352 IT. S. BUREAIT OF FISHERIES 



sardines exceeded that of salmon, which has generally been our chief 

 export fishery item. However, in 1928, salmon regained its previous 

 place, exceeding by more than $1,000,000 the value of sardines 

 exported. 



The policy of selling California canned sardines at little more than 

 cost no doubt has stimulated demand and has given them wide dis- 

 tribution, but it is a question as to how long this condition can exist. 

 They will in all probability eventually be sold at a price based on a 

 fair profit, which will tend to discourage their use for reduction 

 purposes. 



Canned sardines are marketed mainly through brokers, although 

 many packers of specialties, such as kippered sardines and fillets of 

 sardines, market their own product. Some of the packers are pack- 

 aging their product in an attractive manner and are also conducting 

 intensive advertising campaigns. 



In an effort to stabilize the export trade the canners formed the 

 California Sardine Export Association, which operated under the 

 provision of the Webb-Pomerene Act. This association had its head- 

 quarters in San Francisco, where studies w^ere made to learn the 

 conditions surrounding the sale of California sardines in foreign coun- 

 tries. This lasted but a year or so and then dissolved. A new 

 organization is now being formed to continue the work. It has been 

 found that, in general, when California sardines are introduced into a 

 foreign country they continue to be sold there. Orientals are espe- 

 cially fond of the product, and it can be purchased in Straits Settle- 

 ments, China, Japan, the Netherland East Indies, Philippines, and 

 other sections of the Far East. The oriental buyers want packs with 

 6 to 10 fish to the can, as venders in the Orient open the can and sell 

 the fish one at a time. 



The sardine packers are continually striving to improve their 

 product. More sanitary methods have been adopted in the can- 

 neries, and the most modern labor-saving devices are installed. The 

 packers themselves have set a high standard for their product. To 

 continue the work of standardization a committee has recently been 

 appointed by the Sardine Canners' Association of California to set 

 rules for standardizing and bettering the pack. While the export 

 market has been the most important, the product is gaining favor 

 with the American pubbc, especially the fancier packs put up in small 

 cans. Trade is especially active in certain sections of New York 

 City. Shipments to the Atlantic coast are usually made by water 

 through the Panama Canal. These originate largely in San Francisco 

 and Los Angdes. 



TUNA AND TUNALIKE FISHES 



The fishery for tuna and tunalike fishes (albacore, skipjack or 

 striped tuna, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, and bonito) is active over 

 a strip of ocean for over 1,000 nij^es along California and oft' the 

 Mexican coast from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County, 

 CaUf., to Cape San Lucas in Lower California. Some catches 

 have been made as far south as Chile. x\lbacore and bluefin tuna 

 are taken almost entirely off the coast of California, while the bulk 

 of the catches of yellowfin and skipjack tuna are taken off the coast 

 of Mexico. The bonito is native to the waters of both California and 

 Mexico. These fish are taken with purse seines and hook and line. 



