rb
cH&fyaf/. /a^ h
NATIONAL RECOVERY ADMINISTRATION
DIVISION OF REVIEW
EVIDENCE STUDY
NO. 13
OF
THE FISHERY INDUSTRY
Prepared by
JOHN R. ARNOLD
January, 1936
THE EVIDENCE STUDY SERIES
The EVIDENCE STUDIES were originally planned as a means of gathering evidence
"bearing -upon various legal issues which arose under the National Industrial Re-
covery Act.
These studies have value quite aside, from the use for which they were origi-
nally intended. Accordingly, they are now made available for confidential use
within the Division of Review, and for inclusion in Code Histories.
The full list of the Evidence Studies is as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
5.
7.
3.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
Automobile Manufacturing Ind. 23.
Boot and Shoe Mfg. Ind. 24.
Bottled Soft Drink Ind. 25.
Builders' Supplies Ind. 26.
Chemical Mfg. Ind. 27.
Cigar Mfg. Industry 28.
Construction Industry 29.
Cotton Garment Industry 30.
Dress Mfg. Ind. 31.
Electrical Contracting Ind. 32.
Electrical Mfg. Ind. 33.
Fab. Metal Prod. Mfg., etc. 34.
Fishery Industry 35.
Furniture Mfg. Ind. 36.
General Contractors Ind. 37.
Graphic Arts Ind. 38.
Gray Iron foundry Ind. 39.
Hosiery Ind. 40.
Infant's & Children's Wear Ind. 41.
Iron and Steel Ind. 42.
Leather 43.
Lumber & Timber prod. Ind.
Mason Contractors Industry
Men's Clothing Industry
Motion picture Industry
Motor Bus Mfg. Industry (Dropped)
Needlework Ind. of Puerto Rico
Painting & Paperhanging & Decorating
photo Engraving Industry
Plumbing Contracting Industry
Retail Food (See No. 42)
Retail Lumber Industry
Retail Solid Fuel (Dropped)
Retail Trade Industry
Rubber Mfg. Ind.
Rubber Tire Mfg. Ind.
Silk Textile Ind.
Structural Clay products Ind.
Throwing Industry
Trucking Industry
Waste Materials Ind.
Wholesale & Retail Food Ind. (See No.
Wholesale Fresh Fruit & Veg.
In addition to the studies brought to completion, certain materials have bee
assembled for other industries. These MATERIALS are included in the series and
are also made available for confidential use within the Division of Review and fc
inclusion in Code Histories, as follows:
44. Wool Textile Industry
45. Automotive Parts & Equip
46. Baking Industry
47. Canning Industry
48. Coat and Suit Ind.
49. Household Goods & Storage, etc.(Droppec
Ind. 50. Motor Vehicle Retailing Trade Ind.
51. Retail Tire & Battery Trade Ind.
52. Ship & Boat Bldg. & Repairing Ind.
53. Wholesaling or Distributing Trade
L. C. Marshall
Director, Division of Review
CONTENTS
Page
Foreword 1
CHAPTER I - NATURE OF THE INDUSTRY 2
Number of Establishments 3
Primary Producing Division 3
Processing and Wholesaling Division 3
Number of Members 6
Primary Producing Division 6
Processing and Wholesaling Division 6
Capital Investment 6
Primary Producing Division 6
Processing and Wholesaling Division 6
Volume and Value of Production 6
Primary Producing Division 6
Processing and Wholesaling Division 8
Competitive Industries
Primary Producing Division 8
Processing and Wholesaling Division 8
Principal Products of Fishery Industry
Used by Other Industries 8
CHAPTER II - LABOH STATISTICS 10
Number of Employees 10
Primary Producing Division 10
Processing and Wholesaling Division 10
Annual Wage s 10
Primary Producing Division 10
Processing and Wholesaling Division 10
Average Hourly Wage Rate 14
Primary Producing Division 14
Processing and Wholesaling Division 14
Average Hours Worked per Weei: 14
Primary Producing Division 14
Processing and Wholesaling Division 14
Average Weeks Worked per Year 14
Primary Producing Division 14
Processing and Wholesaling Division 14
Child Labor 14
Primary Producing Division 14
Processing and Wholesaling Division 15
CHAPTER III - MATERIALS - RAW AHD SEMI-PROCESSED 17
Principal Materials Used by the Industry 17
Primary Producing Division 17
Processing and Wholesaling Division 17
Expenditures for Materials 17
Processing and Wholesaling Division 17
Source of Materials 17
Processing and Wholesaling Division 17
9443 -i-
CONTENTS (Cont'd)
Page
E:icpenditures for Machinery and Equipment 19
Primary Producing Division 19
Processing and Wholesaling Division 19
Percentage of Value of Product Represented
"by Cost of Materials 19
Processing and Wholesaling Division 19
CHAPTER IV - PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION 20
Volume and Value of Production "by States 20
