REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 7 



canned meat and 1,000 tons of frozen meat in 1919. Samples of the 

 canned meat examined by the Bureau were found to be of good quality 

 and to constitute a cheap and wholesome food. It is reported that in 

 1918 the principal whaling company on the Pacific coast, with sta- 

 tions in Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska, took 999 whales, 

 of which about 200 were of the sei species (Balsenoptera horealis) 

 whose meat is light-colored and particularly good for canning. At- 

 tention has been given to the renewal off the coast of Maine of a fishery 

 for whales, the flesh of which is to be marketed for food, and various 

 persons connected with the fisheries are considering the practicability 

 of such an undertaking. Interest has been aroused in Texas in the 

 use of the meat of porpoises, which are reported to occur in numbers 

 on the coast of that State. It has been ascertained that the oily 

 taste which may be more or less objectionable to some persons can be 

 overcome by removing the connective tissue which lies between the 

 blubber and the meat. Some difficulty was experienced in inducing 

 fishermen to provide the markets with supplies sufficient to satisfy 

 the demand. An economic circular containing 32 recipes for prepar- 

 ing the meat of whales and porpoises for the table has been issued. 



Being convinced that the production of fish in the States border- 

 ing on the Gulf of Mexico could be materially increased if larger 

 markets to care for the surplus catch were provided, the Bureau co- 

 operated with rejDresentatives of the Department of Agriculture and 

 the Food Administration in securing the introduction of Gulf fish 

 into Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis, and neighboring points, 

 and introduced approximately half a million pounds of fish from 

 points in Florida into these cities. To effect relief for unsatisfactory 

 shipping conditions, similar service was inaugurated between 

 Chincoteague, Va., and the markets of Philadelphia and New York, 

 and a number of shipments were made under supervision of Govern- 

 ment agents. 



Nearly 14,000 cases of canned river-herring products (fish, roe, and 

 buckroe), sea herring and gadoid buckroe, valued at over $54,000, 

 were introduced to the markets of Atlanta, Birmingham, Montgomery, 

 Knoxville, Nashville, and Chattanooga, largely as a restilt of exploita- 

 tion work conducted by agents of the Bureau. 



On the fishing banks in the Gulf of Mexico groupers are more 

 abundant than snappers. The demand for snappers has been in 

 excess of the supply, while that for groupers has normally been insuffi- 

 cient to care for more than half of the catch, with the result that 

 quantities of these wholesome, white-meated fishes have been wasted, 

 and valuable time has been lost by the fishermen in searching for 

 the highly prized snappers. During the war, owing to the reduc- 

 tion in the size of the fleet, most of the groupers taken could be mar- 

 keted. Recently, with an increase in the number of vessels operating, 

 the catch has again exceeded the demand. The Bureau has, there- 

 fore, carried on extensive exploitation measures in inland cities of 

 the South in an effort to stimulate suflEicient demand to care for the 

 entire catch. Restaurants and cafes, in particular, have been en- 

 couraged to use these fishes. A placard recommending groupers and 

 an economic circular containing 29 recipes for preparing them for 

 the table have been issued for the use of the trade. 



The lack of a market for the catch of black drum, the destructive- 

 ness of this fish to oysters, and the excellent quality of the canned 



