The production of groundfish flllatg en- 

 abled the area to accoimt for nearly 69 per- 

 cent of the total United States output of 

 packaged fish in 1957. il/ I" tenna of 

 value, haddock is the most inportant 

 groundfish species. In 1957 it contributed 

 55 percent of the total value of the 

 region's groundfish catch, The other two 

 leading species are ocean perch and cod, 

 which accounted for 28 percent and 11 per- 

 cent respectively of landed values, (table 

 1-12), 



Groundfish landings are concentrated 

 in five New England ports: Boston, Glouces- 

 ter, New Bedford, Portland, and Rockland, 

 Landings in these five represent 90 percent 

 of the poundage and 99 percent of the value 

 of groundfish landings of all New Bigland 

 ports, Ihe New England fishery for all 

 species shows soinev^iat less geographical 

 concentration, although these five leading 

 ports account for about two- thirds of the 

 poundage and value of all fish and shell- 

 fish landed, (cf. tab 1-3 1-3). 



Ihe fisheries for New aigland haddock 

 and ocean perch may be classified geograph- 

 ically in two ways. One is by port, and 

 the other is by area fished, Boston has 

 long bean the home of the haddock fleet, 

 while Gloucester, Portland, and Rockland 

 are the centers of ocean perch operations. 

 Eighty-two percent of the value of all 

 haddock landed in major New England ports 

 in 1957 was concentrated in Boston, (table 

 I-13)» Gloucester, Portland, and Ttockland 

 had 96 percent of the value of ocean perch 

 landings, with Gloucester vessels alone 

 landing about 50 percent of the total. 

 In 1958 Boston-landed haddock represented 

 78 percent of the value of all groundfish 

 sold in the port and 7li percent of the 

 value of all fish and shellfish landed 

 there. In the same year, ocean perch was 

 the most valuable groundfish species land- 

 ed in Gloucester, Portland, and Rockland 

 and accounted for approximately 65 percent, 

 72 percent, and 93 percent, respectively. 



of the valxie of groundfish landings in 

 these ports, (tables l-lli and I-IUA). 



New Bedford has a more diversified 

 fishery than the other New England ports. 

 Here is the center of the United States 

 sea scallop fishery. Scallops in 1958 

 accounted for 53 percent of the value of 

 all fish and shellfish landed at that port. 

 The New Bedford fleet also produces a 

 significant amount of flounders. Thus, in 

 1958, floimders represented 31 percent of 

 the value of all New Bedford landings of 

 fish and shellfish. 



The causes of the disastrous cost- 

 price squeeze in the groundfish industry 

 are the subject of much ccaitroversy. 

 Nearly all New England vessel owners lay 

 the blame on a demoralized national market 

 structure sapped by foreign inports of 

 cheaply Rroduced frozen groundfish fil- 

 lets. i§/ Aggregate United States con- 

 sumption of groundfish fillets has in- 

 creased about 250 percent since 19i40j on 

 a per c^ita basis the Increase is about 

 87.5 percent, let New Bigland's pro- 

 duction of such fillets in the 1956-58 

 period was sli^tly below the 1939-ln. 

 average. 



In 1939, the region's share of the 

 national market for groundfish fillets was 

 about 91 percent; in 1957, it was only 

 about UO percent. (New England accounts 

 for the bulk of United States production). 

 From 1939 to 1957 imports went from 

 9,892,000 pounds to liil,180,000 pounds, an 

 increase of 1,327 percent. In the postwar 

 decade alone there was nearly a threefold 

 increase, (table 1-16). 



The bulk of these imports have come 

 from the Canadian Atlantic Provinces. Im- 

 ports from this area represented 77 per- 

 cent of all groundfish fillet imports in 

 1957 and 62 percent in 1958. In the lat- 

 ter year Iceland accounted for 18 percent 

 of imports (table 1-15). 



15/ Packaged Fish - 1957^ (F.S. No, 1753) United States Department of the interior, 

 Fiih and Wildlife Service, Washington 25, D.C. 



16/ This view is not shared by all segments of the United States fishing industry, 

 Cf. testimony of injwrters and domestic distributors before Iftiited States Tariff 

 Commission in recent years. 



