CHAPTER IX 



THE CURING AXD PRESERVATION OF FISH 



THE preservation of fishes for use as food long after they 

 have been caught is a matter of constantly increasing 

 importance to the prosperity of the fishing industry. 

 In most other food supplying industries the produce can 

 be kept fresh for the market comparatively easily. Dry 

 grain will keep indefinitely ; vegetables and fruits with 

 proper care will generally remain " fresh " long enough 

 to reach distant markets. Oxen, sheep and pigs may be 

 transported to the market alive, and then slaughtered 

 as required. But a fish as soon as it is taken from the 

 water dies and speedily begins to decay. 



Fish, like other foodstuffs, whether animal or vegetable, 

 decays as a result of the growth in it and on it of certain 

 micro-organisms (bacteria, moulds). These micro- 

 organisms swarm in the air and on exposed surfaces all 

 the world over. Generally speaking, they flourish 

 best at ordinary temperatures and in a moist environment. 



Foodstuffs can be preserved from decay only by 

 preventing the growth and development of these decay 

 organisms. They can be killed outright by any of the 

 ordinary sterilizing processes such as exposure to 

 sufficient extremes of heat or cold, or by treatment with 

 disinfectant substances (germicides) such as carbolic 

 acid or hypochlorites. Clearly, however, foodstuffs 

 cannot be preserved indefinitely by the simple process 

 of killing all the organisms that are resident on the 

 foodstuff at the time of treatment, for, as soon as the 

 foodstuff is exposed to the air, it will become infected 

 afresh. 



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