14 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



MEXICO CITY. 



[By Cornelius Ferris, jr., consul in charge, August 24, 1921.] ■'' 



There are no fisheries in the consular district of Mexico City. 

 Fishery products are imported only from the United States. 



VERA CRUZ. 



[By Willys A. Myers, vice consul, September 28, 1921.] 



The warm waters of the Gulf teem with fine fish, turtles, crabs, 

 oysters, and shrimp. Chief among the prized fishes is the Huachi- 

 nango (Lutianus htackfordi), a red snapper, very abundant off the 

 coast. The red snapper is a deep-water fish, being taken on the 

 fishing banks outside the 3-mile limit, and is fished for by the Mexican 

 fishing fleets, thus insuring fresh fish in the Vera Cruz market at all 

 times. Numerous American fishing schooners in the past years have 

 been sent here by the Galveston and Tampa fishing companies of the 

 United States. At certain times of the year there are heavy runs of 

 small mackerel suitable for canning, which are sold very cheaply. 

 In the spring and fall there are runs of a species of sardines of small 

 size and of a very delicate flavor. At present the only use made of 

 these two runs is domestic. 



Shrimp and fish are sundried. There are no large drying plants, 

 the work usually being done by the local fishermen. The quality of 

 the fish is of a very low grade and is consumed only by the poorer 

 classes in Mexico. 



Vera Cruz is the distributing point for the east coast of ]\Iexico and 

 all interior points. The only fishery product exported from this 

 port is the octopus or cuttlefish, known here as the "pulpo." Dur- 

 ing the year 1920, 21,645 pounds of octopus, valued at $3,842, were 

 exported. 



Codfish, salmon, and sardines are imported in large quantities, 

 statistics regarding the values and amounts of the above-mentioned 

 products not being obtainable. Whole dried codfish is the best seller 

 and is imported principally from Norway, although a certain amount 

 is received from the United States. American salmon, Alaska pink, 

 in 1-pound tall cans, is demanded by the buying public in Mexico. 

 Until within the past two years the greater part of the sardines sold 

 in Mexico came from Spain. At the present time American sardines, 

 packed in oval cans with tomato sauce, net weight 15 ounces, are 

 the largest sellers and sell at a cheaper price than the Spanish product. 



As Mexico is a Catholic coimtry, there are numerous feast days in 

 the year on which fish of some kind is always served. As fresh fish is 

 always available here, there is a much larger quantity sold in the 

 interior than in this immediate territory. Labels for salmon cans 

 should have the word ''Pink" in large letters, as the buying public 

 always look for the word "Pink" when making purchases. The 

 higher grades of salmon do not sell here, and there is nttle demand for 

 ''Chum," Alaska pink being the best seller. 



Sardines packed in pure olive oil, oval cans, weighing 15 ounces net, 

 should have a good sale here. The objection to the American sardine 

 in oil is that cottonseed or a substitute for pure olive oil is used. 

 Spanish sardines are all packed in pure olive oil in small cans. There 

 is a growing demand here for the larger sized containers. llNewspaper 

 advertising and window displays would increase the sale of these 



