IS IFISH INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES HEARING BEFORE A JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE OF COMMERCE AND FISHERIES UNITED STATES SENATE SIXTY-FIFTH CONGKESS SECOND SESSION TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1918 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 191S COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE. DUNCAN D. FLETCHER, of Florida, Chairman. GEORGE E. CHAMBERLAIN, of Oregon. JOSEPH E. RANSDELL, of Louisiana. MORRIS SHEPPARD, of Texas. JAMES K.' VARDAMAN, of Mississippi. JOHN K. SHIELDS, of Tennessee. THOMAS S. MARTIN, of Virginia. JOHN H. BANKHEAD, of Alabama. FURNIFOLD McL. SIMMONS, of North Carolina. JAMES A. REED, of Missouri. WILLIAM F. KIRBY, of Arkansas. KNUTE NELSON, of Minnesota. WILLIAM ALDEN SMITH, of Michigan. WELSEY L. JONES, of Washington. LAWRENCE Y. SHERMAN, of Illinois. WARREN G. HARDING, of Ohio. BERT M. FERNALD, of Maine. WILLIAM M. CALDER, of New York. HIRAM W. JOHNSON, of California. IRVINE L. LENROOT, of Wisconsin. COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES. JOHN F. NUGENT, of Idaho, Chairman. DUNCAN U. FLETCHER, of Florida. THOMAS S. MARTIN, of Virginia. JOSIAII 0. WOLCOTT, of Delaware. WALTER GUION, of Louisiana. WESLEY L. JONES, of Washington. CHARLES CURTIS, of Kansas. BERT M. FERNALD, of Maine. DAVID BAIRD, of New Jersey. JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE. Mr. FLETCHER, of Commerce. 2 Mr. NUGENT, of Fisheries. DEC 6 lit® ~6 FISH LNDUSTBY IN THE UNITED STATES. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1918. United States Senate, Subcommittees of the Committee on Commerce and Committee on Fisheries, Washington, D. C. ~ The subcommittees of the Committee on Commerce and Committee on Fisheries met at 10 o'clock a. m. in the committee room of the Committee on Commerce, Capitol, in joint session, pursuant to call, Senator Duncan U. Fletcher presiding. Present: Senators Fletcher (chairman) and Nugent. Present also : Senator Robert L. Owen and Senator James D. Phe- lan; Dr. Carl L. Alsberg, Chief Bureau of Chemistry; Dr. E. D. Clark, assistant to Chief Bureau of Chemistry; Dr. F. W. Weber, chemist in charge of Animal Physiological Laboratory, Bureau of Chemistry; and Dr. M. E. Pennington, Chief Food Research Lab- oratory, Bureau of Chemistry, of the Department of Agriculture; Dr. E. E. Coker, assistant in charge of Division of Scientific Inquiry, Bureau of Fisheries, and Mr. L. Radcliffe, assistant in charge of Division of Statistics and Methods, Bureau of Fisheries, of the Department of Commerce. The Chairman. Dr. Alsberg, will you kindly make a general state- ment for the purpose of the record ? STATEMENT OF DR. CARL L. ALSBERG, CHIEF OF BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. Dr. Alsberg. The Bureau of Chemistry has had a small appropria- tion of some $14,000 or $15,000 for four or five years for the pro- motion of the utilization of fishes for food and other uses. When the present war emergency arose it seemed wise to spend a part of that appropriation in stimulating the production of fish in various seaboard States, among others in California. For that purpose Dr. E. D. Clark, who had been under Dr. Pennington in charge of the fish-handling work which was done in the Southeast and Gulf waters, was sent to California in order to stimulate the production of fish for food purposes there. The work which he was instructed to under- take was along several lines. In the first place, he was instructed to investigate the best methods of canning and packing the various fish now being canned and packed in California — in the main sardines and various varieties of tuna — and in addition to endeavor to induce the California packers to can other varieties not now used to any appre- ciable extent for food, such as barracuda and anchovy and a consid- erable number of other varieties that are now but little used. 3 4 FISH INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES, In addition he was instructed to look into the question of the ship- ping of fresh fish inland, which he had already studied with Dr. Pennington. A further direction in which he was instructed to work was to promote the preservation of fish by other methods than canning, such as by salting, smoking, kippering, and drying, which have some advantages over canning in that they do not require so extensive equipment, nor use tin plate, but have a disadvantage in that the product is not so completely imperishable as are canned foods. These are the three directions along which he was instructed to operate: To improve methods of canning and to endeavor to stimu- late the use of varieties not now utilized; to assist in whatever way possible in the transportation to market of fresh fish, especially varieties not now being utilized. I might mention shad, the roe of which is shipped and the fish itself is not eaten very much in the bay cities in the vicinity of San Francisco. My statement on that is right, is