132 



CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME. 



COMMERCIAL FISHERY NOTES. 



N. B. ScoFiELD, Editor. 



CHICAGO, MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. 

 PAUL AS FRESH FISH MARKETS. 



The United States Bureau of Fisheries 

 has just issued an economic circular en- 

 titled "Trade in Fresh and Frozen Fish- 

 ery Products and Related Marlsetiug Con- 

 siderations in Chicago, Illinois," and an- 

 other with a similar title but for the twin 

 cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul. These 

 circulars are by L. F. Hopkinson, agent 

 of the bureau. The reports are quite 

 complete and of great interest to all who 

 may be interested in the marketing of 

 fresh and frozen fish. 



Chicago gets its fresh fish supply prin- 

 cipally from Canada, the Great Lakes and 

 the north Pacific Coast. A million and 

 a quarter pounds of ciscoes, chubs and 

 yellow perch were landed by Chicago 

 commercial fishermen fishing in Lake 

 Michigan during the last fiscal year. 

 With the exception of halibut and salmon 

 from the Pacific Coast and shucked 

 oysters from the Atlantic Coast, the con- 

 sumers prefer fresh water varieties. 

 Seventy per cent of the fish trade is 

 confined to eleven species, as follows : 

 Buffalo-fish, carp, ciscoes, halibut, lake 

 trout, pike or "jacks," salmon, whitefish, 

 yellow-perch, yellow-pike and shucked 

 oysters. 



It is interesting to note that the two 

 principal varieties consumed are the carp 

 and a fish closely related to it, the buf- 

 falo-fish. The buffalo-fish come from 

 Minnesota, Illinois River, Mississippi 

 River and other nearby rivers, and ai-e 

 shipped to market "in the round" in 100- 

 to 150-pound boxes and in barrels of 200 

 pounds each. The carp come from the 

 same source and from the Great Lakes. 

 They are shipped both "in the round" and 

 dressed, in boxes and barrels. Shad are 

 popular during season, but the supply, 

 coming from Baltimore, Md., New York, 

 N. Y., Florida and California, is limited. 



Fish arrive in Chicago mostly in car- 

 load lots, both fresh and frozen. During 

 the year ending July 31, 1921, a total of 

 52G carloads was received from Canada, 

 as against 272 from the United States. 

 Dui-ing the same year a total of 19,643,- 

 047 pounds of frozen fish was placed in 

 Chicago public cold-storage warehouses, 

 while 20,104,072 pounds wore withdrawn 

 during the same period, there being a 

 little over 7,000,000 pounds held over 

 from the previous fiscal year. 



The Bureau of Fisheries has also 

 issued economic circulars setting forth 

 the results of similar fish-market surveys 

 in the cities of Louisville, Ky., and Pitts- 

 burg, Pa. 



COLD STORAGE FISH. 



Apparently there is very little prejudice 

 in Chicago against cold storage fish, and 

 that is as it should be, for it has been 

 shown by investigations of federal bu- 

 reaus that if fish are frozen soon after 

 landing them from the fishing boats they 

 can be kept frozen for several months in 

 cold storage houses and still reach the 

 consumer in better condi^Jon than if 

 delivered direct without freezing. 



Very nearly all kinds of fish have their 

 seasons of greatest abundance followed 

 by a period of scarcity. To freeze the 

 fish at times when they are abundant and 

 the markets oversupplied, and cari-y them 

 over into the period of scarcity, increases 

 their consumption and prevents the dump- 

 ing of fish which so often happens on 

 account of an oversupply of the market. 

 The fishermen also would get a more 

 nearly just reward for their labor and the 

 public would get its fish at a less price. 



The greatest need in the fresh fish 

 industry in California is undoubtedly bet- 

 ter freezing and cold storage facilities at 

 the fishing centers. Such plants are be- 

 ing installed very slowly. What is needed 

 to hasten the movement is to convince 

 the public that the fish reach them in 

 better condition if frozen immediately 

 after catching. It will be necessary, how- 

 ever, to freeze the fish immediately after 

 catching, and not after a few days' wait- 

 ing to find a market, as it must be 

 admitted there is a temptation to do. 



CALIFORNIA SARDINES CONSIDERED 

 HERRING BY CHILEAN CUSTOMS 

 OFFICIALS. 



The Fish and Game Commission's 

 attention has been called to the fact that 

 the customs authorities of Chile have ruled 

 that California "pound oval" sardines are 

 herring, and propose to collect the .$1.20 

 per kilo herring rate on importations from 

 California, instead of the 30 cents per 

 kilo sardine rate to which our canners 

 claim they are entitled. The higher her- 

 riug rate of .$1.20 per kilo, California 

 canners say, will make shipment of our 

 sardines to Chile impossible. 



