FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1916 341 
bilge water from the steamers, instead of polluting waters can. be 
made a source of profit by extracting the materials that otherwise 
are objectionable in polluting coastal waters. 
As soon as funds for the purpose become available the bureau 
intends to demonstrate to the industry that fishing and manufactur- 
ing operations can be carried out with considerable less labor than 
is expended at present. Certain lines of research, if carried out, 
undoubtedly will show the industry how to prepare better meal and 
oil at no increase in cost. Conditions in the menhaden industry 
have reached the stage where it is necessary that improvements be 
made if the industry is to continue its existence. 
Looking at waste utilization in the fishing industry from a broad 
viewpoint, it is estimated that enough material to yield about 45,000 
tons of fish meal, valued at $3,000,000, is now being thrown away. 
Valuable oil, too, can be recovered from this material. The bureau 
is endeavoring to bring about better utilization of this material, and 
a temporary laboratory has been established at Reedville, Va., for 
the study of by-products problems. 
Filleting of fish is becoming a very large business, with considerable 
quantities of waste now collecting at different localities. ‘The bureau 
excel experiments showing how this material can 


recently has com 
be converted into excellent fish meal in such a manner that the oper- 
ations can be carried out in such congested centers as New York or 
Boston without objectionable odors. 
One problem demanding solution is that of handling with profit 
small quantities of waste (1 to 5 tons per day) such as collect in 
many places. At present many fish markets are put to a consider- 
able expense for hauling their waste away. One city alone is re- 
ported to pay $15,000 annually for this purpose. 
The salmon industry in Alaska has large quantities of waste 
material now unutilized, due to the fact that no profitable way of 
handling the material under the conditions that exist there has been 
evolved. The canning season is very short, and large quantities of 
waste ccllect in a very short time. The overhead cost of the usual 
method for converting this into meal and oil have been too great to 
make the undertaking profitable. There is urgent need for a study 
of this problem. The shrimp industry, too, is throwing away 
material that could be converted into meal, valued at hundreds of 
thousands of dollars. 
Preserving quality in fresh fish.—Fish and shellfish are very perish- 
able, even more so than other foods of a similar nature, and unless 
especial precautions are taken they deteriorate very rapidly. The 
demand for these products in a fresh condition can be increased 
greatly by improving the methods for getting them into the con- 
sumer’s hands throughout the United States in the very best con- 
dition. Practices are now followed in handling fresh fish, both at 
sea and after they are landed, which do not assure the highest quality 
of the product. That bruises and heat injure fish is well known. 
The importance of these factors as a cause of deterioration is now 
more generally recognized than formerly, however. One of the 
bureau’s technologists has been studying this problem intensively in 
_ the New England district for several months, both ashore and afloat. 
The bureau has cooperated with the fishermen and boat owners in 
developing newer and better methods of handling the catch and in 