Primary Producing Division 20
Processing and Wholesaling Division 20
Interstate Shipments of Fishery Products 20
Sales to Wholesalers 23
Primary Producing Division 23
Processing and Wholesaling Division 23
Number of Wholesale and Retail Establish-
ments Handling Products of the Industry 23
Wholesale 23
Retail 23
E:qiorts of Fishery Products 23
Advertising 25
Primary Producing Division 25
Processing and Wholesaling Division 25
Shifts in Centers of Production 25
Productive Capacity 25
Primary Producing Division 25
Processing and Wholesaling Division 25
Limit of Natural Supply of Pish 25
CHAPTER V - TRADE PRACTICES 26
Unfair Trade Practices Prevalent Prior to
the Code 26
Primary Producing Division 26
Processing and Wholesaling Division 26
Unfair Trade Practices IIov; Prevalent 27
CHAPTER VI - GENERAL INEORUATIOIT 28
Early Developments in the Industry 28
Recent Developments 28
Nature of the Operations of the Industry 29
Primary Producing Division 29
Processing and Wholesaling Division 29
Trade Associations 29
Primary Producing Division 29
Processing and Wholesaling Division 29
Relationship Detueen Lahor and Management 30
Primary Producing Division 30
Processing and Wholesaling Division 30
Gross and Net Income 30
Primary Producing Division 30
Processing and Wholesaling Division 30
9443
-li-
CONTEKTS (Cont'd)
Page
Effect of the Code on the Industry 31
Tro.de Marks 31
Processing and Wholesaling Division 31
Effect of Imports on the Industry 31
Primary Producing Division 31
Processing and Wholesaling Division 31
APPENDIX 32
9443
-in-
TABLES
Page
TABLE I - Number of Fishing Vessels and Boats,
by 10 Principal States and Alaska 4
TABLE II - Number of Pish Processing and Whole-
sale Establishments, by 10 Principal
States and Alaska 5
TABLE III - Quantity and Value of the Fishery
Catch, by 12 Important Species 7
TABLE IV - Volume and Value of Fishery products
Processed in the United States and
Alaska, by Type of Product 9
TABLE V - Number of Fishermen, by 10 Principal
States and Alaska U
TABLE VI - Number of Persons Engaged in .Fishery
Processing and Wholesale Establish-
ments, by 10 Principal States and
Alaska 12
TABLE VII - Annual Salaries and Wages Paid in
Fishery Processing and Wholesale Es-
tablishments, by 10 Principal States
and Alaska 13
TABLE VIII - Pre-Code Weekly Hours of Labor in
Typical Fishery Preparing and Whole-
saling Subdivisions 16
TABLE IX - Volume and Value of General Imports
of Fishery Products, by Kind of
Product 18
TABLE X - Volume and Value of Fish Catch, by
10 Principal States and Alaska 21
TABLE XI - Value of Processed Fishery Products,
by 10 Principal States and Alaska 22
TABLE XII - Volume and Value of Exports of Fishery
Products, by Kind of Product 24
9443 ~iv-
-1-
FISHEEY INDUSTRY
Foreword
The Industry to which the UEA Fishery Code applied differed consider-
ably in scope from the Fishery Industry as commonly understood. It not only
covered the primary production or catching of fish and shellfish — the
fisheries in" the ordinary sense — hut it also, in its original form, in- _
eluded all processing of" fishery products and the specialized wholesale traces
that distribute the latter when fresh or frozen.
The salmon, tuna, oyster, shrimp and clam products canning industries,
and the less important urocessors of fish oils and oyster shells, petitioned
out of the jurisdiction' of this master coae. The data presented in this
report, however, apply, for the most part, to the Industry in the original
and broader sense," as it was not practicable to eliminate those relating
to the excluded tranches.
Unless otherwise stated, the data in the report relate to the Continen-
tal United States and Alaska. The Fishery Coae also applied to Puerto Rico
and Hawaii; hut the absence of figures for the two latter territories does
not affect the picture materially.
To facilitate the presentation, the Industry has been divided into two
main parts — the Primary Producing Division and the Processing arid TThole-
saling Division. Most of the data have been taken from the annual bulletins
of the Bureau of Fisheries, entitled, Fishery Industries of the Umtea States.
Other sources are referred to also, however, and the author has supplied
some estimates, with indications of the manner in which they were made.
Full explanations would have encumbered the study unnecessarily.
