Bm,T,ETIN No.

103

Fish Handling and Hold Construction

in Canadian North Atlantic Trawlers

BY

W. A. MacCALLUM
A.tlantic Fi3herie8 Experimental Station
Hali/tI4&, N.S.

PU BL ISHED BY THE F ISHERIES RESEARCH

BOARD OF CANAD A U NDER THE CONT ROL OF
THE HONOURABLE THE MINISTER OF FISHERIES

- 1AWA, 1955
BULLETIN No. 103

Fish Handling and Hold Construction

in Canadian North Atlantic Trawlers

BY

W. A. MacCALLUM
A.tlantic Fisheries Experimental Stat.ion
Halifax, N.S.

PUBLISHE D BY THE FISHERIES RESEARCH

BOARD O F CANADA UN DE R THE CONTROL OF
THE HONOURABLE THE MI NISTER OF FISHERIES

OTTAWA, 1955
63518-1
 w. E. RICKER, Editor,
Pacific Biological Station,
Nanaimo, B.C.

(ii)
 Bulletins of the Fisheries Research Board contain popular and scientific
information concerning the technology of catching, handling and preserving
fish, and concerning the biology of fish stocks.

In addition, the Board publishes the following:

An A�NUAL REPORT of the work carried on under the direction of the
Board.
The JOURNAL OF THE FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF
CANADA, containing the results of scientific investigations.
ATLANTIC PROGRESS REPORTS, consisting of brief articles on
investigations of the Atlantic stations of the Board.
PACIFIC PROGRESS REPORTS, consisting of brief articles on investi­
gations at the Pacific stations of the Board.

For a complete list of the Board's publications, write to:

The Fisheries Research Board oj Canada,

Ottawa, Canada.

(iii)
 FOREWORD

The first in a recently planned group of bulletins concerned with fish preser­
vation and written by the staff of this laboratory was B ulletin 100, "Spoilage
Problems in Fresh Fish Production" by C. H. Castell. It has been in print
since April 1954.
This, the second bulletin of the group , deals with the care of fish at sea
and deals principally with the results of experiments conducted and develop­
ments carried out by the engineering and bacteriological divisions of this Station.
Some of these results have already been published elsewhere.
We wish to express publicly our gratitude to the fish trade, who have given
us every cooperation , who have borne almost the total cost of refrigerated and
metal-lined h olds which are described in detail in Chapter I I I , and who have
permitted the use of vessels and equipment in the prosecution of the work.

S . A. B EATTY, Director,
Atlantic Fisheries Experimental Station ,
Fisheries Research Board of Canada,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

(V)
63518-2
 CONTENTS
PAGE
FOREWORD By DR. S. A . BEATTy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

CHAPTER 1. SPOILAGE AND ITS CONTROL ABOARD SHIP. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

CHAPTER I I . IcE AND REFRIGERATION REQUIREMENTS IN TRAWLER

FISH HOLDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

CHAPTER I I I. THE DEVELOPMENT OF METAL-SURFACED, WHOLLY

REFRIGERATED FISH HOLDS.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

CHAPTER IV. GOOD PRACTICE I N FISH H OLD CONSTRUCTION, OUT-

FITTING, AND REFRIGERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

CHAPTER V. FISH ROOM COSTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S6

(vii)
63518-2!
 INTRODUCTION

This bulletin is concerned mainly with the handling of the catch aboard
trawlers fishing North Atlantic ground fish , principally cod , haddock, and flat
fish . The quality of the landed fish is influenced by the methods of handling
the catch on deck and in the fish hold and the conditions of stowage . No
subsequent steps in the processing chain can improve upon this landed quality.
The fishery has changed appreciably within the last 15 years. This has
emphasized the need for better facilities and techniques for the maintenance of
prime quality of the landed catch . Otter trawling has become increasingly
important. Interests have shifted to fresh fish , to variety of species, and to
new fishing grounds . A s a result, trawlers from t h e Canadian mainland now
make longer trips to the more distant Grand Banks in addition to the banks
fished previously on the Scotian Shelf.
Trawler operators are confronted with new and difficult problems brought
about by these longer trips. However, experimental evidence has been accu­
mulated to show that trawlers operating from Canadian ports, either on the
mainland or in Newfoundland , can still bring in unfrozen gutted fish in excellent
state of preservation , if the proper equipment is installed aboard ship , and if
proper precautions are taken in the handling of the fish at sea. I f careless
handling and inadequate equipment are used, they cannot do so.
This bulletin has been written, therefore, to assist fishermen , boat owners,
operators and processors to understand the nature of the complex problem of
preservation at sea, to demonstrate proper methods of handling and to des­
cribe fish hold construction suited for the iced stowage of their catches.
While each of the five chapters in this Bulletin has a central theme, the
reader will find each to contain material from other chapters in condensed form.
The subject matter in any one chapter therefore is associated readily with that
of the Bulletin as a whole.
Some readers will be interested in the complete Bulletin , others in a certain
chapter or chapters only. The various c hapters are drawn to the atten tion of
those to whom the material is directed :
Chapter I-Plant and boat operators, captains and fishermen .
Chapter I I-Plant and boat operators, engineers and architects.
Chapters I I I and I V-Engineers, architects and ship builders responsible for
planning and constructing fish holds and techn ical personnel responsible
for the maintenance of fish rooms.
Chapter V- Plant and boat operators.

1
 CHAPTER I

S PO I LAGE AND ITS CONTROL ABOARD S H I P

1. THE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO FISH SPOILAGE
(1) MECHANICAL DAMAGE IN THE TRAWL, ON DECK, AND IN THE FISH
HOLD
(2) HEAT BREAKDOWN OF THE FISH FLESH IN THE TRAWL AND ON DECK
(3) AUTOLYSIS OR DIGESTION BY THE GUT ENZYMES
(4) BACTERIAL SPOILAGE

2. RECOMMENDED HANDLING PROCEDURE FOR FRESH FISH

(1) How FISH SHOULD BE DRESSED
( 2 ) WASHING
(3) PRESERVATIVE DIPS
(4) How TO MOVE FISH BELOW DEC K
(S) IcING AND STOWING THE CATCH

1. THE FACTORS C ONTRIBUTING TO FISH SPOILAGE

Deterioration in ground fish may result from any one, or a combination,
of the following factors: mechanical damage in the trawl , on deck, and in the
fish hold ; heat breakdown in the trawl, and on deck ; autolysis caused by the
digestive j uices of the stomach and the intestine acting on the belly wall and
recognized by the fisherman by such familiar sign s as belly burn and liver stain ;
bacterial growth, productive of many stale, sour, and bilgy odours foreign to
strictly fresh fish.
The influence of these factors is discussed below.
(1) MECHANICAL DAMAGE IN THE TRAWL, ON DECK, AND IN THE FISH HOLD
Such damage, resulting from rough and careless handling, refers to physical
inj ury to the fish resulting in soft, ragged, blood-stained and torn fillets. The
fisherman should know how such damage is brought about: (i) by towing for
too long a period ; (ii) by indiscriminate use of forks; (iii) by stowage for exces­
sive periods on deck ; (iv) by faulty handling during gutting and during stowing
below deck and upon removal from the fish hold .
While damage during dragging cannot be prevented always, particularly
in summer when fish tend to be soft, the shortening of the length of the tow
reduces this damage considerably.
B lood stains and softening result when fish are bruised and crushed before
they are bled . The remedy is simple-avoid walking upon and bruising fish

2
in the deck pens, avoid forking the fish in the body, and begin gutting operations
as soon as the empty trawl is shot away.
Loss in fillet yield results from careTe ss cutting. A rip to the side of the
ven t during gutting results in a small fillet and opens up sterile flesh needlessly
to b acterial contamination .
Loss in fillet yield also results from poor handling below deck-at time of
stowing, during stowage, and at discharge. Bruising and crushing below deck
may be reduced by using chutes and by confining forking to the head . Squeezing
and bruising during stowage may be reduced if layers of fish are shallow (approxi­
mately 6 in . ) and about three layers only are carried on each shelf. M oreover,
the catch should be shelved off before the fish and ice reach the shelf board
battens or " rests" . Bruising, crushing and tearing of fish during discharge can
be avoided if the fish are removed first from the front, working to the back of
each shelf, and from the top to the bottom, working one shelf at a time where practic­
abl e, thus permitting the discharge man to stand on the shelves, not on the fish .
The main d amage done by forks is the tearing of the flesh which occurs when
fish, firmly imbedded in ice in a pen, are forcibly pulled out. This results in a
serious loss in fillet yield . When fish are discharged from the top of the pen
down , this tearing of the flesh is avoided . H ooks probably damage the fish as
much as forks do. In Denmark the fishermen use neither forks nor hooks and
apparently handle as much fish per man hour as with either.
(2) HEAT BREAKDOWN OF THE FISH FLESH IN THE TRAWL AND ON DEC K
Exposure to heat causes fish t o soften. But the connective tissue i n the
flesh of some fish will break down under heat more rapidly than in others. Such
fish are commonly called "soft" . I n particular, haddock from certain banks
and in certain seasons manifest this softness. The most constructive approach
to this problem is to handle all such fish as follows:
(i) Shorten tows.
(ii) Remove the fish from the water as rapidly as possible.
(iii) Gut carefully after a minimum exposure on deck.
(iv) Ice immediately below decks in shallow layers, preferably with two
layers only on each shelf.
( 3) AUTOLYSIS OR DIGESTION BY THE GUT ENZYMES
Autolysis results from the activity of digestive j uices in the gut of fish prior
to butchering. Enzymes or chemical ferments in the j uices may be sufficiently
active to break down the gut wall and to attack the flesh . This is the common
" belly burn" observed by all fishermen. Belly burn may be accompanied by
d arkening of the fish flesh . It is aggravated in the case of " feedy" fish because
the stomach of these fish, immediately before they were killed, actively produced
digestive j uices. Heat, resulting from exposure of fish on deck, speeds up belly
b urn. The precaution against belly burn is clean guttin g as soon as possible
after the fish are caught, and immediate icing.
 N otwithstanding, certain fish such as cod , haddock and flounder may be
landed guts in , if well iced , and if the stowage period is short. Such practice is
sound only when the fish are not f�dy. Certain lots of summer-caught cod ,
haddock and flounders have been kept ungutted when well iced in boxes aboard
ship for periods up to 4 d ays, without appearing to deteriorate more rapidly
than lots of the same fish held gutted under the same conditions. Longer
storage than 4 days produced an accelerated rate of spoilage in the ungutted over
the gutted fish.

(4) BACTERIAL SPOILAGE

For a detailed account of the role of bacteria in spoiling fish , reference is
made to Bulletin 100, Fisheries Research Board of Canada.
B acteria are tiny living things m uch too small to be seen without a micro­
scope. They reproduce by dividing in two. Thus one makes two, two make
four, etc. Under favourable conditions this can take place about every half
hour, and one single organism can multiply to about 1,000,000 in 10 hr. and
about 250,000,000 in 4 hr. more. Actually, they do not increase quite that fast,
because some of them die, but the point of interest to us is that bacteria can
multiply to huge numbers in a very short time if conditions are right.
These tiny living things each consist of only one cell. They have no mouths
and cannot feed as animals do. They secrete digestive j uices capable of dis­
solving parts of the fish . These dissolved fish constituents are taken into the
bacteria through the cell wall. Some of the substances resulting from this
action of bacteria are responsible for the typical odour s of spoiling or spoiled
fish.
The best way to preserve fish is to prevent their being heavily contaminated
and to prevent the growth of the bacteria which may be carried on the fish in
spite of conscientious handling. For, under conditions favourable to their
growth , even a comparatively few bacteria on fish will grow to such large num­
bers that the fish will be spoiled . Aboard Canadian North Atlantic trawlers,
the principal means to reduce both bacterial contamination and decomposition
of the catch is the use of ice in adequate amounts to cool the fish , to keep them
cool and to shield them from contamination.
(a) WHAT THE FISHERMAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TYPES OF BACTERIAL
S POILAGE AND S POILAGE CONTROL.-Spoilage which occurs in fish in a pen falls
generally into two types, the difference between these types being due to the
presence or absence of air about the fish . All animals and higher plants need
oxygen . Land plants and animals get it from the air ; and sea plants and animals
get it from the water. But many of the bacteria that are found on fish can live
either with or without atmospheric oxygen.
I f these bacteria develop in the presence of air, the spoilage is often character­
ized in the older, first-stowed fish , by sour or by other less easily distinguished
odours often suggestive of turnips or cabbage. With the use of ice carefully

4
applied to the fish , i t is possible to chill them to a temperature where bacterial
activity of this type is relatively slow. But it is necessary to cool fish right
down to about 32°F. to decrease bacterial activity substantially since the bacteria
thrive in the living fish at fairly low temperatures-bottom water temperatures
being as low as the low thirties in certain instances. The results of cooling
fish to and maintaining them at 3 2 °F. are highly significant. B acteria usually
grow on fish about half as fast at 3 2 °F. as at 3 7 °F. and the fish have about
twice the storage life if stowed at the lower temperature.
The second type of spoilage encountered is that resulting from the growth
of the same organisms referred to above, and possibly others, in surroundings
where atmospheric oxygen is excluded . I f the fish are themselves heavily contam­
inated or if they rest in heavily contaminated surroundings from which air is
excluded , e . g . against slime-soaked , bacteria-laden boards, such spoilage may
occur even though the fish is stored at ice temperature. Spoilage in fish lying
against boards teem ing with bacteria may become so serious in fish in as short
a time as 4 days after stowage as to make them unmarketable. The seat of
spoilage is that surface or side of the fish in contact with the material carrying
the bacterial loads-whether the material be fish faeces or slime-soaked , bac­
teria-laden boards. But the products of spoilage may soon disperse throughout
the fish. The odour from the start resembles that of bilge water and it has
generally been believed to be the result of contact of fish with bilge drainage.
While every fisherman and boat operator should recognize that such contact of
fish and bilge water m ust be guarded against (Chapter IV) , the plain facts are that
most bilgy fish encountered are not the result of bilge water slopping up on the
fish. Most bilgy fish carry these spoilage odours because they h ave been in­
adequately iced in dirty pens.
As a summary of the above, it may be said that two conditions are neces­
sary for the development of bilgy fish. First, there must be large numbers of
bacteria capable of growing without air. Second , the air must be shut out.
We get bilgy odours: (i) in the gut cavity when pieces of gut are left in feedy
fish that are stowed in deep layers so that the pressure squeezes the bellies
tightly closed, thus excluding the air ; (ii) on the surface of the fish when dirty
fish are iced in deep layers and are pressed tightly together ; or (iii) most com­
monly, on the surface of the fish where they are piled against slime-soaked porous
unpainted wooden boards and are pressed so tightly that the air is shut out.
Conversely, bilgy fish can be avoided by: (i) �areful gutting and washing;
(ii) icing in thin layers; (iii) icing always between all wood walls and wood boards
of the pen and the fish-a difficult but not impossible task; (iv) using easily washed
materials such as metals, in fish pen construction. There is little danger of bilgy
odours developing in fish against cool aluminum alloys, stainless steel or Monel
metal surfaces during stowage periods of up to 7 to 10 days. On the other hand,
worn wood boards cannot be washed effectively and are potential sources of con­
tamination when used in the fish room.

