Marketing 

 a premium 

 product 



About a year ago, Bob Hines, Sea 

 Grant marine advisory services agent 

 at Bogue Banks, got a call about some 

 eels. He agreed to meet the caller at 

 the NCSU Eel Culture Project in 

 Aurora, but little did he realize the 

 future importance of that call. The 

 caller was Alex Catenis of the Alpha 

 Export Import Company, a firm which 

 specifically exports fish products to 

 Europe. And, Catenis had picked the 

 right man to contact that day. 



As part of his daily work, Hines 

 deals with commercial fishermen and 

 seafood processors in North Carolina's 

 central coastal area. A major respon- 

 sibility is finding markets for the 

 fishermen's catch. And, the Sea Grant- 

 Alpha meeting produced another 

 market for eels. 



Catenis says, "Basically, my func- 

 tion is to keep our manufacturing 

 plants in Germany and surrounding 

 areas running full time with eels. We 

 have highly sophisticated com- 

 puterized smokers, and we are an- 

 ticipating buying a minimum of 40,000 

 pounds of North Carolina eel in 1981 

 for smoking." 



According to Catenis, Europeans eat 

 fish products at 70 percent of their 

 meals. "It's so readily available, very 

 nutritious and low in cost. In Europe, 

 fish markets with smoked, fresh and 

 frozen fish products are what the 

 butcher shops were to the United 

 States twenty-five years ago." 



Photo by Neil Caudle 



Bob Hines 



In addition to eels, Catenis is also 

 hoping to experiment with other North 

 Carolina species, such as bluefish and 

 mullet. "I hope the bluefish will go," 



he says, "and if they do, we will open 

 up a good market for fishermen on the 

 coast. I have high hopes for the 

 bluefish." Samples of bluefish and 

 mullet are now being sent to the Ger- 

 man plants for tests. 



To meet his company's immediate 

 needs for eels, Catenis has worked up a 

 long-range plan that will eventually 

 establish new business in North 

 Carolina. Presently, he wants to ob- 

 tain more North Carolina eels and 



For excellent fish and seafood to 

 smoke at home, North Carolinians 

 need go no further than the nearest 

 stream or ocean waters for an abun- 

 dancy in resources. Joyce Taylor of the 

 Seafood Lab recommends fish high in 

 fat content, such as bluefish, mullet, 

 trout, mackerel, herring, eel, catfish 

 and amberjack. Fresh clams, oysters, 

 scallops and shrimp can also be 

 smoked successfully. 



For the home smoker, a simple 

 smoke oven can either be purchased 

 ready-made or constructed from an old 

 refrigerator, stove, barrel or even with 

 a foil tent over an hibachi. Non- 

 resinous hardwoods, such as hickory, 

 oak, apple, maple or birch, impart the 

 best flavors. 



reach more eel fishermen that will fish 

 for his company and meet his specifica- 

 tions. In Canada, he has an organiza- 

 tion of eel fishermen working for 

 Alpha, and he would like to duplicate 

 that here. Catenis and Bob Hines are 

 also working on constructing an eel 

 grader similar to one used now in 

 Canada. Eventually, with a good eel 

 fishery established, an eel processing 

 plant and a smoking business could be 

 constructed on the coast. 



The procedure described below for 

 home smoking is recommended by the 

 University of Wisconsin Sea Grant 

 Program. For more information on 

 smoking techniques and home 

 smokers, write the NCSU Seafood 

 Laboratory, P.O. Drawer 1137, 

 Morehead City, N.C. 28557 or call 

 (919) 726-7341. 



1. Use freshly caught dressed fish, 

 whole or filleted. Larger whole fish can 

 be split lengthwise to, but not through, 

 the back skin so they will lie flat. Very 

 large fish can be steaked. Wash the fish 

 thoroughly. 



Continued on next page 



Smoking your catch 



Photo by Cassie Griffin 



For home smoking, a short stem metal meat thermometer 

 is necessary for measuring flesh temperature 