9443
FISHERY INDUSTRY
Chapter I
Nature of the Industry
The Fishery Industry was defined in the Code of Fair Competition as
follows:
"The term 'fishery industry1 or 'industry' includes:
The catching or taking from the water -
The cultivating -
The farming and other artificial propagation (except the propaga-
tion of goldfish and tro-oical fish) -
The processing -
The wholesaling, if, hut only if the handler or distributor has
also done the processing -
of fish and all other commercial products of aquatic life in hoth salt
and fresh water, as carried on in the several States, the District of
Columbia, the several Territories of the United States, the insular
possessions or other places under the jurisdiction of the United States;
or on United States vessels, wherever the actual taking or processing
of such products of the industry by said vessels takes place. The
term 'fishery industry' or 'industry' includes also commission merchants
trading in products of the industry.
"The term 'x>rocessing' means the packing in ice of, filleting of,
cutting of, freezing of, salting of, smoking of, drying of, canning of,
extracting oil from, manufacturing meal or fertilizer from, products of
the industry; ot* otherwise manipulating products of the industry: Pro-
vided However, that the term 'processing' shall not include the refining
of oils from products of the industry; the manufacture of mixed feeds
or mixed fertilizer from products of the industry; or the manufacture
of products obtained from shells, fish scales, sponges, sounds, skins,
hides, bones, aquatic plants, ambergris, cuttlefish bone, and whalebone.
"The terms 'wholesale' and 'wholesaling' mean the handling or dis-
tributing, except by a carrier for hire, of products of the industry
to distributors or to retail outlets, including institutions, hotels,
restaurants, and other public eating -places, whether or not such retail
outlets are actually or legally controlled by the member of the indus-
try performing such handling or distributing."
This definition refers to many sub-divisions of the Fishery Industry, 1/
but for the purposes of this report it was felt sufficient to take account
of the two broad divisions mentioned in the Foreword: (l) the Primary Pro-
ducing Division, or that part of the Industry that catches the fish and
shellfish; and (2) the Processing and Wholesaling Division, or the part
that prepares the catch for the market and distributes it to retailers, or
sometimes direct to consumers.
1/ A complete list of divisions and sub-divisions of the Industry is given
in the Appendix.
9443
Number of Establishments
Primary Producing Division. ~ In the Primary Producing Division of the
Fishery Industry the nearest equivalent of an "establishment" is a vessel
or boat. In this connection a vessel, which is defined by the Bureau of
Fisheries as a craft having a capacity of five net tons or more, may be con-
sidered a relatively large establishment; a boat, being defined as a craft
of less than five tons, is a small establishment. The number of fishing
vessels and boats in the United States and Alaska in recent years, with
separate figures for ten principal states and for Alaska, are shown in
Table I.
Processing and "Jholespling Division. - The number of processing and
wholesaling estaolishments in operation in the United States and Alaska in
recent years, as reported by the Bureau of Fisheries, is given in Table II,
with a breakdown by ten principal states and Alaska. For 1929 the number of
establishments engaged primarily in processing and the number engaged
primarily in wholesaling are shown separately. This is the only recent 3rear
for which such separate figures are available.
The processing establishments covered by Table II include a considerable
number which did not operate under the Fishery Code proper. This applies to
the canning of salmon, tuna, clam products, oysters, and shrimp, the crush-
ing of oyster shells, and the orocessing of fish oil.
9443
-4-
TAELE I
dumber of Fishing Vessels—' and Boats, £/
by 10 Principal States and Alaska
Pi.- L„
1929
1931
1933
c/ 1934 d/
State
JX
Vessels
Boats
Vessels
Boats
Vessels
Boats Vessels
Total, U.S. and
4,367
79,065
4,181
72,482
3,735
68,563
4,000
Alaska
California
443
1,927
426
1,822
385
99^/
64®/
1,720
5,274§./
l,57Cfi/
401
Florida
114
6,615
119
5,698
103
Louisiana
103
2 , 305
89
2,002
Ll
Maine
79
5S823
78
3,900
74
3,919
Ll
Maryland
267
5,776
194
6,627
154
5,596
160
Massachusetts
438
3,815
418
4,272
378
4,044
394
New Jersey
366
2,162
335
1,952
211
1,857
£]
Oregon
44
2,484
27
2,136
33
O 1 t-~i£Z/J
Ll
Virginia
139
70639
126
7,548
133
7,935
139
Washington
312
3,248
487
2,791
511
2,572
533
Alaska
69C
5,253
582
4,960
507
4,218
636
Total, 10 States
and Alaska
2,995
47,047
2,881
43,708
2,549
40,925
•— —
Total, Other
1,372
32,018
1,300
28,774
1,186
27,638
— .
