UTILIZATION OF THE FISH WASTE OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 67 
the Alaska herring are not in demand, bring a low price, and exhibit 
poor keeping properties. 
During the year 1913 about 6,000,000 pounds of herring were pre- 
pared for use other than in the manufacture of fertilizer. This 
application of herring is itemized in the following table : 1 
Table XV. — Use of herring other than for fertilizer. 
Application. 
Quantity. 
Value. 
Fresh, for bait 
Pounds. 
3,936,500 
231,935 
692,400 
256,200 
5,259,520 
17,371 
Dollars. 
22,245 
Frozen, for bait 
2,291 
Picklea, for food 
26,832 
Pickled, for bait 
3,297 
Dry salted, for food 
50,183 
Smoked, for food 
1,257 
Total 
10,393,926 
106,105 
Even in the present stage of development of the herring-salting 
and herring- fertilizer industries, the two are supposed to be in con- 
flict with each other, and it is being proposed that the fertilizer 
industry be suppressed. Since the food demands of the Nation must 
take precedence over all others, if the manufacture of fertilizer from 
herring is bringing about such a depletion of the supply of these fish 
that the demands for them as a food fish are not satisfied, it is fitting 
that the former use be restricted or suppressed. There seems to 
be no authentic information substantiating the belief entertained by 
some that the herring-salting industry is suffering from the activity 
of the herring-fertilizer industry. In fact, when the herring fish- 
eries of Alaska are compared with those of the northern shores of 
the Atlantic, it is seen that the total number caught there is insig- 
nificant; about 22,000,000 pounds are utilized in Alaska for all 
purposes, while in the north Atlantic, about 900,000,000 pounds are 
utilized. 
Obviously, it is greatly to the advantage of the Nation that the 
fish of the sea be put to some use. Their application to the soil as 
fertilizer is only one step removed from their direct utilization as 
food, since when so used they go to increase the food supply. Their 
utilization in this manner is very much more to the advantage of 
everyone concerned than putting them to no use whatever. Ulti- 
mately, the fish resources of the country will be developed to their 
fullest economical usefulness, when they will be drawn upon to 
supply man with greatly increased amounts of food. Until such a 
time they should be open to supervised use in whatever way industry 
demands. 
1 From Bower and Fassett, loc. cit. 
