ECONOMICS OF THE FISHERIES 405 



quantity of any one species have little or no influence on the total. If our 

 attention is confined to food fish only, the leading species (in 1938-40) 

 are 11.5 per cent of volume (pilchard) and 9.5 per cent of value (oyster). 

 Even in these species at the top of the list great variations in quantity 

 whether caused by nature or imposed by the regulations or resulting from 

 catching by man can occur with little or no effect on the total. For example, 

 if all the pilchard that are canned were removed from the list, and not 

 compensated by production of any other fish, the total value (to all fisher- 

 men) column would be affected only 2.0 per cent, although, of course, 

 the sardine fishermen would be seriously affected. If halibut production 

 should be halved as of 1938-40, the volume of total food fish would be 

 reduced 0.8 per cent and the money value (if the price of the remaining 

 production of halibut did not rise in response to the scarcity) would be 

 diminished by 1.9 per cent. In such events as these, which are continually 

 occurring, the declines in production of particular species appear to be 

 made up by increases in others, and the fishermen themselves (who catch 

 the declining species) may be recompensed in part if not in full or even 

 more, by the rise in price of what they catch, depending on the circum- 

 stances of each case, as we shall soon see. 



The mechanism which we have already described of accommodation 

 and automatic adjustment of production to market demand is facilitated 

 by the large number of species comprised in the total, of which the increases, 

 decreases, or (except in the most important species) total disappearance 

 would have little or no perceptible effect on the national total. The total 

 of meat, poultry, and fish is only 9.5 per cent of the United States dietary, 

 and the total of food fish, round weights is only 14 per cent of the meat, 

 poultry, eggs, and fish, or 1.4 per cent of the whole diet, and the larg- 

 est volume species of fish (food pilchard) is 11.5 per cent of all food 

 fish or 0.16 per cent of the whole diet, and all other species of fish still 

 smaller. It seems certain that the percentage of any one food fish, even 

 the greatest, is smaller than the probable error of determination of the total 

 amount of food consumed. These facts have far-reaching implications in 

 the field of legislation and regulation and all attempts to maintain prices 

 and benefit fishermen by increasing or limiting production. 



Economic Case Histories of Twenty-one Common Fishes. Just how 

 particular fishes behave, and under the influence of what factors, is il- 

 lustrated by the behavior patterns of the twenty-one common species of 

 fish and shellfish mostly of the Atlantic-Gulf-Lakes outlined in tabular form 

 in Table 20. Here the quantity and per capita production are given, the 

 actual number of dollars received for the product, the equivalent number 

 of dollars of 1926 purchasing power for all commodities, the corresponding 

 actual prices and 1926 commodity index prices. 



