FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 9 



the demand equaled or exceeded the catch. With the return of men 

 and vessels to the fishery, production again exceeded demand. 



With the object of preventing needless waste of these fish and in- 

 creasing efficiency of operations with reduction in cost of product to 

 the consumer, the Bureau undertook to develop larger markets which 

 would absorb the entire catch. For this purpose it issued an illus- 

 trated placard recommending these firm, white-meated fish and an 

 economic circular containing recipes for preparing them for the table, 

 and detailed an assistant to aid in encouraging the use of these fish 

 in cities in the South. In this campaign particular attention was 

 given to encouraging dealers to handle the groupers, to instructing 

 them in the best methods of preparing the fish for sale, and to increas- 

 ing their use by restaurants and cafes. Groupers are usually shipped 

 headed and gutted. For sale to the consumer it appears desirable to 

 skin the fish and remove the fins. They are then suitable for filleting. 

 These operations, as described in Economic Circular No. 44, follow: 



Lay the fish on its side, with the head end pointing toward you and the back toward 

 the knife hand (the hand Avith which the operator uses the knife). Insert the knife 

 to a depth of 1 to l^ inches behind the end of the back fin and draw the length of the 

 fish, cutting close to the fin, thus severing the skin and the flesh from tail to head. 



Turn the fish end for end, laying it on its other side, and repeat as above, drawing 

 the knife along the length of the fin from the head to the tail. Using a piece of biu-lap 

 to prevent the hand slipjiing, or a pair of pliers, catch the back fin at the front end 

 and pull it out. 



Tiu-n the fish, tail pointing from you and the belly toward the knife hand. Grasp 

 the pectoral fin, the fin just back of the gills, in the free hand and thrust the knife 

 into the fish just back of it and cut both ways. The collar bone, which is thus cut loose, 

 is removed by pulling on the fin. The small, thin bone remaining, which connects 

 the hide and meat, is removed with a stroke of the knife. Repeat the operation on 

 the other side. 



Turn the fish, tail pointing toward you and the belly toward the knife hand. _ Com- 

 plete the splitting of the fish, and remove the belly fins. With pliers or a piece of 

 biu-lap catch the corner of the hide at the head end nearest the back and strip off by 

 pulling toward the tail. Repeat the process for the other side and complete the re- 

 moval of the skin and tail by a stroke of the cleaver at the base of the tail fin. 



It appears that the results which the Bureau expected to accom- 

 plish have in a measure been negatived by other factors, such as labor 

 difficulties. 



INCREASING THE USE OF BY-PRODUCTS OF THE FISHERIES. 



The development of uses for the by-products of the fisheries and 

 the unutilizecl products of the sea to the greatest economic advantage 

 represents one of the most promising fields for research and for in- 

 creasing the Nation's resources open to the Bureau. Although handi- 

 capped tlirough lack of provision for the permanent employment of 

 an adequately tramed technologist and for funds, it has continued its 

 efforts m this field in so far as its limited facilities will permit and has 

 achieved results cited in the following pages which indicate the im- 

 portance of the work and the possibilities of saving fishery products 

 possessing a value many times the cost of the service. Among its 

 activities mention should be made of the results of its efforts to in- 

 crease the use of fish waste and waste fish for conversion into oil and 

 scrap for fertilizer, to .encourage the production of fish and shrimp 

 meal as an animal feed, the use of the hides of fishes and other unutil- 

 ized aquatic animals for leather, the development of a fishery for 

 sharks, and the reestablishment of fisheries for porpoises, sea lions, 

 hair seals, and other unutilized aquatic animals. 



