FISHERY PRODUCTS IN EVERYDAY LIFE 39 



recent years, however, the demand has grown rapidly 

 until now the blue crab is threatened with over- 

 fishing. The present annual production of crabs in 

 the United States is approximately thirty million 

 pounds. 



Three species of shrimp are taken commercially 

 in American waters. The bulk are obtained from 

 the South Atlantic and Gulf States, where about 

 two million dollars' worth of this crustacean are 

 marketed fresh, and more than four million dollars' 

 worth are canned. 



Few of us realize where and how the green turtles, 

 which are so highly prized for soup, are obtained. 

 Most of them come from Key West, having been 

 caught in Caribbean waters. They are enormous ani- 

 mals, many of them weighing more than two hundred 

 pounds, and are extremely clumsy on land, where 

 they are barely able to drag themselves about. They 

 are often caught on sandy beaches at night when 

 they come ashore to lay their eggs. Turtle eggs 

 are usually highly prized by the inhabitants along 

 the beaches where they are found. 



Tortoise-shell has been so widely imitated by 

 manufacturers of celluloid that many persons do not 

 know the genuine article when they see it. It is ob- 

 tained from the shields of the carapace, or back shell, 

 as it is commonly called, of the hawk's-bill turtle. 

 These turtles are found in nearly all parts of the 

 tropical seas, but the best grades of tortoise-shell are 

 obtained from the Malay Archipelago. 



The diamond-back terrapin is one of the most 



