XXVIII REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OP FISHERIES 



the collection of statistics that in future years will be of utmost im- 

 portance in an understanding of this fishery., 



The work during the past season necessarily was of a preliminary 

 nature, providing the groundwork for a definite and continuous 

 program to be prosecuted during future years. As the result of 

 this work it has been found that two major series of statistics will 

 be necessary — first, statistics on the fishing effort and yield so col- 

 lected as to permit of separate compilation of the various fishing lo- 

 calities, and, second, statistics of the sizes of mackerel, based on 

 representative samples of the catch taken continuously throughout 

 the season and in all the more important regions. 



INFORMATION SERVICE 



One of the fields of usefulness to the industry and to the general 

 public is the dissemination of information concerning the statistics, 

 methods, and technology of the fisheries and fishery industries. Dur- 

 ing the fiscal year numerous statistical bulletins were distributed 

 to interested parties and 1,650 letters were written in reply to re- 

 quests for specific information not otherwise obtainable. There have 

 been requests for special early releases of statistics on certain indus- 

 tries, which we have not been able to grant because of the limited 

 personnel available for the statistical work. 



CANNED FISHERY PRODUCTS AND BY-PRODUCTS 



The fish canning and by-products industries of the United States 

 and Alaska, on the whole, experienced a most satisfactory year dur- 

 ing 1925, producing $80,577,138 worth of canned goods and 

 $14,600,198 worth of by-products, a total value of $95,177,336. 

 This is the largest total in recent years and is 93 per cent greater 

 than that of 1921. Both canned products and by-products con- 

 tributed to this increase which was made possible by substantial gains 

 in the value of canned salmon, sardines, tuna, and oysters and the 

 increased production of the by-products of the sardine industry in 

 California and the herring industry in Alaska. Among the canned 

 products salmon, as usual, was the most important item, constituting 

 59 per cent of the value; sardines were next with 16 per cent; tuna 

 next with 10 per cent ; and oysters, shrimps, clams, and other miscel- 

 laneous products made up the remaining 15 per cent. 



The salmon pack amounted to 5,018,550 cases, valued at $47,369,507. 

 Of this total 1,558,615 cases, valued at $15,379,976, were produced in 

 the Pacific Coast States, and 4,459,937 cases, valued at $31,989,531, 

 were packed in Alaska. The Alaska pack was somewhat smaller 

 than the pack of the previous year, due mainly to a decreased yield 

 of red and pink salmon. Although the pack in the Pacific Coast 

 States was larger than in 1924, the increase was not sufficient to 

 offset the decreased Alaska pack, leaving the total pack of 1925 

 smaller than that of 1924 by 235,027 cases, or 3.8 per cent. This de- 

 crease in quantity was more than compensated by increased prices, 

 making the total value of the pack greater than in the previous year 

 by $4,967,905, or 11.7 per cent. 