it not, Dr. Clark? Dr. Clark. Yes. Dr. Alsberg. And also to stimulate and investigate the salting and smoking and similar methods of curing and preserving fish. As I said, those are the three lines of work that he was supposed to un- dertake. Some of our bulletins, reports, and statements to the trade are submitted for the Senators' inspection. Senator Fletcher. Has the Bureau of Fisheries cooperated in that work, or has your investigation been independent of that? Dr. Alsberg. No, Senator; there has been nothing done by the Bureau of Chemistry which has not been done with the cooperation and knowledge and approval of the Bureau of Fisheries. No work has been undertaken at any time by the Bureau of Chemistry without getting the approval of the Bureau of Fisheries before it was begun. Are you interested in learning how the Bureau of Chemistry got into this work at all ? Senator Owen. I would like to know it. Dr. Alsberg. Well, it is largely my fault, personally. A good many years ago, before I had any connection whatever with the Federal Government, except that of any other citizen, I was an instructor in chemistry in the medical faculty of Harvard, and in the summer the Bureau of Fisheries used to employ me for three months during my vacation to go down to Woods Hole, where they have a station, to make analyses of food fish. That was in the days when Mr. Oscar Straus was Secretary of Commerce and Mr. Bowers was Commis- sioner of Fisheries. At that time I suggested to Mr. Straus and Mr. Bowers, whom I happened to know personally very well, that in my judgment it would be a very wise thing for the Bureau of Fisheries to undertake a rather extensive piece of work to investigate and pro- mote the industrial side, as you might call it, of the industries which are based on sea products, such as the proper methods of cold storing fish and handling fish, the manufacture of glue, the production of oil from fish and its utilization, the possibility of utilizing fish oil for food purposes, the manufacture of potash from kelp — all of that sort of thing — and the production of leather from various sharks and por- poises, and the use of fish which are not now being used. Both Sec- retary Straus and Commissioner Bowers approved of the general idea and said that they would take it up with Congress. Whether that TISH INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. 5 was done or not I do not know. At any rate, no appropriation was made and the work was not started. Then, when I became, about eight or nine years later. Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry under Secretary Wilson, I went to Secretary Wilson and asked for his approval — the Bureau of Fisheries not ha vino- procured an appropriation — for the Bureau of Chemistry to ask Congress for money to make a beginning in this work. Secre- tary Wilson signed a memorandum to inc. which I prepared for him, that he approved of the plan. I asked him to do that, because lie was about to retire, there being a change in administration; and when the new administration came in I put this question to Mr. Houston. showed him Mr. Wilson's approval, and received Mr. Houston's con- sent to ask for a small appropriation from Congress, some S15.000. We asked actually for $25,000, but we got $15,000. We have had that now for four years, is it not. Dr. Pennington? Dr. Pennington. Just about four year-. Dr. Alsberg. That appropriation was very small to carry on the many kinds of work, and it seemed wiser to put almost all our eggs into one basket in the beginning than to fritter a small appro- priation away in many lines of work. The particular part of the fish industry which seemed to require help was the question of properly marketing fish. The waste which occurs in sending fresh fish from the coast inland is terrific. They are handled badly: nobody has ever made a study of the right way to ship them, how to freeze them, how to chill them, and all that sort of thing. It happened we had made just that kind of study for poultry and eggs, which, like fish, are very perishable. So the first piece of work we undertook Ava^ the improving of the methods of transporting fresh fish, in order that the consumer should get fresh fish and at a reasonable price, and so that we would overcome some of the prejudice against fish as they exist. When I say "fresh fish." 1 am including the frozen fish, and using that term as opposed to canned or salted or smoked or kippered fish. because a properly frozen fish is a perfectly satisfactory article, a perfectly satisfactory food. The trouble with frozen fish has not been, and the prejudice against them is no* due. to the fact that freezing is an unsatisfactory way of preserving them, but it F due to the fact that a good deal of freezing has been done by people who do not understand bow to do it. because the way to do it is imme- diately to chill the fish away below the freezing point and to dip him in fresh water. The fish, being much colder than the water, instantly