FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 9 



the demand equaled or exceeded the catch. With the return of men 

 and vessels to the fishery, production again exceeded demand. 



With the object of preventing needless waste of these fish and m- 

 creasing efficiency of operations with reduction in cost of product to 

 the consiuner, the Bureau undertook to develop larger markets which 

 would absorb the entire catch. For this purpose it issued an illus- 

 trated placard recommending these firm, white-meated fish and an 

 economic circidar containing recipes for preparmg them for the table, 

 and detailed an assistant to aid in encouraging the use of these fish 

 in cities in the South. In this campaign particular attention was 

 given to encouraging dealers to hanclle the groupers, to instructing 

 them in the best methods of preparing the fish for sale, and to increas- 

 mg their use by restaurants and cafes. Groupers are usually shipped 

 headed and gutted. For sale to the consumer it appears desirable to 

 skin the fish and remove the fins. They are then suitable for filleting. 

 These operations, as described in Economic Circular No. 44, follow: 



■ Lay the fish on its side, with the head end pointing toward you and the back toward 

 the knife hand (the hand with which the operator uses the knife). Insert the knife 

 to a depth of 1 to li inches behind the end of the back fin and draw the length of the 

 fish, cutting close to the fin, thu.s severing the skin and the flesh from tail to head. 



Turn the fish end for end. laj-ing it on its other side, and repeat as above, drawing 

 the knife along the length of the fin from the head to the tail. Using a piece of burlap 

 to prevent the hand slipping, or a pair of pliers, catch the back fin at the front end 

 and pidl it out. 



Turn the fish, tail pointing from you and the belly toward the knife hand. Grasp 

 the pectoral fin, the fin just back of the gills, in the free hand and thrust the knife 

 into the fish ju.st back of it and cut both ways. The collar bone, which is tlius cut loose, 

 is removed by pulling on the fin. The small, thin bone remaining, which connects 

 the hide and meat, is removed with a stroke of the knife. Repeat the operation on 

 the other side. 



Turn the fish, tail pointing toward you and the belly toward the knife hand. Com- 

 plete the splitting of the fiah, and remove the belly fins. With pliers or a piece of 

 burlap catch the corner of the hide at the head end nearest the back and strip off by 

 pulling toward the tail. Repeat the process for the other side ami cornplete the re- 

 moval of the skin and tail by a stroke of the cleaver at the ba.se of the tail fin. 



It appears that tho results which the Bureau expected to accom- 

 plish have in a measure been negutivoil by other factors, such as labor 

 difficulties. 



INCREASING THE USE OF BY-PRODUCTS OF THE FISHERIES. 



The development of uses for th(? ])y-products of the fisheries and 

 the unutihzed products of the sea to the greatest economic advantage 

 represents one of the most promismg fit^lds for research and for in- 

 creasing the Nation's resources open to the Bureau. Although han(U- 

 capped through lack of provision for the pennanent employment of 

 an adequately trained technologist and for funds, it has conthiued its 

 efforts m this field in so far as its limited facilities will })ermit and has 

 achieved results cited in the following pages which indicate tho im- 

 portance of the work and tho possibilities of saving fishery products 

 possessing a value many times the cost of the service. Among its 

 activities mention should be made of the results of its efforts to in- 

 crease the use of fish waste and waste fish for conversion into oil and 

 scrap for fertilizer, to encourage the production of fish and shrimn 

 meal as an animal feed, theus(^ of the hides of fishes aiid oth(T uimtil- 

 ized aquatic animals for leuth(T, the develojnnent of a fishery for 

 sharks, and the reestablishuK^nt of fisheries lor porpoises, sea lions, 

 hair seals, and other unutilized aquatic animals. 



