of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



APPENDIX III. 



FISH CANNING. 



From inquiries wliich have reached the Board there is reason to believe 

 that increasing attention is being paid to the possibilities of developing 

 the fish-canning industry, and the following observations on the subject 

 may therefore be of interest. 



In so far as herrings are concerned the mainstay of the industry, as is 

 well known, has been the demand for pickled herrings in the interior of 

 Europe, and as this demand furnished an assured outlet for the catch the 

 home market was comparatively neglected. Little or no attempt was 

 therefore made to popularise the herring as an article of food, and the 

 result of relying mainly upon the continental markets was seen when, 

 owing to the cutting off of these markets by the outbreak of war, curers 

 were left with large stocks of cured herrings, in disposing of which great 

 difficulty was experienced. 



So long as pickled herrings continue to be esteemed as an article of 

 food by the continental masses, the question of finding and developing 

 new outlets for the catch — provided trade with the interior of Europe can 

 be re-established — will doubtless not be a pressing one, yet the fact re- 

 mains that pickled herrings are in demand only by populations in a lowly 

 economic condition, and that as prosperity increases and the standard of 

 living becomes higher the demand for herrings in their pickled form falls 

 away. It is therefore possible to envisage a time, even if it be in the 

 distant future, when the outlet for pickled herrings will gradually dwindle, 

 and it is accordingly only a measure of ordinary precaution to look around 

 and consider what alternative outlets may be developed. 



The problem is undoubtedly a difficult one. The annual herring 

 catch is so enormous, the fish is so perishable, the ports of landing are in 

 many cases so remote from the large consuming centres, and the transport 

 arrangements are so limited and difficult to organise, that only a fraction 

 of it can be consumed fresh. It consequently becomes necessary to pre- 

 serve the fish, and not only so, but to preserve it in a form which will 

 appeal to popular tastes. The form of preservation which up to the 

 present has had the greatest success is kippering, but unfortunately this 

 method affords only a slight protection, as kippers will not keep for more 

 than five or six days in warm weather. 



This being so, tinning appears to be the only method of cure which 

 combines the two essentials of affording permanent preservation and 

 appealing to the tastes of the British consumer, and as the bulk of the 

 herrings tinned hitherto have so far been exported, the home market 

 appears to afford a promising field for exploitation. 



The conditions which are usually considered necessary to successful 

 herring tinning are (a) a reliable and lengthy fishing, with occasional gluts, 

 (b) herrings of medium size and rich quality, (c) adequate labour, princi- 

 pally female, and (d) transport facilities. 



With regard to the first of these conditions the seasonal nature of 

 the herring fishing will always be a handicap. The duration of the season 

 at the principal centres seldom exceeds fourteen weeks, and it conse- 

 quently becomes necessary, if plant and capital are not to lie idle for 



