4. Correction and Extension of Statistical 

 Series-Bureau of Labor Statistics" purpose in col- 

 lecting prices is to measure change in prices (to com- 

 pile price indexes) rather than their absolute values. 

 The same is true with the New York State Marketing 

 Service in collecting retail fish prices. The latter 

 collects prices on Mondays and Tuesdays, but spe- 

 cial sales are mostly offered on Fridays and Satur- 

 days. The quantity sold at reduced prices may be 

 much greater than that sold at regular prices. Neither 

 the Bureau of Labor Statistics nor the New York 

 State Marketing Information Service weight prices 

 offish according to volume sold. The reported prices 

 are, therefore, overestimated. To measure the dis- 

 crepancy, spot surveys would be necessary to estab- 

 lish a ratio or factor for corrections. 



If these studies are to be carried out, fresh fish 

 price series at wholesale and retail levels should 

 eventually be established by the Statistics and Mar- 

 ket News Division in cooperation with marketing 

 service offices of different state governments. More 

 attention should be given to obtaining fresh fish 

 prices, since a large share of domestically caught 

 groundfish and shellfish is marketed in that form. 

 The vast majority of foreign-caught fish is sold either 

 frozen or canned. 



Based on complete price statistics of both fresh 

 and frozen products, price spreads and profit mar- 

 gins could be derived and published to keep fisher- 

 men, packers, distributors, and retailers informed of 

 the profitability of marketing fresh fish products. It 

 serves to encourage fishermen to adjust production. 



and distributors to make timely alterations and im- 

 provements in shipping and packaging to minimize 

 losses or take advantage of favorable prices. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



I am grateful to Frederick W. Bell of the 

 Economic Research Division, National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, for his many valuable suggestions 

 which have substantially improved the techniques 

 applied at various points. Thanks also go to Fre- 

 derick V. Waugh, former Directorof the Division of 

 Statistics and Economic Research, U.S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, for his advice during the prep- 

 aration of the report, and to Lawrence Van Meir, 

 Director of Economics and Statistics Division, Na- 

 tional Canners Association, for his valuable com- 

 ments on the first draft. 



LITERATURE CITED 



HOLDEN. B. R. 



1960. The structure of a retail market and the market be- 

 havior of retail units. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs. 

 N.J., 203 p. (see p. 64-89, 182). 

 MILLS, F. C. 



1955. Statistical methods. 3d edition. Henry Holt and Co., 

 N.Y.. 842 p. (see p. 175-77). 

 BUREAU OFCOMMERCIAL FISHERIES. MARKETING 

 DIVISION. 



1966. Research study concerning potential effects of radia- 

 tion processing on market supplies of the domestic fishing 

 industry. A special report prepared for U.S. Atomic 

 Energy Commission. Report No. AT-2359, p. 24-40. 



Table 12. — Trends of fisherman's share and marketing markups over period analyzed. 



Markups 



Product 



Fresh haddock fillets 

 Fresh flounder fillets 

 Fresh cod fillets 

 Frozen ocean perch fdlets 

 Halibut steaks (fresh and 



frozen) 

 Canned pink salmon 

 Canned tuna (chunk) 

 Frozen raw peeled shrimp 

 Live American lobster 

 Fresh sea scallop meats 

 Fresh blue crab meat 



+ + 

 + + 







-t- 



Notations: + = moderate increase; 

 + + = significant increase; 



moderate decline; = no trend; 

 = significant declme. 



23 



