sales of fresh shrimp, and has more than doubled since the end of World 

 War II. The increase in the supply, vAiich occurred as a result of strong 

 demand, resulted from expansion of domestic production and the sizable 

 increases in imports from Mexico. 



Among canned fish, salmon, tuna, and sardines accoimt for the bulk 

 of the domestic consumption, (table 4). During the period 1929 to 1938 

 salmon usually accounted for over one-half of the canned fish consumption 

 in the United States. Canned salmon consumption has declined from over 

 two pounds in pre-V/orld War II years to an average of about 1.4 pounds 

 in the post-World War II period. The salmon pack varies vrith the size 

 of annual runs which have decreased appreciably in recent years. The 

 decreases have been marked for red and pink salmon and to a lesser de- 

 gree for the lower priced chiun. 



The picture for canned tuna consumption, however, is quite different 

 fran that of canned salmon. I'una consumption presents a reversal of the 

 canned ■"salmon trend. Tuna has increased from a per capita consumption of 

 only .5 pounds in 1935 to 1.5 pounds in 1952. The pack of the leading 

 tuna species — albacore, yellowfin, and skipjack — increased consider- 

 ably over the past two decades. The response of the domestic industry 

 to increased demand has been an increased amount of processing on the 

 part of tuna canners and increased fishing effort by the tuna fleet with 

 long-range tuna clippers operating as far south as Peru. But at the same 

 time increased imports of canned tuna and of frozen tuna used for canning 

 in domestic canneries have accounted for increasing proportions of the 

 supply available to American consumers. 



The sardine packs of both Maine and California have also fluctuated 

 considerably. The season just closed in California has been the most 

 disastrous in history from a production standpoint. A significant por- 

 tion of the pack, particularly that of California, is for the export 

 market. It appears likely that the portion of the canned sardine pack 

 used domestically will continue to rank after salmon and tuna in per 

 capita consumption. 



Reference to table 4 indicates that since 1929, with the exception 

 of the World War II period, the per capita consumption for all canned 

 fish has shown a slight increase. Far greater have been the per capita 

 consumption changes among the species utilized for canning. Tuna con- 

 sumption has increased steadily, while consumption of salmon and sardines, 

 although fluctuating erraticklly, has declined. 



53 



