172 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



It has been found that, among fishermen and associations visited, 

 there is widespread interest in the possibiHties of advancing cooperative 

 marketing activities. This interest has been evidenced further by 

 many requests for the Bureau to give aid of an advisory character 

 concerning operations and management, and financing problems. 

 Wlierever possible, such assistance has been supplied through corre- 

 spondence, informative literature, or personal contact. 



During the past year a form letter was sent to State marketing 

 agencies of commercial fish-producing States, to learn the extent to 

 which these agencies were engaged in fishery cooperative marketing 

 work, lleplies revealed that very little work of this nature was being 

 done. It was indicated in some instances, however, that the organic 

 law or subsequent acts of State legislatures ])rovide that State mar- 

 keting agencies might conduct work of this character, but that the lack 

 of it in many cases had been due to failure of fishermen and their 

 associations to request this type of assistance. Statements were made 

 to the effect that if fishermen or their associations desired such 

 assistance and suitable appropriations were made by the State, work 

 in behalf of fishery cooperative marketing could be conducted readily. 



At the request of the Director of the Extension Department of St. 

 Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, the Bureau's 

 cooperative marketing specialist attended the Fifteenth Annual Rural 

 and Industrial Conference held at the imiversity in August 1937 and 

 delivered an address on fishery cooperative marketing in the United 

 States. This conference was devoted to the discussion of social and 

 economic phases of rural and industrial life of the Province of Nova 

 Scotia, in which fishermen and fishery cooperative associations have 

 played an important part. Following the conference, the Bureau's 

 representative was given an excellent opportunity to study coopera- 

 tive activity among the fisher-folk of Nova Scotia, and the adult 

 education and extension work of the imiversity in connection with its 

 efforts to teach fishermen the principles of cooperative marketing and 

 to help them organize and operate cooperative associations. At a 

 specially arranged meeting, attended by the Bureau's representative, 

 details of the history and development of the cooperative work in 

 Nova Scotia were discussed, as well as present cooperative marketing 

 activities and progress being made. At the close of the conference, 

 arrangements were made for a group of the conference members to 

 visit various fishing communities in Nova Scotia in which one or more 

 cooperative projects were being conducted. 



As a result of the address on fishery cooperative marketing in the 

 United States delivered at St. Francis Xavier University, Rev. E. A. 

 Kerr of St. Michael's Parish, Ridge, Md., who attended the Annual 

 Rural and Industrial Conference, requested the Bureau's assistance in 

 connection with proposed cooperative activities contemplated by a 

 group of pound-net and oyster fishermen of his parish. In compliance 

 with this request, three representatives of the Bureau attended a meet- 

 ing of the fishermen at Ridge, on October 14, 1937, for the purpose of 

 discussing with them plans which they had been considering for the 

 organization of an association for the cooperative marketing of their 

 fishery products. Our representatives outlined the work of the 

 Bureau relating to fishery cooperative marketing activities; discussed 

 the principles, functions, and operations of fishery cooperative asso- 

 ciations; and offered advice and suggestions to enable this group of 



