392 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



buckets, kegs, or barrels in which they are sold. The containers are then headed 

 up and filled with concentrated brine. Storage should be in a cool place, and 

 constant care to keep the mullet at all times under a protective cover of brine is 

 made necessary by the high fat content of the flesh. 



The Salting of Lake Herring 



Large quantities of lake herring, trout, whitefish, pike, pickerel, saugers, 

 suckers, and other species of Great Lakes fish were formerly salted each year, but 

 the increased trade in the fresh- and frozen-fish business has resulted in a large 

 decrease in the production of salted fish. Except for small amounts of lake trout 

 the present packing is limited to lake herring. Statistics for 1945 showed that 

 a total production of this species amounted to 5,036,574 pounds, valued at 

 $158,988, the industry being centered largely in Michigan and Wisconsin. 



The methods of salting lake herring are essentially the same as have been 

 previously described for other species. The fish may be slit down the belly suf- 

 ficiently to remove the viscera and cured in a manner similar to split herring; or 

 they may be split and salted "mackerel style." In either case, though, the heads 

 are generally removed. The fish are packed in barrels and cured in their own 

 brine. After "striking through" (4 to 6 days) they can be removed from the 

 original containers for repacking. After washing in brine to remove excess salt, 

 etc. the fish are repacked in smaller barrels, usually of 100-pound capacity. A 

 light sprinkling of salt is placed on the bottom and top, as well as over each 

 tier of fish. After filling the barrels with 100° Sal. brine they are ready for shipping. 

 Storage should be in a cool place at all times. 



Miscellaneous Fishes 



In addition to the fishes discussed above, others are salted commercially in the 

 United States in limited quantities, often for the local trade. Chief among these 

 are the following: albacore or tuna, barracuda, bonito, blue runner, eel, hog- 

 choker, jewfish, paddlefish, pilchard, sablefish, sea bass, sea trout, and spot. Com- 

 plete statistics relative to the quantity and value of these fishes salted annually 

 in the United States are not available; however, in Table 90 (p. 376) are pre- 

 sented data for some of those listed. 



Because of lack of space descriptions of the methods used in salting each of 

 these fish cannot be included. These methods, although usually differing some- 

 what in various localities, are modifications of the general processes already dis- 

 cussed in some detail. 



REFERENCES 



Anderson, A. W., and Power, E. A., "Fishery Statistics of the United States 1945," 



U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Statistical Digest, 18 (1949). 

 Anon., "Scotch Cure of Herring," Alaska Piihlicitij Bureau Bull., 4 (1921). 

 Anon., "Herring and Allied Species, 1920-48," Food and Agriculture Organization of 



the United Nations, First Progress Report (1949). 

 Cobb, J. N., "Pacific Salmon Fisheries," U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Doc., 902 (1921). 

 Haaland, C. S., "Salting of Mackerel," Aarsberetning vedkommende Norges Fiskerier 



1924, I, 34 (1924). 

 Jarvis, N. D., "Method of Dry Salting Fish in Southern States," U. S. Bureau of Fisheries 



Mem., S 332 (1933). 



