156 American Fisheries Society 



the honest dealer. Since it will lead to increased con- 

 sumption of fish, it will be a direct financial benefit to the 

 dealer; and by reason of some of the provisions it cannot 

 fail, it would seem, to make several lines of fish cheaper 

 to the consumer than at the present. 



Briefly, the law, which affects both wholesale and 

 retail dealers in fresh and frozen fish and also, in a less 

 degree, dealers in salt fish, provides the following salient 

 points: 



All fresh food fish must be divided into three grades 

 before being offered for sale or placed in cold storage. 

 Naturally the first is to be known as "new fish," while 

 the term "offshore fish" will designate the second grade 

 fish. Under the law "fish of the third grade shall in- 

 clude all fish which are suitable for splitting or salting, 

 but are not suitable for sale as fresh fish;" and also, fish 

 of the third grade cannot be sold at retail for food. 



Under the law only fish of the first two grades may be 

 placed in cold storage, or offered or exposed for sale at 

 retail for food. 



MUST SELL UNDER TRUTHFUL NAMES 



The law provides for the designations of fish of the 

 various grades, and also, that only truthful terms shall 

 be used in the designation of the fish offered to the con- 

 sumer. For the purpose of enforcing the law, regula- 

 tions have been decided upon whereby with the assistance 

 of a system of invoices and receipts the exact grade and 

 quality of the fish can be truthfully represented and traced 

 way down the list from wholesaler and commission men 

 through the retailer to the buying public. This is one 

 of the prominent features of the regulations under which 

 the act will be enforced. 



The dealer has the choice of marking his fish by signs 

 or by truthfully describing it by word of mouth. He 

 must do either one or both of these things. The sections 



