pounds annually. Althou^ the catch has increased in both quantity and 

 value, the annual per capita consumption of all fishery products has re- 

 mained fairly constant. This may be noted by again referring to the data 

 in table 2and to fi^re 2. Several declines in consumption occurred during 

 the past two decades but recoveries were made rapidly. There wei*e lows 

 of 8 to 9 pounds per capita consumption during the depression years of the 

 early 1930' s and during the World War II years of short supplies; but in 

 both these cases the per capita consumption climbed back to over 11 pounds. 



Although total fish consumption has remained about the same since 

 1909, the production and consumption of specific types of fishery products 

 has undergone the marked changes shown in figure 2. The consumption of 

 cured fish has declined over this period from 3.9 pounds per capita to 

 less than one pound per capita. An increasingly larger share of the catch 

 has been utilized in the fresh and frozen and canned categories. Since 

 1929 consumption of packaged fillets and steaks has tripled in volume. 

 However, this amounts to little more than doubling of consumption on a 

 per capita basis because of population growth. Improved methods of freez- 

 ing, transporting, and marketing fish are responsible for the changed con- 

 sumption patterns of these fishery products. 



Long' before frozai fish was on the market in the forms known today, 

 canned fish was becaning more popular and consumed in greater quantities 

 as the use of cured fish declined. Among all processed fishery products, 

 the canned fishery products, are the most important in terms of both 

 quantity and value. Consumption of canned fish in the United States has 

 ranged from a high of 5.8 pounds per capita in 1936 to a low of 1.9 

 pounds in 1943. In the latter year, war needs diverted canned fish, 

 particularly canned salmon, from civilian markets. After this diversion 

 ceased, per capita consumption rose to 4.3 pounds in 1950, the highest 

 since 1941. 



With the growth in popularity of canned fish, and the availability 

 of attractively packaged frozen fish the down-trend in consumption of 

 cured fish has reached .9 pounds per capita and appears to have leveled 

 off at this low point. Cured fish has been reduced to a specialty item, 

 a reversal of the staple part this food played in the diet of many early 

 Americans. 



Canned fishery products are part of the diet of more household con- 

 sumers in the United States than anj other form of fishery product, 

 according to a recent Fish and Wildlife Service survey. Canned fish has 

 such advantages as easy storage and transportation without the need of 



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