5
63518-3
 All upright surfaces and boards , e.g. the "wings " or side walls of the pens ,
pen or d ivision boards and pen back walls should be of metal or of other easily
washed material s ince one can never be assured that ice will always be used between
fish and boards , or having been used , will not disappear before the boat lands .
I t is apparent, therefore , that the proper preservation of fish stowed aboard
ship requires that three conditions be maitained: (i) The fish must be kept as
free as possible from bacterial contamination. (ii) The fish must be kept i n
surroundings where atmospheric oxygen i s available. (iii) The fish must b e
chilled to and kept at about 32°F. Clean i c e in adequate amounts and pro­
perly applied , fulfils these requirements . The most important single thing that
can be done in the care of fish at sea is to make certain that icing is adequate to chill
the fish quickly and to shield the catch from contamination. NIore attention should
be paid to the icing of the fish than to any other treatment of fish at sea, and the ice
should be used not only among the fish but also to keep any fish from touching pen
walls and boards.
(b) T wo STAGES WHERE BACTERIA MUST DE FOUG HT.- ( i ) On deck.-vVhen
the trawl is emptied on the deck of the trawler, the deck hands do not see the
bacteri a that arrive with the fish. Sea water itself contai ns a few bacteria, and
the slime and gills of the fish carry more. Another source is the mud from the
ocean floor that carries bacteria which do not need air or oxygen to grow. Mud
is often raised by the trawl and may be carried also in the slime and scales of
the fish . But the main single source of bacteria is the faeces from the intestines
of the fish . There are several im portant points to remember here:
Th e bacteria that spoil the fish aboard the vessel come principally from the
faeces of the fish themselves .
The way the fish are handled on deck permits the smearing of both the
outside of the fish and the belly cavity with bacteria from the fish faeces .
Once the bacteria get onto the fish it is j ust about impossible to wash them
off using present techniques and equipment.
The longer the fish are left on deck, either in the checkers , or in the wash box ,
the warmer they become and the faster they will spoil.
(ii) A t time of stowage . -Fish may be smeared with bacteria below decks
too, if they drop onto a contam inated runway or if they are stowed against
s limy boards or in contaminated ice. And as outlined above , the best pre­
caution against spoilage is to use clean ice to shield fish from contamination ,
to keep the fish in an environment where atmospheric oxygen is available, an d
to chill the fish.

2 . RECOMMENDED HANDLING PROCEDURE FOR F RESH FISH

(1) How FISH SHOULD BE DR ESSED
As operations are done now, the fish may suffer damage in any of three
ways; (i) the ripper may make a faulty rip; (ii) the gutter may fail to remove

6
all the gut ; (iii) the rippers and gutters may drop guts and faeces from the fish
being handled onto ungutted fish , which in turn now carry a bacterial load far
greater than necessary.
I n ripping during summer fishing when gills are removed , the first cut should
sever the throat but leave the gullet intact. The second cut should free the
tongue from the gills. The third cut should rip the fish straight from the throat
to the vent and should end there. If the rip is short, it is hard for the gutter to
take out all the gut, and if a piece of the gut is left in, the storage life of the fish
is shortened . I f the rip extends past the vent, the flesh is likely to become
contaminated and d iscoloured. Rips which are allowed to go sidewise open
up still more sterile flesh to possible contamination and staining. I n either
case , the fillet must be trimmed with resultant loss in both time and yield .
I n winter the ripping procedure differs from the above in that the first cut
across the throat should sever both the throat and the gullet. No cut is made
to separate the tongue from the gills, which are left in the fish. The second
motion of the knife should rip the fish straight from the throat to the vent.
\Vhen the belly is being slit, faeces tend to squeeze onto the surface of the
fish. The faeces and j uice from the gut come in contact with other fish in the
adj acent deck pens or checkers into which the fisherman drops the ripped fish .
The implications of this practice require further study.
The gutter should remove all the gut. The commonest source of bacteria
is the gut contents. As often carried out, the fish are ripped and gutted in the
checkers and the guts are thrown down among the fish still to be gutted .
Good practice during ripping and gutting requires that the fisherman stand
in an empty checker or on cleared deck space and work with the round fish
which he can reach conveniently. He may then drop the gut contents or allow
faeces to fall at his feet and these can be washed away to a scupper. Therefore
liberal deck space should be made available between the hatches and the checkers
to give him room to work. Since a deck hand cannot reach across a large
checker, it might be practical to run low partitions through such checkers ,
dividing them into smaller units. The increased number of compartments
would enable the fisherman to keep working from one cleaned-out compartment
to the next until the whole checker is emptied.
When the catch is very heavy and there is little or no standing space or
space to receive ripped fish , the latter should be transferred to checkers on the
side of the deck not being worked until such time as space closer to the full
checkers is m ade available. I n this respect, it m ight be very handy to have a
checker built over a hatch normally not used while the vessel is at sea. Such
a checker could be an integral part of the hatch cover also.

(2) WASHING
There is l ittle evidence that the present trade practice of washing gutted
roun d fish or flounders in wash boxes in conj unction with normal dressing opera-

7
63518-3�
tions adds to the keeping time of the fish over that of similar lots not washed
at all . Before the fish are dressed , the gut cavity is sterile except for the bac­
teria in the guts. D epending upon the care with which the guts are removed ,
the inside belly walls may be lightly or heavily contaminated. Spoilage is
most rapid in the gut cavity, and spoilage in an unwashed lot of fish will not be
as uniform as in a washed lot-there m ay be some fish which will spoil much
faster than the washed fish and others much slower. Superficially, unwashed
fish will almost always appear inferior to washed fish after a week in stowage ,
since the blood and slime on the former may be quite heavy and yellow. Wash­
ing after gutting may remove some of the gross contamination from fish , but
unless these fish are washed separately from those lightly contaminated , and
this is not too practical a policy aboard a trawler, the contamination from the
really d irty fish will be deposited by the wash water onto other relatively clean
fish . This accounts for the fairly uniform rate of spoilage from fish to fish in
similarly handled , washed fish .
I n view of the above , it is recommended that care be taken in removing
faeces squeezed onto fish as they lie in the checkers, even to the extent of giving
these fish a pre-gutting hosing, that care be taken to eliminate contamination
of both outside and inside surfaces of the fish during the dressing operation , and
that the gutted fish be given a thorough rinsing in moving water in a grated wash
box prior to drainage and stowage.

(3) PRESERVATIVE DIPS

As fish are normally handled and iced aboard the trawlers , they may undergo
sufficient'spoilage after 5 days as to make them second quality for either the
fresh or the frozen fish trade. By proper handling both above and below deck ,
the safe storage period can be extended to 7 to 9 days. This is the maximum
storage period that can be expected from ice as the sole preservative. If trips
must be extended , sodium nitrite may be applied to the first of the catch. How­
ever, one should be warned that this salt is a dangerous poison , hence it should
be used according to directions only. Experiments are still underway as to
the most effective way of applying the preservative for full scale fishing opera­
tions and information will be made available as soon as possible.
The results of the use of nitrite aboard a trawler are very encouraging. A
quick dip into a 1 % solution adds at least 3 days to the storage life of fish other­
wise properly cared for. This is a much stronger dip than that used with fish
fillets. For the average sized cod or haddock, a short dip in a 1 % solution of
sodium nitrite does not allow take-up of more nitrite than the legal limit per­
mitted in fish flesh (200 parts per million by weight).

(4) How TO MOVE FISH BELOW DECK

Dropping fish directly through a hatch or through the bottom of a wash box
to a staging several feet below gives them unnecessarily harsh treatment and
individ ual fish fall onto a surface which carries whatever contamination may

8
have been left there previously. Wood , or preferably metal , chutes can be
used to improve handling and to eliminate the forking which almost invariably
follows when fish are dropped directly through a hatch or wash box onto the
staging below. Chutes with perforated bottoms permit the fish to drain before
they are stowed.

( 5 ) IcING A ND STOWING THE CATCH

The most effective operation aboard ship in ensuring a catch of high quality
is the icing and stowing. The most thorough washing on deck may add a day
or two to the storage life of fish properly handled below deck, and the worst
treatment m ay shorten storage life by the same amount. But the difference in
keeping time between fish carelessly iced and properly iced is several days.
(a) DEPLOYMENT OF ICE IN THE BOAT A T TIME OF DEPARTURE-Despite
much thought on the part of the fishermen and technologists the world over,
the procedures practised today in stowing a bulk cargo of iced ground fish are
much the same as they were many years ago .
Ice should be stored for convenience in forward , after, and central fish
pens. The selection of pens should be changed frequently to ensure that ice
un used on one trip will not be covered over with fresh ice upon re-charging,
and thus remain unused during the ensuing trips. Ice remaining for several
trips in an unrefrigerated fish room becomes caked an d requires a good deal
of breaking up before being used . There is always the danger too of long­
stored ice picking up heavy loads of bacteria while the fish hold is being worked
at sea, or at discharge, or while cleaning operations are underway prior to the
start of a new trip.
(b) STOWING AND ICING TECH NIQUES .- ( i ) Functions of ice . - Ice used with
the catch performs functions which are listed below and are also discussed in
more detail in the following chapter.
Ice chills the catch. Ice is as essential to cooling the catch in a refriger­
ated and insulated boat as in one without these features of construction .
The fish will be chilled efficiently only if more ice than the amount theoreti­
cally required is mixed intimately with the fish.
Ice keeps heat from reaching the fish. Poorly iced fish against pen back
walls, under the deck, against end bulkheads and against or near other
surfaces through which heat may travel, do not cool rapidly and when
cooled m ay warm up again. Under ideal conditions, ice can be used to
care for such heat flow, but it is probably more practical to rely on a com­
bination of ice and artificially refrigerated surfaces.
Ice isolates fish from one another, and from pen surfaces. This is good
because it ensures rapid chilling, it provides a supply of atmospheric oxygen
entrained in the ice, and it shields fish from contaminated boards and from
heavy bacterial loads which may be carried by other fish .

9
 Ice can provide drainage channels for water and fish juices other than
through the bulk of the fish itself. This is probably accomplished best if
fish are shelved l iberally an d the shelves direct the water to the sides of
the pen only. The other requirement is that the pen sides be well iced to
allow the drainage water to pass to a lower level, and finally that a heavy
bed of ice be used below fish stowed in the bottom of the pen to keep
those fish clear of large concentrations of j uices.
(ii) How to ice a pen of fish.-The following step-by-step procedure is
suggested for icing fish in wood-lined fish pens :
1 . Lay down a layer of fine ice, about 8 in. deep , in the bottom of the
empty pen .
2 . Raise a ring of fine ice about 5 or 6 in. higher than this bed all around
the pen, providing a body of ice banked against the back wal l , side walls
or "wings" , and front pen boards. This produces a saucer-shaped bed
of ice to take the stowed fish .
3 . Place fish to a depth of about 5 or 6 in. evenly over the bottom of
th is depression , not allowing the fish to rise above the top of the bank of
ice at the borders of the pen. I n the case of very large steak cod, this
means that the "saucer" will hold a layer one fish deep (Fig. 1).
4. Place a layer of fine ice to a depth of about I! in. over all the fish
and raise the ice about 5 or 6 in. h igher at the borders to produce another
" saucer" .
S. Repeat with layers of fish and ice. It is excellent practice to lay
fish belly down and side by side in a more or less regular fashion in each
layer, as is reported to be done in the case of cod stowage in Denmark.
I n this way, belly cavities drain, and the pressing together of belly flaps
and the creation of pockets to collect drainage and ice water, both within
gut cavities and between fish lying askew on their sides, are avoided .
Separation of fish with ice should apply not only to layers, but to
individual fish as much as possible. It can be accomplished by stowing
the fish loosely in each layer and by spreading fine ice over the fish , some
of which will work down between the fish. This cannot be accomplished
effectively if the layers of fish are more than two or three fish deep .
6. Ice off the pen below the first layer of shelf boards, never raising the
ice above the top of the shelf board supports. (Shelf supporting angles or
" rests" should be provided every three or four boards and about three l ay­
ers of fish should be stowed before shelving off. )
7. Lay shelf boards and cover them with a bed of ice about 1 tin .
deep at the centre and about 6 or 7 i n . deep where banked at the walls.
8. Continue with layers of fish and ice as before, and take care of each
shelf as before.

10
 FIG. i.-Steak cod stowed in a "saucer" of ice in a fish pen. The
sides and rim of the ice saucer keep the fish away from the pen s urfaces.

11
 9. Ice off the fish at the top of pen when the clear distance between
fish and deckhead is at least 15 inches.
(iii) How much ice should be used ? Estimates for fish holds outfitted in
-

d i fferent ways are shown in Table I , Chap. I I . For the commonly used in­
sulated wood-lined trawler about one part by weight of ice (if used as described
above) to two parts fish will perform all the functions required of ice and will
result in first quality landings in summer for normal 7- or 8-day trawler trips.
I t is evident that the amount of ice needed is far above the theoretical amount
required simply to cool the fish . This necessary condition for satisfactory
stowage is discussed in Chap . I I , as are savings in ice resulting from the use of
metal-surfaced refrigerated fish holds. In the final analysis, however, for both
refrigerated and non-refrigerated boats, the hold men should study the results
of their icing and establish the conditions of stowing and quantities of ice re­
quired for each particular craft.
The quantities of ice advocated above and discussed further in Chap. I I
are used at the present time aboard some East Coast trawlers. Other ships
use about 25% less ice. The improved quality of landings which would result
from the proper use of larger amounts of ice on the latter boats, would more
than offset the increased cost.
Boats could easily afford to ice this wel l , without suffering from shortage
of stowing capacity. The side fish pens of a fish hold 36 ft. long would still
weigh out about 200,000 lb. of round fish , which is far above the average catch.
(c) THE RES PONSIBILITY FOR STOWAG E.-The most important j ob in the care
of fish at sea is that of the icer. The first fish caught may remain in the pens for
a period of perhaps 7 to 9 days. It is therefore of vital importance that hold
workers employ all the know-how which has been acquired in this and other
countries to ensure that these fish are landed in a marketable condition . Exper­
ience has shown that it is wishful thinking to expect that one man alone will
be able, or will even attempt, to give the necessary attention to the icing and
stowing j ob when fishing is heavy. Fitting pen boards, carrying and distrib­
uting ice , and stowing fish are physically too much for one man. Skippers
and owners are gradually accepting this as fact and on some ships one of the
gutting crew is now at instant call to assist the hold man at the latter's request .
Moreover, except for isolated cases it is probable that the desired results will
not be forthcoming even with two men in the hold , unless they are under con­
stant supervision by ship's officers. It is apparent that much of the knowledge
concerning the use of ice at sea has yet to be put to practical use on Canadian
trawlers. The j ob of instilling the need for desirable practice should fall to
these officers who should see that the work is done.
The responsibility of the hold man , and by the same token the ship 's
officers , should not end with the stowing of fish . The hold man has an excellent
opportunity at time of discharge to be on hand to check the quality of the catch

12
and the conditions of stowage. Thus he can observe where he has iced care­
lessly and is in a position to learn the requirements of his fish hold . He can
also see that fish pens are broken down in proper sequence and that fish of vary­
ing quality are not mixed during unloading. His presence has a measurable
psychological effect on the other crew members also. They hold him respon­
sible for quality. The icer must show that he has discharged his duties prop­
erly, if there is to be a high degree of cooperation in their mutual activities.

