194 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
cerning fishery products, mainly fresh water, entering Chicago. The 
first daily report was released September 1, 1938. The daily report 
provides current information on the arrivals of fish by means of a 
tabulation of truck, rail express, and rail freight arrivals each morn- 
ing. Species and poundage are shown as well as the shipping State 
or Canadian Province. Market prices received by shippers are 
quoted daily in considerable detail. The movement of fishery prod- 
ucts into and out of cold storage is reported daily for approximately 
45 varieties. Each week holdings are published for the current and 
preceding weeks and for 4 weeks previous. When sufficient data 
have accumulated, holdings for the previous year also will be incor- 
porated. 
Summaries of the wholesalers’ receipts have been issued monthly 
since September 1938. They include tabulations of receipts by quan- 
tity, species, method of transportation, and State or Province of 
origin. 
During the first 6 months the Chicago office operated, nearly one- 
fourth of Chicago’s fresh- and frozen-fish receipts consisted of two 
species—lake trout and halibut. The large contribution of these two 
single species to the total receipts is surprising, in view of the fact 
that scores of other varieties of fresh- and salt-water fish are handled 
in the local market. 
The species leading in importance with respect to receipts included, 
in addition to lake trout and halibut, the following, in order: Sauger, 
shrimp, yellow perch, oysters, whitefish, lake herring, yellow pike, 
rosefish, carp, and chubs. These 12 species accounted for more than 
80 percent of the total receipts for the 6 months. During the same 
period, 18 additional species of fresh and frozen fresh-water fish, 32 
additional salt-water species, and 13 other shellfish and miscellaneous 
commodities—a total of 75 species—were received in Chicago. 
During the 6-month period aggregate receipts of fresh and frozen 
fish and shellfish in the Chicago market amounted to 19,200,000 
pounds, or an average of 3,200,000 pounds each month. This quan- 
tity would supply 1 pound of fish per capita each month to Chicago’s 
population. However, a considerable part of the fish received in 
Chicago is not consumed locally but is reshipped to communities 
outside Chicago. During the month of February 1939 reconsign- 
ments of fishery commodities amounted to about 1,000,000 pounds, 
or nearly one-third of the total receipts during the month. Such re- 
consignments are said to reach as high as 60 to 75 percent of the total 
receipts in some months, but in others they may amount to only 20 
to 25 percent, or less. 
As might be expected, due to its closer proximity to the fresh-water 
producing areas of the United States and Canada, Chicago is pri- 
marily a fresh-water fish market. About 3 pounds of fresh-water 
varieties are received to each 2 pounds of salt-water species. It is 
interesting to note, however, that 4 salt-water species are included 
among the 12 most important varieties. These are halibut, from the 
Pacific Northwest; shrimp, from the Gulf Coast; oysters, from the 
Atlantic Coast; and rosefish, from New England. The fresh-water 
varieties emanate largely from the Great Lakes of the United States 
and Canada; Lakes Manitoba, Winnipeg, Rainy, Dauphin, Nipissing, 
and Nipigon, Lake of the Woods, and the Pigeon River of Canada; 
and the Mississippi River and tributaries of the United States. 
