FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1929 723 



Number of fish-freezing plants and cold-storage warehouses in the various geographical 

 sections and their capacities and facilities in 1929 



Note.— The New England section includes Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut; 

 Middle Atlantic— New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania; South Atlantic— Maryland, District of Co- 

 lumbia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida; North Central, East— Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, 

 and Wisconsin; North Central, West — Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and ('olorado; South 

 Central— Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas; Pacific section— Wash- 

 ington, Oregon, and California; and Alaska. 



OYSTER MARKET SURVEY 



While the culture of oysters has made rapid progress in recent 

 years, distribution through retail channels has not increased accord- 

 ingly. In order to determine the factors limiting demand for this 

 commodity, the bureau in cooperation with the Oyster Growlers and 

 Dealers Association of America (Inc.), and certain State officials, 

 conducted a survey of the markets for oysters in various cities during 

 the fall and winter months of 1929. This survey was conducted by 

 making personal contacts with approximately 120 retail and whole- 

 sale dealers and 1,400 housewives in 14 cities of 13 States. Their 

 reactions toward oysters as a food was noted. 



The results of this survey show that 86.8 per cent of those inter- 

 viewed serve oysters from 1 to 122 times per year. The per capita 

 consumption of this sea food was found to be an average of 4.2 pounds 

 per year in the cities surveyed. The highest per capita consumption 

 was found to be 9.6 pounds per year in St. Paul, Minn., while the lowest 

 was 2.6 pounds per year in Washington, D. C. Out of a possible 98 

 methods for preparing this food, only 15 were reported as generally 

 used. Of those who reported, 52 per cent stated that their usual 

 method of cooking w^as as a stew, while 39 per cent reported frying as 

 their usual method. 



Results of the interviews with retail dealers and wholesalers show 

 that 58 per cent of them advertise in some form, and that the city 

 having the highest per capita consumption also has the greatest 

 number who advertise. The most popular size container is that of 

 1 pint. The largest per cent of weekly sales w^as found to be on Friday. 

 The largest monthly sales were found to be made in December. 



PUBLICATIONS OF THE DIVISION 



During the calendar year 1929 the following publications were 

 prepared and issued by this division. The list does not include the 

 monthly statistical bulletins of the landings of fish at Boston and 

 Gloucester, Mass., Portland, Me., and Seattle, Wash., nor the monthly 