13
63518-4
 CHAPTER II

ICE AND REFRI GERATION REQUI REM ENTS I N TRAWLER

FISH HOLDS

1. FISH HOLD REFRIGERATION REQUIREMENTS

2. IcE REQUIRED FOR A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT
3. TOTAL IcE REQUIREMENTS
4. PRESENT-DAY I cING PRACTICE AND I cE CONSUMPTION ABOARD FISHING
.BOATS
( 1 ) SUMMAR¥ OF ESTIMATED REQUIREMENTS FOR CANADIAN EAST COAST
TRAWLERS
(2) ACTUAL PRACTICE IN GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY
( 3) ACTUAL PRACTICE IN DENMAR K
(4) ACTUAL PRACTICE ON CANADA'S EAST COAST

The most important step in the care of fish at sea is the icing of the catch .
Therefore the ice requirements in trawler fish holds are of interest to both the
vessel owners and the crew.
This chapter deals first with the actual refrigeration requirements supplie d
either wholly with ice or partly with ice and partly with artificial refrigeration .
Then the extra amount of ice to protect the catch from heavily contaminated
surfaces and the fish from one another is considered. The savings in ice
required in insulated , metal-surfaced , wholly refrigerated fish holds are described .
Finally, presen t Canadian practice and ice consumption are compared with the
quantities and placement of ice suggested in this chapter and with those
described for other countries.
1. FISH HOLD REFRIGERATION REQUIREMENTS
There are three j obs to do in the proper refrigeration of "wet" fish: (i)
The fish must be cooled . The refrigeration to cool the fish is usually called
the product load . (ii) The hold , including pen sides and pen boards and the
inner surfaces of the hull and all fish hold fittings , must be cooled down . (iii)
Heat flowing into the fish hold through the following channels must be cared
for-flow through the two end bulkheads, the deck, the bottom and sides of
the boat both above and below the water line, and from the bodies of men
working, from lights, from air filtering through hatches, and sometimes from
operating machinery.
Table I shows the calculated ice consumption in short tons (2000 lb. )
aboard a trawler o f medium size , fishing off Canada's East Coast over a 6-day

14
0>
eN
e,,,
00

1
"'�

TA BLE I.-CALCULATED ICE CONSUMPTION IN TONS ABOARD A CANADIAN TRAWLER OF MEDIUM SIZE.

Fish hold Type I Fish hold Type I I

Fish hold Type I I I Fish hold Type IV
Non-insulated craft I nsulated craft with
I tem I nsulated craft with I nsulated and wholly
Utilization of ice wi th poor!y preserv­ poorly preserved
No. metal surfaces in r efrige r a t e d m e t a l­
ed wood linings and wood linings and
fish hold surfaced fish hold
boards in fish hold boards in fIsh hold

Ice to chill catch of 200, 000 lb . edible

ground fish and to keep apart the
....... fish in centre of pens ... . . . . . . . . . . 25·0 25·0 25·0 25·0
VI
2 Ice used to keep the fish away from
all pen surfaces ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 ·8 2 1 ·8 7·8 7·8

3 Ice to cool fish hold and fi ttings prior

to start of fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 ·3 1 ·3 1·4

4 Ice to satisify the heat flow load .. . 15·6 7· 1 7· 1

5 Totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63·7 55·2 4 1 ·3 3 2·8

6 Approximate ratio of parts ice to

parts fish, by weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1! 1 :2 1 :2! 1 :3
period in summer weather. Approximate fish hold dimensions are 2 5 by 3 1
b y 1 2 ft. depth under hatches. I n this calculation , the following temperature
conditions have been assumed : engine room air 1 0 5 ° F.; forward accommodation
air 85°F.; deck 87°F.; deckhead (uninsulated hold) 45°F. , and (insulated hold)
40°F.; ambient air temperature (insulated hold ) 40°F. , (wholly refrigerated
hold) 3 5 ° F.; outside air 7 2 ° F.; surface water 65°F.; and fish at time of icing 5 5 °F.
Type I in Table I, the non-insulated craft, is one with poorly preserved
wood linings and boards in the fish hold .
Type I I refers to an insulated craft with poorly preserved wood linings
and boards in the fish hold .
Type I I I refers to an insulated craft with metal surfaces in the fish hold .
Type IV refers to an insulated and wholly refrigerated metal-surfaced fish
hold .
In these various fish holds, the insulation , where used , is 4 in. of corkboard
equivalent on the underside of deck and on end bulkheads of hold ; 2 in . of
corkboard equivalent on sides of hold .
The cold air circulated behind metal surfaces on pen bottoms, walls, end
bulkheads, and deckhead keeps these surfaces at about 31 to 3 2 ° F.
The product load is the largest refrigeration load. The only practical
way yet devised for cooling fish in our large Atlantic trawler holds is through
the use of crushed or flaked ice. In theory, 1 lb. of ice in melting can cool 7 lb.
of fish from 5 5 °F. to 32°F. But, in commercial practice , ice and fish in this
ratio cannot be mixed well enough to have all the fish cooled . Since the fish
is to be cooled to about the melting point of ice, when it gets near 32°F. , cooling
becomes slow. In this interval , ice is being melted in cooling the hold. Also ,
because the m ixing of ice and fish is not ideal , some fish will still be warm when
all the ice next to them is gone while a surplus of ice will remain next to other
fish after they are chilled . Actually, much more than the calculated amount
of ice must be used . While it is not possible to give hard and fast rules concern­
ing the quantity of ice necessary for chilling only , good results can be had by
mixing ice intimately with fish in the ratio by weight of one part ice to about
four parts fish . Fish unloading operations should be watched closely and wher­
ever ice is not found in contact with fish , the amount of ice being used should be
increased .
I t should be noted too that the quantities of ice suggested above neither
take into account the extra ice needed to safeguard the cooled fish from the
effects of heat from external sources, nor are they sufficient to prevent con­
tamination from dirty surfaces during the stowage period . These requirements
are discussed below. No matter how the hold is cooled or insulated , the quan­
tity of ice used for chilling the fish is the same. As noted in Table I, Item 1 ,
a s much ice should be mixed intimately with the fish in the centre o f the pen

16
 when the fish hold is metal-lined and refrigerated , as is used for the same pur­
pose in a wood-lined non-refrigerated fish room . There is no d�fference in the
ice requirements to ice the body of fish in a refrigerated and in a non-refrigerated
hold, or in a wood-surfaced and in a metal-surfaced fish hold.
The heat to be removed from the fish hold and its fittings before fishing
begins depends on the size of the hold , the type and quantity of insulation and
other materials used in the construction of the hold , and on the temperature
of fish hold fittings at the start of the trip . Table I , I tem 3, shows that this
heat load is small compared with other refrigeration loads and that it actually
varies little with type of construction if fish holds are about the same size.
Ice may be used to cool the hold and fittings down to about 40°F. , but artificial
refrigeration can cool more uniformly, an d to lower temperatures of about 32
to 3 5 °F.
Refrigeration requirements to satisfy the heat flow load (Table I , I tem 4)
may be large or small depending mainly on the size of the fish room , the quality
of the insulating j ob in the fish room , the proportion of time the hatches are
ope n , the tem perature of the outside air and water, and the length of the fishing
tri p . The heat flow load can be almost as great as the product load in the case
of very long trips in warm weather. This load may be looked after by the melt­
ing of ice in the ice pens and by the melting of ice stowed between the fish and
the warm walls and surfaces (fish hold Types I , I I , and I I I ) or by artificial re­
frigeration (fish hold Type IV) or by both , such as in a grid-refrigerated fish hold .
In countries where fish handlers have schooled themselves to ice heavily
against the pen back walls, end bulkheads, etc . , ice is the only means used to
care for the heat flow load . We do not know, however, the overall losses in
fish incurred aboard these trawlers as the result of careless use of ice . Observa­
tion in our own fishery has shown it to be desirable to increase the quantities of
ice and to improve its distribution against pen bottoms, back walls, and pen fronts.
Also efforts have been made , with good results, to refrigerate these surfaces
artificially to prevent rise in temperature of fish stowed against them . Table
I , I tem 4 , shows estimated ice tonnages required to partly or wholly care for
the flow of heat in variously outfitted fish holds. I nsulation in the amounts
specified earlier reduces the tonnage by 8 · 5 tons (Table I, I tem 4) . By wholly
refrigerating the insulated fish hold , the additional calculated savings in ice
normally required to care for the heat leakage and cooling down loads are 7 · 1
tons (Table I , Item 4) and 1 · 3 tons (Table I , I tem 3) . These, together with the
previously computed saving of 8 · 5 tons resulting from the use of insulation ,
give a total saving of 1 6·9 tons in ice required to take care of heat in the insulated
wholly refrigerated fish hold , over that needed in the fish room without insula­
tion and refrigeration .
2 . ICE REQUIRED FOR A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT
Ice plays a very important part in protecting the fish from contamination.
I t shields the fish from pen surfaces. It allows the water from melting ice to
fl ow rapidly through the pens. I t supports the fish well off the pen bottoms,
17
free from any accumulation of melted ice water and dissolved fish slime that
otherwise might immerse the fish . To do all this a certain quantity of ice is
needed in excess of that required purely for refrigeration . The quantity is
dependent upon the contamination of the stowage bins or pens, the size and
shape of the pens, the ability o>f the materials used in pen construction to store
up or to transfer heat, the number of divisions used within the fish pen , and on
the amount of ice already used against warm surfaces to care for the heat flow.
For the fish hold of a medium sized trawler, outfitted in wood with surfaces
that have lost their paint, about 18 tons of ice would be needed to shield prop­
erly a full catch from wing boards, shelf boards, and division boards. This
l arge amount is necessary in order to ensure that the ice is stowed where it is
m ost needed and in the manner suggested in Chap . I, Sect. 2 (5 ) , page 1 0 ; most
of the tonnage is an actual waste from the standpoint of supplying a refrigeration
need. Total tonnages for icing such surfaces are shown in Table I , I tem 2 ,
where it will be noted that a n estimated saving of 14 tons is realized when metal
surfaces are substituted for the poorly preserved wood in fish pen construction .
M etals are easily cleaned , and as lon g as they are kept cool and are lightly iced ,
are very satisfactory for assisting in preserving fish . The small quantity of ice
required against refrigerated metal walls calls for no special technique on the
part of the icer, and can be provided from that allotted to the individual fish
stowed near these walls. Also when screens through which crushed ice may
pass are used over contaminated surfaces in the manner described in Chap. IV,
the amount of ice required to cover specific areas of pen surface is only about
one-third that which must be used if stowage is undertaken without these
devices.

3. TOTAL IcE REQUIREM ENTS

The total ice requirements shown in Table I , I tem 5 , point out three prac­
tical savings of ice in caring for a full load of fish in an insulated metal-surfaced ,
wholly refrigerated fish h old (Type IV) as compared with an uninsulated ,
wood-lined , non-refrigerated fish room (Type I ): (a) 8 · 5 tons as a result of
using insulation (see I tem 4 for fish hold Types I , I I and I I I ) ; (b) 7 · 1 tons +
1 · 3 tons= 8 · 4 tons as a result of using refrigeration (see I tern 4 for fish hold
Types I I I an d I V and I tem 3 for fish hold Types I and IV) ; and (c) 14 tons
b ecause of metal surfaces. These represent a total saving of 30 · 9 tons or
almost 5 0 % of the ice required for a Type I hold .

4. PRESENT-DAY I cING PRACTICE AND IcE CONSUM PTION ABOA RD FISHING

BOATS
(1) SUMM ARY OF ESTIM ATED REQUI REM ENTS FOR CANADIA N EAST COAST
T RA WLERS
Estimated total ice consumption expressed in parts by weight of ice to
parts fish in shown in Table I, Item 6, for the various types of fish holds con­
sidered.
18
 (2) ACTUAL P RACTICE IN GREAT BRITAIN AND GERMANY
For fishing trips of up to 20 days duration , insulated trawlers from Great
Britain and Germany take to sea about one part ice to two parts fish landed .
Commonly 90 to 100 tons of crushed ice are carried on the larger boats. About
1 to 1! ft. of ice are placed in the pen bottoms before the first fish are stowed .
From 6 to 12 in. of ice are banked against the side wall of the boat as stowing
progresses, and large surpluses of ice are placed over the top-stowed fish in the
case of all bulk stowage .
(3) ACTUAL PRACTICE IN DENMARK
Often the weight of ice used aboard uninsulated Danish cutters is greater
than that of the fish landed . Twelve-day-old plaice originally stowed in bulk
in the ratio of 7 tons of fish to 10 tons of ice have been observed at time of dis­
charge. Each fish was surrounded by ice and appeared to be in an excellent
state of preservation . Hand work without the use of forks at time of discharge
assisted in maintaining the fine appearance of the fish . The reported over­
all icing procedure for these fish is as follows: Large plaice are stowed in
layers one fish deep. Small fish m ay be allowed to overlap but layers are
never more than 2 in. deep . Ice layers, after the original 10-in . bed at the
pen bottom , start at about 6 in. deep over the first-stowed fish and decrease
in thickness as the pen is filled . During the operation, a distance" of 10 in.
or more between the fish and the side wall of the hold is maintained by banking
ice in this part of the fish pen .
Cod , which are landed after relatively short trips, may be laid in bulk,
belly down , one layer deep, between alternate layers of ice , or may be handled
as boxed fish .