covers itself with a hermetic seal of ice, and then it is put in storage and it is sealed as perfect! . as long as il is kept cold enough to keep ice on it. as though it were canned by some housewife in a Mason jar with a rubber seal. If the fish is not consumed within two or three months, then the seal has to be renewed and the fish has to be redipped, because ice evaporates without melting, which is not gen- erally realized. It is what the physicists call subliming. That i< the main point about freezing fish. But there are a lot of trick's about how to handle them and keep them fit from the time they are caught to the time they are frozen: and that is the trouble. So the bulk of the money which we had was spent on improving the quality of the fish and teaching people around the country who were handling fish how to get them in right shape for the market. 6 FISH INDUSTRY IX THE UNITED STATES. Bulletins have been issued giving directions for the proper methods of freezing fish, handling shrimp in the South, and also bulletins on the food value of fish. A smaller sum of money was spent on helping to improve the pack of sardines on the Maine coast. Among the localities in which we have endeavored particularly to promote this handling of fresh fish has been the Carolinas and Florida. On the Gulf coast of Florida, or at any rate in Florida, there are many varieties of fish which never come into the market, because nobody has made a serious effort to market them ; and in the Carolinas the transportation conditions — concerning which Dr. Pen- nington, if you wish details, can give you more information than I can — are such that a large percentage of the fish before they reach the northern markets have to be thrown away — go to the dump — be- cause the transportation conditions are not right. That also is the condition in Florida. It was necessary to organize the transporta- tion in cooporation with the railroads. It was necessary to get the railroads to put on proper refrigeration service, and it was necessary to study what that service must be — how the fish should be iced. When the food-production bill came, I asked the Secretary of Agri- culture to allot to us some money with which we could expand and make more effective the work which we were then doing, and it is with some of that money that Dr. Clark was sent out to California. It is with that money that Dr. Pennington undertook a service which may be interesting, if you care to listen about it, to popularize and put upon the market fish from the west coast of Florida in such cities as Indianapolis, Louisville, and Nashville. Before that work was undertaken it was taken up with the Bureau of Fisheries. In Florida the Bureau of Fisheries had Mr. Douthart cooperating with Dr. Pennington and Mr. Hill, of the Bureau of Chemistry, and in California Dr. Clark was continuously cooperat- ing with such of the Bureau of Fisheries people as happened to visit that district. I may add that before we got the original small appropriation, four years ago, I went to Dr. Smith, who had just recently been made Commissioner of Fisheries, and asked him whether it was agreeable to him for us to go into this work. He said that inasmuch as they had not succeeded in developing the work, that it ought to be done by somebody, and if we could get the appropriation to do it he would not object; and we have had a sort of direct understanding between us that whenever the Bureau of Fisheries was in a position to carry on this work on a more extensive scale or to better advantage than we could carry it on, we would readjust it, and the Bureau of Chem- istry would, if it seemed wise, gradually draw out of it. Senator Owen. So Dr. Clark then made this particular inquiry on the California coast, and he has now the samples of those different packs and fish products that are used there ? Dr. Alsberg. Might I say, Senator, that we have put up a good many experimental packs of new products ourselves? But we did not have many of them available in the Bureau of Chemistry, and there was not time to telegraph to California and get them by ex- press. So Dr. Clark Senator Owen. That could be added and put in with this matter by an addenda. PISH INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. 