14 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
of fish and move them rapidly up and down in the water in order to remove the dirt 
and loose scales from the fish and make them look bright. Many scales come off, 
and the shores of the harbor are lined with them after a day’s fishing. The water 
about the shores is usually quite foul, and the rinsing of the fish therein seems very 
objectionable. 
The fish are then taken by the fisherman to the agent of the cannery to which 
the cargo has previously been sold, and the contents of each basket are poured into a 
fiat box or basket. If a cannery is conveniently located the fishermen may carry the 
fish directly thereto; but as a rule the fish are taken to the factory in wagons, the 
trays being carefully packed so that no pressure comes on the fish. From the time 
the sardines are first caught everything that will bruise, mash, or otherwise impair 
the soundness of the fish is carefully avoided. The method of discharging the catch 
in small lots insures the arrival of the fish at the cannery in similar quantities and 
obviates the formation of large piles in the cutting room, as the cutters are in ample 
numbers promptly to dispose of the fish as brought in. 
v PRICES RECEIVED FOR SARDINES, ETC. 
The prices received by the fishermen are regulated by the factory operators, 
and depend on the supply, the size and quality of the fish, the weather, and other 
considerations. The fish of each boat are virtually sold at auction, only there is as a 
rule no counter bidding, the prices offered by one or two factories being adopted by 
the others and accepted by the fishermen. If a fisherman is not satisfied with the 
price offered by one factory, he is at liberty to seek a higher price elsewhere. Some 
boats always sell their catch to the same factory, and all of them, to a greater or less 
extent, deal with particular factories. 
The maximum price which factory operators can profitably pay for sardines is 
25 francs ($5) per 1,000 fish. The dealers in fresh sardines can pay as much as 35 
francs per 1,000. At times the demand for sardines to be sold fresh (cm vert) tends 
to keep up the prices; but this use is limited and does not interfere greatly with the 
cannery demands. 
The following are the average prices for sardines at Concarneau in 1900, and 
about the same prices prevailed in other parts of the coast: 
Size of nets in which caught. 
Price per 
1,000 Ash. 
Francs. 
17 to 18 
7 to 9 
21 to 5 
Women represent the factories as purchasing agents. They are given consider- 
able discretion by their employers and are very sharp in making bargains. The 
price agreed on is for the entire cargo. Payments are not made in money, but in 
tokens or tickets which are redeemed weekly. As the fishermen deliver their fish, 
two baskets full at a time, to the agents of the canneries, they receive a metal tag' or 
token with the name of the buyer on it. When all the fish are landed the metal 