(4) ACTUAL PRACTICE ON CANADA' S EAST COAST

The consumption of ice per pound of fish landed appears to be increasing .
A check of consumption aboard one group of trawlers having insulated wood­
lined fish holds shows that the year-round average (1953-1954) was 1 lb. ice to
slightly more than 3 lb. fish . Three years previously the same boats were
using about 1 lb. ice to nearly 4 lb. fish . For another group of trawlers having
insulated wood-lined fish holds, the year-round average (195 3 -1954) was 1 lb.
ice to 21 lb. fish , an increase in ice consumption of 25% over that of two years
previous. All fish holds in the latter group carry refrigeration coils under
the deck.
For the latter of the two groups of trawlers m entioned above, data on ice
consumption show that winter and summer consumption are equal. The actual
product load is less in winter, but since this accounts for only part of the total
ice requirements, the theoretical savin g in winter would be small. Winter and
spring stowage actually requires the use of larger quantities of ice between
pen boards and the fish than does summer stowage because the incidence of

19
b ilgy fi sh is heavy in the winter and spring seasons. To counteract this con­
d ition , surplus ice is used and the saving from a reduced product load is not
a pparent from a study of the records of actual ice consumption .
The maj or task now appears to be to obtain more efficient use of the gen­
erous amounts of ice recognized by both management an d fishermen to be
essential . Examination of landings from a large number of wood fish rooms
d uring the last few m onths has shown that the side walls of the vessel, the
side walls or the wings of the pens, and the pen boards form the principal areas
where m ore ice is needed . In some cases , unfortunately, they are not being
iced at all while much heavier than necessary layers of ice are being placed
between layers of fish . In other words, a sufficient quantity of ice is being used
but it is not always being used in the right places. To carry to sea sufficient
ice to refrigerate the fish and to use a large part of this in foot-deep layers on
and below shelves with little attention paid to mixing ice with the individual
fish and to shield the fish from pen surfaces does not provide the necessary
stowage environment for the catch .
Ice should be so well laid down with stowed fish that after they are chilled, a
surplus remains to surround each individual fish and to support individual fish
away from pen surfaces.

20
 CHAPTER III

T H E DEVELO PM ENT O F M ETAL-SURFACED , WHOLLY

REFRIGERATED FISH HOLDS
1 . THE B ENEFITS OF M ETAL SURFACES AND OF ARTIFICIAL REFRIGERATION
2. REFRIGERATION ApPLIED UNDER THE DECK VS. WHOLLY REFRIGERATED
FISH H OLDS
3 . SOME PRACTICAL FISH H OLD INSTALLATIONS
(1) FISH HOLDS IN THE SCHOONERS Lila B. Boutilier AND Theresa E. Connor
(2) MODERN WHOLLY REFRIGERATED AND METAL CONSTRUCTED FRESH
FISH HOLDS IN THE TRAWLERS Cape Fourchu AND Cape Scatari
(3) THE UNIT FISH PEN-AN INSTALLATION IN THE FISH HOLD OF THE
TRAWLER Cape A rgos

1. THE B ENEFITS OF M ETAL SURFACES AND OF ARTIFICIAL REFRIGERATION

The advantages of metal surfaces over wood surfaces are :
(i) The incidence of off-odours among fish against metal surfaces is
low ; while among those against worn , poorly m aintained wood surfaces ,
it is h igh .
(ii) Metals are good conductors of heat and wood is not ; hence metals
in a refrigerated fish hold are apt to be at more uniform low temperatures
than wood.
(iii) M etal surfaces can be cleaned . Properly painted wood sur­
faces can be cleaned as well , but usually the paint soon leaves the surfaces
in a wood fish hold . There is no practical way of cleaning soggy wood
boards.
(iv) Because the fish m ust always be so well shielded with ice from
these wood surfaces which are so heavily contaminated , icin g of the catch is
wasteful of both l abour and ice. Heavy banks of ice are not required in
a refrigerated metal-surfaced fish hold , and there need be relatively little
labour in stowage.
Experience has shown that with sufficien t care in icing, low tem peratures
can be maintained and the fish can be shielded from the contaminated walls in
wood-lined fish rooms which are neither i n sulated nor refrigerated . If the
b oat owner could depend on the crew always to ice properly, the decision as to
the installation of refrigeration equipment and of fish pens of materials other
th an wood would be wholly based on economics. But careful examination of
c atches landed in Canadian Atlantic ports shows that sufficient care is seldom

21
63518-5
taken to preserve fish properly in wood-lined holds. With insulated metal­
lined holds, rapid ice wastage occurs next the sides of pens, pen boards, etc.
and air temperatures in the hold are as high as in the wood-lined holds. When
metal surfaces are employed in the fish room , artificial refrigeration should be
u sed to maintain all surfaces near the freezing point and to h andle heat infil­
tration loads and heat from lights, and from men at work.
Excessive ice wastage in the non-refrigerated fish room , where temperature
of enclosed air m ay be at a minimum of 40°F . , is an indication that the fish hold
i s either not sufficiently insulated or that too great losses due to heat infiltration
occur. The hold temperature may be lowered by increasing the thickness of
the insulation and by using m ore efficient insulating materials. Infiltration
l osses should be held to a minimum by closing all hatches and wash box valves
except when fishing operations require their being open . Artificial refrigera­
tion , when provided , removes the heat from the air that does enter the fish
hold during these brief intervals. Unfortunately, this interpretation has not
always been made and some have incorrectly concluded that metal holds in
particular are a source of ice wastage in themselves.

2. REFRIGERATION ApPLIED UNDER THE DECK vs. WHOLLY REFRIGERATED

FISH HOLDS
Holds are refrigerated either with grids under the deck or by means of
j acketing . First , let us examine the efficiency of refrigerated grids placed
u nder the decks of wood-lined fish rooms. These installations, found in "wet"
fish holds of trawlers built outside Canada, some of which are in use on Canada's
East Coast, consist of plain pipe coils or grid evaporators. This is a strict
transfer to the fishing boat of the land practice of arranging coils. But conditions
of stowage at sea do not duplicate those on l and . Observation made on the
performance of such coils on fishing boats in Europe and in Canada are summa­
rized below. They show several faults :
(i) No provision is made in such systems for either a j acket or an air
space along the outer wall. This surface must be refrigerated entirely
by ice.
(ii) Uniform stowing in pens is not practical , and appreciable differ­
ences in temperature must occur in the air above the fish from pen to pen .
Therefore, thermostatic control o f the air i n the fish room from one point
is not possible. The grid installations in a number of these fish holds are
designed for a large differential in temperature between the refrigerant
and the fish hold air ; refrigerant temperatures may be as low as OaF.
Under such operating conditions, the very cold pipe coils may be within
a foot or so of the top layer of fish and there is the tendency for the top
fish alternately to freeze and thaw slowly.
(iii) Frosting of grids poses a serious problem . Refrigeration effect
is sacrificed if the machines are shut off for defrosting while the boat IS

22
 at sea, and if defrosting is neglected the efficiency of refrigeration is also
lessened . In practice, defrosting at sea often is neglected . Drip from the
coils during discharge , when the machinery is shut off, makes working
conditions far from ideal .
On the other side of the balance sheet, British workers credit grid instal­
lations with lowering the temperature of the fish room air and fittings at the
start of the trip, with preventing great wastage in ice at the top of the pens,
and with keeping ice crisp and in a condition suitable for easy handling. The
same authorities suggest that once fishing starts, the refrigeration machinery
should be turned off as the grids may do more harm than good .
It is not surprising therefore that many owners have wondered whether
to refrigerate at all , since at times fish were landed from the top of pens in much
worse condition than if they had been well iced in an insulated , non-refrigerated
boat. At the same time, the fish landed from the interior of the pen were no
worse or no better than they would have been had they come from an insulated
non-refrigerated vessel.
For these reasons, the maj ority of owners in Germany, France, and Britain
h ave felt that neither the metal-lined nor the refrigerated fish hold was worth
the price paid . Reports from France indicate that only insulated wood-lined
" wet" fish holds are in use on their trawlers. The situation is nearly the same
for Germany. While Britain has a few more metal-lined and/or refrigerated
trawlers than other countries, the actual number is insignificant.
This is not to say that with proper planning, deck grids could not be made to
perform far better in the "wet" fish hold , particularly if changes were made in
pen construction so that back walls and fish hold end bulkheads could be suc­
cessfully refrigerated .
The disadvantage of both the insulated , metal-surfaced non-refrigerated
fish hold and the insulated , wood-lined grid-refrigerated fish hold can be suc­
cessfully overcome if artificially refrigerated metal pens are used , but the pro­
visions which m ust be made aboard the trawler to accomplish this are greatly
different from common land practice.
In land installations, common procedure is to stack the stored product in
boxes or in bulk on gratings or on pallets off the storage room floor and away
from all walls as well . Cold air from evaporators can circulate between the
product and all warm surfaces. The temperature of the air can be kept low
enough to prevent rise in temperature of the stored product. Where dehy­
d ration o f the product must be prevented , the room can be j acketed and the
refrigerated air circulated in the enclosed hollow walls, floors, and ceilings.
No satisfactory method has yet been worked out for the Canadian East
C oast fishery whereby large volumes of iced fish can be handled in portable
boxes in a wholly refrigerated trawler hold . Where fish pens serve both as

23
63518-51
containers for the fish and as part of the fish hold structure , and the pen sur­
faces form one or more surfaces of a j acket built about the fish room , it is a
relatively simple matter to refrigerate a trip of fish completely. However,
design and construction of such a fish hold , suitable for both fish handling and
fish stowage, involves several factors which must be considered . A fish room
is a work room , as well as a storage room , and it is wet. Pens are non-uniform
in dimensions and sometimes in shape. Pens may have to serve part of the
time as ice stowage units, sometimes as work areas through which the fish and
ice are trundled , and lastly as receptacles for the stowed ice and fish . There­
fore, fish pens must be rugged . The part of the pen which forms one or more
of the surfaces of the j acket should be of watertight construction to prevent
the leakage of fish j uices and ice water into the j acket, or some means must be
provided for cleaning and washing behind the pens. To achieve these ends,
heavy-gauge metal pens of appropriate design and with welded seams have
been developed .
3. SOME PRACTICAL FISH HOLD I NSTALLATIONS
( 1 ) FISH HOLDS IN THE SCHOONERS Lila B. Boutilier AND Theresa E. Connor
Interest of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada in this problem was
directed first to the utilization of insulation alone on the walls, bulkheads, and
decks of fishing schooners. However, when in 1 947 sufficient information was
not at hand , it was decided to experiment with j acketed walls in place of in­
sulation . In that year, the end bulkheads and deckhead in the fish hold of
the schooner Lila B. Boutilier were insulated with corkboard , and air channels
which provided a means of maintaining cold walls were built into the bottom
and backs of each fish pen . M eans for refrigerating the air which was circu­
lated through the j ackets were provided . The pen bottoms, pen back walls,
and the end bulkheads and the deckhead of the hold were metal lined . All
seams in the metal were nailed and screwed fast, caulking compound having
been applied first. This proj ect was carried out by the Fisheries Research
B oard in cooperation with the owners of the vessel , National Sea Products
Limited . After a short trial period , the cost was paid in full by the company.
The installation was watched closely for the next 4 years, at the end of
which time parts of the fish hold linings were renewed and the "wings" of the
pens were metal covered .
For economic reasons, this schooner was retired from fishing in M ay , 1 9 5 3 ,
and the fish hold installation was removed . The vessel i s now freighting.
In 1 948, a second proj ect was carried out at the request of National Sea
Products Limited , and at their expense . A quantity of Onazote, an expanded
rubber-derivative insulation which does not wet up even when immersed in
water, was procured and all surfaces of the fish hold of the schooner Theresa E.
Connor which were exposed to high temperatures were insulated . M etal
sheathing was used over the insulation and again all seams were nailed and
screwed .

24
 This vessel continued in the fresh fish trade exclusively until August, 1 9 5 3 ,
when i t was sold for use i n both the salt fish and fresh fish trade. The buyers
removed both the metal lining and the insulation at the time.
From an engineering standpoint, the work on these vessels was of great
value. It was shown that : (i) a cold air j acketed system could be installed
in a fish hold and made to function according to design specifications ; (ii) de­
sired fish hold temperatures could be maintained by refrigerating in this manner ;
(iii) mechanically constructed seams of the type employed could not be kept
watertight and experience shows that they are unsuitable for use in fish pen
bottoms where aluminum alloys are employed and where fish j uices and ice
water may leak into air ducts located below ; (iv) Onazote could be depended
upon to remain dry after years of service in wet surroundings.
It is of interest also that the techniques used in constructing mechanically
made seams aboard ship have proved to' be of value subsequently in other
applications, notably seam construction employed on filleting tables where the
fish are water-borne.

(2) M ODERN WHOLLY REFRIGERATED AND METAL-CONSTRUCTED FRESH FISH

HOLDS IN THE TRAWLERS Cape Fourchu AND Cape Scatari.
In 1 950 a fully j acketed fish hold was designed by us. This design was
used in the installation of fish holds on two wooden trawlers, the Cape Fourchu
and the Cape Scatari, built for National Sea Products Ltd ., of Nova Scotia.
(a) GENERAL SCOPE OF THE DESIGN .-The structural components and the
sheathing of the lined fish holds of both trawlers are all-metal. Alcan aluminum
alloys, resistant to the corrosive action of sea water, were used throughout.
All j oints and seams in the aluminum requiring watertightness were argon
tungsten arc welded , and are the first known to be so fabricated aboard fishing
trawlers. Before installation , the underside and all lapped surfaces and all
unseen surfaces of aluminum alloy structural and sheet components were etched
and coated with paint selected to resist corrosion of the metal on the underside
should leaks occur and fish gurry decompose .
All metal surfaces, even to the contours of the extruded stanchions and the
special extrusions for floor and pen partition supports are refrigerated from below
with cold air which completely envelops the fish hold-sides, bottom, deckhead
and end bulkheads. Sufficient quantities of air are circulated through a finned
coil type evaporator and through each circuit of the j acket to reduce all the
metal walls of the fish room to the desired temperature and no lower, independ­
ent of change in the heat load as a whole or from point to point in the fish room:
There is not a significant carry-over refrigeration effect once the air in circu­
lation through the j acket reaches the minimum desired temperature, beclluse
the low side of the system has little heat capacity. There is no danger of dry­
ing the fish since walls and fish are at the same temperature.

25
 (b) D ESCRIPTION.-
Size of finished refrigerated fish hold:
Overall length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Approx. 32 ft.
" 2 2 ft.
Width at deckhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"
Average headroom in central part of hold . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . 10 ft.
"
Maximum usable volume of hold for fresh fish storage . . . . . 6 .000 cu. ft.
M aximum capacity of hold if fish are properly iced . . . . . . 240,000 lb.
"

Method and details of construction of hold. Fi g ure 2 is an isometric sketch

-

of the lower part of several fish pens on the trawler Cape Fourchu. The cut-

FIG. 2 .-I sometric view of lower portion of several fish pens in the hold of the
Cape Fourchu.

