway the brisling, or sprat, 
and the sea herring; and in France, Spain, and Portugal the European pilchard and also the sprat. In 
certain foreign countries the term ‘‘sardine’’ has been restricted to canned European pilchards. How- 
ever, the general concept of the term ‘‘sardine”’ refers to a kind of fish commonly known as a pilchard, 
and to all the individuals living in nature that are similar in structure, appearance, and habit and are 
generally recognized as a single kind. Specialists have noted differences in the members of this group 
from different areas, and these have been the basis for dividing the groups into species, subspecies, and 
races, without general agreement as to which of the true classes the individuals from different geographical 
areas belong. Geographically, they are found on the Atlantic coast of Europe, in the Mediterranean, 
and on the Pacific coasts of North and South America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. 
They all belong to a homogeneous group similar in structure, growth, and habits but quite different from 
other members of the herring family. It is believed, therefore, that for the uses of commerce and for all 
practical purposes the term ‘ ‘sardine’ can not with propriety be restricted to members of this group from 
a single geographical area. The United States Bureau of Chemistry holds that the term can be applied 
to any small clupeoid fish, providing the name ‘‘sardine”’ is accompanied by the name of the country or 
State in which the fish are taken or prepared and with a statement of the nature of the ingredients used 
in preserving or flavoring the fish. Differences in quality of the several species of herring canned as sar- 
dines in the several countries, if subjected to equally excellent treatment and uniformity of method in 
packing, are largely matters of individual taste and preference. 
3 A summarized history of sardine canning in different countries, including the United States, is given 
in the following document: Tariff Information Survey on Sardines. Published by the U.S. Tariff Com- 
mission, Washington, 1925. 
4 Page 17 of the paper referred to in footnote 3, 