States
Sources: Bureau o:
t" Fishei
is defi
■ies, Fis
hery Industries of
the United States*
a/ A vessel
ned by the Bureau of Fishe
rie3 as
a craft having
a capaci
ty of fi
ve net tons or more.
b_/ A boat is define
id by the
Bureau
of Fisheries as a
craft hav:
ing a
capacity
of less
i than five net t
ons*
c/ Included
in the
1933 tot
al are 1932 figures for the South Atlantic
sJ
LI
and Gulf and the Great Lakes areas, and 1931 figures for the
Mississippi River area*
The number of vessels in 1934 is estimated by the author of this
report. It is not practicable to estimate the number of boats*
1932 figures.
Not available.
9443
TABLE II
Pumber of Fish Processing and Wholesale Establishments,
by 10 Principal States and Alaska
"1929 a/
19 SI
1935 b/
State
Total, Processing
and Wholesale Pro~ "lThole-
cessing sale
Number Per Cent
of Total
Processing and Processing and
Wholesale Wholesale
number Per C en \ Number I
of Total
of Tot;
Total, U. S. and
Alaska 2,922
100 . 0
924 1,998 2,992 100.0 2,831 100. C
California
125
4.3
64
61
147
4.9
145
5.1
Florida
267
9.1
21
246
250
8.4
sJt
Louisiana
89
3.1
56
33
90
3.0
c7
Maine
217
7.4
126
91
157 d/
5.2
131
§J
4.6
Maryland
315
10,8
17
298
342
11.4
308
10.9
Mas s achu setts
179
6.1
36
143
204
6.8
165
5.8
New Jersey
97
3,3
15
82
109
3.6
124
4.4
Oregon
49
1.7
29
20
56
1.9
57
2.0
Virginia
193
6. 5
41
152
222
7.4
194
6.9
Washington
115
3.9
76
39
113
3.8
111
3.9
Alaska 262 S.O 262
Total, 10 States
and Alaska 1,908 65.3 743
Total, Other
States 1,014 34.7 181
fi/
226
1,165 1,916
833 1,076
7.6
64.0
36.0
224
7.9
Source!
bJ
£,'
4/
2/
Bureau of Fisheries, Fishery Industries of the United States.
Included in the 1929 total are 1922 figures for the Mississippi River
area.
Included in the 1933 total are 1931 figures for the South Atlantic
and Gulf, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River areas.
Not .available.
Includes New Hampshire.
Wholesaling as a separate activity in Alaska is negligible.
9443
Number of Members
Primary Producing Division. - The number of members in the Primary Pro-
ducing Division has never been accurately determined. Most proprietors of
vessels and boats own and operate one craft; but there are some who ov/n and
operate several, the maximum number under one ownership being about Lj. It is
estimated by the author that the number of members is approximately 90 -oer
cent of the number of fishing craft. Aoplying this to the data in Table I,
the number of members would be approximately 75,000 in 1929, 69,000 in 1931,
and 65,000 in 1953. No estimate is available for 1934.
Processing and Whole saline Division. - In the Processing and 7/hole salin;;
Division there are only a fen? cases of multi-olant operation, so that the
number of members may be taken to be approximately the same as the number of
establishments reported by the Bureau of Fisheries (see Table II), with the
qualification, mentioned heretofore, that the canning of several species of
fish and shellfish, the crushing of oyster shells, and the processing of fish
oil were not covered by the Fishery Code proper. It has not been determined
how many establishments were engaged in the above-mentioned activities.
Capital Investment
Primary Producing Division. - The caoital value of fishing vessels alone
in recent years has been estimated by the author a.t approximately $22,150,000,
and the gear used in these vessels at approximately $3,750,000. Data on the
investment in boats are not available.
Processing and Wholesalin, ■ Division. - Comprehensive data on the capital
invested in processing and wholesale establishments are not available.
Volume pad Value of Production
Primary Producing Division. - The volume and value of production in the
Primary Producing Division is measured by the number of pounds and the sales
value of the fish and shellfish caught. Figures for this quantity and value
for recent years, "by the principal species, are given in Table III. These
data cover the United States and Alaska.
9443
TABLE III
Quantity and Vplue of the Fishery Catch,
"by 12 Important Species
(in thousands of pounds and thousands of dollars)
1929 1931 1933
Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value
Total, All Species 3,567,277 123,054 2,657,317 77,344 2,908,004a/ 60,113a/
Total, 12 Species 2,573,741 80,196 1,897,530 48,515 2,119,511a/ 39,164a.
