The Fishing Industry

by William E. Gibbs

Antiseptic substances differ from disinfectant substances in that they do not kill micro-organisms, but only arrest their development.

As a rule, they are effective preserving agents, and do not make the food poisonous or unpalatable.

All these methods can be, and are, used for preserving fish, the method most commonly used being treatment with salt. Fish, however, are often kept in ice on board during a fishing trip and are then either packed in ice for transit under special storage conditions (if required fresh) or they are salted down.

Methods of Salting. Different methods of salting are used, according to the character of the fish and the locality. The fish are either cleaned (split and gutted) or salted “round” (whole). In general, the method used is one of the following—

(1) Dry-salting. The fish are cleaned, rolled in dry salt, and packed in layers in open casks. Each layer of fish is covered with a layer of salt.

(2) Brine Pickling. The fish are immersed in saturated brine, salt being added from day to day to restore the strength of the brine as it becomes weakened by the water which it extracts from the fish.

(3) Kenching. The fish, either split or round, are piled in layers in the hold of the ship, or on the floor of the warehouse, each layer being covered in turn with a layer of salt. The brine, as it forms, is allowed to drain away.

Of all these three methods, the first is undoubtedly more effective, more economical, and requires less attention than the second. The third method is often used on board ship and sometimes on shore as a temporary expedient when the catch is too large for the number of containers available.

In the dry-salt method, the fish are packed tightly in the casks, and are not afterwards disturbed. When cured they possess a characteristic dry, shrunken appearance.

Fish pickled in brine need attention every day. The brine has to be closely watched so that it shall not become too weak. Fresh salt has to be added daily, and the fish stirred up with wooden paddles to ensure uniform pickling.