REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 11 



The total production of fish oils in 1921 (including menhaden) 

 in the United States and Alaska amounted to 7,446,281 gallons, 

 valued at $2,078,670. The production of the various oils were as 

 follows: Menhaden oil, 6,260,478 gallons; whale oil. 354,372 gallons; 

 herring oil, 283,815 gallons; sperm oil, 168,729 gallons; salmon oil, 

 71,522 gallons; cod and cod-liver oil, 49,772 gallons; and miscel- 

 laneous fish oils, 257,593 gallons. 



The production of fish (including menhaden) and Avhale scrap 

 and meal and shrimp bran in 1921 amounted to 107,273 tons, valued 

 at $3,567,142. The production of dried scrap and meal was 60,031 

 tons, valued at $2,613,361 ; of acidulated scrap, 44,454 tons, valued 

 at $895,140; of crude or green scrap, 2,160 tons, valued at $31,827; 

 and of shrimp bran, 628 tons, valued at $16,814. The production 

 in the Atlantic and Gulf States amounted to 89,559 tons, and in 

 the Pacific coast States and Alaska to 17,714 tons. Although it is 

 impracticable to obtain definite figures as to the quantities of fish 

 meal used for feeding purposes, it is evident that the demand for 

 this commodity is rapidly increasing, particularly on the Atlantic sea- 

 board. 



In 1921 there were 54 plants engaged in grinding oyster shells 

 for the production of poultrv grit and lime, the yield of which 

 amounted to 259,238 tons, valued at $2,261,754,' of" which 185,474 

 tons, valued at $1,759,120, were poultry grit. 



Other bj^'-products of the fisheries included fish glue, shark and 

 porpoise hides, agar-agar, pearl or fish-scale essence, shark fins, 

 whale bones (skeletons) and whale tails, to the value of $454,261. 



FROZEN-FISH TRADE. 



Statistics of the cold-storage holdings of frozen fish haA'e been 

 collected and published by the Bureau of Markets, Department of 

 Agriculture, beginning with October, 1916. These reports give the 

 holdings on the fifteenth day of the current month. Through the 

 courtesy of that bureau arrangements were made in December, 1921, 

 for the Bureau of Fisheries to publish and disseminate this infor- 

 mation, beginning with the returns for January 15, 1922, in the form 

 of a monthly statistical bulletin. This bulletin gives the holdings 

 by species and sections, total holdings for the current month and for 

 the same month of the previous year, the five-year average, holdings 

 for the previous month, and the quantity of each species frozen 

 during the month. 



The quantity of fish frozen between December 15. 1920, and De- 

 cember 15, 1921, according to these statistics, was 79,173,892 pounds, 

 as compared with 93,973,589 pounds the previous year. The prin- 

 cipal species and quantities fiozen during the year ended December 

 15, 1921, were halibut, 10,773,803 pounds; salmon, 10.033.619 pounds; 

 herring, 9,827,671 pounds; ciscoes, 8,649.315 pounds; whiting, 5.527,- 

 047 pounds; and miscellaneous fishes, 14,436,657 pounds. 



SMOKED-FISH INDUSTRY OF MAINE. 



In 1921 there were 28 firms engaged in smoking fi.shery products 

 in Maine, exclusive of a few individuals smoking small quantities of 

 alewives. as compared with 50 firms in this industry in 1919. The 