7 Dr. Alsberg. Oh, Dr. Clark is in position to discuss it, but he is not in a position to show it ; that is all. Senator Fletcher. We will now, if you please, hear Dr. Clark. STATEMENT OF DR. E. D. CLARK, ASSISTANT TO CHIEF -OF BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY, DEPARTMENT OF ARICULTTJRE. Dr. Clark. My chief, Dr. Alsberg, has spoken 1113^ speech for me, because he has outlined in a concise way everything we did. One of the main troubles we found when we went to California over a j 7 ear ago — and I may say that we went there at the request of Mr. Ralph P. Merritt, the able food administrator of California — that some reform was necessary in the methods of packing fish in southern California. I do not need to describe that in detail, because Dr. Alsberg has outlined the situation in Maine, and it existed in California to some extent. The packers realized this and had a large mass meeting at the Athletic Club in Los Angeles. Mr. Merritt addressed them, and after the meeting was over they asked us what we thought should be done. We told them that the quality of the pack as well as sanitary conditions in the canneries would have to be improved, and they immediately asked me to draw up a series of rules and regulations for the standardization and improvement of the quality of the pack. We did that, and at another meeting a little later Senator Owen. Will you put those rules and regulations into the record ? Dr. Clark. I have them right here. I can give them to the stenog- rapher later. (The rules and regulations referred to were subsequently furnished by Dr. Clark, and are here printed in full, as follows :) Proposed rules far flic inspection and standardization of sardine canneries. 1 ETCHING. 1. Keep fish in boxes not over 8 inches deep or in wells with water. 2. The custom of walking on fish should be forbidden. 3. Keep fish always wel and away from direct sunlight. 4. Fish boxes and other storage places to he washed after every load. RECEIVING. 1. All belly-blown and soft fish should he refused at (he dock. 2. Avoid all handling or rough treatment that may result in bruising the fish. 3. Srm-e in containers not more than 8 inches deep. 4. All boxes, tools, conveyers coming in contad with the fish should be washed daily. CLEANING. 1. Removal of entrails to be complete in all cases. 2. Pish to be thoroughly washed after cleaning. 3. All boxes, benches, and woodwork to be washed thoroughly at least once daily. 4. All knives, tools, and metal utensils to be sterilized and steamed at least once daily. DRYING AND COOKING. 1. Drying and cooking to he carried out in a uniform way as fo temperature and time, depending upon the method used in each individual plant. FISH INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. 1. All fish to be on flaking trays or packed and processed within five hours of the time received from the fishermen. 2. Fish to be packed in a uniform way, depending on the size of the can and the style of the pack ; only fish of given size and number to be placed in each can. 3. Sauces and oils used are to be of uniform high quality and of the grade commonly used for food purposes. 4. The pack should be full net weight, or slightly over. PROCESSING. 1. Time, temperature, and style of process to be uniform in each plant, de- pending on the general method used there. LABELING. 1. A label should not be misleading in any way and should conform in every way with State and Federal laws. 2. Goods packed and inspected as herein stated may bear on the label the following legend: "Packed anil inspected in accordance with the official stand- ards of the Southern California Packers' Association." BOXING, 1. Cases of goods packed and inspected according to these rules shall bear a stamp giving the inspector's number and the date, to aid in placing responsi- bility in case of complaints received later on. DITTIES OF INSPECTORS. 1. To pass on the quality of fish received from the fishermen. 2. To see that all the above regulations concerning the catching, receiving, cleaning, cooking, packing, and labeling of fish are carried out in every par- ticular, especially regarding cleanliness and standard pack. 3. To see I hat the general sanitary regulations are strictly adhered to in all cases. GENERAL SANITARY REGULATIONS. 1. Whitewash should be used frequently on walls and ceilings of workrooms and canneries. 2. Screens should be installed to exclude (lies in rooms where raw or cooked fish are exposed. 3. Workrooms should be as light as possible. This is in the interests of elfi- ciency and careful grading, as well as sanitation. 4. Wash rooms and toilets should be kept scrupulously clean and due provisions made for maintenance of strict personal cleanliness on the part of all employees. 5. All metal knives, tools, trays, and baskets should be sterilized with steam at least once in 24 hours. 6. The floors should be of concrete, if possible, and frequently flushed with running water. 7. Worktables should be kept clean, as free from litter as possible, and thoroughly washed with lye or antiseptic solution daily. S. Forewomen should see that the hands of those who handle fish are thor- oughly washed after each absence from the room. 9. Caps to cover the hair, and a clean apron should be worn by women em- ployees handling fish. 10. Forewomen should observe carefully the general health of women under them and also watch especially fr,r any signs of skin or local disease. Dr. Clark. We outlined the rules and regulations that seemed to us would make the desired improvement, both with a view to improv- ing the sanitary quality and standardizing - the pack. Of course, it is obvious in any packing organization that the standardization of the different, operations must be as nearly complete as possible, not FISH INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. 