Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Lobster' And Crab Bait Made From Fish Wastes
While baits in accordance with the invention are effective
in trapping crabs as well as lobsters, the baits are
discussed herein with particular reference to the lobster
fishery.
Lobster fishing was a substantial industry as in 1991, in
the State of Maine, the catch was about 30 million pounds
with some 3,000 licensed fishermen about half of whom held
commercial licenses.
Traps for both lobsters and crabs are baited with trash
fish adequate supplies of which are usually freely
available to the fishermen but, if not, then bait supplies
must be bought from dealers. In practice, each trap is
baited with such fish by placing them in coarse nets
attached to the traps. At regular intervals, three days or
less, weather permitting, the traps are hauled, the catch
removed, rebaited and returned to the ocean bottom. It is,
of course, necessary that the bait remains effective during
such intervals and ideally for as long as a week.
Trap bait also consists of wastes from fish processing
plants with the wastes free to the fisherman as, if not
thus disposed of, they must, at a cost, be shipped offshore
and dumped.
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There is, accordingly, a need for a product which will
avoid the expense to the fish processor of such shipments
and at the same time provide the fishermen with an
effective, inexpensive bait which has a useful underwater
life longer than raw fish or raw fish wastes, is easier and
more convenient to use and has a shelf life such that a
supply can be kept on hand for reasonable storage
intervals.
That fish wastes make good bait has long been recognized as
has been the fact that for its use, the rate of
dissemination had to be controlled. At one time, fish
wastes were packaged in tins which were to be punctured
before being placed in the traps while several proposals
have been made to use such wastes in several different
ways.
One such proposal required the preparation from such wastes
to be in self-opening packages while others were designed
to be caught on hooks then to release the essences of the
bait with one limiting the maximum fish waste particle size
to one eighth inch. Other proposals required that fish
wastes be comminuted before being incorporated with other
materials in the product. Another proposal required that
fish wastes be ground and dried to provide particles
similar in size to coarse corn meal and with most of their
moisture content removed, the particles were then compacted
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by means of a hydraulic ram to provide a product which
could be cut into wafers for use.
The general objective of the present invention is to
provide a bait for lobsters and crabs formed of coarse
ground fish waste mixed with rock salt and packaged in
cloth or paper with the bait having an underwater life of
about a week, a substantially longer shelf life, as
effective in use as raw fish or fish wastes in attracting
lobsters and crabs and easy to use by the fisherman.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a method of
converting fish wastes containing meat, skin and bones into
a shaped bait for use in trapping lobsters and crabs. The
method comprises grinding the wastes to produce a supply of
coarse ground particles predominately in the one-half inch
size with minor amounts of over-sized particles which
require a longer interval to coagulate than the one-half
inch particles, and minor amounts of under-sized particles
which clog the grinder. The under-sized particles are in
the three-eighths inch size range, and the over-sized
particles are in the five-eighths inch size. The coarse
ground particles are then mixed with a volume of rock salt,
to thereby treat all the particles with rock salt and to
expose all particles to the air, whereby a semi-fluid
mixture is formed. The rock salt is in the range of 10~ to
25$ of the volume of coarse ground particles. The semi-
fluid mixture is then packaged in containers, which are
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porous at least when wet and which also shape the mixture
until coagulated to form a salt encrusted solid product
having little odor.
In the practice of the invention to achieve its objectives,
a supply of fish waste is secured from a processor. While
such a supply depends on the volume obtainable, it is of a
much greater volume that one fisherman could use before
most of it would spoil. Such fish wastes comprise meat,
skin and bones and sometimes whole fish.
That supply is then ground with the grinder set to produce
particles of one half inch size. As a result of the
grinding, the particles are predominantly of the wanted one
half inch size but there will be a minor amount of smaller
particles approximately in the three eighth inch size range
and a minor amount of larger particles approximately five
eighths of an inch in size.
