94 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



Separate statistics for 1919 and 1920 are not available. Salted 

 fish prepared on the island of St. Martin are imported into Gaude- 

 loupe but not in sufficient quantity to appear in statistics. There 

 are no reexports of fishery products. 



The opportunities to considerably extend the sale of American 

 fishery products are not good. In the first place Guadeloupe is a 

 low-wage country and its purchasing power is not great. In the 

 second place, French colonial and French products are given the 

 preference. 



Codfish, the staple, is listed on the Guadeloupe special tariff, and 

 the reduced custom rate, 10 francs a hundred kilos, is not great. 

 However, it appears to have been sufficient durin^ 1920 to have 

 greatly increased the imports of St. Pierre and Miquelon codfish over 

 American and British colonial competition. 



With regard to canned salmon and sardines, as has been reported, 

 there is no cultivation of taste for the first and no large importation 

 of the second. Furthermore, French goods are duty free, while 

 American goods are subject to the French general tariff. 



Different prices are quoted for the several different kinds of cod- 

 fish sold. Tlie French codfish is graded as large fish and small fish, 

 and now sells at wholesale at 2.40 francs (SO. 192) and 1.90. francs 

 ($0,152) per kilo, respectively. British colonies' codfish seems to be 

 of one grade and wholesales at 2 francs ($0.16) per kilo. I can get 

 no present quotations on American codfish but am reliably informed 

 that the prices range above those for the better grade French. With 

 regard to quality, it is reported to be superior to the other codfish. 



Smoked herring are sold at wholesale, packed in wooden boxes 

 weighing about 20 pounds and containing about 80 fish. The pres- 

 ent quotation is 25 francs ($2) the box for the Canadian product. 

 There seem to be no stocks of American herring at present. 



Codfish, as has been stated, is a staple food of the mass of the peo- 

 ple and is also generally used by the well-to-do. It is possible that 

 low-grade salmon, if sufficiently cheap, may be sold to a certain 

 extent in competition with it. This is also perhaps true with respect 

 to cheap grades of sardines. French sardines are now sold here at 

 an average of 1.50 francs (about $0.12) per small box containing 8 or 

 10 sardines about 3 inches long. The sardines are of very good 

 quality, 



MARTINIQUE. 



FORT DE FRANCE. 



[By Maurice P. Genton, vice consul, September 20, 1921.] 



Like all the waters of the West Indies, those surrounding Mar- 

 tinique contain a great quantity and variety of fish, comprising 

 kinglish, flying fish, garfish, mullet, mackerel, red snapper, grouper, 

 sea-pike, sardines, catfish, swordfish, tuna, rays, sea eggs, spiny 

 lobsters, crawfish, crabs, etc. The tuna is quite plentiful, and in 

 1918 there was talk of setting up a factory to can this fish for export, 

 but the proposition never materialized. The fishing industry here is 

 not organized, and all the fresh fish marketed is caught by negroes 

 who go out to sea in their own rowboats with nets when they feel so 

 inclined. As a result the ciuantity for sale each day is not nearly as 

 large as it might be. If fishing were more regularly engaged in for- 