26
away views show the circulation of cold air behind pen bottoms and back walls
and the insulation between this cold air and the "ceiling" of the hold . The
actual pens of the Cape Fourchu are shown in Fig. 3. There are eight fish pens
on each side of this hold, and nine pens on each side of the Scatari hold .
Athwartships, each pen is subdivided into two parts at the line of the outboard
row of stanchions. Vertically the pens are subdivided by shelf supporting
angles of 65ST aluminum alloy. The Fourchu pens have two shelves above
the pen bottom , the Scatari pens three . The compartments within each pen
are built up with movable, corrugated , extruded 65ST aluminum alloy pen
and shelf boards having a section modulus of 0 · 3 . The boards are about 8 in.
wide and weigh about 6! lb. each. Pen partition spacing on the Cape Forchu
is 4 ft. , and on the Cape Scatari 3 ft. 8 in.
The sides of each fish pen are fixed . The 3 / 1 6-in . 5 7S Hard aluminum
alloy sheets used for the pen partitions are riveted to the stanchions and floor
supports . Aluminum rivets , driven cold , were used . Details of the riveted
construction at stanchions, fixed pen partitions, and shelf board supporting
angles are shown in Fig. 4 and 5. Some of the construction features of the

FIG. 3.-Top portion of the fish hold i n the trawler Cape Fourchu looking forward from pen
No. 4 ( Photograph courtesy Aluminum Company of Cana d a Ltd . , and National Sea Products
Ltd . )

27
 P£A/ 80A

IRCth

£0

£A reUpEp Q£..I T ­
boA R O ST4NCH/Q.V

C O L D /1/H
Ct/L

C£R
N
00

5H�/'F BO'IRO
-W;::'W1IVG

S HELF BOtfRD
UPPO�TING A

FIG. 4.-Detail riveted connection between out­ FIG. 5 .-Detail riveted connection between inboard
board stanchion, fixed pen partitions and shelf su pporting stanchion, fixed pen partition and shelf supporting angles.
angles.
j acketed design are shown in Fig. 6 to 1 S inclusive . Figure 6 represents an athwart­
ship half-section through the fish hold showing the stanchions, but omitting
the permanent pen partitions and associated shelf board supporting angles.
The floor construction , designated as Section A -A in Fig. 6, is shown in Fig. 7 .
At each pen partition , from the outer row of stanchions outboard , aluminum
alloy runners or battens were first laid on wood foundation strips. The immed­
iate floor support pieces of 6SSW aluminum alloy with a section modulus of
about 1 · 1 were placed on the aluminum runners. This special extrusion for
the floor provides : (i) a shoulder for laying the hardwood backing for the alu­
minum alloy sheathing, (ii) an air space of 1 in . between the insulation and the
hardwood sheathing, (iii) a ledge and a special ridge for fitting and welding the
aluminum alloy pen bottom sheathing or lining, and (iv) a vertical tongue to
which fixed pen partitions and shelf supporting angles are riveted . Out of the
way of the pen partitions , the floor from the outer row of stanchions outboard
is supported by ribs in the form of 6SST aluminum alloy extrusions having a
section modulus of 0 · 2 2 . The ribs rest on O · 02S-in . Alcan S 7S t Hard alu­
minum alloy sheet used to distribute the load from the ribs evenly over the

FIG. 6 . -Athwartship half section through fish hold

of Cape Fourchu.

29
 FIG. 7 .-Section A -A of Fig. 6, showing floor construction o utboard from the outer row
of stanchions.

surface of the insulation . The hardwood sheathing was laid across the ribs
and upon the shoulders of the special extrusions. The O· 064-in . Alcan 5 7S
H ard aluminum alloy lining was then laid . The latter was welded to the ex­
truded floor supports. The hardwood sheathing was used for two purposes :
(i) to give supporting strength to the metal lining, and (ii) to smooth out in
part the effect of fluctuations in the temperature of the air within the j acket .
It will be noted that the method of assembly of the floor components was such
that a channel for the passage of cold air was provided beneath all metal ex­
trusions .
Between the inner and outer row of stanchions, the floor i s supported a t
the pen partitions a s shown in Fig. 7 , with the exception that the special ex­
trusion h as no longer a contiunous support. On each side of the hold , the specia l
extrusion bridges the main cold air supply duct with one central and two end
supports . The floor supports used out of the way of the pen partitions are
four corrugated 65ST aluminum alloy extrusions per pen as shown in Fig. 2 .
Each section h as a modulus o f 0 · 3 .
Figure 8 shows one of the many adaptations m ade in the use of the special
extruded floor support section . Here the vertical tongue has been scarfed off,
the two flanges have been cut and a portion of the material laid fore and aft
across the supporting ribs for the hardwood flooring. This was done to form
a backing piece for welding two sheets in pen bottoms when the sheets could
not be placed in one piece. The sheets in place and the completed weld are
shown in Fig. 9.

30
 , � ---- � -...:::: -�--==- "'":> �--....
--.....::: -
r--.: @ _� � _ J
--

\\ \ \ \\ \ \
'l"//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

:::::::= ---
\
\
�
�
-===---
---= --
_'I;
<= ��
---= ===---
-------
---

FIG. S . - I llustration of use of modified floor su pport section as a backing

strip [or a welded joint. ( Redrawn from photograph. )

FIG. 9.-Partial view of the hold side walls (or pen back walls ) of the
trawler Cape Fourchu after completion of welding of the metal sheathing to
the floor supports and the backing strip. ( Photograph courtesy of the
Aluminum Company of Canada Ltd . , and National Sea Prod ucts Ltd . )

31
 Figure 1 0 shows a similar backing strip in place in end bulkhead construction .
Figures 1 1 and 1 2 represent vertical and horizontal sections respectively through
an end bulkhead showing : (i) the use of the special extrusion as a backing strip
to which the 0 · 064-in . 5 7S Hard aluminum alloy sheathing is welded , (ii) the
use of the tongue of the extrusion for the purpose of supporting shelf boards,
(iii) the hollow construction providing a j acket for cold air circulation within
the bulkhead , and (iv) the use of an extruded 65ST aluminum alloy double­
legged T -section as a pen board guide and backing strip to which the bulkhead
sheathing is welded . This is further illustrated in Fig. 1 0 .
Floor construction details illustrated in Fig. 1 3 , 1 4 , and 1 5 show ( i ) the
method of securing stanchions (65ST alloy, section modulus 3 · 5 ) involving
the use of portions of the special floor support extrusion which when cut, fitted ,
and welded form a support box at the extremity of the stanchion , (ii) the methods
o f refrigerating the stanchions, and (iii) the method of forming the watertight
welded j oint between the pen bottom sheathing and the base of the stanchion.
(c) INsuLATION .-Figures 2 , 6 , 7 , 1 1 , and 12 show the position of the On azote
insulation placed on the sides, deckhead , and end bulkheads of the hold . The
following thicknesses were laid against a mastic asphalt vapour barrier applied
cold : sides of hull, 2 in . ; deckhead , 4 in. ; end bulkhead , 4 in .

FIG. l O-An end bulkhead showing the backing strips and the pen and
shelf board guides prior to installation of the metal sheathing. ( Photo­
graph courtesy of the Aluminum Company of Canada Ltd. , and National
Sea Products Ltd . )

32
 £Sl!t�5J�.Ar.���ttg�-,� J:lQA/!e4.

�A"l./I:>,cD_�N "O��

w
w

S OF7"' WOOO SU,

�
;,vSVL..qTIq!:{

C O /e I?V&A TJCO PIClV' lIf1 o "q � .o $

��D P�N BoARDS'

FIG. l 1 .-Vertical section through engine-room bulkhead . FIG. 1 2 .-Horizontal section through engine-room bulkhead .
FIG. 1 3 .-Detail floor construction at outboard stanchions ( fore-and-aft view).

FIG. 1 4 .-Detail floor construction at inboard stanchions ( fore-and-aft view ) .

34
 FIG. 1 S .-Completed weld of metal sheathing to floor su pport pieds and a stan­
chion base. Fixed pen partitions not yet erected . ( Photograph courtesy Aluminum
Company of Canada Ltd . , and National Sea Products Ltd . )

(d) COLD AIR CIRCULATION AND VENTILATION .-The diagrammatic sketch

of the hold shown in Fig. 1 6 illustrates the path for the flow of cold air within
the j acket.
Two b lowers mounted at F, above the evaporator coils at the after end of
the hold , force the cold air out of the coils at A and along the trunks built be­
neath the pen floors on either side of the hold as at B . The air is then pushed
up the back walls of the pens, shown by the arrows at C, both by the blowers
and by the change in density as the air warms. From the same source at B
cold air is supplied to the end bulkheads at C1 ; to the stanchions as shown in
Fig. 2 and 6 ; and to the ventilation circuit illustrated in Fig. 6 . The air returns
to the blowers within the deckhead j acket at D and E (Fig. 1 6) entering the fan
compartment at F (Fig. 1 6) .
At an appropriate stage in the j acket construction , the circulation o f air
through the various channels was measured . The rate of flow was found to be
uniform through the hollow walls behind all the pens, through the hollow con­
struction of the bulkheads and up the hollow stanchions. The total flow was
about 4600 cu. ft. per min . , about 5 % of which is circulated between frames
and deck beams for ventilating purposes . The channel for the movement of
ventilating air is shown by the outboard series of arrows in Fig. 6 . The refri­
gerating air circuit is shown by the inboard series of arrows in the same figure .
A description of the scheme for frame space and deck beam space ventilation
is found in Chap. IV, Sect. 1 .

35
 FIG. 1 6 .-D iagrammatic sketch of cold air circuit within j acket in the fish hold
of t h e trawler Cape Fourchu.

(e) EQUIPMENT AND CONTROLs .-These are the first Canadian Atlantic
coast trawlers known to be equipped with an alternating current auxiliary
power supply. The power plant and refrigerator equipment for the instal­
lations are located in the respective engine rooms. Each consists of an 1 8-hp . ,
2 -cylinder, 4-cycle diesel engine driving a t 1 2 00 r . p . m . a n electric generator
having the specifications : 1 5 -kva . , 1 2-kw . , 1 20/208-volt, 60-cycle , 3 -phase ,
4-wire a-c.
The Freon - 1 2 motor compressor unit has a rating of 3 6 , 000 B . t . u . per hour
operating at 1 7 · 7 1b. per sq. in. suction pressure or a saturated refrigerant tempera­
ture of 1 5 °F. for an inlet cooling water temperature of 60°F. and a flow of 2 6 1 U.S.
gal . per hr. , resulting in a high-side pressure of 90 lb. per sq. in. The compressors
are operated by 5-hp. electric motors having the specifications : 1 1 0/2 20-volt,
3-phase, 1 800-r.p.m . , low-starting-current, high-starting-torque, totally en­
closed , fan-cooled . Figure 1 7 shows a view of the motor compressor unit
located in the engine room side of the engine room bulkhead . Figure 1 8 shows
the diesel generator which is located nearby.
36
 FIG. 1 7 .-The motor compressor unit for hold refrigeration services, installed in the
engine room of the Cape Fourchu.

FIG. 1 8 .-The diesel generator set providing alternating c u rrent for refrigeration on
the trawler Cape Fourchu.

37
 The marine condensers are shell and tube type of 4-pass 4-tube construction
with 1 0 % Monel clad tube sheets and 90- 1 0 cupro-nickel tubes. The liquid
receivers are vertical type marine models.
The two blowers in each trawler are located on the fish hold side of the
engine room bulkhead and , by means of extended shafts and belt drives, are each
d riven by 1 -hp . , 3 -phase , 1 1 0/2 20-volt, 1 800 r.p.m. electric motors mounted in
the engine room for good operating environment. The fans are of backward
blade construction , single width , and are of the single inlet centrifugal type ,
ball-bearing mounted , with a duty of 2500 cu. ft. per min. for each fan operating
against 1 !-in. static pressure . To withstand moist hold conditions, all fan
components with the exception of shaft and bearings are hot galvanized .
In each trawler, the finned evaporator coil is mounted directly below the
fans in a common case constructed of aluminum alloy extrusions and sheet.
Port holes are located in the casings above and below the evaporator coils to
permit inspection of the coils for frost deposits. The inspection is made from
the hold side of the engine room bulkhead . The coil for each trawler has a
rating of 36 ,000 B . t . u . per hour at a temperature differential of 1 0 degrees
Fahrenheit. End plates are aluminum alloy. The coils are constructed of
tinned copper tubes with aluminum alloy fins placed at !-in . centres. Each
coil has a face area of 11 sq. ft. and is refrigerated by means of two parallel
circuits h aving individual thermostatic expansion valves.
With the installation of condensing unit and evaporator coil on opposite
sides of the engine room bulkhead , refrigerant lines are necessarily short. The
defrostin g arrangement is manually operated and permits by-passing the super­
heated Freon- 1 2 gas directly to the evaporator coi ls ("hot" gas method ) . The
arrangement has proved to be very effective . Operation of the defrosting line
for about 2 min . once every 12 hr. keeps the coils working at top efficiency.
The compressor is operated by means of a back pressure control. A
magnetic starting switch is used . To get better response to refrigeration re­
quirements of all parts of the cold air j acket, the system was designed for con­
tinuous operation of the blowers. The blower motors are controlled by manu­
ally operated switches.
The generator set is designed for constan t operation except for periodic
shut-downs which may be required for maintenance or dictated by circumstances
connected with fishing operations or other engine room activities.
Each trawler is fitted with a dial thermometer mounted on the engine
room side of the engine room bulkhead . The remote bulbs are located in the
fish holds. To facilitate tests and the accurate measurement of the temperature
of fish , hold air, and j acket air, capped glands are installed through each engine
room bulkhead through which thermocouple leads may be strung. The auto­
matic recorder used for such tests was placed in the engine room prior to each
investigation .
38
 Cf) COOLING AND HOLDING EFFECTS.-The Cape Fourchu has been fishing
since April , 1 95 1 , and the Cape Scatari since J uly, 1 95 1 , Both trawlers have
been landing at Lunenburg Sea Products Ltd . , Lunenburg, and National Sea
Products Ltd . , Louisbourg.
Soon after the trawlers started fishing, observers from the Atlantic
Fisheries Experimental Station made two trips on each trawler to study the
performance of the refrigeration system and to record the temperatures realized
in various parts of the hold . Typical hollow-wall air temperatures are depicted
by curves A, B, C, and D of Fig. 1 9 . The average return air temperature
at D is shown to be about 2 t degrees Fahrenheit higher than the temperature
of the re-cooled air as it passes points A, B, and C of the circuit. Air

SHOWING TN.EHMt>covPJ.£ L()C'A r'�N&

wlrHIN COLD ifll#r JACK6 T

," O C A rED IN' P/.s ll I9r ":' r; � H;

<IN'" /N ,4/� -'11' K.

(0 !l0 .:10 _ $"0 (,0 70 80 fo /00 //0 /;to /"0 /_ /..." /6 0

IIOVRS A F rBp. Ie IN<; /INC> ST,4ItT OF C/�cUL ,qr/oN'

W / TH/N' & 0" ,0 /1/,«' J"/lC K£ T

FIG. 1 9.-Temperatures recorded within cold a i r j acket i n hold proper and i n

stowed whole gutted fish aboard trawlers Cape Fourchu and Cape Scatari.

