364 V. S. BITHEAU OF FISHET^IES 



by wide fluctuations in prices paid by wbolesalers to fishermen. The 

 State Fish Exchange is making; an efl'ort to remedy this situation in 

 an efl'ort to stabiUze the industry. 



RETAIL SALE OF FRESH AND FROZEN FISH 



In 1929 the retail sale of fresh and frozen fish in California was 

 conducted by 125 fish dealers who handle fish exclusively, 175 fish 

 peddlers, and 3,200 who handle it as a side line to other merchandise. 



According to the California State Fish Exchange, about 40 per cent 

 of the trade in these stores is done on Friday, and the average dealer 

 sells fish only three days a week. Over 90 per cent of the trade is in 

 four species — salmon, halibut, sole, and barracuda — while rockfish, 

 bass, cod, and tuna represent 5 per cent of the trade. Only about 

 15 per cent of the fish marketed in the retail stores is sold in the form 

 of fillets. The State Fish Exchange also has learned that the sale of 

 fish is hindered to a great extent by the relatively high price, this 

 being attributed to a demand for certain species of fresh fish when 

 out of season in California or for species of which there is a small 

 catch. The former might be remedied by freezing stocks at times 

 when the supply exceeds the demand, for distribution in the off season. 



To counteract this situation the exchange is attempting to acciuaint 

 consumers with the large variety of California fish available and with 

 the times at which they are in season. This is being accomplished by 

 radio talks, newspaper publicity, exhibits, and by the publication of a 

 sea-food cookbook. Consumers have been especially eager to obtain 

 copies of the cookbook, demonstrating that there is a great interest 

 in sea foods which can be made a source of profit to retailers if the 

 dealers exhibit a like interest and handle these products on a par with 

 other products rather than as a side line. 



WAREHOUSING FROZEN FISH 



There are eight cold-storage warehouses in California that provide 

 for the storage of frozen fishery products. Two of these are located 

 in San Francisco, 1 at Pittsburg, 2 at Sacramento, 2 at Los Angeles, 

 and 1 at Long Beach. These plants are able to store about 3,000,000 

 pounds of fishery products at a time, and, according to reports, this 

 can be increased if business warrants. The two plants at San Fran- 

 cisco, the one at Pittsburg, one of the two at Los Angeles, and the 

 one at Long Beach freeze in addition to storing fishery products. 

 These plants are able to freeze about 82,500 pounds in 10 working 

 hours. 



Most of these storage plants are less than a mile from local express 

 terminals, while all except one have spur tracks from the main railroad 

 line leading directly to the doors of the plant. These spur tracks can 

 accommodate 62 cars. 



The plant at Pittsburg is located on a pier where fishing vessels can 

 unload directly into the warehouse, and one of the plants in San Fran- 

 cisco is located about one-half block from the water front. The 

 remaining six plants are located at some distance from the water front; 

 thus in most cases fish landed by vessels must be transported overland 

 from the pier to the cold-storage warehouse. 



Kales for storing frozen fish vary from 25 to 50 cents a month for 

 each 100 pounds. Three linns charge 25 cents a month per 100 



