92 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



grounds are located between the main island and the small islands 

 ^'Los Saintes/' about 10 miles offshore, and the bulk of the fishing is 

 done by the natives of those islands, who sell their wares at Basse 

 Terre, Pointe-a-Pitre, and the other towns. However, small boats 

 put out to make a catch from all the localities on the Caribbean side 

 of the island practically every day that the weather is not too bad. 

 Weather conditions on the Atlantic side are not favorable to fishing. 

 However, the population there is very small. 



Fishing is done both with hooks and lines and with nets, the latter 

 being mostly used for catching inferior grades of fish near the shore. 

 Bamboo traps are also used. The larger fish, those running from 5 

 to 20 pounds, are very good. The industry is not large, and the 

 catch is entirely insufficient to furnish any large proportion of the 

 diet of the mass of the population of 200,000. There are no exports 

 of fishery products. 



Fishery products, chiefly codfish, are one of the large items of the 

 imports into Guadeloupe. Codfish is a staple article of food. Official 

 statistics of imports by all countries and values are available only for 

 the calendar year 1920. They do not indicate quantities, but with 

 regard to kind it may be noted that it is all codfish, with the excep- 

 tion of about S20,000 worth of preserved fish imported from France. 

 The table follows: 



Imports of fishery products in 1920. 



Country of origin. 



France 



French colonies (Martinique) 



United States 



British colonies 



Total 



Value in 

 francs. 



2, .574, 502 

 149, 131 

 947, 265 



1,678,584 



5,349,482 



Value in 

 United 



States 

 currency 

 at $0,069. 



8177,640 



10, 290 



65, 351 



115,817 



369,098 



The imports from France were of St. Pierre and Miquelon codfish, 

 imported by way of France. There are, however, statistics available 

 with respect to quantities and kinds imported during 1919 and 1920. 

 Although the United States is grouped with the British colonies in 

 these statistics, a rough calculation for the year 1920 gives 40 per 

 cent to the United States and 60 per cent to British colonies. 



The tremendous increase in the imports of St. Pierre and Miquelon 

 codfish brought in by wav of France, 1920 over 1919, will be noted. 

 Assuming that the United States furnished 40 -per cent of '' all other" 

 imports in 1920, or 633,818 pounds, it is found that the American 



