ECONOMICS OF THE FISHERIES 437 



sources in the State, from Colerain and Manteo, Morehead City to Atlantic, 

 and Southport to Shallotte, and at all seasons of the year. 



An operation of this kind would, in fact, be that of a distributor-dealer, 

 the functions of which are discussed later in this report. 



PRIMARY DISTRIBUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA 

 SEA PRODUCTS 



Shipments by Producer-Dealers to Fulton Market, New York. {Commis- 

 sion Sales). It has been said that the coastal dealers in North Carolina and 

 the South generally follow the easiest (and least profitable) method of 

 marketing by shipping the bulk of the product to the Fulton Market in 

 New York. This matter was investigated thoroughly; it was found that 

 shipments to Fulton Market, considered as a part of the whole production, 

 were of minor importance, though the study revealed certain other signifi- 

 cant facts. In order to ascertain the size and composition of North Carolina 

 shipments and how they compared with those of the other southern States, 

 parallel data were assembled for the four principal South Atlantic States, 

 North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia and Florida (entire State). 



Procedure. In the New York office of the Fish & Wildlife Service, with 

 generous cooperation of the executives in charge, the data were taken from 

 the daily records of arrivals of fish in New York by months and by principal 

 species of fish and shellfish from the four southern States, Maryland, Vir- 

 ginia, North Carolina, and Florida, for the seven years, 1940 to 1946, 

 inclusive. The weights of clams and oysters included were those of net 

 edible portions. These data were then recapitulated in various ways. 



(a) Table 28 recapitulates, by months and by the four States, the totals 

 of finfish and shellfish. In the seven-year annual average shipments of fin- 

 and shellfish from the four States to Fulton Market, North Carolina ranks 

 lowest with 2,963,639 pounds, Maryland, 3,109,000, Virginia, 4,718,000, 

 and Florida greatest with 8,690,500 pounds. This table shows some striking 

 differences in the seasonal cycles of shipments. In North Carolina, there 

 are two finfish peaks, March- April (shad) and September-December. The 

 shellfish peak is August-November, mostly shrimp. The curves for the four 

 States are of decidedly different shape because of the effects of seasonal 

 influences and varieties available for shipment. A comparison of these 

 columns will reveal many interesting relations: the progress of the spring 

 season; the reverse relations of maxima in Maryland and Florida (summer 

 maximum in Maryland, winter in Florida); the Virginia minimum and 

 North Carolina maximum in finfish in October, and the North Carolina 

 shellfish (shrimp) maximum in the same month; and the Florida maxima 

 in both fin- and shellfish in December and January. Of the four States 



