FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1935 89 



PRESERVATION OF FISHERY BYPRODUCTS 



The demand for information on the economic utiUzation of fishery 

 waste materials is increasing. For this reason during 1935, our tech- 

 nologists continued an active investigational program on the preserva- 

 tion of fishery byproducts. Some of these projects were conducted in 

 the Seattle technological laboratory under the direction of K. "W. 

 Harrison, associate technologist in charge of that laboratory, with the 

 assistance of A. W. Anderson, assistant technologist, and Lyle Ander- 

 son, research associate appointed by the Musher Foundation. Other 

 byproducts investigations were carried on in the Gloucester laboratory 

 and later in the Bureau's College Park laboratory imder the super- 

 vision of J. M. Lemon, in charge of that laboratory, by S. R. Pottinger, 

 junior technologist, and George Tarrant, Harold E. Crowther, and 

 Joseph F. Puncochar, research associates appointed by L. T. Hop- 

 kinson, Washington, D. C. Mr. Tarrant has chemical training and 

 Messrs. Crowther and Puncochar are bacteriologists. These various 

 investigations are described in succeeding paragraphs. 



UTILIZATION OF SALMON CANNERY WASTE 



Approximately 200,000,000 pounds of salmon waste are at present 

 discarded each year. Complete utilization of this material would 

 provide the basis for an industry which would manufacture products 

 having a value exceeding $1,000,000 annually. 



In the past, numerous attempts have been made toward utilization 

 of this material but in only a very few cases wxre the efforts success- 

 ful. Many of these failures can be attributed to a lack of under- 

 standing of the reduction problem as required by salmon waste and 

 also to a lack of appreciation of the potCDtial value of salmon by- 

 products. Nevertheless a psychological state of mind has arisen 

 which has retarded further attempts of development on the part of 

 the industry. 



Realizing the great benefit the United States and Alaska would 

 derive from an industry of the magnitude indicated by the amount 

 of salmon waste material available and appreciating the efliects of 

 past experiences of the industry, the Bureau has continued its in- 

 vestigation of the problem with considerable deliberation and caution, 

 in order to assure a sound basis for future development. 



In this connection our technologists have endeavored to investigate 

 those phases of the reduction problem which caused difficulty in the 

 past, have worked on methods for overcoming these obstacles, and 

 are continuing a comprehensive study of the potential value of the 

 manufactured products which may be expected as a result of proper 

 operating methods. 



In our last report information was given with respect to the distri- 

 bution of fat and vitamins in salmon waste, the potential value of 

 each species and progress on specific specialized products. These 

 data have provided the industry with certain fundamental facts con- 

 cerning the relationship of the nature of the raw material to the 

 quality of the products to be obtained, as well as a guide to the 

 possibilities and limitations of specialized operations. 



Subsequent investigation has dealt largely with the reduction proc- 

 ess and its relationship to the efficiency of salmon waste utilization. 



