26 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
The foregoing considerations lead to the presentation of the following suggestions 
and information for persons who may he in position to undertake the preparation of 
bait for use in the sardine fishery: 
(«) Ovaries in which the eggs are sufficiently developed to be separable are suitable for bait. 
They should be removed and salted as soon as possible after the fish are caught. In the offshore 
vessel fisheries the roes may be salted loosely in barrels or vats, and repacked in suitable barrels after 
the vessels return to port. In the shore fisheries the salting may be deferred until the boats land their 
catch. When practicable, the ovaries should be removed entire and salted between layers of dry, 
rather fine, salt. The salting should be thorough, so that no salt need be put in the barrels in which 
the roe is shipped. 
(b) The repacking of the roe is to be commended and will amply repay the extra labor involved. 
The barrels should be of uniform size, neat, and well made. While the size of the barrels is not a 
matter of much importance, the sardine fishermen have become accustomed to a barrel holding about 
140 to 144 kilograms (308 to 316 pounds) of roe, and their preference should be borne in mind. 
Barrels should have not less than 300 pounds of roe, net, and should have no unoccupied space. The 
pressing of the roe, in order to completely fill the barrel, is desirable. Escape should be provided for 
the brine that may run from the eggs, by boring several small holes near the ends of the barrel. 
(c) The grading of the eggs is recommended. Eggs of different degrees of ripeness and from 
different species should not be mixed in the same barrel. The amount of ovarian membrane should 
be reduced to a minimum; after salting, this can be stripped off more easily than when the eggs were 
fresh. Loose eggs, resulting from ovaries ruptured while fresh or in process of salting, should he 
packed in separate barrels. 
( d ) The barrels should be marked with the name of the packer, together with the kind and grade 
of the roe. The eggs of all the members of the cod family may properly he labeled “cod.” The net 
weight of the roe (in kilograms) might also be put on each barrel. Backers desirous of establishing 
and increasing their trade will of course see that no discrepancy exists between the contents of the 
barrels and the marks on the outside. 
(e) American bait now goes by steamer to Havre and thence by rail to the fishing towns. The 
freight on a barrel of roe from Havre to Concarneau is 6 francs. Roe might be sent directly to the 
fishing towns, or to some center on the west coast, from which it might be distributed at less cost than 
from Havre. The present duty on roe is about 1 franc per barrel of 144 kilograms. Bait-dealers or 
agents may be found in all the leading fishing towns. It is reported that they make a net profit of 20 
per cent on the roe handled. 
