FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 193 7 173 



fishermen to become thoroughly famihar with the functions of coopera- 

 tion before attempting to solve their local problems by this method. 

 Later, one of the Bureau's technologists assisted the group in solving 

 certain fishery processing problems. 



Direct assistance also was given to a group of fishermen requesting 

 assistance in the formation of a cooperative ])lan for the selling of 

 shrimp at Thunderbolt, Ga. The Bureau's coo])eriitive marketing 

 specialist met Avith the group and later drew up a working agreement 

 enabling these fishermen to operate cooperatively to sell their shrimp 

 in an unincorporated manner until such time as sufhcient funds would 

 become available to properly organize and operate a cooperative 

 marketing association. 



At the meeting of members of the fishing industry at Atlantic City, 

 N. J., in February 1937, members of the Bureau led a round-table dis- 

 cussion in which the work of the Bureau pertaining to fishery cooper- 

 ative marketing was explained. Information also was supplied regard- 

 ing what had been done among fishermen themselves in the United 

 States in the way of cooperative activity. 



Aid and assistance also was given to the Southern New England 

 Fishermen's Association, Mystic, Conn., in June 1937, as to methods 

 for improving markets for fishery produce. 



In order to correlate the Bureau's cooperative marketing work with 

 that of other agencies, our cooperative marketing specialist attended 

 the meeting of the American Institute of Cooperation, at Ames, Iowa, 

 in June, where he participated in round-table conferences concerning 

 cooperative marketing and purchasing. Considerable interest was 

 shown by this group in the woi'k of the Bureau relative to the cooper- 

 ative marketing of fishery products and mutiuil plans were developed 

 for current excliangc of information on cooperative enterprise. 



Wliile in Iowa, our cooperative marketing specialist conferred with 

 representatives of the Iowa Conservation Department at their request, 

 concerning the possibility of developing a plan for the coo])erative 

 marketing of carp and buffalofish taken in Iowa and adjoining States. 

 These fishes are not highly prized in these States and, in an effort to 

 rid their waters of them, the States have various contractual arrange- 

 ments with the commercial fishermen. It was believed that if some 

 type of cooperative marketing arrangement coidd be developed among 

 those States that greater revenue could be derived from the sale of 

 these fish. 



In the spring of 1937 two bills (H. R. 6039 and 11. R. 7309) were 

 introduced into the United States House of Representatives, by Con- 

 gressman S. O. Bland of Virginia, proposing the establishment of a 

 fishery credit corporation for lending funds to fishermen's associations 

 organized and operated in accordance with Public, No. 464, mentioned 

 previously, and for the establishment of administrative agencies in 

 connection therewith. Hearings on these bills were held on June 29 

 and July 16, 1937, before the Committee on Merchant Marine and 

 Fisheries of the House of Representatives but at this writing the 

 Congress has not yet acted on these bills. 



The proceedings of these hearings have been published under the 

 title "Fishery Credit Act, Hearings before the Committee on Merchant 

 Marine and Fisheries, Ilouse of Representatives, vSeventy-fifth Con- 

 gress, First Session, on H. R. 6039 and II. R. 7309." 



