The Alaska daily empire., 1920-12-23
GARFIELD URGES
 UTILIZATION OF WASTE PRODUCTS
Says Ready Market Exists for Shark Skins at Good Price
 Exhibits Samples.

Urging the investigation of the feasibility of the establishment of a by-products plant for the utilization of the waste products of food fish and of lesser sea fish and mammals | Charles D. Garfield, Special Deputy Collector of Customs and Secretary of the Territorial Fish Commission today exhibited to the Juneau Com :nercia Association. leather samples made from the skins of sharks and declared that a market for the raw skins for such fish exceeding two and one half feet in length, is al ready in existence. MT. Garfield l stated that the Universal ByProducts l Company of Seattle with a plant at | Edmunds, Wash, is offering 15 cents per pound f. o. b. shipboard at Ju- neau, for the raw skins slightly salted
 About ten kinds of leather were exhibited by Mir. Garfield who said 1 that these were but portion of the various products obtained from shark skins. During a recent visit to Se- ottle he stated. he was shown many manufactured articles, such as hand bags, shoes, purses and many other things requiring the highest grade of leather, all of which were made 1 from shark skins. Among other things seen was q pair of shoes made ! for ex-Senator John Noon, of Seward
 The tops were vci, uppers resemb ! ling cordovan, and the soles oak 1 tanned cowhide. In the term shark skins, he said, are included dog fish, porpoises, beluga whale. hair seal. sea lion, walrus and other varieties.
 Thousands of such fish, he declar- i cd. are being thrown away as without value practically every month by i ialibut fishermen. He asked that / the Association give the matter ser ,oas study with a view to locating plant here for the utilization Of 1 e 'ca9ses for the production of fertilizer, and oil for commercial pur- poses. making it possible for fisher mon not only to dispose of the skins bGt the body of the fish as we'll Mir ! G ,lfield stated that he plans to take | the matter up direct with the fish ermen union at an early date.
 ! Speaking of his recent visit to Sc, ale, he said that he found an i'm p:ession prevailing among business
 men and others that Juneau was dead" the mines closed, etc, which w:s wholly at variance with the facts. Juneau has always been
 and is today the best town conner c'4lly, and in every other sense, in A.aska." he declared He said he had combatted the impression at 1 every possible opportunity and urged that others do likewise in every way coming to hand.
 Dehydrated Fish Next
 Dehydration of fish within the next on the cold storage business in the opinion of Harry J. Fisher, who de- ciared that marvellous strides are be- l ing made in that industry at the present time The process. he stated has been brought to a high degree ] Ol ptILtCtiOI dii VIII VIII l ifs way to the front on account of | the great economic saving it affords over the present method of cold storage shipment. The freight saving alone, he said, amounted to an enor- nous figure.
 The dehydration. according to Mir. Fisher, is accomplished without any i de erioration in the product. the 1 fish treated retaining all of it's or l ia nal flavor and losing none of it's oil Under the new process, vacuum l in" cad of heat, is uced Fish 1 brought to the plant by the fisher mcl arc ready for shipment in 24 hours. Ii is kept in it's dehydrated state until ready for sale by the re- ] taller, then placed in water for "A hours which restores it to it's natural stfte and cannot be told from the cold storage product.