Salmon
584,539
20,464
601,095
12,406
574,066
12,172
Pilchard (California
Sardine)
651,802
3,583
300,204
1,185
509,805
1,505
Haddock
261,653
9,142
182,561
5,430
168,613
3,894
Herring
283,356
2,480
187,043
1,537
202,234
1,110
Oysters
152,143
17,074
101 , 036
10,299
70,808]b/
5,7151
Shrimp
113,263
4,575
99,432
2,850
102,633b/
1,9191
Cod
116,652
3,541
112,303
2,715
123,998
2,231
Mackerel
122,094
3,277
61,645
2,023
111,152
1,321
Flounders
75,329
3,479
66,750
2,554
60,716
2,103
Tuna
75,524
3,938
60,059
2,726
71,026
2,977
Halibut
55,297
6,413
41,701
2,897
42,639
2,537
Crabs
82,089
2,225
83,701
1,843
81,821
1,630
Source; Sureau of Fi
sheries, Fisher?/- Indus
tries of
the United States.
a/ Estimated in part by the author.
b/ Estimated by the author.
9443
-8-
Processing and ">7holesalin°; Eivision. - The volume and value of
fishery Droducts processed in the United States and Alaska in recent years
are given in Table IV, with a breakdown by four principal tyoes of
products. These figures duplicate to a considerable extent those for
volume and value for the Primary Producing Division in Table III, That
is, a considerable portion of the value of the "irocessed products is the
cost to the processor of fish or shellfish included in the value of the
catch.
Competitive Industries
Primary Producing Division. - The Fishery Industry* s chief competitor
is the meat-packing industry,, There is evidence, not yet completely
analyzed, which indicates that the prices for fresh and frozen fish obtain-
ed by fishermen are rigidly governed by the current prices of meat*
Processing and Wholesaling Eivision. - The evidence just mentioned
seems to indicate that the prices received for non-perishable processed
fishery products are also governed by current prices of meat, but that the
relationship is not as close as in the case of fresh and frozen fish.
Principal Products of Fishery Industry Used by Other Industries
The greater part of the products of the Fishery Industry, including
both the fresh and frozen fish and shellfish produced by the Primary
Producing Eivision and the products of the Processing and Vftiolesaling
Division, enter directly into distribution channels, without further
processing by other industries. However, a large part of the canning of
fish and shellfish which is done by the industry as defined by the Bureau
of Fisheries was done outside the Fishery Industry as organized under the
Code.
By-products of the Fishery Industry are taken and processed by the
following industries, all of which, with the exception of the Ocean Pearl
Button Industry, had separate codes.
Oyster Shell Crushers Industry
Processed or defined Fish Oil Industry
Fresh Water Pearl Button Manufacturing Industry
Ocean Pearl Button Manufacturing Industry
Feed Manufacturing Industry
Fertilizer Industry
Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Manufacturing Industry
Soap and Glycerine Manufacturing Industry
Pharmaceutical and Biological Industry
9443
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Chapter II
LABOR STATISTICS
Number of Employees
Primary Producing Division. - In a discussion of employment in the
Primary Producing Division, the term "employee" must be used in a qualified
sense, because relatively few fishermen work for a specified wage rate.
The majority of them are compensated by shares in the money received for
the catch in which they have participated. Moreover, the proportion of
proprietors among fishermen is relatively high — 60 per cent of the total
by the author's estimate; and while these men participate in the distribution
of shares, they can not be classified as wage earners in the ordinary sense.
The number of fishermen, including proprietors, in the United States and
Alaska in recent years is given in Table V, with separate figures for ten
principal states and Alaska. The number sho':m in this table represents the
total engaged during the year; averages for the year or for the season are
not available,,
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - It has not been possible to get
data on the number of employees in processing and wholesale establishments
which are strictly applicable to the Industry as it operated under the Fish-
er-- Code proper. The figures reported by the Bureau of Fisheries include em-
ployees in establishments processing salmon, tuna, shrimp, etc., which were
outside the Code. The figures in Table VI have the further limitations that
they include small proportions of -oroprietors, and that both the 1929 and the
1933 data are incomplete. There was certainly not the increase in the number
of persons engaged in this Division from 1929 to 1931 that appears on the face
of these figures, though the actual decline was probably moderate. No data
exist for 1934.
Annual TTages
Primary Producing Division. - The only available data on wages paid
fishermen are those obtained in a study of the vessel fisheries, made by the
Fisheries Unit of the Research and Planning Division, NEA. These indicate
that total earnings of fishermen in this branch of the Primary Producing
Division in the United States and Alaska amounted to $21,153,000 in 1929,
$9,476,0C0 in 193*3, and $12,826,000 in 1934.
