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1939: Fisheries

World Yield.

The fisheries of the world annually yield 35,200,000,000 pounds of fishery products, valued at $762,000,000 to the fishermen, according to most recent tabulations by the United States Bureau of Fisheries. The annual yield by countries of the North American continent is 6,200,000,000 pounds, valued at $138,000,000, with the fisheries of the United States and Alaska contributing 4,400,000,000 pounds, worth $100,800,000.

United States.

The United States' fisheries are prosecuted commercially along the Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific, and Alaskan coasts; in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River; and in other interior lakes and streams navigable to fishing craft. These fisheries employ 130,000 fishermen, 5,000 vessels, 33,000 motor boats, and 37,000 small boats and skiffs. Shore operations in fish-packing plants and water transport of fishery products employ 90,000 people, while some 300,000 others are engaged in allied industries, such as boat building, can and box making, rope and net manufacture, and the like.

General Situation.

During recent years the fishery industry in the United States has experienced difficulty in marketing its products. This situation continued on into 1939 and during the early months of the year resulted in the accumulation of surplus stocks of various kinds of frozen fish. Members of the industry packing these products feared that unless these surpluses were removed they would depress the markets for the current fishermen's catch. They appealed to the United States Congress for aid and late in the summer secured legislation authorizing the Federal purchase of surplus fishery products for distribution to persons on the relief rolls. However, by this time the general situation had somewhat improved from the stimulus of the European War and an extensive purchasing program was not conducted by the Federal Government as was done in previous years.

In an effort to extend further aid in promoting the more orderly marketing of fishery products, the Congress appropriated additional funds during the year for the conduct of the fishery market news service by the United States Bureau of Fisheries, making it possible to establish an office in New Orleans, La. In previous years market news offices have been opened in New York, N. Y., Boston, Mass.; Chicago, Ill.; Seattle. Wash.; and Jacksonville, Fla. Each business day these offices issue a report supplying information on arrivals, movement, prices, and holdings of fishery products in the markets of these cities.

Important species of fish in the United States' harvest, from the standpoint of volume, are pilchard (sardine), salmon, menhaden, sea herring, haddock, mackerel, cod, tuna and tunalike fishes, shrimp, oysters, and halibut. These usually make up about 80 per cent of the catch. The entire catch by United States' fishermen is made up of about 160 species or groups of species.

Pilchard.

This fish is caught off the Pacific Coast. It is the basis of a large sardine-canning industry in California, as well as being used for reduction into fish meal and oil at plants located in Washington, Oregon and California. During the season ending in March 1939 there were 2,572,000 standard cases of sardines packed in this area. The output of meal amounted to 86,000 tons, while the yield of oil amounted to 15,463,000 gallons. The catch of pilchards during the first few months of the 1939-40 season, which started late in the fall, has been considerably larger than during the early part of the previous season. If this trend continues the output of manufactured sardine products will be very much larger this season. Because of war conditions, the canned product has been in special demand.

Salmon.

This fish is the basis of a canning industry on the Pacific Coast from Oregon to the Bering Sea. The great bulk of the pack is canned in Alaska. There the production during the 1939 season, according to preliminary reports, amounted to 5,218,500 standard cases, compared with 6,807,000 standard cases, valued at $36,637,000 in 1938. The total pack of canned salmon in North America, according to preliminary reports, amounted to 7,450,000 standard cases in 1939, compared with a pack of 8,988,000 standard cases in 1938.

Menhaden.

This fish is taken along the Atlantic Coast south of Cape Cod and in waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It is used for reduction into fish meal and oil. In 1938 the production amounted to 60,700 tons of meal and scrap, valued at $1,989,000; and 4,164,000 gallons of oil, valued at $1,167,000. Observations indicate the 1939 output of these products may be considerably more than in 1938, as the production of oil through the first three-quarters of the year amounted to 2,560,000 gallons, compared to 2,090,000 gallons for the same period in 1938.

Sea Herring.

The Maine sardine-canning industry is based upon these fish. In 1938 the pack there amounted to 672,000 standard cases, valued at $2,367,000. In 1939 the pack will be the largest on record, as there was a great abundance of raw sea herring available for capture and war conditions have caused a brisk demand for the canned products. Up to Nov. 30, about 2,100,000 standard cases had been packed.

Haddock, Cod, Rosefish, and Pollock.

These species, taken on the fishing banks of the North Atlantic seaboard, form the basis of the fresh and frozen packaged-fish industry. Their combined pack as packaged fish in 1938 amounted to 94,419,000 pounds, valued at $7,689,000. According to figures available by the end of October, the production of these species as packaged fish in 1939 will be about the same as in the previous year.

