THE AMERICAN SHRIMP INDUSTRY 



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The rollers are inclined at an angle of about 15° so that the shrimp fed into 

 one end are carried by gravity toward the discharge end. A series of several 

 hundred rubber- tipped springs operate with a vertical motion against the rollers. 



(Courtesy Southern Fisherman) 



Fig. 28-4. The shrimp peeling machine has only recently been put into operation. It is 

 reported to be much more eflBcient than the hand method. 



When the shrimp pass along the rollers, these rubber-tipped springs gently mas- 

 sage them against the revolving rubber rollers. This gradually loosens the shell, 

 which is finally caught between the rollers as they revolve and is pulled off 

 between them. The shrimp meat is too large to become caught between the rollers 

 and is carried toward the discharge end of the machine. 



It is stated that the machine recovers between 10 and 15 pounds more meat 

 per barrel of shrimp than is possible with hand pickers. A patent covering the 

 machine has been applied for. 



Drying 



Sun-dried shrimp were first prepared in Louisiana in 1873, when the Chinese 

 began to immigrate to the Barataria Bay region of that state. The production of 

 dried shrimp in 1948 was 1,233,199 pounds, valued at approximately $690,000. 