The study also shows that only about 22 per cent of the total number
of employees work on vessels. Data on earnings of fishermen in the boat
and shore fisheries are not available.
processing and Wholesaling Division. - Data on the total annual salaries
and wages.paid in processing and wholesaling establishments in the United
States and Alaska in the years 1929, 1931 and 1933 are shown in Table VII,
with a breakdown by 10 principal states and Alaska. Figures for 1934 are
not yet available. These data include wages paid in fish and shellfish proces-
sing establishments that operated outside the Fishery Code proper, and they
are also subject to the other limitations mentioned in connection with Table
VI. A segregation of the figures for establishments which are primarily
processing and for those which are primarily wholesale is shown for 1929,
but is not available for the two later years.
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Average Hourly Wage Rate
Primary Producing Division. - Because of the nature of their work,
fishermen are practically never remunerated on an hourly wage "basis.
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - Data on the average hourly
wage rate oaid workers in -orocessing and wholesale establishments are not
available. It is believed, furthermore, that if it were possible to com-
pute such an average it would not be representative of the Division as a
whole, because only a small number are paid on an hourly basis.
Average Hours Worked per Week
Primary Producing Division. - Fishermen's working hours are very
irregular, being governed by such changeable factors as climatic and bio-
logical conditions. Mo record of the hours is ever kept and no regulation
was attempted under the Code.
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - Data on the average hours -orked
per week in many of the processing and wholesale sub-divisions were collect-
ed by the Research and Planning Division of ERA. through special surveys and
from testimony at nublic hearings. These data, which apoly to pre-code
conditiens, are shown in Table VIII, by sub-divisions of the Processing and
Wholesaling Division.
Average Weeks Worked per Year
Primary Producing Division. - Data collected in the study of the earn-
ings of fishermen in the vessel fisheries, previously referred to, indicate
that crews on vessels whowere paid on a time basis worked an average of 26
weeks during 1933. The average for the Primary Producing Division as a whole
in that year was -orobably between 30 and 35 weeks. Since 1933 was a year
of severe depression in this Industry, however, the number of w eeks worked
has usually been greater. The normal average is probably about 40 weeks.
Processing and Wholesaling Division.: - The data of the Bureau of
Fisheries indicate that employees in -orocessing and wholesale establish-
ments work, on an average-, 24 or 25 weeks a year. This indicates the ten-
dency to extreme seasonality in this oart of the Industry. In establish-
ments which are engaged primarily in wholesaling, however, a force of workers
is normally employed throughout the year.
Child Labor
Primary Producing Division. - The number of workers under 16 years of
age in the Primary Producing Division is not known. The only instances,
however, are where owners of fishing craft take their young sons out to
assist in the work. The danger involved may at times be considerable, but
the conditions are quite different from those ordinarily associated with
child labor.
9443
-15-
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - Figures on child labor in
processing and wholesale establishments are also lacking. The number
of children under 16 years of ;ge is believed to be small, however, as
the work is in general too heavy and requires too much skill to make their
employment practicable.
9443
-16-
TABLS VIII
Pre-Code Weekly Hours of Lnbor in Tyoical Fishery
Preparing and Wholesaling Subdivisions,
First Half of 1933
Subdivision
Average Hours per Week
Office
Employees
Plant
Enrol oyees
Preparing and Wholesaling Trades
General!
Ner/ England
Middle Atlantic
Mi dues t
Southeast
Gulf South
North, 'est and Alaska
Southwest
Specialized:
Oyster
Shuckers
Others
Blue Crab
Lobster
Sponge
Alaska Herring
Secondary Processing Industries
Oyster Shell Crushing
Processed or Refined Pish Oils
39.9
45,9
a/
48.0
a/
43.0
a/
42.6
52.0
46.0
a/
43.0
a/
45.2
46.6
56.0
57.5
60.0
49.1
55.0
22.2 b/
48.9
45.0
50.5
54.0
4S.1
42.0
52.0
Sources Questionnaire data furnished "by establishments and testimony
of industry representatives at Code he -rings, contained in
MA, Division of Research and Planning, reports prepared "by
John R. Arnold.
a/
Not available; number of office employees small.
b/ Estimated on the basis of data for shuckers' piece v;ork in
17 typical establishments.
9443
-17-
Chapter III
LiATERIALS - RAW AND SEI.II -PROCESSED
Principal Materials Used by the Industry
Primary Producing Division. - As the function of the Primary Producing
Division is the catching of fish, it uses no raw materials in the production
of a finished product. Ice and containers, however, are used on a large
scale.
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - In the Processing and Wholesal-
ing Division the principal materials used are; fresh fish and shellfish, tin
cans, ice, and containers (for snipping perishable products).