39
temperatures at corresponding stations A , B , and C within the j acket were
similar and averaged 3 0 · 5°F. The similarity of the readings would be expected ,
as air flow tests made throughout the j acket near the completion of construction
h ad shown uniform flow at these stations. Curve K shows the average hold
temperature to be 3 3 · 5 °F. for the same period . Observed fish temperatures
are represented by curves E, F, G, H and J of Figure 1 9 . All these fish were
cooled in 10 hr. or less. None of the fish was warmer than 3 1 °F. thereafter .
Operation of the compressor with a fairly wide differential setting of the back
pressure control and failure to keep the blowers in constant operation both
h ave the tendency to cause a wide variation in hollow-wall air temperatures.
Even when the hollow-wall temperature was allowed to cycle over a 3 - to 5 -
degree range, the fish maintained a temperature with less than O · 5 -degree
variation .
The compressor on each trawler operated about 5 0 % of the time . Under
this arrangement, sufficient refrigeration was provided to lower the temperature
of the layer of ice lying against the metal skin of the pens j ust enough to cause
it to stick to the aluminum sheet. This proved sufficient to preserve ice through­
out the trip. The actual skin of ice was observed at the time the fish were un­
loaded . As long as ice can be kept against back walls, fish stowed in these
areas cannot warm up.
Comparisons of quality of landings from the Cape Fourchu with those of
other trawlers in the same fleet having a non-refrigerated wood constructed
fish hold were made in the spring and again in the summer of 1 954. During
both investigations, landings from the Cape Fourchu were found to be almost
entirely bilge-free, even for fish 10 days old . Landings from the wood-lined
boats were definitely inferior in this respect. I t was found , however, that
some fish , both in the interior and against the surfaces of the metal-lined fish
pens, were inadequately iced and these were not of high quality.
(g) PERFORMANCE AND M AINTENANCE All refrigeration equipment has func­
.-

tioned well to date. After a few months' operation , the effects of wear due to
shelf boards moving against the metal skin were observed on one of the trawlers.
To remedy this situation , stops were placed on the shelf board supporting angles
to preserve clearance between shelf boards and the metal lining. Welds have
been inspected periodically and repairs, where necessary, have been made .
The last annual inspection ( 1 95 5 ) showed that two short welds in the Cape Scatari
and four in the Cape Fourchu fish holds required attention .
No corrosion has been observed in the hold lining sheets as observed from
the interior of either hold . A few of the several hundred extruded movable
d ivision boards are showing the combined effects of wear and corrosion , particu­
larly at the ends of the boards. The corrosion appears to be the result of lack
of washing of the boards.
40
 (3) THE UNIT FISH PEN-AN INSTALLATION IN THE FISH HOLD OF THE TRAWLER
Cape A rgos
Metal fish pens of unit construction , a type which employs shop fabricated
pen sections, can be installed in the fish room of a new trawler or in that of
craft now fishing, and installation can be completed within the weeks allotted
each year for outfitting. The unit pen design is to be distinguished from the
conventional pen which is constructed in and forms an integral part of the
fish hold . The unit pen is supported clear of the ship' s bottom and "ceiling" ,
which provides a n opportunity o f wholly refrigerating it. Each pen i s fabri­
cated as a unit of several sections, which gives the installed un its freedom to
"work" with the vessel, without reducing the effectiveness of watertight seams
provided in each unit. Each section of each pen can be removed from the fish
room without disturbance or damage to other pens or damage to itself. This fea­
ture should be of value should ship repairs or inspection require removal of the
ship ' s ceiling. Considerable uniformity in size and shape of sections can be
achieved , making possible minimal fabrication costs in shops ashore . The
difficulty which is experienced in fitting heavy gauge metal to the ship 's contour
is overcome by this method of fabrication in the shop ashore.
Planning work for a unit pen began in 1 9 5 3 , and in 1 954 one such pen was
designed , fabricated and installed in pen space No. 6 Port in the fish room of the
trawler Cape A rgos , fishing out of Halifax, and is now being tested under com­
mercial fishing conditions.
The complete pen consists of a bottom section with a curved bottom and back
which in general conforms to the curve of the bilge , a middle section , and an
upper section . The sections are bolted together through horizontally disposed
fl anges shown in Fig. 20 which also serve as shelf board "rests" or battens .
I n termediate battens are provided b y aluminum angles bolted t o the sides of
the respective sections. The overall dimensions of the assembled pen are 3 ft.
4 in . by 10 ft. 5 in. by 1 1 ft. 2 in . The sections are built of 3 / 1 6-inch and i-inch
aluminum sheet and plate . Aluminum angles, welded to the pen side wall ,
bottom and back sheets, are used t o give the sections structural strength and
watertightness. The aluminum angles, used to retain outboard division boards
are riveted to the side plates. In its location in the fish room , the pen is wedged
between neighbouring inboard and outboard ship's stanchions in a single pen
space , and is held off the fish room floor and side wall by means of wood runners
to encourage natural circulation of refrigerated air behind the pen . The pen is
prevented from moving into the "run " by the use of a holding device which is
riveted to the two inboard stanchions, and this device also retains the inboard
division boards.
The technique commonly practised on trawlers, that is stowing of fish and
ice from a built-up shelf in the "run " , is used with the unit pen , and the fish are
shelved off and separated by division boards in the customary manner.

41
 FIG. 20.-The unit fish pen installed in the fish room of the trawler Cape A rgos,
as seen from the "run " .

42
 Each of the three pen sections was designed to have its short dimensions
slightly smaller than those of the hatch opening. Installation was made pos­
sible by holding each section in turn above the hatch opening, with the long
measurement of the section vertical ; this step being followed by gradually
lowering the section through the hatch to the floor of the fish hold . Without
altering its orientation , the section was then carried forward along the run to
the selected pen space . The section was then tipped and pushed into its proper
place. The proj ect showed the feasibility of shop construction of fish room
bins and of their installation in a trawler even when hatch openin gs are of
limited size. The experiment has also permitted cost appraisals for a 1 6-pen
installation on the conven tional trawler.

43
 CHAPTER I V

GOO D PRACT I C E I N FISH HOLD CONSTRUCTION,

OUTFITT I NG, AND REFRIGERATION

1 . A M ETHOD OF VENTILATlNG SPACES B ETWEEN FRAMES AND DECK BEAMS

2 . TYPES OF PROTECTIVE COVERING AND TYPES AND COSTS OF INSULATION
3. THICKNESS OF INSULATION
4. FISH HOLD AND PEN LINING MATERIALS
( 1 ) THE NECESS�TY FOR WATERTIGHT MATERIAL AND JOINTS FOR JACKETED
FISH HOLDS
(2) THE INFLUENCE OF METAL SURFACES ON THE STORAGE LIFE OF FISH
.

( 3) SUGGESTED CARE OF WOOD FISH HOLDS AND THE USE OF SCREENS TO

SHIELD FISH FROM WOOD
(4) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE SELECTION OF METAL HOLD
LININGS AND PEN COMPONENTS
5 . TYPES AND DESIGNS OF FISH PENS AND VARIATIONS IN FITTINGS
6. ARTIFICIAL REFRIGERATION EQUIPMENT

Certain aspects of fish hold construction and refrigeration require careful

consideration when new construction or fish hold conversion is contemplated .
The results of practical experience , outlined in this chapter, may assist those
who are called upon to specify the type of fish hold outfitting best suited to
their particular needs.

1. A M ETHOD OF VENTILATING SPACES BETWEEN FRAMES AND DECK BEAMS

The wooden ship builder leaves openings in the ship's "ceiling" to prevent
the occurrence of fungal rot in the timbers. However, in the case of a conven­
tionally designed fish hold , it is difficult to believe that there can be much drying
out of the ship ' s timbers even if air circulation is good .
In planning the insulated and j acketed walls of the holds for the Cape
Fourchu and Cape Scatari, it was decided to make provision for the ventilation
of all spaces between timbers . This is shown in Fig. 6 , Chap . I I I , in which a
cross-section of the fish hold is outlined . A pipe of 1 !-in . diameter was started
up each frame space from two S-in . diameter supply headers extending fore and
aft at the bottom of the hold . The path for the ventilating air was made con­
tinuous from the between-frame to the between-deck-beam spaces. From the
latter spaces, the air was led into return headers, running fore and aft below
the deck, and on either side of the fish hatches. The air supply for the ventila-

44
ting circuit was taken directly from the refrigerated air supply, the open end of
each 5 -in . diameter supply header having been installed in the refrigerated air
stream . Likewise , the open ends of the ventilating air return headers were
located in the refrigerated air stream near the suction side of the evaporator
fans. About 5 % of the recirculated and refrigerated air passes through the
ventilating pipes and the between-frame and deck-beam spaces. As the return
air is warmer than the supply air, the circulation should tend to dry the ship 's
timbers.
Figure 6 also shows the installation of a drainage pipe, 1! in . in diameter, for
each between-frame space. These pipes were connected to headers of 3 !-in .
diameter, running fore and aft, and sloped to discharge into the sump.

2. TYPES OF PROTECTIVE COVERING AND TYPES AND COSTS OF INSULATION

All hold surfaces-the deckhead , bulkheads, side walls, bottom and hatch
covers-should be insulated . The type of insulation required is governed by
the particular needs of the j ob . For example, corkboard and other hygroscopic
insulations should not be used on the side walls or bottom of the hold where
"wef ' fish are to be stowed unless protective watertight coverings are placed
over them . After one year in service, corkboard placed against a ship' s side
wall , and covered with wire mesh and an asbestos cement mixture, had abso rbed
enough water to double the dry weight. Other corkboard , in service for many
years on the same boat and similarly protected , was examined also , and it too
had doubled in weight. M oreover, it had disintegrated and was foul-smelling.
The cork was in the same poor state of preservation up to a height of about 5
ft. above the floor of the fish room .
Portland cement, mixtures of cement and asbestos, or wood planking are
not recommended for protecting insulations where danger of wetting exists .
Protective metals that can be welded or soldered may be used to cover
many types of insulation. The j oints and seams in these protective materials
should be as strong and as tight as the parent metal . Provided complete
watertightness is assured , hygroscopic and relatively cheap insulations can be
used where "wet" fish are stowed.
Expanded rubber-type insulation such as Onazote has been found very
satisfactory for insulating bottoms and side walls. I t is one of the best choices
for use under cement and wood "ceilings" . This material is quite rigid , light
in weight, water-resistant , has an extremely high insulating value, is easily
cut and does not require that workmen installing it wear special clothing. I ts
non-interconnecting, water-resistant, cellular struct u re is stated by the manufac­
turers to m ake it resistant to transfer of water vapour as wel l , hence unlike
many other insulations, an additional vapour barrier is not necessary.
Since it will burn , although not too readily ignited , strict fire precautions
should be taken during installation or when effecting repairs. I t is used in the
cold rooms aboard the British factory ship Fairlry, as the inner insulation .

45
The first course , or that directly against the plates of the ship , is of non-com ­
b ustible material , allowing the use of welding torches for plate repairs.
Foamglas , another type of insulation possessing a non-interconnecting
cellular structure, is non-inflammable. The manufacturers state that it is
resistant to the passage of water vapour, but when it is used aboard ship , an
adhesive is required to stick it to the ship ' s surface or to other insulation since
it is not suitable for nailing. Hence there is actually no installation savin g
resulting from its vapour resistant properties.
The total installed costs (material plus labour) of five types of insulation
for fish hold application are given below. Dry corkboard with a thermal con­
d uctivity of 0 · 2 7 B . t . u . per sq. ft. per degree difference per hour and one inch
thick has been used as a standard . The listed costs of other insulations were
computed on the basis of the thermal conductivity and costs of these insulations,
as compared to those of corkboard . None of the costs listed for the various
insulations includes that of protective covering, nor of structural changes or
additions for supporting the insulation . M eans of applying the various insu­
l ations are given, as are recommendations concerning their use in wet or dry
environmen ts .
Corkboard. The surface to be insulated is mopped with hot asphalt and
each course of insulation is hot dipped . Skewers are used to hold the cork­
board in place and the bare faces of the corkboard are mopped with hot asphalt
or trowelled with cold (water-soluble) asphalt preparation . The use of cork­
board is limited to a dry environment. The price fluctuates between 18 and
22 cents per board foot, depending on the market price of the cork.
Foamglas. The surface to be insulated is mopped with hot asphalt. Each
course is hot dipped in asphalt for adhesion and skewers are not used . This
insulation is not limited to a dry environment. The cost is about 3 5 % greater
than for corkboard .
Onazote. Where the first course cannot be nailed , such as on the steel
hull, the surface to be insulated may be trowelled with cold (water-soluble)
asphalt preparation , and the first course of insulation applied . Other courses
can be added by the use of skewers. Onazote is not limited in use to a dry
environment. Cost is approximately 5 % greater than that for corkboard .
I f it is possible to n ail the first course, galvanized Iron nails can be used and
skewers can fasten the remaining courses. With this procedure the cost is
about the same as for corkboard .
Fibreglas A E board. The surface to be insulated is mopped with hot
asphalt and the first course is hot dipped for adhesion . Skewers may be used
for the remaining courses. This insulation is limited in use to a dry environ­
ment. The cost is about 1 0 % greater than for corkboard .
Rock cork. The surface to be insulated is mopped with hot asphalt and
each course of insulation is hot dipped . Skewers are used and bare faces are

46
mopped with hot asphalt or trowelled with cold (water-soluble) asphalt pre­
paration . The cost is about 10% greater than for corkboard . This insulation
is limited in use to a dry environment.

3. THICKNESS OF INSULATION
\iVhile the need varies with circumstances, a good general rule is to con­
sider the fish hold as a 3 2 °F. holding room , for which the recommended com­
mercial thickness of insulation is the equivalent of 4 in. of corkboard . \Vhere
it is decided to install a cold wall j acket as well as to insulate , the thickness of
insulation may be reduced . The side walls in the fish holds of the Cape Scatari
and Cape Fourchu are insulated with 2 in. of On azote , equivalent to about 3
m . of corkboard in insulating value.

4. FISH H OLD AND PEN LINING MATERIALS

( 1 ) THE NECESSITY FOR WATERTIGHT MATERIAL AND JOINTS FOR JACKETED
FISH HOLDS
Where surfaces of the pens are of wood , without metal covering, leaks
d evelop which eventually cause accumulation of sufficient solid material to
block the air flow in the channels. Wood is not suited for use in j acketed fish
holds, therefore , unless it is sheathed with metal laid with watertight j oints.
Portland cement, and mixtures of this with other compounds, may not be suited
for use over cold walls as the surface material may crack and leak. Heavy­
gauge metal fabricated fish pens , held off the wood lining itself, may be of
welded, watertight construction and are considered to be extremely servicable.
(2) THE INFLUENCE OF METAL SURFACES ON THE STORAGE LIFE OF FISH
Presen t knowledge may be summarized as follows : Individual fish lodged
against worn wood pen boards at or near the top of the bins as to exclude air
h ave been found to be bilgy in as short a time as those against similar surfaces
in the lower sections of the pen where the fish are under considerable pressure .
Thus it is known that (i) the weight of superimposed fish is not required always
to produce fish with this type of off-odour ; and (ii) all sections of the fish bin ,
including the top sides, need to be considered as potential sources of contamina­
tion of the fish .
For all vertical and all difficult-to-ice pen surfaces, metals have been found
to be suited particularly. Fish-hold washing methods used by the trade appear
to be adequate to keep such metal surfaces relatively free of contamination .
There is little danger that off odours will result from stowage of fish in contact
with metal surfaces thus cleaned during stowage periods of up to 7 to 10 days.
I n contrast , worn wood boards cannot be washed effectively by present methods
and fish against the latter may be unmarketable after 4 days or less in stowage.
When it is necessary to use some wood boards in fish bins, this use should be
confined to horizontally laid pen bottoms and shelf boards since these are liable
to be well iced before fish are placed over them .

