504 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



can be obtained from the local supply. Friday has become, by long 

 custom, the fish day of the week. The causes that influence fluctua- 

 tions in demand bear no relation whatever to the causes that control 

 the supply. Under such circumstances refrigeration is absolutely 

 necessary in order that the industry may meet the demand with the 

 available supply without ruinous waste. 



It is natural that when fish are present in abundance the fisherman 

 will catch all he can. If hundreds of other fishermen are doing the 

 same thing (as they must to earn their living), the market may be 

 glutted, and but for refrigeration it would be necessary to dump 

 edible fish because of a lack of market. Refrigeration is thus an 

 agency of conservation of no little importance. 



POPULAR OBJECTIONS TO FROZEN FISH 



Little need be said here of the widespread suspicion of frozen or 

 cold-storage fish if special pleading is* to be avoided. In so far as 

 these objections are based on impaired edible quality, pleadings are 

 of no avail — the grounds for objection must be removed. Many re- 

 finements and improvements already have been introduced in the art, 

 other improvements are known and will be put into practice, and 

 research may be expected further to advance and perfect the art. 

 If this treatise hastens the introduction of improvements, it will 

 serve well its purpose. 



EFFECT OF REFRIGERATION ON THE PRICES OF FISH 



There is also a popular conception — or, perhaps, misconception — 

 that refrigeration raises the price of fish unfairly. If this were true, 

 the immense refrigeration industry would rest on an unsound eco- 

 nomic basis. After all, the price of fish, like that of other commodi- 

 ties, is fixed by the interaction of supply and demand. Refrigera- 

 tion increases neither supply nor demand. Without it prices would 

 be disastrously low in glutted markets and exorbitantly high in 

 seasons of scarcity. Refrigeration serves to spread the supply over 

 the year at a comparatively uniform price. If the year's supply 

 exceeds the year's demand, prices drop. Fish that otherwise would 

 be dumped are saved. The cost of refrigeration is undoubtedly a 

 proper charge for a valuable service rendered. 2 



HISTORY OF REFRIGERATION OF FISH 3 



Until the early part of last century, when ice came into use, refrig- 

 eration was not applied to the preservation of fish in any systematic 

 way. In northern latitudes fish were allowed to freeze naturally in 

 winter and were transported frozen to market. Fresh fish were kept 

 as cool as possible with wet seaweed. Between 1820 and 1850 natural 

 ice came into use, and transportation facilities were developed. The 

 cooling of fish with ice began in 1838 at Gloucester, Mass., when a 



2 For data and discussion of the economics of cold storage see G. K. Holmes, Cold 

 Storage Business Features, Bulletin 93, and Cold Storage and Prices, Bulletin 101, U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture, Washington. 



3 For an account of the history of the refrigeration of fish up to 1900 see Modern 

 Refrigeration of Food and Drinks — Refrigeration of Fish. Ice and Refrigeration, Vol. 

 XXI, 1901, pp. 91-94, Chicago. Also, Preservation of Fishery Products for Food, by 

 Chas H. Stevenson. Bulletin, United States Fish Commission, Vol. XVIII, 1898 (1899), 

 pp. 335-563. Washington. 



