November 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



flow conditions. Such information will be 

 used by Federal and State agencies for engi- 

 neering applications, especially the monitor- 

 ing and control of pollution in the Missouri 

 River. 



The red dye "time -of -travel" study was 

 carried out in cooperation with the Corps of 

 Engineers, Weather Bureau, and State agen- 

 cies in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, 

 and South Dakota. 



More than a ton of the red dye, known as 

 Rhodamine BA, was poured into the Missouri 

 at 10 sites stretching from Yankton, South 

 Dakota, to Washington, Missouri. 



The project calls for samples to be taken 

 around the clock at 24 sites in the 800 -mile 

 reach. In December, 1,460 pounds of dye 

 will be injected into the river when its flow 

 rate is reduced. 



Shrimp Imports Hit New High 



The United States imported record amounts 

 of shrimp during the first six months of 1966. 

 Mexico was by far the primary supplier. 



Imports of all shrimp (fresh, frozen, can- 

 ned, and dried) from all countries were 79.1 

 million pounds, compared with 78.6 million 

 pounds for first -half 1965. 



Shrimp is second only to tuna in per -cap- 

 ita consumption in the United States. The 

 average person ate about 1.25 pounds of 

 shrimp last year. Slightly over half the sup- 

 ply is imported. 



Record Season for Bluefin Tuna 



Bluefin tuna are being captured in record 

 numbers on the West Coast, 



By mid -September, according to BCF 

 estimates, the 1966 total landings and catch- 

 es still at sea- -nearly 17,000 short tons--had 

 already exceeded the entire previous record 

 year of 1962 by about 1,000 tons. Totalblue- 

 fin landings for 1966 should fall between 

 17,250 and 17,500 tons. 



There are several reasons for the banner 

 season: Mass conversion of high-seas bait- 

 boats to purse-seine fishing in 1960-1961 

 made possible increased catches of eastern 

 Pacific bluefin tuna. New large -capacity ves- 

 sels have expanded the fishery range 300 to 

 500 miles southward and farther offshore. 

 Favorable weather in May and June this year 

 contributed to a June catch of over 5,000 tons 

 south of Punta Eugenia, Baja California, Mex- 

 ico. Average 1945 to 1965 production there 

 for the month was only 605 tons. 



Wholesale Prices and Indexes for 

 Edible Fish and Shellfish, 

 September 1966 



Prices for some fresh finfish items rose 

 from August to September 1966. The whole- 

 sale index for edible fishery products (fresh, 

 frozen, and canned) was 131.4 percent of the 

 1957-59 average, up 1.5 percent. Compared 

 with September 1965, the overall index had 

 increased 13.1 percent because of higher 

 prices for nearly all items. Prices were 

 substantially higher than a year earlier for 

 many fresh and frozen fishery products and 

 all canned fish products. 



The subgroup index for drawn, dressed, 

 or whole finfish went up 2,9 percent from Au- 

 gust to September. Prices were higher at 

 Chicago for Lake Superior fresh whitefish 

 (12.2 percent) because of good demand during 

 the Jewish Holidays; Boston prices for ex- 

 vessel large haddock were up 4.2 percent. 

 At New York City, prices for fresh salmon 

 were up 2.6 percent; for Great Lakes round 

 yellow pike, they dropped 1.7 percent from 

 August; they remained unchanged for west- 

 ern fresh and frozen halibut. Compared with 

 September 1965, this September's index was 

 down only slightly. Prices were sharply higher 

 than in September 1965 for whitefish (43.5 per- 

 cent) and slightly higher for salmon (6.6 per- 

 cent); lower prices for the subgroups remaining 

 items produced were responsible for the 0.1 - 

 percent index drop from September 1965. 



Higher Prices for Shucked Oysters 



Higher prices from August to September 

 for standard shucked oysters (wholesale 

 price up $1 a gallon) at Norfolk produced 5.1- 



