Storage of salted fish

Fish has been salted for centuries as a way to preserved it. In the days of the Atlantic slave trade, the slave price was paid in Spanish coins, or salted fish.

Salted fish was also used to feed the slaves on the Middle Passage. Salted fish are obtained by salting fresh, deep frozen or frozen fish. Salted products include: herring, anchovies, saithe, cod salmon, tuna and roe or caviar.

Storage of salted products depends on salt concentration, moisture content and temperature. Storage life may be up to 1-2 years under certain conditions.

Salt cod, which has moisture content of 40% or higher should be held at temperatures of 40 °F (4.4 °C) or slightly below since it is subject to spoilage through bacterial growth.

On the other hand, well-dried salt cod and certain types of salted and smoke herring (which have dried during smoking) may be held at room temperatures without spoilage.
Storage of salted fish

Anadromous fish of Shad

Shad are anadromous fish (ascend rivers to spawn) that spend the greatest part of their lives in ocean waters as far as 50 mile (80.5 km) from shore. Shad are plankton eaters and are said not to eat fish.

They range from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida on the East Coast, but are caught in significant numbers only from New York southward. They were brought, some years ago, to Pacific waters, and some are now caught in California. Shad are caught in rivers and their estuaries with drift grill nets. Aboard the boats, they are neither eviscerated nor iced, since they are brought to shore shortly after removal from the water.

Shad are used almost entirely as the fresh product, with only small amounts being frozen. They contain many small bones, but can be filtered to eliminate most of them from the flesh. The roe (unfertilized eggs), which prior to spawning is held together by a thin membrane, is highly prized. It is sold fresh, or packaged in moisture vapor-proof material and frozen to be sold to the restaurant trade and in this state, may be stored at 0 degrees F for 6 to 8 months. Longer storage under this condition usually results in a rancid product due to oxidation of the fats contained therein.
Anadromous fish of Shad