Expenditures for Materials
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - There are no detailed figures
to show the amount spent by the Processing and Wholesaling Division for its
principal materials individually. An indication of the total expenditure
on this account, however, may be obtained from the data of the Census of
Manuf e.ctures for fish canning and preserving establishments in the continent-
al United States. In 1929, 348 of these establishments reported the cost of
materials, containers, fuel and purchased electric energy as $53,239,911;
in 1931, 304 establishments gave the cost of the same items as $23,403,818;
while in 1933, 264 establishments reported $26,248,000. Establishments
whose products were valued at less than $5,000 for the year are not included
in these figures.
Source of Materials
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - Every state that has within
its borders or contiguous to it salt or fresh waters supporting usable
species of fish or shellfish is a source of raw material for the Processing
and Wholesaling Division of the Industry. The volume and the value of the
fish caught in ten principal states and Alaska are given in Table X in
Chapter IV; the volume and value of imported fishery products, which come ■
principally from Canada, are given in Table IX, below. All but a trifling
proportion of the volume of these products is handled by the processing
and Wholesaling Division at least once as raw or semi-processed material.
The processing industries alone utilize some 35 or 40 per cent of the totel
v o luifl e c augh t .
9443
-18-
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Expenditures for Machinery and Equipment
Primary Producing Division. - The machinery and equipment used in
the Primary Producing Division consist of marine engines and fishing gear,
such as nets, dredges, pots, traps, hooks, tongs, etc. There are no data
available on expenditures for these items. Host of this machinery and
equipment is made in the United States, "but there has "been a considerable
consumption of imported cordage for use in nets.
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - Ho data are available on
expenditures for equipment and machinery by the Processing and TJholesaling
Division.
Percentage of Value of Product Represented by Cost of Materials
Processing and TTholesaling Division. - Por the fish canning and
preserving establishments reporting in the Census of Manufactures, the cost
of materials, containers, fuel and purchased electric energy averaged 66
per cent of the value of products in the years 1929, 1931 and 1933. The
available data do not disclose the proportion of this percentage which is
accounted for by raw material and containers.
— on—
Chapter IV
P20DUCTIOE AND DISTRIBUTION
Volume and Value of production by States
primary producing Division. - Data on the volume and value of the etch
of fish and shellfish, which represents "production11 in the Primary Producing
Division, are given for recent years in Tahle X, by ten principal states raid
Alaska.
processing and Tgholesaling Division. - Data on the value of processed
fishery products, by ten principal states and Alaska, are given for 1929,
1931 and 1933 in Tahle XI. Volume figures can not "be shown "because of the
varying units of measurement. Data for 1934 are not yet available.
Interstate Shipments of Fishery products
It has not been possible to collect exact data on the volume or value of
products shipped outside the state of origin. However, an indication of the
extent of interstate shipments nay be had from the following estimates, 1/
compiled by the author, which refer to the shipments of both raw and
processed fish, by geographic regions.
1. Hew England. - From 70 to 80 per cent of the fish landed in
Hew England ports is shipped out of this region.
2. Hew York City. - Approximately 90 per cent of the fishery prod-
ucts handled by the processing and wholesale establishments in the Hew
York metropolitan area originate outside of Hew York State. About 15 or
20 -;>er cent of these products are reshipped to other states.
3. Philadelphia. - practically all the fishery products consumed
in the Philadelphia metropolitan area originate outside of Pennsylvania.
4. Baltimore. - About 50 per cent of the fishery products handled
in Baltimore originate outside of ..aryland.
5. Florida. - Approximately 80 per cent of the fishery products of
Florida, the chief producing state in the South Atlantic and Gulf area,,
is shipped out of the state. The proportion shipped out of the other
Southern coast states is smaller, but in all cases considerable.
6. hid-TTest . - AH the mid-western states except Ohio, Michigan,
Wisconsin and Minnesota draw the largest part of the fishery products
they consume from outside their own borders. Substantial proportions of
the fish landed at the ports of the Great Lakes are shipped out of the
states concerned.
7. California. - The greater part of the fishery catch of Califor-
nia is used in local processing establishments. About 80 or 90 per cent
of the products of these establishments, however, are shipped outside of
the state.
1/ percentages refer to volume.
—on ..
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TABLE XI
Value of Processed Fishery Products, "by 13 Principal
States and Alaska
(in thousands)
State
1929 a/
Amount
Per Cent
of Total
1931
1933 b/
Per Cent Per Cent
Amount of Tctal Amount of Totgl
Total, U. S. and
Alaska $138,175 100.0
$116,919 100.0 $107,384 100.0
California
30,981
22.4
16,978
14.5
18,394
17.1
Florida
1,866
1.3
1,177
1.0
1,296 c/
1.2
Louisiana
4,950
3.6
3,160
2.7
2,808 c/
2.6
Maine
9,293
6.7
4,379
a/
3.7
3,754
3.5
Maryland
1,084
.8
4,147
3.5
3,767
3.5
Massachusetts
6,030
4.4
10,747
9.2
8,707
8.1
New Jersey
1,126
.8
3,104
2.7
3,054
2.8
Oregon
5,659
4.1
3,200
2.7
3,359
3.1
Virginia
1,304
1.3
3,758
3.2
3,478
3.2
Washington
13,859
10.0
8,310
7.1
7,020
6.5
Alaska
45,425 32.9
Total, 10 States
and Alaska 122,077 83.3
Total, Cther
States
16,098 11.7
31 , 683
90 . 643
26,276
27.1
77.4
22.5
31,100
86,737
20,647
29.0
30.8
IS. 2
Source: Bureau of Fisheries, Fishery Industries of the United States.