Mackerel.

This species is found along the North Atlantic Coast where it is marked mainly as fresh and frozen fish, although some are canned; and off California, where this fish is the basis of a canning industry. The catch along the North Atlantic in 1939 was again one of the lowest on record, the landings in New England at the important ports amounting to only about 11,000,000 pounds up to Oct. 31, compared with 18,400,000 pounds up to the same date in 1938. The peak of the season is in the late summer. The output of canned mackerel in 1938 amounted to 966,000 standard cases, valued at $2,896,000. In California, the pack for the first ten months in 1939 has amounted to only 530,000 standard cases, compared with about 700,000 cases during the same period in 1938.

Tuna and Tunalike Fishes.

These fishes which have been taken mainly in Pacific waters off California south to the equator, form the basis of a large canning industry located in California. In 1938 the pack here amounted to 2,674,000 standard cases, valued at $14,687,000. During 1938 fishermen vigorously prosecuted a tuna fishery on the newfound banks off Oregon, Washington and New England. Catches from these areas have been canned at plants in Washington, Oregon and Massachusetts, the production in 1938 amounting to 80,600 standard cases, valued at $497,000. In 1939 the tuna fishery in all areas was prosecuted intensively with the result that the current pack for the year will assume large proportions. In California alone the pack reached 3,039,000 standard cases by Oct. 31, compared with 2,538,000 cases for the same period in 1938.

Shrimp.

The main production areas for this shellfish are along the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Until recently most of the catch has been canned, but larger and larger quantities are being marketed each year in the fresh and frozen condition. Production of canned shrimp in 1938 amounted to 1,073,000 standard cases, valued at $4,855,000. The pack in 1939 will be considerably larger as it had amounted to about 950,000 standard cases by Nov. 25.

Halibut.

The principal halibut fishery of North America is located along the Pacific Coast from Oregon to the Alaska Peninsula. It is regulated according to the terms of a Conservation Convention between the United States and Canada. A maximum annual take, or quota, is established under the Convention. When the combined catches by United States and Canadian fishermen reach this quota the fishery ceases for the year. In 1939 the quota was set at 48,000,000 pounds, and it was estimated that it would be reached by Oct. 28, which was officially declared the last fishing day. However, by the time the vessels at sea, on this date, reached port the catch had amounted to 49,400,000 pounds. By treaty arrangement the fishery usually opens in February or March each year.

Whaling.

During recent years various nations of the world, notably Norway, Great Britain, the United States, Germany and Japan, have shown renewed interest in the whale fishery. Operations are conducted mainly in the Antarctic seas. A Convention has been concluded between 26 nations of the world to conserve this fishery, the United States being a party to the Convention. In 1938 two whale factory ships from the United States conducted operations in the Antarctic regions, and land plants for whale reduction were operated in Alaska and California. The total production by United States enterprise in 1938 amounted to 7,741,000 gallons of whale oil, valued at $3,184,000 and $21,400 worth of whale meat and bone. According to preliminary figures, the 1939 United States output of whale oil will be substantially less than in the previous year, as production totaled only 3,450,000 gallons up to Sept. 30. In addition, no whale factory ships from the United States had begun operations in the Antarctic, during the 1939-40 season, up to Dec. 15, 1939.

Fish Landings at Certain Important Ports.

For the year 1939 the total vessel landings of all kinds of fish at Boston and Gloucester, Mass., and Portland, Me. (the principal New England fishing ports) amounted to 388,821,000 pounds, valued at $9,547,000, compared with 400,611,000 pounds, valued at $8,957,000 during 1938. Principal species landed were haddock, cod, rosefish, mackerel, pollock, whiting, and flounders. During the year 1939, the landings of fish including tuna at Seattle, Wash., amounted to 47,250,000 pounds, valued at $3,223,000, compared with 52,087,000 pounds, valued at $3,326,000 for the year 1938. Landings at Seattle consisted mainly of salmon, halibut, flounders, crabs, and lingcod.

Frozen Fish Trade.

During the year ending Dec. 15, 1939, there were 183,600,000 pounds of fishery products frozen compared with 186,000,000 pounds during the same period of 1938. On Dec. 15, 1939, there were 92,700,000 pounds of frozen fish and shellfish in cold-storage warehouses of the United States compared with a five-year average of this date of 82,841,000 pounds. Principal species frozen are cod, haddock, pollock, halibut, salmon, rosefish, and whiting.

Fish consumption.

The per capita consumption of fish in the United States is about 13 pounds annually. This compares with an annual per capita of 20 pounds in Canada, 39 pounds in Denmark, 44 pounds in England, 52 pounds in Sweden, and 64 pounds in Japan.

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