FOREIGN FISHERY-TRADE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



437 



It appears from the preceding- summary that prior to 1839 the imports 

 of fishery products were of small extent, averaging- less than $50,000 

 annually. A considerable increase then followed, but until 1891 the 

 domestic exports each year greatly exceeded the imports for consump- 

 tion with only three exceptions. The exceptions were in 1806, 1871, 

 and 1881, and were caused by unusual trade conditions, resulting from 

 the beginning and ending of free-trade relations with the British Prov- 

 inces. The imports for consumption have so increased that since 1891 

 they have greatly exceeded the domestic exports. 



Trade in each clans of fishery products. — Table 2 shows for each kind 

 of product (1) the imports for consumption, (2) the domestic exports, 

 (3) the total trade, (1) the percentage of the total trade, and (5 and G) 

 the balance of trade during the year ending June 30, 1894. The indi- 

 vidual items most prominent in the statement of total trade are pickled 

 mackerel, 10.81 per cent; marine shells, 10.55 per cent; canned salmon, 

 9.75 per cent; pickled herring, 9.15 per cent; dried cod, 8.61 per cent, 

 and sardines, 8.55 per cent. It appears that the trade in pickled or 

 brine-salted fish represents 22.76 per cent of the total trade; canned 

 goods, 20.65 per cent, and dried and fresh fish, 11.12 and 5.81 per cent, 

 respectively. The fresh fish entering into the foreign trade are nearly 

 all imported, the exports, which amount to about 8 per cent of the 

 imports, consisting of haddock and other fish shipped to Montreal, 

 Quebec, and other places in Canada. Of dried fish, the exports exceed 

 the imports by about 200 per cent; in the pickled-fish trade the imports 

 are about eight times as valuable as the exports; but the trade in canned 

 goods is almost equally divided between imports and exports, with an 

 excess slightly in favor of the latter. 



2. Classified statement of the extent and relation of the foreign fishery-trade of the United 

 States during the year ending June SO, 1894. 



