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be carefully preserved for cure. The fish should then
have the bone removed, care being taken that it shall
he cut away to within twenty or twenty-two joints of
the tail, not directly across, hut by the splitter point¬
ing the knife towards the tail, and cutting the bone ^
through two joints at once, in a sloping direction, so as
to leave the appearance of the figure 8. This looks best;
and it has this advantage, that the fish are not mangled,
as they are apt to he when the hone is cut square through
one joint. A slight incision should be also made along
all the adhering part of the bone, to allow any remaining
blood to escape, and the splitter should then drop his fish
into clean water. The fish should then he thoroughly
washed in the sea from all impurities; but where this
cannot so immediately he accomplished, they should be
dropped instantly into a large tube or vat full of sea water,
where they should be carefully washed, and the water
should be poured out of it when it gets foul, and fresh
water supplied. Care must he taken to remove the black
skin that adheres to the laps of the fish.
If these operations cannot all be performed on board the
fishing craft immediately after capture,—the fish, upon
being taken off the hook and immediately bled, which is
absolutely essential, should be put into boxes, or some
convenience, to keep them from exposure to the air, and
from being trampled on, which would be extremely hurt¬
ful to them. But it may be again repeated, that the more
of the above operations that can he performed immedi¬
ately after capture the better. If the salting can be done
on board the craft, it will be of the greatest advantage,
as the sooner the fish are in salt after they are taken out
of their native element, the greater is the chance that
their cure will be successful. But, whether cured at sea
or on shore, they ought in no case to be permitted to re~

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