FISHING INDUSTRY OF THE GREAT LAKES 



591 



Table 9. — Average price per pound, in cents, and index number of prices of the 

 principal commercial fishes of the American waters of Lake Erie, as shown by the 

 various censuses taken 



[Base of index numbers: Average price in 1899=100] 



This table discloses a great increase in price for every species since 

 1899. This increase is particularly noticeable between 1908 and 

 1917. Between 1917 and 1922 the prices of whitefish, yellow pike, 

 sturgeon, catfish, and lawyer continued to increase. All of the other 

 species decreased in price. It must be remembered that 1917 was a 

 year of inflated values in general, and prices in 1922, while not in- 

 flated as much as in 1917, were far above those of the earhest years 

 given in this table. Although the values given in the table indicate 

 that prices of certain fishes have doubled, trebled, and, in some cases, 

 quadrupled, since the earliest years, it is not evident whether the 

 greatly increased prices in 1922 may be explained entirely by the 

 generally inflated values of recent years, or whether they indicate 

 the relatively increased demand for fish. 



In order to examine this feature, index numbers of the prices of 

 fish with the year 1899 as a base, as compared with the index numbers 

 of all commodities, * based on the same year, have been graphically 

 shown in Figure 15. The curve for all commodities, as shown by the 

 heavy line, indicates that in general wholesale prices were nearly 

 two and one-half times as high in 1917 as they were in 1899, and fully 

 twice as high in 1922 as in 1899. If the demand for the various 

 species of fish had remained relatively the same as in 1899, it would be 

 expected that the prices would have very closely followed the heavy 

 line curve; but that is not the case. It is evident from the graph 

 that the great majority of species now cost relatively much more than 

 in 1899, even when inflated values are taken into consideration. 

 Trout and blue pike alone have fallen below the general level of 

 prices. Saugers have follow^ed general prices very closely. All other 



8 From Wholesale Prices, 1890 to 1922, Bulletin, U, S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 335, 1923. 

 Washington. 



75382—26 4 



