160 American Fisheries Society 



state of our country, steps are being taken in the direction o'f having 

 all the food fish that goes to the consumer so prepared that it shall 

 be fit for food. On many occasions in the past the consumer has found 

 fish absolutely unfit for food, and that has been the cause of many people 

 not liking fish and not eating fish. 



Mr. Marshall McLean, New York, N. Y. : May I ask Mr. Millett 

 if any provision is made for the utilization of third-grade fish? Fish 

 is a commodity which spoils rapidly. Could third-grade fish be manu- 

 factured into fertilizers or anything of that kind? 



Mr. Millett : Concerns like the Russia Cement Company would 

 take all the third-grade fish they could get for glue and fertilizer. I 

 mention this company because it operates in the vicinity of our city. 



Mr. McLean: Is that permissible under the law? 



Mr. Millett : Yes, as long as the fish do not get into the markets. 



President Avery: Are third-grade fish unfit for consumption? 



Mr. Millett : No, they are not ; that is the point. The law is very 

 misleading. Third-grade fish are fit for food, but not, of course, as good 

 as the first two grades. I may explain that during the summer, vessels 

 carrying twenty tons of ice, when they should carry sixty, go to the 

 Banks, fill up with fish, and bring them home. These fish are not all fit 

 for the Boston market, though they may be all right if salted, because 

 salt is a preservative. The firms in Gloucester are now making efforts 

 to bring about an arrangement under which they will not accept even 

 third-grade fish for their salting. In other words, they are going to use 

 for their salting the same grades of fish. No. 1 and No. 2, that you buy in 

 the market to eat fresh. 



Mr. Geo. D. Pratt, Albany, N. Y. : What is to become of your third- 

 grade fish? 



Mr. Millett : When a boat is out three weeks or more, the first two 

 weeks' catch can be salted on the vessel ; then the last weeks' catch can be 

 brought home in fresh condition. This would revolutionize the methods 

 of fishing during the hot summer months. 



Mr. W. E. Barber, La Crosse, Wis.: Are your fish houses licensed 

 in Massachusetts? 



Mr. Millett: No, except to the extent that they were licensed under 

 the Food Administration. 



Mr. Barber: The licensing of these institutions is important. It 

 seems to us in Wisconsin that a law licensing these fish-packing intitu- 

 tions would be most effective in bringing about observance of the law. 

 If they know they will lose their license if they violate the law, they 

 simply will not violate it. 



Mr. Geo. A, Lawyer, Washington, D. C. : What classes of fish are 

 denominated "third-grade"? 



Mr. Millett: Third-grade fish are simply those that are a little too 

 old to appear on the table. I do not know exactly how to explain it, 

 but they are fish that are not suitable for sale in retail markets. When 

 we catch fish for the markets our vessels go very heavily iced and the 



