16 American Fisheries Society 



commercial quantities have been perfected, methods of removing, 

 curing and boxing the hides in a manner acceptable to the tanner 

 ascertained and the information supplied to inquirers. Tanners 

 have been supplied with hides for experimentation without cost 

 and encouraged to overcome difficulties in tanning. Tests have 

 been made as to tensile strength and other qualities of fish leather 

 as a basis for comparison with other leathers, and manufacturers 

 interested to determine to what uses such leathers are best suited. 



As a result the production of fish leather is an established fact. 

 One company has a tannery devoted to the production of such 

 leathers and fishing stations for the assemblage of raw hides, 

 and a second company advises that it is collecting large stocks 

 of hides and equipping a tannery in which to tan and finish. such 

 leathers. Other companies are still experimenting with these 

 hides. Leathers which are soft and pliable, of adequate strength 

 for many uses, are being produced and used for the manufacture 

 of bags and the like. It is understood that the supply is entirely 

 inadequate. 



Our present annual production of fish oils is in the neighborhood 

 of six million gallons. The demands for and uses of such oils are 

 increasing and the prices are attractive. For illustration, because 

 of the scarcity and high price of linseed oil, makers of paints and 

 varnishes are concerned about the supply of drying oils and are 

 turning to the fisheries to determine the suitability of such oils 

 for their purposes and the proper available supplies of oils. In 

 line with the Bureau's efforts to build up a fishery for sharks, in 

 addition to saving the hides for leather purposes it is urging the 

 extraction of the liver oil to supply the deficiency and the con- 

 version of the balance of the fish into scrap for fertilizer. Samples 

 of the liver oils of various sharks and rays are being assembled and 

 subjected to careful chemical analysis to ascertain more definitely 

 their properties and to what uses they are best suited. 



An effort is being made to meet the need for new and enlarged 

 sources of supply of protein feeds for hogs, cattle and poultry. As 

 experiments made by the Bureau of Animal Industry indicate 

 that fish meal is a satisfactory feed, fully the equal of tankage 

 for feeding purposes, the production of this product is being 

 encouraged. On the east coast where but little has been made, 

 methods for producing a satisfactory meal from menhaden have 



