BUREAU OF FISHERIES 109 



FISHERY INDUSTRIES 

 ECONOMIC AND MARKETING INVESTIGATIONS 



Surplus fish situafion. — A study of the surplus fish situation showed 

 that on March 15, 1938, holdings of frozen, cured, and canned fisher}' 

 products in the United States amounted to approximately 260,000,000 

 pounds, which was about 80 to 100 million pounds greater than 

 normal holdings. 



Improved cold-storage statistics. — The Bureau of Fisheries, in co- 

 operation with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, has made several revisions in the species classi- 

 fications of commodities frozen or held in cold storage in this country. 

 These changes, which are reflected in the monthly and annual cold- 

 storage bulletins published by the Bureau, increase the usefulness of 

 these data to interested parties. Recently, separate classifications 

 were adopted for fillets of various species, and new classifications 

 were added for rosefish and swordfish. On July 15, 1938, additional 

 classifications will be included for scallops, shrimp, and sea crawfish 

 or spiny lobsters. 



United States fisheries off foreign coasts. — ^A study made during 

 the year shows that about 14 percent of the value of the catch of 

 the domestic fisheries is represented by products taken off foreign 

 coasts. Outstanding among such commodities are cod, haddock, and 

 other groundfish taken off the coasts of Newfoundland and Nova 

 Scotia, which were valued at $4,600,000, and tuna and tunalike fishes 

 taken off the west coasts of Latin America, valued at $5,900,000. 

 Other domestic fisheries off foreign coasts include those for salmon 

 and halibut off British Columbia; the fishery for red sna])per and 

 groupers on Campeche Bank off Mexico; and the whale fishery off 

 Australia. The total value of domestic fisheries off foreign coasts 

 to domestic fisherman amounted to about $13,000,000. 



ConiTnercial fisheries of the toorld. — On the basis of the most re- 

 cent available data, the world's annual commercial catch of fishery 

 commodities amounts to about 30,000,000,000 pounds, valued at ap- 

 proximately $730,000,000. The United Slates, including Alaska, ranks 

 first in value of the annual yield and is exceeded only by Japan in 

 volume. 



Fishery tnarket vews service. — Offices for the daily collection and 

 dissemination of fishery market news were established at New York, 

 N. Y., and Boston, Mass., during the past year. Plans for opening the 

 third office, at Seattle, Wash., were nearing completion at the end 

 of the fiscal year, and other offices, within the facilities of the Bu- 

 reau, will be opened during next fiscal year. Essentially, this new 

 service, which has proved most popular, constitutes an exchange of 

 market information between the fishermen or producers in fishing 

 areas and the middlemen in terminal markets, with the Bureau of 

 Fisheries acting as the service agency; that is, the agency for col- 

 lecting and disseminating the news. 



Cooperative marketing. — In connection with the administration of 

 Public, No. 464, "An Act authorizing associations of producers of 

 aquatic products," investigations have been continued to determine 



