Figure 15. — Monthly index of survey panel consump- 

 tion of shrimp and scallops. 



"R" months, when most of the catch is landed. 

 This reflects the fact that oysters are consumed 

 chiefly in the "fresh" form. Consumption of 

 clams also shows wide seasonal swings, which 

 complement to a degree the changes in oyster 

 consumption. This suggests the probability 

 of substitution between products. For example, 

 consumption of both oysters and clams drops 

 sharply from March to April. At this point 

 clam consumption rises while oyster consump- 

 tion continues to fall. Clam consumption is 

 steady through the early summer months (al- 

 though below winter levels), but rises sharply 

 during August. From September onward clam 

 consumption drops as oyster consumption 

 climbs sharply. 



Crab consumption varies from month to 

 month, but not to the degree exhibited by oys- 

 ters and clams. Crab consumption apparently 

 has a summer peak in July and a winter peak 

 in January-February. 



Month-to-month variations in both scallop 

 and shrimp consumption appear slight in con- 

 trast to the wide seasonal swings in crabs, 

 clams, and oysters. The picture here for scal- 

 lops and shrimp is a winter i)eak with a steady 

 tapering off beginning in March and lasting 

 through November. The relatively smooth 

 seasonality of consumption of scallops and 

 shrimp reflects the availability of year-round 

 supplies from both current catch and inven- 

 tories. 



CONSUMPTION AT HOME AND 

 AWAY FROM HOME 



The survey covered the question of the 

 quantities of seafood consumed away from 

 home. Although the answers were not as pre- 

 cise as would be desired, they did give some in- 

 dication of the proportions of fishery i)roducts 

 distributed through retail stores and through 

 institutional outlets — restaurants, etc." (Fig- 

 ures 16 and 17). 



(Pounds) 

 1 .000 750 500 250 



I 1 1 r 



(Psundt) 

 250 500 750 1 ,000 



^m 



Figure 16. — Consumption at home and away, by survey 

 panel: clams, crabs, and oysters. 



Wide variations were found among the spe- 

 cies examined in the breakdown between at- 

 home and away-from-home consumption. It 

 appeared, however, that proportionally more 

 shellfish meals are consumed outside the home 

 than finfish. Lobsters and clams, for example, 

 appeared more likely to be consumed away from 

 home than other varieties examined. The sur- 

 vey indicated that 59 ''r of lobster consumption 

 and 48 'r of clam consumption occur away from 

 home. Consumption of shrimp and oysters out- 

 side the home accounts, respectively, for 21% 

 and 19 "^Y of the total consumption of each. 

 Fewer crabs proportionally — 9''r — are eaten 

 away from home than other species. Among 



* The question regarding consumption away from 

 home was cast in terms of number of meals. It was 

 thus necessary to transform the number of meals eaten 

 away from home into pounds, which was done by 

 assuming average cooked portions in the neighborhood 

 of .'! oz. This figure was obtained from the U.S. De- 

 partment of .\griculture study of portion sizes served 

 in institutional outlets (Peterkin and Evans, 1965). 



10 



