FISHERIES OF KEY WEST. 47 



ing sponges for the market. The crawfish are then placed in a single 

 layer on the sponge and covered with more clippings and ice. Thus, 

 when completely packed, a barrel contains alternate layers of ice, 

 sponge, crawhsh, and sponge. The sponge clippings are used to 

 absorb moisture and to keep the crawfish from direct contact with 

 the ice. The barrels are conspicuously marked " re-ice," and it is 

 sometimes necessary for transportation companies to re-ice a ship- 

 ment several times when it is consigned to a distant point. 



During the experimental stage of shipping live crawfish many of 

 them were received in a spoiled condition, and it was thought that 

 shipments could not be made with profit. It developed, however, 

 that the most unsatisfactory shipments were caused by poor packing, 

 and by experimenting the sj'stem just described was established and 

 reduced losses to a minimum. It is very important that the craw- 

 fish be handled with great care from the time they are removed from 

 the water until they reach their final destination. No injured craw- 

 fish are shipped alive, which fact excludes all those captured with 

 the grains. 



More crawfish are shipped in a cooked state than alive. More labor 

 is required to prepare cooked crawfish, but shipping losses are very 

 small and considerable packing space is saved by the elimination of 

 the waste parts of the animal. Crawfish that are to be shipped in 

 the cooked state are prepared as follows : The live animals are placed 

 in a steam cooker and cooked until they are sufficiently well done to 

 be eaten. After they have cooled sufficiently to be handled with 

 unprotected hands the abdomen, or tail, is removed and the remainder 

 of the animal is thrown away. The tail is split open and the meat 

 is removed from the shell. Four or five tails are placed in a No. 2 

 friction-top can, which is perforated with small holes to admit air. 

 These cans are then packed in a slack barrel, iced as in the case of 

 fish, and are ready for shipment. A standard barrel contains 64 

 cans of 105 pounds net weight, representing the meat of 24 dozen 

 crawfish. The barrels, however, vary somewhat in the weight of the 

 crawfish they contain. One dealer dispenses with the cans entirely 

 and packs the tails, without removing the shell, in barrels with an 

 abundance of broken ice. He has used this method for a number of 

 years with satisfactory results. 



The trap and bully furnish the most select crawfish and the only 

 ones that can be retained in captivity or shipped alive for long dis- 

 tances. Fortunately for the industry, many of the fishermen and 

 most of the dealers look with disfavor upon the " striking " of craw- 

 fish. The abdomen or tail of a " struck " crawfish is usually removed 

 from the body before it is cooked, and by this operation much space 

 is saved in the cooking kettle or pot. Owing to the rapid deteriora- 

 tion of the flesh it is a question, however, whether this practice is a 

 good one, as crawfish, lobsters, and crabs are in the best condition 

 when killed in the cooking process. 



No crawfish are canned in Key West at the present time (March, 

 1920). Several attempts to do so have been made during the past 10 

 yeai^, all of which failed because of the tendency the meat has of 

 turning dark. It is believed, however, that by experimenting along 

 these lines and carefully studying the methods used in canning 

 shrimp, lobsters, and crabs that the crawfish can be successfully 



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