47
 At present, wood is the most common material of constructioh for fish
holds. Quality of material , workmanship, finish , painting and subsequent
cleaning and upkeep are factors which govern the degree of success connected
with its use. Neglect, abuse, or lack of maintenance soon reduces a wood fish
hold to a sour-smelling, unattractive, and poor room for fish stowage . By the
end of the third trip after refit, it has been noted that varnished boards in trawler
h olds have lost enough of their protective coating to permit serious contamina­
tion of fish stowed against them . Hooks used for lifting pen boards soon mar
the surface of a well dried , well painted board . The pits retain slime and dirt
and permit bacteria to enter the cellular structure of the wood . Such boards
cannot be cleaned mechanically. It is possible, and it is good practice, for our
trawlers to have duplicate sets of pen and shelf boards. This arrangement
provides sufficient time for washing, drying, inspecting and painting the worn
b oards. M oreover, the work may be done at frequent intervals. The bene­
ficial effect of this is confined only to movable division and shelf boards, and
movable sections of wings. Very large surface areas, such as back walls and
b ack halves of wings, can never be properly washed , and at refit time, never
properly dried out and refinished . B ecause of damage suffered from usage , and
because methods for drying out and refinishing are very often impractical , and
because such surfaces are not iced well enough by the average icer to promote
clean stowage conditions for the catch, metal should be used in the last mentioned
locations . Shelves, which can be easily iced , may well be of wood , although
metal shelf boards are more easily washed and have a longer life.

A few years ago, when metal was first used in fish holds, the initial cost
compared to that of wood seemed to be sufficiently high to discourage general
use. Later experience, which has shown that it is virtually impossible to keep
the larger portion of a wood fish pen in a hygienic state, combined with the high
m aintenance and replacement costs of removable boards-if these are to be
looked after properly-has thrown an entirely different light on the picture .

Table I I , based on present knowledge of first costs and maintenance of

both wood and metal boards, shows that extruded aluminum alloy boards are
as cheap as wood boards, provided yearly losses of the former due to loss over­
b oard , etc. are no higher than 4 · 1 %. I t is expected that losses would
be much smaller than this. The costs assigned to the wood boards were based
on a contractor's estimate for new construction and a boat owner' s estimate
for replacement. While it is difficult to assess the saving (not shown in Table
I I ) resulting from greater ease of washing metal boards, this should be sub­
stantial. Were wood boards and fish hold linings to be completely renewed
after each 7 years' service, a practice reputed to be common in Germany, the
cost picture from the standpoint of metal boards would be more attractive
still.
48
TAB LE I I . -ESTIMATED TOTAL ANNUAL COST OF PEN BOARDS ( BASED ON 1 , 000 BOARDS).

Wood ( s pruce) Extruded aluminum alloys

Capital costs
1000 painted boards at $ 1 . 3 5 = $ 1 350 1 000 boards a t $3 . 7 5 = $3750

$ $
Uniform a n n u a l end-of­
year payment necessa-
r y to repay invest­
ment in 15 yr. at 5 % 1 30 . 00 3 6 1 . 00

Yearly cost o f replacing

b oards d u e to loss
overboard, or other
reasonsa 1 1 5 painted boards at $ 1 .00 1 1 5 . 00 1 6 boards at $3 . 75 60 . 00

Yearly cost of handling,

and drying boards 1 000 boards a t $0. 1 2 1 20 . 00

Yearly cost o f painting

boards ( one coat) 1 000 boards at $0. 1 5 1 50 . 00

Total annual costs 5 1 5 . 00 4 2 1 . 00

a It is q u ite possible that more aluminum boards might be lost than the estimated q uantity
of 16 per 1 000 boards. For the costs to balance, ( 5 1 5-42 1 )/3 . 75 , or about 2 5 extra boards,
giving a total of 41 aluminum boards , could be lost each year.

(3) SUGGESTED CARE OF WOOD FISH HOLDS AND USE OF SCREENS TO SHIELD
FISH FROM WOOD
It is to be expected that those operators who have had minimum losses
resulting from contaminated fish holds will continue, for the present at least,
to use wood-lined holds. Methods for more effective use of wood fish rooms
which may be of help are described below.
(i) EXTRA SETS OF REMOVABLE BOARDS SHOULD BE USED.-This gives
sufficient time for drying and repainting boards not only at refit but at
any time during the year when this work is necessary. Provided suitable
artificial drying facilities exist on shore , boards taken out of a fish hold for
renewing may be dried properly before repainting. Failure to dry boards
thoroughly before repainting is the main reason for the failure to maintain
reasonably good painted surfaces.
(ii) NOTCHES SHOULD BE CUT IN THE EDGES OF ALL MOVABLE BOARDS .­
This allows them to be raised and taken out without marring the flat sur­
faces.
(iii) WHERE PRACTICABLE, SCREENS SHOULD BE USED OVER WOOD
SURFACES ON WHICH IT IS DIFFICULT TO KEEP PAINT.-In particular, screens
may well be used on wood wings in those pens where the first-caught fish
are stowed . Screens made of 1 2-gauge galvanized iron fencing fabric of
i t-in . mesh , and of i -in. aluminum alloy angles as framework, have been
tried successfully on one wood wing in a trawler's fish hold . Eight such
screens, (some of which are shown in place in Fig. 2 1 ) were used , each screen

49
 F I G . 2 1 .-Heavy wire screens fastened to the wood wi ngs of a fish pen retain ice
and prevent the fish from contacting the wood boards.

fitting the panel of the wing formed by the shelf battens or "rests " , fish
hold stanchions, or the curve of the hold bottom and side, as the case may
be. The screens were removed and washed after each trip and the wood
wings behind the screens were washed down . In use at sea, it was found
that the icer need exercise no particular care in icing the wings . Enough

50
ice filtered through the fencing fabric into the inch space between it and
the wing during the course of normal icing to fill this space . Fish landed
from against the screens were free from the bilgy odours which were en­
countered in fish stowed on the opposite side of the pen against the other
wing which was not screened (Fig. 2 2 ) . Fish from the screens were with­
out sour odours also and in this respect were better than the average for
fish stowed in the pen interior.

FIG. 2 2 .-Fish directly against the boards of the wood wings ( o n the opposite
side of the pen shown i n Fig. 2 1 ) .

51
 The use of screens greatly decreased the quantity of ice needed to shield
fish from contaminated wood surfaces-about one third as much ice is used with
screens as is required if the icer must rely on his own technique to stow ice against
the unscreened wing.
Because screens are flexible in design and simple to construct, they may
be installed at any time, without delaying fishing operations.

(4) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE SELECTION OF METAL HOLD LININGS

AND PEN COMPONENTS
(a) GAUGE AND HARDNESs .-Experience has shown that hard aluminum
alloy sheet, if backed by hardwood , resists most puncturing if the gauge used
on all surfaces other than actual pen bottoms and lower back walls is ill in .
or over. Where hardwood backing is employed , the gauge required for pen
bottoms and lower back walls should be about t in. I f aluminum alloys are
not backed with wood , ! or ! Hard aluminum for bottoms, back walls and for
pen sides or "wings" should be about !ff in. Roughly half these thicknesses are
required if Monel metal is employed .
(b) CORROSION RESISTANcE .-M onel metal , nickel clad steel, and alum­
inum alloys have had limited use in other countries as linings for fish holds.
Our experience is confined to aluminum alloys. I t has been found in actual
practice that there are a number of pitfalls and dangers in the use of aluminum .
Galvanic action resulting from contact with many other metals, such as copper
or iron , corrodes the plate rapidly. Even though the dissimilar metals are
insulated from one another, they may be bridged with dirt and galvanic action
m ay occur. Therefore frequent washing at the site of such j oints is recommended .
Portland cement concretes should not be poured against aluminum alloys
because of the corrosive action of lime. I n such cases a hardwood pad and a
suitable mastic insulator should be used between the metal and the concrete .
While exposed surfaces of aluminum alloys need not be painted , they must be
kept clean because the metal pits under dirt. These surfaces may corrode
severely under fish gurry lodged for extended periods . Unless there is absolute
assurance that fish gurry will not lodge on hidden surfaces of aluminum alloy
sections and plates which cannot be reached for washing, these surfaces should
. be painted to the specifications of the metal manufacturer at time of instal­
lation . In spite of its shortcomings, it is our belief that aluminum can be used
to advantage in fish holds. In installations in Nova Scotia, on the Cape Scatari
and Cape Fourchu, where the aluminum was properly installed , and where
welded j oints were used to prevent slime and gurry from reaching the underside
of the plate whence it cannot be removed , the aluminum has stood up for 4
years without visible sign of corrosion .
Probably the most widely used metal to date in fish holds is galvanized
i ron . I t is used in the form of built-up stanchions, channels to retain wing
boards where the latter intersect the side wall of the hold , and as supporting

52
angles or rests for shelf boards, which may be movable. When poorly main­
tained , galvanized iron can so rust that edges of stanchions become ragged and
a menace to the hold worker. Regular painting of worn galvanized iron sur­
faces is recommended for this reason.
The actual design into which the selected materials are incorporated is
important too, since subsequent wear, puncturing, breaking of j oints, or for­
mation of gurry pockets, all of which may lead to corrosion , may undo the good
work done at the time of fabrication .
(c) WELDABILITY AND SOLDERABILITY.-Monel metal , stainless steels, and
nickel clad steels are readily welded . M onel metal has been soldered in fish
hold application and nickel clad steels have been welded . Successful practices
for welding aluminum alloys are now widely employed , one of these being the
use of the argon tungsten arc. This is suited to both shop and ship work.
(d) AVAILABILITY OF STRUCTURAL COMPONENTs.-Many different extruded
sections are available in various aluminum alloys. Some stainless steel and
M onel metal structural components are also available.

5. TYPES AND DESIGNS OF FISH PENS AND VARIATIONS IN FITTINGS

The two principal types of pen are (i) those of wood and of metal in which
the back halves or the back wings are fixed and the front wing boards are mov­
able, and (ii) those of metal , and of wood covered with metal , in which the back
and front wings are fixed and are integral in construction with the pen bottom
and back wall. The latter type may be custom built as in the Cape Fourchu
and Cape Scatari, or may be shop fabricated unit pens, as was the pen installed
in the fish room of the Cape A rgos.
Pens should have a satifactory width . Those narrower than about 3 ft.
8 in . are difficult to discharge. M oreover, narrow pens present more surface
area per unit volume than wide pens, and they pose a problem in icing these
surfaces and the fish in the pen interior, particularly steak cod .
Shelf supporting angles or "rests" should be provided every three or four
boards. In the front section of the pens, lugs are provided at about 9-in . verti­
cal centres on the stanchions of the fish rooms of many British-built trawlers.
M ovable shelf-board supporting angles may be hooked to these lugs, hence
shelving is possible at any multiple of 9 in. The shelves are fixed in place against
the back halves at the same spacing. Crews have obj ected to the latter arrange­
ment on the grounds that it makes icing of bulk stowed fish difficult. A Cana­
dian development in which recessed wing boards provide a channel for shelf
boards every 9 in. of the wing height, is now under test.
The bottom of fish pens or the bottom boards placed in the pen should be
sufficiently h igh above the shoulders of the gurry trough to provide good drain­
age of ice water and fish gurry from the pens to the trough and thus prevent
any build-up of gurry above the top of the trough fro m reaching bottom-stowed

53
fish . B otto m pen boards in all pens should be raised an inch or more above the
pen floor to allow unhampered flow of liquid from the pens.
Gurry troughs themselves should be of more than ample capacity to carry
off melting ice water. They should not be cluttered up with ship's piping
which restricts the flow of gurry and sometimes causes clogging of the trough .
Troughs carrying exposed pipes cannot be easily cleaned .
The sump should be large in size and should be capable of being pumped
out independently of the bilge .
Of the ship's piping which passes through the fish hold , those lines which
emit heat should be well insulated with a water-resistant material , such as an
expanded rubber-type insulation , before being embedded in low-strength con­
crete.
Lighting fixtures of the flat, marine type should be liberally supplied within
the fish hold . They should be staggered so as not to interfere with the hold
men at work on the top staging. At the same time, the lights should be located
as much as possible in line with pen sides or "wings" .
At least one large fish hatch should be provided to facilitate quick unload­
ing operations, either by the batch removal system or continuous conveyor
belt or bucket method . Large openings can conveniently be covered by the
patented MacGregor steel cover which seats on gaskets and which does not
require battening down while at sea. M ovement of the covers is provided for
by means of rollers mounted eccentrically with respect to shafts fixed to the
hatch covers.

6. ARTIFICIAL REFRIGERATION EQUIPMENT

Freon - 1 2 compression systems and finned evaporator banks designed for
forced air operation are well suited for cooling j acketed fish holds. If fish
room space is at a premium, it is preferable to have all machinery and even the
evaporator located outside the hold . In the latter event, the space about the
coils and the ductwork should be well insulated . Reference should be made
to the refrigeration machinery specifications on the Cape Fourchu and Cape
Scatari (Chap. I I I ) for an estimate of suitable machine and coil capacities
for the medium sized trawler.
Whether the cooling coils are located in the fish room or outside, corrosion­
resistant low temperature finned coils designed for forced air circulation and
corrosion-resistant fans are recommended . Hold air temperatures can be
controlled within suitable limits either during the refrigeration period or during
defrosting when finned coils in a compact bank are employed . Likewise ,
defrosting can be accomplished without d isturbing fish handling operations or
without causing discomfort to hold workers. The actual mechanics of de­
frosting can be quite simple , as described for the Cape Fourchu and Cape Scatari .

54
 Electrically operate d compressors are convenient, but sufficient electricity
is not always available on the older, diesel-powered boats. I t is customary to
install a 1 0 -kw. variable speed tail shaft generator and a l O-kw. auxiliary diesel
generating set for power other than refrigeration. An additional diesel gener­
ating set is necessary to handle refrigeration requirements. On new trawlers
a 2 0-kw. variable speed tail shaft generator and a 20-kw. auxiliary diesel gen­
erating set, each capable of h andling all lighting, pumping, and air compressor
loads, as well as the refrigeration load , can be installed at somewhat less cost.
Aside from costs, the maj or advantage in the provision of the larger tail shaft
generators on traw'ers is that no additional engine is operated during most of
the time at sea. This minim izes maintenance costs and results in a minimum
of noise, and in a minimum of heat in the engine room.

