UTILIZATIOX OF SHRIMP WASTK 109 



man who can take care of a dozen oi- more plants. This would in- 

 crease their revenue and also eliminate the nuisance. 



Cann<'rs. — The canning of shrimp is a factory operation involving 

 a considerable investment in equipment, machinery, and buildings. 

 Administrative ability equivalent to any other manufacturing opera- 

 tion is required for success. Many operators, by adding specialized 

 equipment at small exti'a expense, are able to utilize the factories 

 and stabilize labor by canning oysters, fruit, and vegetables when 

 shrimp are not available. While the canners supply unsealed pack- 

 age goods to fresh fish markets, a considerable proportion of the 

 stock is processed in sealed glass jars and cans for distribution 

 through wholesale grocers. The plants are generally located in 

 close proximity to independent dealers, although many are located 

 in isolated localities. 



SOURCES OF SHRIMP W^ASTE 



The canners of large and small quantities of shrimp look \\\)o\\ the 

 utilization of any wastes as a business proposition, considering the 

 fact that 43 to 45 per cent of the shrimp that is ordinarily thrown 

 away must be handled on the boats, be properly iced, handled at 

 the docks, put on ice or in a refrigerator, handled by the headers 

 and the peelers, and then quickly disposed of to prevent putrefaction 

 and fly infestation. A condition w'here operators pay $60 per ton 

 for shrimp, then throw overboard products for which $27 was paid, 

 is one deserving careful attention. 



In addition to the waste from the heading operation there are 

 available shrimp that have become softened and discolored by im- 

 proper handling and also those very small shrimp which can not be 

 economically handled for canning or which can not be marketed 

 as fresh shrimp. When the supply of shrimp becomes excessive, 

 the minimum size of the shrimp that the canneries will take becomes 

 larger, and thereby the amount of small or " undersized " shrimp 

 available as waste is increased. 



The portion of the shrimp which constitutes the waste is 43 to 

 45 per cent of the weight of the shrimp. The extent to which 

 this material is utilized is relative^ small, varying with the locality. 

 It is used green or raw for fertilizer, and in the dried form as 

 shrimp meal. In 1928 the amount of shrimp meal produced was 

 1,726 tons valued at $58,080. 



The installation of ver^^ little equipment, in some cases nothing 

 new or additional, will be required to convert this valuable shrimp 

 by-product into a desirable cattle feed. In 1927 the total amount 

 of shrimp caught on the eastern and southern coasts of the United 

 States was about 100.000,000 pounds. About half of this weight 

 was thrown overboard as waste. The conversion of this material 

 into commercial by-products would have paid the industry funds 

 which are at present realized only partially. 



Furthermore, where the . shrimp handlers are located in or near 

 a city or settlement, the throwing of the shrimp into the streams or 

 tidal water constitutes a nuisance that should be avoided. Already 

 laws are in force preventing the throwing of shrimp waste into the 

 waters of the trawling grounds and further legislation should be 

 directed against the promiscuous casting of this easily putrefiable 

 ^'aste where drainage and tidal washes do not carry it away. 



