4 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



8,946,183 pounds, and the amount shipped from Boston during Sep- 

 tember, 1922, was 14,383,761 pounds. 



In the month of September, 1922, 56 per cent of all Boston's 

 fish was consumed in Massachusetts, and 89 per cent in Massachu- 

 setts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania. It 

 is thus evident that while Boston has done much in developing 

 her near-by market the more distant markets are still awaiting 

 development. There is evidence also that this is the case with other 

 centers of fish production. The per capita consumption of Boston 

 fish in Massachusetts during the month of September, 1922, was over 

 1| pounds, which must be increased by the fish taken at other Massa- 

 chusetts ports, perhaps, to more than 2 pounds, or 24 pounds per 

 capita annually. The per capita consumption of fish in the United 

 States, as a whole, is probably not more than 12 or 14 pounds. This 

 development of local fish consumption resulted in the shipment 

 to Boston from the Pacific coast of 169 carloads of halibut and 

 salmon during the year ended September 30, 1922, although Boston 

 itself is the largest fish-producing port in the United States. 



TECHNOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS. 



It was pointed out, in connection with the discussion of the market 

 survey of Boston, that the limit to the fish business was set by 

 problems of distribution. The limit to extensive and successful 

 distribution is fixed not only by incomplete organization of the in- 

 dustry but also by the lack of adequate methods of preserving and 

 handling fish, so that they can be transported to distant markets 

 in first-class edible condition. Other technical difficulties, such as 

 the rapid decomposition of the nets he uses, further reduce the 

 fisherman's reward for his arduous labors. Technological inquiry 

 only can solve these problems, and it is in a continuation of such 

 inquiries that the bureau's technological staff has been engaged. 



BRINE-FREEZING OF FISH. 



In Economic Circular No. 53, issued in 1921, the status of brine- 

 freezing was outlined as it was at that time. It was pointed out that 

 in principle brine-freezing seemed to have received sufficient test and 

 approval by various scientific investigators, and that the chief 

 problem ahead was the engineering problem of constructing a plant 

 that would freeze fish on a large scale with a minimum of labor and 

 expense. There has been constructed in the fishery products labo- 

 ratory a brine-freezing apparatus of new design intended to meet 

 these requirements. It consists of a tunnel 40 feet long provided 

 with a short compartment at each end. The fish are suspended from 

 horizontal })ars that are mechanically conveyed through this tunnel. 

 The fish first pass through a fresh- water spray in the entrance com- 

 partment for the purpose of wasliing; then through a violent spray 

 of brine at — 5 or — 6° F. for 32 feet, wherein they are frozen; 

 emerging from the brine spray, they again pass under a fresh-water 

 spray, which removes the brine and applies a glaze. The conveyor is 

 arranged for variable speed so that fish of different sizes may be 



