8 American Fisheries Society 



are taken from the water and, after transporting them in refriger- 

 ator cars, to distribute them in trucks with low temperature 

 storage, placing them in the hands of the consumer in the original 

 frozen state, a product when thawed out properly, quite comparable 

 to the fish as taken from the water. 



Preservation and Utilization. Conservation in its broadest 

 sense has to do not with the saving of some waste product such as 

 fish scales, but with the development of improved methods of 

 doing things, methods which will result in the saving of expense, 

 time, labor and materials. There is a very real need for conserva- 

 tion in the preservation and utilization of fishery products. Our 

 knowledge of the underlying factors governing the preservation 

 of fish is wholly inadequate. 



The effects of icing, refrigeration and cold storage on different 

 species and on the same species for varying conditions or periods 

 of time, the factors of decomposition, including a study of the 

 bacteriological phases of the subject, should receive thorough 

 study, and practical application made of the results to effect 

 economies and improvements in methods and the prevention or 

 retardation of decomposition. 



Abroad the freezing of fish in brine is being advocated. Of this 

 method, it is claimed that fish may be frozen in one-tenth or less 

 of the time required to freeze in air, and that a superior product 

 is produced. This is explained by the fact that in rapid freezing 

 the formation of water crystals in the tissues of the fish and the 

 consequent disruption of cell-walls and losses of juices is prevented. 

 The several methods of refrigeration and the qualities of the 

 finished products, including the histology of the effects on the 

 tissues, should be investigated that we may know definitely the 

 merits and defects of the different processes and the physical 

 and chemical changes which tend to impair the edible qualities 

 of the frozen fish. 



At first thought, the problems of drying fish by artificial means 

 may appear quite simple. Because of the many factors which 

 enter in to influence the character of the product, they are in 

 reality highly complex. The temperature and humidity of the 

 air and the volume of air passing per unit of time over the product 

 affect the rate of drying. The manner of application of the warm 

 air is also important, for if warm dry air is used from the start, the 



