370 



MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



wind, 2 lots may be dried in a single day; but during bad weather a week or more 

 may be required. The degree to which the fish are dried depends upon the trade. 

 If they are to be sold in the southern states, they must be much drier than if they 

 are intended for the local New England market. Fish for export must be dried 

 as completely as possible. As flake drying is usually insufficient in the moist New 

 England climate, such fish are dried further in specially constructed driers. 



iCourtcsy U. S. Fish and IVildlifc Service) 

 Fig. 17-1. Skinning and packing dry salt codfish. 



Skinning and Boning. The fish are sorted as to quality and size. The first 

 quality cod are thick and uniformly white, with no bloodstains, and they have a 

 "sweet" odor. If they remain long in the sorting room or if the weather is hot and 

 humid, they are sprinkled with fine salt containing 0.4 per cent boric acid to 

 eliminate danger from reddening. After sorting they are hauled to the "skinning 

 loft" or to the packing rooms. If the cod are to be sold in the south or to the 

 cheaper trade, they are heavily dusted with salt containing boric acid and tied in 

 bundles which are packed in boxes or drums. 



If the fish are to be packed for the northern retail trade, they are usually 

 skinned, split and boned, and packed in small packages. These operations are 

 carried out by skilled workers in a "skinning loft." The dorsal and ventral fins are 

 removed first. The skin is pulled loose at the napes and in toward the middle 

 of the back and then toward the tail. Care must be taken that the flesh is not torn. 

 After the tail is cut off, the fish are turned over and the nape bones removed with 

 a small iron gaff called a "bone hooker." The remaining portion of the backbone 

 is then cut out and the pectoral fins cut off. Other operators then remove the larger 

 bones with small pliers. The yellow and stained portions are cut away and the 

 cod are cut into strips to fit the boxes being packed. Inasmuch as the large thick 

 "middles" or "steaks" command the highest prices, the larger fish are cut so as to 

 obtain as much of this meat as possible. These middles are usually packed in 

 5- or 10-pound boxes. The smaller pieces are packed in 1- and 2-pound boxes. 

 Some salters pack their product in attractive wooden boxes lined with white 

 parchment paper; others put the fish in a neatly lithographed carton lined with 

 parchment paper. The white trimmings are made into "fluff" or "fibered codfish" 



