60 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



colonized by Portuguese, its inhabitants are accustomed to Portu- 

 guese food products. In fact, many of the owners of grocery stores 

 are of Portuguese nationality and naturally preserve their Portuguese 

 connections as far as possible. 



BAHIA. 



[By Thos. H. Bevan, consul, September 9, 1921.] 



The city of Bahia is situated on a peninsula, with the Atlantic 

 Ocean on one side and the Bay of Bahia on the other. Notwith- 

 standing its ideal location as a base for fishermen, there is not a single 

 trawler operating out of the port. The city is therefore dependent 

 for its fish supply on a small number of native fishermen who can put 

 to sea only under most favorable weather conditions. The two fishes 

 principally caught are the red snapper and a species of mackerel. 

 The supply is very small, and only the wealthy classes can afford to 

 buy fresh fish. 



Codfish is imported from St. Johns, Newfoundland, in large 

 quantities, ranking first in importance among Bahia's imports. The 

 entire Canadian supply of codfish is shipped to Bahia during the 

 off-fishing season in small three-masted fishing schooners. These 

 schooners average about 300 net tons and carry about 350 tons dead 

 weight. Their average voyage from St. Johns to Bahia is around 

 35 days. There is apparently no reason why the American fish 

 merchants can not enter this trade and deliver the codfish here as 

 cheaply, if not cheaper, than the present suppliers. The Americans 

 would have a shorter haul by several hundred miles. 



Prior to 1920, when the value of the dollar was quoted around 

 Rs. 3$500, the bulk of the imports of canned fish came from the 

 United States. As the dollar appreciated in value the local importers 

 turned to other- markets and are now purchasing their supplies of 

 canned sardines, salmon, lobster, etc., from Scandinavian countries, 

 England, France, and Portugal. As soon as the dollar approximates 

 its normal rate of exchange the business will undoubtedly come back 

 to the United States, as European canners can not successfully 

 compete with the American canners for the South American trade 

 under normal conditions. 



There is an excellent demand for codfish in Bahia and the sur- 

 rounding country. For the past five years the value of the codfish 

 imported here has been greater than that of any other commodity. 

 The official customhouse statistics show the values (United States 

 currency) and quantities imported during the past three years, as 

 follows : 



About 95 per cent of the codfish sold on this market is imported 

 from St. Johns, Newfoundland, the remainder coming from the 

 United States and Scandinavia. The shipments from St. Johns are 



