222 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



CANNING SARDINES 



Sardine canning is an important part of the fishery industries. 

 In 1924 over 3,250,000 cases were packed, having a value in excess of 

 $12,500,000. These figures place this industry next to that of salmon 

 canning in importance and, excluding Alaska salmon, first among 

 our canned fishery products. This industry, too, can be greatly 

 expanded, there being large supplies of herring, pilchards, and like 

 fishes which can be utilized. In time, undoubtedly, this expansion 

 will take place, due to the increasing world demand for cheap food 

 of high protein content. 



Our canned sardines, meet very keen competition at home and 

 abroad, however, and if we are to capture and hold our shas-e of the 

 world markets our products must be high in quality as well as low in 

 price. Since 1920 tlie bureau has been conducting research upon the 

 preparation of fish for canning as sardines, making available lacking 

 fundamental scientific information upon this important subject and 

 working toward the development of a better and cheaper method of 

 preparing the fish. Considerable success is being attained along these 

 lines. 



In the last report mention was made of the development and suc- 

 cessful operation on small and semicommercial scales of a new pro- 

 cess of preparing fish for canning as sardines. This method was 

 developed m the bureau's experimental laboratory at San Pedro, 

 Calif. Since then experunents have been carried out in Maine, 

 ending in the successful application of the same process to the prep- 

 aration of Maine sardines. 



The new process depends on rapidly moving hot air to cook and 

 dry the fish at the same time, followed, if desired, by a period of 

 cooling in a blast of cold air so that they may be packed immediately. 

 An additional development was brought forward by the Maine experi- 

 ments — while simultaneously drying and cooking small fish they can 

 also be given a light smoking by the simple and inexpensive procedure 

 of adding smoke to the drying air. 



It is firmly believed that no other method of preparing fish for 

 canning as sardines offers equal possibilities for lowering the pro- 

 duction costs and improving the products made from both small 

 and large fish in California and Maine. The packs put up by the 

 new process from California fish are, in the long run, better than 

 similar products which have been fried in oil. The same is true 

 with regard to packs produced by the new method as compared 

 with goods prepared from steamed and fried fish in Maine. 



Tests extensive enough to prove the above claims have been carried 

 out. It remains to be shown, however, how well the process will 

 work out on a commercial scale. For this purpose a commercial- 

 sized installation of relatively expensive equipment, different from 

 any now being used, is required. Engineering companies will design 

 and construct equipment and make guaranties both upon the equip- 

 ment itself and the cost of operation. These guaranties in effect 

 assure successful operation, but even with these assurances there is 

 reluctance upon the part of the canners to scrap old equipment and 

 purchase new until there is positive proof that the venture will be 

 successful both from the tecnnical and business standpoints. It is 

 becoming evident that some plan for bringing about development 