S5
 CHAPTER V

FISH ROOM COSTS

The unit pen type of fish hold described in Chap . I I I appears to be one answer
to the d emands of the fisherman , the technologist and the engineer for a pen
s uited to the bulk stowage of "wet" fish . Since , in Canada, construction costs
for a fish room of this design are typical of the costs associated with other types
of all-aluminum fish holds, e.g. the installations in the trawlers Cape Fourchu and
Cape Scatari described in Chapter I I I , and several types of aluminum alloy
sheathed fish rooms of British design employing mechanically constructed seams ,
the costs of a fish hold of the former d�sign are considered below in relation to
those for the conventi onal wood fish room .

A COMPARISON O F FISH ROOM COSTS

A study of costs of construction and operation is given in Table I I I for the
wood-lined fish room , and in Tables IV and V for the metal unit pen fish room .

TAB L E I l L-COSTS OF WOOD CONSTRUCTION FOR "WET" FISH HOLDS.

CAPITAL COSTS
$ $
Supply and installation of conventional b uilt-up galvanized bar and
channel (iro n ) stanchions, end bulkhead channels and ship's side
wall channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 , 82 7 . 00
Wood for back halves (side walls of pens extending from outer stanchions
to ship's side ) 2 000 ft. b . m . at $ 1 2 0 / M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 . 00
I nstallatio n and caulking of above 1 60 % of $240 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384 . 00
Necessary battens i nstalled on all back halves and across end b ulkheads,
using galvanized iron bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368 . 00
Painting back halves M aterial-l 0 gal . paint, brushes, etc.. . . . . . . . . . . . 45 . 00
Labour- 1 5 man hr. at $ 2 . 0 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 0 . 00
Painted division b oards ( front of pens ) . . . . . . . 2 2 4
Painted front wing boards ( less boards carrying
batte n s ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 6

3 5 0 at $ 1 . 3 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 7 2 . 50
Necessary painted batten boards in place be-
tween front wing boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 at $ 3 . 7 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6 2 . 50
Painted shelf boards ( 1 6 side pens ) . . . . . . . . . . 960 at $ 1 . 3 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 , 2 96 . 00
Painted division b oards for run . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 at $ 1 . 3 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 . 70
Painted batten boards for run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 at $ 3 . 7 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2 . 50
Painted shelf boards for run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 at $ 1 . 3 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 . 70
Wood staging in run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 sections at $5.00 . . . . . . . 3 5 . 00

7 , 1 2 5 . 90
Uniform a nnual end-of-year payment necessary to repay investment i n
1 5 y r . at 5 % . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686 . 50

56
 TAB LE I I I-COSTS OF WOOD CONSTRUCTION FOR " WET" FISH HOLDS--Concluded

YEARLY MAINTENANCE, REPLACEMENT, AND I NSURANCE CHARGES

$ $
Handl ing 1 4 7 8 boards from boat to natural drying shed, handling in shed,
and return to boat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 30 . 00
Painting above ( one coat ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1478 b oards at $0. 1 5 . . . . . . 2 2 1 . 70
Replacement of pen and shelf boards . . . . . . . . 1 50 at $ 1 .00 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 50 . 00
Replacement of batten boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 at $ 2 . 7 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 . 00
M iscellaneous repairs to back halves, end bulkheads and ship's side walls 2 5 . 00
Drying back halves , side walls, end b ulkheads ( refit ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 . 00
B rushing and painting above . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 . 00
C o mplete replacement of staging in run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5 . 00
Annual insurance premium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9 4 . 80
873 . 50

Annual cost of fish room of this design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 , 5 60 . 00

Yearly ice consumption over and above that of a metal-surfaced fish hold arising
from shielding requirements (30 trips at 9 tons per trip at $4.00 per ton ) . . . . . . 1 , 080 . 00
----
TOTAL ANNUAL COST OF FISH ROOM OF THIS DESIGN. This includes cost of extra ice
to render it as s uitable for the stowage of iced fish as the unit pen constructed
fish hol d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 , 640 . 00

TABLE I V.-COSTS OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS ( UNIT PEN CONSTRUCTION ) I NSTALLED IN "WET"

FISH HOLDS ( minimum USE OF MOVABLE METAL B OARDS ) .

CAPITAL COSTS
$ $
Supply and installation of extruded aluminum alloy or galvanized iron
bar stanchions with studs welded to inboard row where necessary . . . 1 , 820 . 00
M aterial, fabrication, and installation costs for unit pens and d uctwork
to permit circulation of refrigerated air under pen bottoms and back
walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 , 220 . 00
A l uminum alloy front division boards . . . . 224 at $3 . 7 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840 . 00
Painted wood shelf b oards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 960 at $1 .35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 , 296 . 00
Painted wood division boards for run . . . . 42 at $ 1 . 3 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 . 70
Painted wood batten boards for run . . . . . 14 at $3 . 7 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2 . 50
Painted wood bottom boards for run . . . . 42 at $ 1 .35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 . 70
Wood staging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5 . 00

1 8 , 3 76 . 90

Uniform annual end-of-year payment necessary to repay investment i n

1 5 yr. a t 5 % . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 , 7 70 . 43

YEARLY MAINTENANCE, REPLACEMENT AND I NSURANCE CHARGES

Handling 1058 wood boards from boat to natural drying shed, handling
i n shed , and return to boat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 . 50
Painting above ( one coat ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1058 boards at $0. 1 5 . . . . . . . 1 58 . 70
Replacement of wood pen and shelf boards . . 105 at $ 1 .00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 . 00
Replacement of wood batten boards . . . . . . . . 2 at $ 2 . 7 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . 50
Replacement of aluminum alloy boards re-
sulting from loss overboard , etc. . . . . . . . 4 at $3 . 7 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 . 00
Replacement of staging in run ( wood ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 . 00
Annual insurance premium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 0 1 . 87
919 . 57

TOTAL ANNUAL COST OF FISH ROOM OF T H I S DESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. 2 , 690 . 00

57
TABLE V.-COSTS OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS ( UNIT PEN CONSTRUCTION ) INSTALLED IN "WET"
FISH HOLDS ( maximum USE OF MOVABLE METAL B OARDS ).

CAPITAL COSTS
$ $
Supply and installation of extruded aluminum alloy or galvanized iron
bar stanchions with studs welded to inboard row where necessary . . . . 1 , 820 . 00
Material, fabrication, and installation costs for unit pens and ductwork
to permit circulation of refrigerated air under pen bottoms and back
walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 , 220 . 00
Aluminum alloy front division boards . . . . . . . . 224 at $3 . 75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840 . 00
Aluminum alloy shelf boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 960 at $3 . 75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 , 600 . 00
Aluminum alloy division boards for run . . . . . . 42 at $3 . 7 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 7 . 50
Aluminum alloy batten boards for run . . . . . . . 14 at $8.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 2 . 00
Aluminum alloy bottom b oards for run . . . . . . 42 at $3.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 7 . 50
Wood staging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 . 00

2 0 , 942 . 00
Uniform a nnual end-of-year payment necessary to repay investment i n
1 5 yr. a t 5 % . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 , 0 1 7 . 55

YEARLY MAINTENANCE, REPLACEMENT, AND I NSURANCE CHARGES

Replacement aluminum alloy boards, resulting from loss overboard, etc.

20 at $ 3 . 75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 . 00
Replacement of staging in run (wood ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... 35 . 00
Annual insurance premium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7 2 . 45
682 . 45

TOTAL ANNUAL COST OF FISH ROOM OF THIS DESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 , 700 . 00

Approximate fish h old dimensions are 2 5 by 3 1 by 1 2 ft. depth under hatches .

T h e fish hold is d ivided for storage purposes a s follows : Eight pens on each o f
t h e port and starboard sides, each p e n extending from the inboard stanchions
to the ship's side. The pens are not subdivided at the outer row of stanchions
but are subdivided by five shelves including the pen bottom boards. There
are eight pens in the run or central part of the fish hold . A sufficient number of
boards is provided to carry these pens to the staging.
For the wood hold , the only metal employed is in the galvanized iron
built-up stanchions and in the channels against the " ceiling" and end bulk­
heads. The stanchions for the unit pen design are of a different type than for
the wood design . They may be aluminum alloy or galvanized iron (the esti­
mate here is for galvanized iron which is the higher of the two) . I n common
with the wood-lined fish hold , the staging is of wood in the run of the fish hold
o utfitted with unit pens.
Pen boards on vertical walls should be of metal because these walls are
d ifficult to ice . But the shelves may be of either wood or metal because there
always should be ice between their surfaces and the fish . Hence Table IV
shows the yearly cost of metal fish room construction in which a minimum of
metal boards-front division boards only-is used . Table V gives the yearly
cost of the same construction , where all loose boards are of metal .
The costs assigned to the wood boards were based on a contractor's esti·
m ate for new construction , and a boat owner's estimate for replacement.
58
 For each fish hold annual insurance premiums were estimated on the full
capitalized cost at the following rates-3 % of i capitalized cost, 1 1 3 / 1 6%
of t capitalized cost and 2 1 % of 2 / 1 5 capitalized cost.
Systematic reduction of the cost of installation of each type of hold is
based on year-en d payments in which the sum of the interest payment and the
principal repayment is uniform over a 1 5 -year period , and at an interest rate
of 5 % per annum.
The following fish room costs, assumed to be equal for the two designs,
do not enter into the cost analysis : (i) insulation installed ; (ii) installed , caulked ,
and painted wood construction for ship's ceiling, end bulkheads, and painted
wood sheathing on deckhead ; (iii) gurry troughs and associated concrete work
in the bottom of the fish room , and (iv) refrigeration equipment both in fish
room and in engine room and that of the electric power generating equipment
required in excess of normal boat needs.
Holds of either type may be insulated and supplied with artificial refri­
geration . The common method for refrigerating wood-lined holds is by means
of a grid under the deck. The metal pens can be refrigerated from below and
behind as well as in front and overhead .
Refrigeration by means of a complete j acket is more effective than deck
refrigeration in removing the total heat flow into the hold . The actual savings
therefore resulting from the use of an insulated cold wall refrigerated metal
unit pen type of fish hold as against an insulated wood-lined hold with applied
refrigeration under the deck should be worth while. Since the insulation is
common to both types of hold , and since refrigeration for both types costs
about the same, these costs can be omitted from a discussion of actual construc­
tion and operation of a wood-lined hold as against the unit pen type.
I t should be noted that prevailing labour and shop rates, and material
costs peculiar to Nova Scotian industry, have been used in the tables. No
other costs for the unit pen are known and it is obvious that similar labour and
m aterial costs are essential to a fair comparison. Quotations from large ship­
yards in Britain for the construction of wood-lined fish rooms have been lower
than those from Canadian yards. If labour and material costs are lower in
Britain , the saving in the cost of the metal-lined fish room should be propor ­
tionately greater.
Maintenance charges, other than for the loss of metal boards, have not
been made against the unit pens. There is no known evidence that such charges
need be considered .
The yearly cost of the wood-lined fish room is lower by about $50 than the
cost of unit pens with a minimum of metal boards, and lower by about $60 than
the cost of unit pen construction with a maximum of metal boards. The capi­
talized cost in the last case is higher by about $2565 than when fewer metal
boards are employed , a consideration where capital is limited .

59
 The investment picture for unit pen construction is actually more attractive
than indicated here. Experience with the use of aluminum alloys suggests
that the unit pen may have a service life beyond the 1 5 years estimated for
capital recovery. It is difficult to assess the effect of greater ease of washing
and the reduction in labour at sea resulting from less ice being handled , both
of which are characteristic of unit pen construction. Nevertheless, these
features should be reflected in increased satisfaction displayed by the crew and
greater willingness to do a better job. The metal pens are insurance against
b ilgy fish and they may be artificially refrigerated where such refrigeration
is needed most.
For the benefit of the boat owner who may want some estimate of the
capital cost of insulation and mechanical refrigeration the following information
is presented .
The cost of insulation installed-9000 ft. b . m . at $0. 2 1 per ft. b . m . is $ 1 890
(see Chap . IV, page 46 for material and application costs of Onazote in Canada) .
Canadian costs of mechanical refrigeration with independent electrical power
supply or suitable increase of ship' s power supply are about $4000 minimum
and $7000 maximum . The cost varies considerably, depending upon the ar­
rangement made for obtaining power, the type of power, the type of compressor
control , the type of evaporator, and the type and size of evaporator fans.
Again the boat operator may wish to know the yearly costs of insulation
and mechanical refrigeration . The capital costs for insulation are known and
once the boat operator and architect agree on boat equipment, layouts, etc. ,
the costs for m echanical refrigerating equipment m ay be estimated closely.
The actual operating costs of such equipment are not so easy to assess. For
example , (i) in cold weather, the equipment may not be operated ; (ii) if in warm
weather the (:ngineer is not conscious of the need for refrigeration , he may keep
the machine off when it should be working. Under these circumstances, the cost
of each ton of artificial refrigeration produced would be inordinately high ; (iii)
whatever the theoretical savings in ice may be, the practical savings in ice may be
quite different. To illustrate , if ice has been used against the ceiling, over
the top , and against front pen boards in a j acketed metal pen, in quantities
greater than those actually required to chill the fish , and artificial refrigeration
h as been used to prevent such excess ice from melting, the monetary value of
the superfluous ice is lost because it m ust be dumped at discharge.
Such possible inefficiencies must be accepted as part of the insurance price
to be paid for better fish holds and better fish . Because of the danger of spoilage
in fish resulting from neglecting to ice the metal pens properly, one would not
recommend metal pens for the fish hold of an off-shore trawler unless that hold
were wel l insulated and refrigerated . The inefficiencies, as mentioned above ,
h ave to be very serious, before the annual cost of insulation and artificial refrig­
e ration become greater than the cost of ice saved through their combined use.
If one uses maximum capital costs of about $8900 for insulation and refrigeration

60
facilities, the break-even point on the investment ( annual costs are based on
capital recovery in 1 5 years with an interest rate of 5 % per annum) comes
when the mechanical refrigeration equipment is used efficiently for about 1 800
hours per year. This is equivalen t to about 2! days continuous operation per
trip. Hence with good design , with careful operation of refrigeration equipment,
and with intelligent use of ice to chill the fish , the boat owner may pay little or
no more for fish hold insulation and refrigeration than he would for the ice
which would be consumed if these facilities were not employed . Financial
benefits are more likely to be obtained if capital costs are kept low. Members
of the staff of the Atlantic Fisheries Experimental Station of the Fisheries
Research Board will be happy to assist boat owners in drawing up specifications
suited to their needs.
To summarize, with the in formation available as to costs of installation
and operation of each type of hold , the metal unit pen type of fish room may be
as little as $50 per year dearer to own and operate than the conventional hold .
Advantages more difficult to assess are the greater ease of handling and cleaning,
less labour, and improved quality of the catch. The costs of insulation and
mechanical refrigeration of the two holds are about the same.

61