VOL. XVII
SEPTEMBER 10, 1949
NO. 15
Entered a. second-class matter. June t. 1933, at the Postoffice at Raleigh. North Carolina, under the Act of March 3. 1879.
The Lowly Fatback Is King
U's not a favorite» fisSi so far as edibility
is eonc(»rned, but it has extensive com¬
mercial uses and represents a big' industry
along our coast.
THE most important thing that
swims the Atlantic is not. as
you might imagine, the cod,
the halibut, the sea trout, nor the
mackerel, nor even that lowly fish,
the spot, which is caught so tire-
somely and appears so glamor¬
ously-named on your menu.
Chances are. you never heard of
him. and assuredly you never
tasted him. He’s the menhaden,
or if you choose, the fatback. or
mossbunker. or perhaps one of
fifty other names
under which he
plentifully thrives
and is caught and
so is the basis of the
richest fishery this
side of the world.
Only the pilchard
i Pacific “sardine")
industry is more im¬
portant commercial¬
ly-
Nevertheless the
menhaden has been
an outstanding item
in U. S. fisheries
ever since an Indian
with a hard-to-spell
name taught the
Pilgrim fathers to
plant one of them
with each hill of
corn. The Indian ap¬
parently preferred
the roasting ear to
the fish, a prefer¬
ence understand¬
able to this day.
Later, colonial
planters on the sea¬
shore seined for the
fish and used them
for fertilizer. The
whole fish were
simply scattered
THE STATE. SEPTEMBER
Ю.
1949
By BILL SHARPE
over the fields— an effective but
odoriferous method of manuring.
At various times, right up to now.
people have tried to eat them, be¬
cause they are numerous if some¬
what bony and oily, and a few
years ago some 60.000 cases of
menhaden were cooked and packed
at Morehead City, N. C.. for Iend-
lease. The roe, however, is con¬
sidered palatable; and iced, salted
or cured is shipped in substantial
quantities to northern markets
where it is sold under God-knows-
what-name, but not as fatback roe,
which it indubitably is.
In recent years, the menhaden
has taken on new importance be¬
cause methods of processing him
have improved and many new uses
have been discovered for his
complicated and
mineral-rich body.
At one time, his oil
provided both lubri¬
cation and illumina¬
tion. but discovery
of petroleum tempo-
r a r i 1
у
minimized
these values. Now,
however, in this fat-
starved world, the
oil is more valuable
than ever, and the
plants in North
Carolina, where the
industry is centered,
ship tankloads of
the stuff to manufac¬
turers who use it in
hot dip tinnin. terne
plating and galva¬
nizing. in the manu¬
facture of insulat¬
ing varnishes, ship
bottom paints,
soaps. lubricants,
caulking com¬
pounds. textile siz¬
ing. synthetic rub¬
ber products and a
long list of other
products.
The curious thing
about menhaden is
that there is no such
з
