TRADE IN FRESH AND FROZEN FISHERY PRODUCTS 47 



WHOLESALE TRADE 



In 1927 there were five wholesale establishments engaged in 

 handling fresh and frozen fishery products in Atlanta. Some of these 

 firms handle only fish, while others are operated in connection with 

 wholesale fruit and vegetable commission houses. The total invest- 

 ment in buildings and accessories of the wholesale firms was $108,000, 

 and their cash working capital amounted to $28,000. There were 

 39 persons engaged in the trade, receiving $44,000 in wages. 



The wholesale fisheries trade is conducted in the downtown sec- 

 tion of the city, in the vicinity of the Union Depot. Several of the 

 firms have spur tracks beside their establishments. These connect 

 with the main-line railroads. As a rule, rooms of the establishments 

 in which fish are handled have cement floors. Compartments re- 

 frigerated with ice or mechanical cold-storage facilities are pro- 

 vided for holding fish. 



In most cases the products are marketed in the form in which 

 received, and therefore the quarters required for packing, grading, 

 or cleaning are not large. Trading is done mainly with hotels, 

 restaurants, and retail stores in the city and near-by suburbs. 



Usually fish are purchased outright by wholesalers, although in 

 some instances they are handled on consignment. In some cases 

 producers ship the same varieties of fish to two dealers in Atlanta at 

 the same time, and one of the wholesalers will handle the products on 

 consignment while the other will buy' outright. In instances of this 

 kind the dealers who buy outright sometimes are unable to dispose 

 of their product at a reasonable profit, for the reason that the dealer 

 who handles fish on consignment will undersell him. 



Local sales are made by telephone, canvassing, or by purchasers 

 calling at the wholesale establishments. Out-of-town sales are made 

 through letter or telegram. City sales are packed in containers of 

 various descriptions or wrapped in paper. These are delivered free 

 by motor truck within the metropolitan area. Out-of-town sales 

 are made f. o. b. Atlanta. They are shipped in boxes and barrels 

 of various sizes and are refrigerated with ice. Usually the boxes are 

 those that have been used previously for holding other merchandise. 



COLD-STORAGE FACILITIES 



Atlanta has no public facilities for freezing or storing fishery 

 products. However, two wholesale firms have such facilities on 

 their premises for private use, and another has facilities, at a local 

 cold-storage warehouse. The combined storage capacity of these 

 three plants is about 250,000 pounds. A comparatively small 

 amount of fishery products is frozen in Atlanta, as cold-storage stocks 

 usually are received frozen. Stocks in cold storage consist largely 

 of mullet, croaker, Spanish mackerel, and sea trout. Other species 

 of fish sold in a frozen condition are listed in Tables 2, 3, and 4. 



That Atlanta consumers prefer fresh fishery products is borne out 

 by the fact that more extensive facilities are not available for freezing 

 and storing fishery products. It is the general opinion among dealers 

 that the trade will accept the frozen stock only when fresh fish are 

 not available; and even then there appears to be a reluctance to 

 accept frozen fish if a suitable fresh substitute is available. Educat- 

 ing consumers to the merits of properly frozen fish may increase the 

 sales of the frozen product. Handling frozen fish also may tend to 

 stabilize the trade, as it has done in various other cities. 



