REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OP FISHERIES. 49 



It is believed that at least 25,000 barrels of Scotch-cured herring will 

 have been prepared in Alaska in 1917, this in addition to a substantial 

 pack of herring prepared in the Norwegian style. The largest pack 

 of Norwegian herring heretofore made in Alaska in any one year was 

 approximately 18,000 barrels. 



Efforts are being made by the Bureau's agents to develop the use 

 of other species of fishes, particularly the sablefish and atkafish. The 

 latter, improperly called atka mackerel, is excellent when salted like 

 mackerel. It is abundant in parts of Alaska but is entirely unknown 

 in the markets. 



MARKETING CARP ALIVE. 



The carp is generally marketed fresh, smoked, or alive, the principal 

 markets being in the large cities in the East which have a foreign 

 population. As a result of various inquiries regarding the feasibility 

 of shipping carp alive from Pacific Coast States to New York City and 

 other eastern points, the Bureau conducted' a brief investigation of 

 the methods employed in handling this product. Normally two car- 

 loads of carp are shipped each week into New York City, principally 

 from Port Clinton or Sandusky, Ohio, occasionally from other points 

 in the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi Valley region. 



The fish are transferred from the nets to large live cars and towed 

 to the shipping point or to retaining ponds to be held for shipment 

 later. Those held in ponds are fed regularly on grain to fatten and 

 harden them. At the point of shipment, the carp are transferred to 

 tanks in the cars, which are usually old baggage cars. Each car is 

 equipped with 8 to 10 galvanized-iron tanks arranged along the sides 

 with a passageway about 2 feet wide running through the center. The 

 space under the passageway serves to hold ice in which the fish which 

 die in transit are iced. 



The tanks are about 3 feet wide, 3 feet deep, and 8 to 10 feet long, 

 heavily reinforced with strips of angle iron. A strip of metal about 

 8 inches wide extends inward from the upper edge to keep the water 

 from sloshing out and the fish from jumping out. When the car is 

 in motion the balance of the opening is covered with a solid cover. 

 Running lengthwise along the bottom of the tanks are one-half-inch 

 galvanized-iron pipes, perforated at intervals of about 4 inches along 

 the upper side with very small, uniform-sized openings for aeration. 

 A wire grating covers these pipes. When the car is stationary or 

 moving slowly, air is passed through the pipes by a pump operated 

 by a set of storage batteries, which are recharged while the car is in 

 motion by a belt attached to the car axle. When the car is moving 

 more rapidly, a floor pump, connected directly with the axle of the 

 car furnishes the necessary power. In warm weather the air, before 

 entering the tanks, is cooled by passing through a set of coils sur- 

 rounded with ice. In transit the constant attention of a skilled 

 attendant is required to care for machinery and fish. 



The amount of fish which can be transported with reasonable safety 

 depends upon prevailing conditions of temperature and distance, 

 varying from about 8,000 to 20,000 pounds. 



At the terminus, the fish are transferred to tanks on automobile 

 trucks and delivered to the retailers, who have tanks with running 



