refrigeration, and simple preparation by the consumer. Because of these 

 advantages canned fish has a much wider geographic distribution than fresh 

 or frozen fishery products. One of the publications issued in connection 

 with the above-mentioned survey — Fishery Leaflet 408, entitled Fish and 

 Shellfish Preferences of Household Consumers - 1951. Part II - Regional 

 Summary — gives estimates of the percentages of housdiolds within a 

 region which used various types of fishery products. Figure 3 is basud 

 on data taken from that publication. It shows that canned fish has the 

 highest percentage of use nationally and in each of the four regions shown. 



TONA CONSUMPTION COMPARED WITH OTHER SPECIES 



Most fishery products marketed in the United States for human food 

 are consumed either in fresh, frozen or canned form. As has been shown 

 in table 2 cured fishery products are a relatively minor item in our diet. 

 Only a very small amount of domestically-caught salmon, cod, herring, 

 sturgeon, and fresh-water fish are marketed after going through a curing 

 process, A large portion of cnr cured fish consumption is from imported 

 cured herring. 



Since 1929 the domestic production of frozen fish has more than 

 doubled. Imports have also increased even more. The development of 

 packaged frozen fish led to the greater utilization of species such as 

 ocean perch that are easily filleted and have a special appeal, particu- 

 larly to inland consumers. Ocean perch fillets have become the most im- 

 portant species in this category, although in 1935 ocean perch was in- 

 significant among the landings of food fish in the United States. Other 

 species that have risen in importance in the frozen fishery products trade 

 are viiiting and shrimp. 



Haddock, halibut, and salmon — long time favorites in the fresh and 

 frozen fishery products trade — have tended to hold their levels of con- 

 sumption while such species as alewife, shad and oysters have shown de- 

 clining trends. While cod production in the United States for the fresh 

 and frozen trade is now lower, as conpared to pre-World War II years, 

 there has been a complementary increase in importation of cod fillets 

 into the United States from foreign sources. 



As spectacular as the rise in the consumption of ocean perch, has 

 been the increase in shrimp consumption in recent years. The total con- 

 sumption of shrimp has increased markedly compared to pre-World War II years. 

 Consumption of frozen shrimp has developed particularly at the expense of 



51 



