FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 11 



odor and flavor from some kinds of fish oils and render them suitable for food. For 

 several years whale and possibly some fish oils have been hardened by hydrogenation 

 in Norway and Germany, and within the last six months a lard substitute made in 

 this way from Pacific coast herring has appeared on the American market. 



Before the war whale oil was being hydrogenated in Norway, the 

 Netherlands, and Germany, and a plant is now in operation in 

 England capable of caring for all whale oil likely to arrive. The 

 hardened fat is white, odorless, and tasteless. It is used as a sub- 

 stitute for tallow and the best quality for margarine. 



FISH SCRAP. 



The annual production of scrap for fertilizer will approximate 

 60,000 tons. In 1918, on the basis of available data, the production 

 of menhaden scrap amounted to nearly 50,000 tons, that of sardine, 

 salmon, tuna, etc., on the west coast, including Alaska, to more than 

 2,300 tons (exclusive of fish meaD, and that of the Alaska whale 

 fishery to 850 tons. Additional material is produced in New England, 

 especially in connection with the fishery for sardines and herring; 

 in the States bordermg on the Gulf of Mexico, principally from 

 shrimp waste; on the Great Lakes, etc. The use of sardines for 

 conversion into oil and scrap or meal on the coast of southern Cali- 

 fornia appears to be on the increase, over 33 million pounds having 

 been reported so used in 1919. It is reported that a ton of sardines 

 will yield up to 25 gallons of oil and 500 pounds of meal or scrap. 



Persons in the fisheries have been encouraged to save their fish 

 waste and have been furnished information regarding methods 

 and machinery. To care for the comparatively small quantities 

 of waste, there appears to be need for an efficient and inexpensive 

 plant — one that is capable of reducing the oil content of the scrap 

 to a low percentage. 



FISH MEAL. 



To meet the increasing demand for protein feeds for hogs, cattle, 

 and poultry, the Bureau has continued to urge upon the manufac- 

 turers employing fish waste the importance of using such of their 

 products as are suitable for manufacture into fish meal. As the 

 menhaden industry affords the greatest prospective source of supply, 

 particular attention has been given to this field. The shrimp fishery 

 of the south Atlantic and Gulf States is another promising field, in 

 which until recently not more than 50 per cent of the waste has been 

 used. One of the Bureau's assistants who visited this field during 

 the year estimates that this industry is capable of yielding from 7,500 

 to 10,000 tons of raw waste, equivalent to from 1,500 to 2,000 tons 

 of scrap or meal per annum. At the time of his visit, this waste was 

 not being utilized m the Apalachicola and Fernandina (Fla.) districts, 

 nor in the St. Marys ancT Brunswick (Ga.) section, districts which 

 should supply about three-eighths of available material. The bulk 

 of that now saved is in the Barataria Bay district, the center of the 

 shrimp-drying industry, in which the shrimp are sun-dried on large 

 wooden platforms. The heads and shells are a by-product. It is 

 believed that the successful solution of the problem will require the 

 use of rotary driers, and at least three companies made provision 

 during the year for the saving of this material. 



