j''isiiKi;iKS OF ^ALIF()I;^M.\ 



361 



used. Some of the fish are marketed I'resh or IVozeii but are used 

 more extensively for eanning. The output of the canned product in 

 1928 was valued at $79,523. 



Shad. — The catch of shad in 1927 amounted to 4,103,423 pounds, 

 valued at $148,201 , althou<i;h normally the annual catch ranges between 

 1,500,000 and 2,000,000 pounds. The entire catch was made in the 

 San Francisco district by the use of gill nets. Shad are not native to 

 California, but were introduced there by the United States Bureau of 

 Fisheries in 1873. They were afl'orded udse protection and the pro- 

 duction has steadily increased, that for 1927 being one of the largest 

 on record and about one-fourth of the total yield of tliis species in the 

 United States. Shad are marketed fresh, frozen, and canned. 

 Considerable quantities of the fresh and frozen stocks are shipped to 

 Atlantic coast cities. In 1928 there were 8,917 cases of forty-eight 

 1-pound cans of shad packed in California, which represents about a 

 normal pack for recent years. This is 32 per cent of the entire pro- 

 duction of canned shad in the United States. 



California {Sacramento River) -pack of canned shad^ 1914-1928 



' Includes shad roe. 



- Forty-eight 1-pound cans to the case. 



Source: Pacific Fisherman. 



Totuava or '^ Mexican bass.'' — Tliis fishery is followed mainly by 

 Mexicans and Indians in the Gulf of California, and it is discussed 

 here because the fish are marketed chiefly in San Pedro although 

 considerable quantities are marketed in San Francisco. Originally 

 this fishery was conducted for the sound, or swim bladder, which 

 when dried brought high prices in oriental markets. Now the meat is 

 saved, especially during seasons when catches of market fish at San 

 Pedro are small. The fish are trucked by Mexicans to the border, at 

 Calexico or Yuma, where they are purchased by Americans and col- 

 lected into larger lots; then they are washed, weighed, and packed 

 aboard refrigerated motor trucks and conveyed across the desert of 

 Lower California to San Pedro, a distance of 230 miles. The trip 

 takes about 15 hours and is usually made during the night. Trucks 

 leaving the border in the evening have the fish at the San Pedro 

 market early next morning. Some carload shipments have been sent 

 direct to San Francisco from Guaymas. According to statistical 

 records of the State of California the American importation of totuava 

 now amounts to about 2,000,000 pounds annually, whereas in 1923 

 imports of only about 75 pounds were reported. 



MERCHANDISING MARKET FISH TO WHOLESALE FISH DEALERS 



Market fish are brought to port and sold by fishermen to the whole- 

 sale dealers marketing fresh and frozen fish. In 1929 there were 78 

 wholesale establishments, 30 wholesale branches, and 15 brokers and 

 buyers in the business. Many fisherman belong to trade organizations 