It has been found that it is critical that the particles be
so ground that the ground mass is predominantly
approximately one half inches in size. While particles of
the three eighths inch size are acceptable, were an attempt
made to grind the fish wastes to produce bait particles of
that size, there would be the likelihood that clogging of
the grinder would result for the most part increasing the
time required for grinding. The larger particles would,
however, be of a satisfactory size. If a grinder were set
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to produce particles of a five eighths inch size, the
smaller particles would be acceptable but the larger
particles would be objectionable for the reason presently
explained.
It is important to the invention that the ground mass be
prepared for packaging as soon as its preservation can be
assured. Accordingly a ground mass is immediately so
thoroughly mixed with rock salt in the approximate volume
range of 10~s to 25~ of the ground mass that the ground
particles are all well exposed to the air. Some of the
rock salt may be added to the fish waste during the
grinding step.
Coagulation starts during the mixing step and while there
usually is little, if any, blood in any volume of fish
waste procured at a processing plant, lipids are present in
the ground waste. The larger the particle size the longer
the interval required for coagulation to occur. This is a
consequence of the oversized particles not having released
the same proportional amount of lipids that the other
particles have exposed. For that reason, particles larger
than five eighths of an inch are not satisfactory for use
in converting fish wastes into a stable product on an
economical basis.
After the ground mass and rock salt are thoroughly mixed
and while the mixture is in a semi-fluid state, it is
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packaged in porous paper or paper that will become porous
or disintegrate in the traps or cloth sleeves. While in
experimental work and in preference to spooning the mixture
into the packages, the grinder was used as a packaging aid,
for commercial use equipment such as a sausage stuffer
enable packaging to be effected quicker and easier. It
should be noted that in passing the mixture again through
the grinder without changing its setting, has little if any
effect on particle sizes as there is no appreciable
resistance offered by the mixture. It will be appreciated
that the initial grinding of the wastes represent the
greatest labor charge on production.
No attempt is made to reduce the moisture content of the
fish wastes. For example, a five gallon pail of so-called
racks may contain a small amount of free liquid, say five
ounces and a five gallon pail of the fish wastes and salt
mixture may contain a smaller volume of liquids. Fish
wastes in some cases, may include whole or substantially
whole fish.
The packaging is preferably effected by packing a
predetermined volume in a porous sleeve or one which will
become porous when wet, with the sleeve then severed to
provide lengths each having the sleeve ends closed and
containing a predetermined weight of processed bait. It
has not been necessary to compact the material beyond the
degree normally attendant the machine loading of the
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sleeves. Within a few hours, the bait is solidified and
ready for use. In practice, a day's production is ready
for distribution and use the following morning. In
practice the sleeves are fabric and have a mesh, the
stretched interstices of which are desirably not more than
one fourth inch.
At that time, even though the sleeve is porous and
stretched, none of the coagulated product escapes and
although usually encrusted, the packaged bait is dry to the
touch and has but a slight fish odor.
It is theorized that grinding the fish wastes exposes the
lipids in the fish wastes and tissues to oxygen during the
mixing step which causes oxidation resulting in coagulation
and the solidifying of the ground product. The product is
not noticeably affected by ocean water temperatures and
does not readily disintegrate in warm waters.
As coagulation starts as soon as the salt and ground fish
wastes are thoroughly mixed, it is preferred that the
product be packaged while in a semi-fluid condition. The
product, once it has solidified, may, however, be pulled
apart in chunks or cut into sections. It is preferred that
even such formed chunks or sections be packaged even when
the baits are to be held within the coarse mesh bags
attached to the traps. It is also preferred that the
packages containing the products be biodegradable although
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a
packages may be used which may be easily opened and
properly disposed of once the solidified baits are removed
therefrom by the lobsters or crabs.
The salt supply added to the ground fish wastes must be
adequate to function as a preservative therefor. Too much
salt for preservation purposes leaves some salt free while
too little salt affects the life of the bait adversely. It
is necessary to use rock salt in order to minimize costs.
In practice, excellent results are obtained in Maine with
the rock salt about 15$ of the volume of ground particles.
In areas where ambient temperatures are high, the
percentage of the rock salt for a given volume of the
ground particles should be increased to prevent spoilage.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the
invention enables fish wastes to be recycled as low cost
bait for use in traps employed in catching lobsters and
crabs.
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