194 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Commercial operations of one type or another were conducted by 
31 of the 59 associations reporting. Of 22 associations on the Pacific 
coast, 14 were commercial, while only 9 of the 22 in the North Atlantic 
area were commercial. The South Atlantic and Gulf area also re- 
ported a predominance of noncommercial associations, only 4 of 11 
being commercial. Although no survey was made in the Great Lakes 
area, 3 commercial associations were located and reported. 
Number and type of fishermen’s cooperatives, according to location, 1935 






Number | Number 
Mae of com- | of noncom- 
Area of associa- | mercial mercial 
ne ons associa- associa- 
tions tions 
INorthvAtlantict eee rei: 4a See eee eae bee 22 9 13 
South Atlanticand Gulf. = ee 11 4 7 
Great Lakes: 622i oe te tle Ss ee ee 3 Bye ese SE be oe 
IPacificicoast. 2 ee ae 22 a See a ee eee 22 14 | 8 
AIGS KAS. a ee eo 2a a ee Cee eee ome pa eee eee 1 I ferences Sas ela ht 
| 
Motalee tise. 2-28 Su ee eB ee a ee ee 59 31 | 28 



Of the 31 commercial associations shown in the above table, 13 
reported business in fresh fish, 2 sold only processed fish, and 4 sold 
both fresh and processed fish. In addition, there were 8 cooperatives 
that did not handle fish for sale, but acted as bargaining associations, 
while 4 associations made no report as to the type of business they 
conducted. 
Over one billion pounds of fish were sold by 19 associations report- 
ing on volume, and the dollar volume of all associations reporting this 
figure totaled $8,921,615. The value of fish represented in this amount 
does not include all of the billion pounds, since some associations 
reported volume but not value. 
Purchasing of supplies for members is an important function of 
cooperatives in this field, and 12 associations reported purchases rang- 
ing from $1,800 to $100,000, and totaling nearly $300,000. The asso- 
ciation reporting purchases of $100,000 was engaged only in purchas- 
ing. In addition, there were 7 associations engaged in purchasing 
which did not report the volume. Eight other cooperatives indicated 
their intention to undertake purchasing for their members. Petro- 
leum products, chiefly motor fuel, were the leading items purchased 
by the fishery cooperatives for their members, although nets and net- 
ting, ice, boxes, tanbark, tar, rope, and miscellaneous marine supplies 
and fishing equipment were also reported. 
A bill (S. 2605) to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act was intro 
duced by Senator Norris, and hearings will be held during 1940, 
This bill, if enacted into law, might be of some value to fishermen in 
that it would broaden the definition of cooperatives so as to permit 
Federal loans to cooperatives with a considerable proportion of 
nonfarmer membership. Thus, agricultural cooperatives with some 
fishermen members might be eligible for assistance by the Farm Credit 
Administration. 
The report of the Maritime Labor Board, made available early in 
1940, deals to some extent with the types of union organization among 
fishermen and among workers in allied industries. This report may 
weil serve as a basis for further study of the status of this type of 
organization among fishermen. 
. 
