FREEZING AND THAWING OF LIVE FISH 76 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 22a 



At 8 a.m. the next day one was taken out and put into warm water. It 

 recovered completely in less than one minute, and lived for days. The rest 

 put back in refrigerator. 



At 4 p.m. they were taken out and all recovered completely. 



This experiment was not carried any further. 



Conclusions. 



From Experiments I, II and III it is seen that the fish will not survive 

 for any length of time a temperature of -1°C. or lower. 



The lower the temperature the shorter the time they will survive. 



In experiment III the fish lived for 25 minutes at -1°C. 



In experiment II the fish lived for 6 minutes at -3i°C. 



At 0° C. and without water they survived for 24 hours and were in good 

 condition at the end of that time. 



Further experiments would be useful in solving the problem of shipments 

 of live fish. 



The fishermen's accounts are evidently partly true. Experiment IV shows 

 that even when apparently frozen stiff they recover on being warmed, if the 

 exposure be not for too long a time. 



One withstood a temperature of -15°C. for 10 minutes, but 15 minutes 

 proved fatal. 



It seems (Exp. V) that even when apparently frozen stiff the viscera are 

 not frozen at all. The body is covered with an ice coating as the water ad- 

 hering to the fish freezes. 



The flesh may even be quite stiff also, but there does not seem to be any 

 freezing of the blood or flesh, but only a stiffening due to the low temperature. 



f 