9 necessarily between the different canneries but in any given cannery they must pack their fish as far as possible and handle them in ex- actly the same way. If they do not you ^v i 1 1 always notice great differences in the quality of the product. Senator Fletcher. Does that apply to the particular kinds of fish they were packing there, or does it apply generally? Dr. Clark. I think it applies to anything. Would you not say so, Dr. Weber? Dr. Weber. All the different kinds of fish. Dr. Clark. The Senator wants to know if you do not think it is necessary to standardize the processes, so that the packer will always do about the same thing with any particular kind of fish. Dr. Weber. They all ought to be handled the and then, by the addition of a small amount of that water, bringing it back. Senator Owen. Then, in your judgment, there is a large field for the development of food products, both for our markets and for export abroad? Dr. Weber. Oh, yes. If this dehydration of fish proves satis- factory and we can develop even a few products from certain varie- ties of fish, I think there will be a wonderful use for such a thing as that. It goes without saying that there will be advantages in shipping; in fact, in many ways there will be an advantage in the use of that product. Senator Owen. I do not think Members of Congress have had much opportunity of knowing what the opportunities are in the develop- ment of values for food from fish. So many men live in the interior and never come in contact with the question, and there is no par- ticular reason why they should have their attention called to it. Dr. Alsberg. Senator, I have always felt that if only small sums had been spent for the last 10 or 12 years for the development of the fish industry, or this packing industry, it would have been of immense benefit. Of course, the question arises — it is only fair to say that — whether that development should be through the Department of Agriculture or through the Bureau of Fisheries. I think we are all agreed that an experimental cannery and laboratory should be started both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts under some one's control. Senator Owen. I do not think that is of great importance. They seem to have been working happily together, so far as they have gone. Dr. Alsberg. Very much so. Dr. Weber. I want to say that our work there in these matters has been in direct cooperation with the Bureau of Fisheries. Senator Owen. Then it comes right back to Congress to develop this matter adequately, in order to meet the increasing demands of the American people for food, and also to utilize the values which our fisheries really have if they are properly developed. We have had an enormous output of products in the United States through agri- culture and through our factories, and partly from our fisheries, but I am quite sure nothing like the way the fisheries could be developed if it were given orderly attention. Dr. Weber. That is absolutely correct. Dr. Clark. I will submit a list of publications by the Department of Agriculture relating to the subject. (The list referred to was 30 EISH INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. subsequently submitted by Dr. Clark and is here printed in full, as follows:) List of bulletins and publications of the Bureau of Chemistry relating to fish and submitted herewith. 1. "Shrimp: Handling, Transportation, and Uses," by E. D. Clark and Leslie MacNaughton. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 538. 2. "A Chemical Study of Food Fishes — The Analysis of Twenty Common Food Fishes with Especial Reference to a Seasonal Variation In Composition," by E. D. Clark and L. H. Almy. Published in Journal of Biological Chemistry, Volume XXXIII, p. 483. 3. " The Commercial Freezing and Storing of Fish," by E. D. Clark and L. H. Almy," U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 635. 4. "Analyses of Twenty Food Fishes of the Pacific Coast," by E. D. Clark, E. M. Brown, and D. B. Dill. Unpublished data for a forthcoming bul- letin. 5. " The Preservation of Sardines by Smoking," by E. D. Clark and H. D. Davi. Special bulletin to the fish trade. 6. " The Preparation of Kippered Shad," by E. D. Clark and H. D. Davi. Spe- cial bulletin to the fish trade. 7. " Kippering Barracuda, with Especial Reference to Canning," by E. D. Clark and H. D. Davi. Special bulletin to the fish trade. 8. " Supplementing Our Meat Supply with Fish," by M. E. Pennington, U. S. Department of Agriculture Year Book for 1913, p. 191. 9. " Shipping Fish Three Thousand Miles to Market," by E. D. Clark, U. S. Department of Agriculture Year Book for 1915, p. 155. ( Samples of fish and fish products were thereupon exhibited to the members of the subcommittee and the other Senators present. ) (Thereupon, at 12 o'clock noon, the subcommittees adjourned.) o Makers yracuse, M. V. MT. MX. 21. I9M