a/ 1929 data are not strictly comparable with 1931 and 1933 data
"because they do not include the value of products processed by
fishermen and the value of several kinds of sriellfish, particularly
shucked oysters and clams, and crab meat.
b/ Included in the 1933 data are 1931 figures for the South Atlantic
and Gulf, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River areas.
c/ Combination of 1931 and 1933 data.
d/ Includes New Hampshire.
9443
-23-
8. Washington and Oregon. - Of the fresh, frozen and cured
fish produced in the states of Washington and Oregon, about 75
per cent is shipped outside of these two states. Of the fish and
shellfish canned in these two states, 95 per cent is shipped
elsewhere.
9. Alaska. - All hut a trifling fraction of the fish and
shellfish landed in Alaska is shipped out of the Territory.
Sales to Wholesalers
Primary Producing Division. - Nearly all the output of the Primary
Producing Division is sold either to wholesalers or processors in the Pro-
cessing and T/holesale Division. The only important exception is the direct
sale for local consumption in or near the port of landing. In certain
summer resorts the volume of such business is considerable, but for the
country as a whole it is insignificant.
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - Most of the output of fishery
processing establishments in sold to the general grocery wholesale tre.de.
llumher of Wholesale and Retail Establishments Handling Products of the
Industry
Wholesale. - The number of establishments engaged exclusively in the
wholesaling of fishery -oroducts in 1929 was reported by the Bureau of
Fisheries as 1,998 (see Table II). Most of the -orocessing establishments,
other than canneries, however, and even some of the latter, also do a whole-
sale business in un-orocessed products. The number of establishments which
wholesale fishery -oroducts as a minor part of their business is not obtain-
able. A large part of the volume of cured fish and shellfish and a still
larger proportion of the canned -oroducts are distributed by the wholesale
grocery trade; but the latter handles practically no fresh fish.
Retail. - The total number of establishments engaged in the retail dis-
tribution of fish, the greater -oart of which is handled by the retail grocery
trade, is not available. The number of retail establishments specializing
in the sale of fishery products was reported in the Census of Distribution
as 6,077 in 1929.
Exports of Fishery Products
The volume and value of fishery products exported from the continental
United States in recent years are given in Table XII, by type of product.
9443
-24-
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Advertising
Primary Producing; Division. - Only those members of the Primary Produc-
ing Division who ooerate wholesaling or processing establishments do any
advertising, and the little they do is restricted mainly to trade-marked
canned and packaged goods.
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - Relative little advertising is
done "by wholesale establishments, but processors do a considerable amount,
principally in magazines and newspapers.
Shifts in Centers of Production
There have been shifts of major importance in both the primary produc-
tion and the processing of fish and shellfish since the beginning of the
present century. They have been slow, however, and there is no clear
evidence of important changes since 1929. The most important of the earlier
shifts was from the Atlantic and Culf coasts to the Pacific coast j in which
California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska gained at the expense of all of
the Atlantic and Gulf coast states.
Productive Capacity
Primary Producing Division. - The -oroductive capacity of the Primary
Producing Division, as measured by the number of documented or registered
craft, is never fully utilized. The last Census of Water Transportation,
taken in 1926, indicated that about 13 per cent of all fishing vessels
were inactive during that year -nd in 1916. The author estimates the
corresponding proportion in 1933 at about 27 ner cent.
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - There are no statistics on the
productive capacity of processing establishments. It is known, however,
that there has been a substantial unused capacity in the sardine canning
industry in New England, in the fresh oyster industry, and in some others.
Limit of Natural Supply of Fish
In general, the fisheries o-oerating in enclosed or semi-enclosed
waters, like the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay, and those engaged in
talcing sessile species like oysters, and river-spawning species like
salmon, sturgeon, and shad, have encroached more or less seriously on the
natural supply. In the case of most commercial species of pelagic or open
ocean fish, however, there is at present no conclusive evidence of such
encroachment.
9443
-26-
Chapter V
TRADE PRACTICES
Unfair Trade Practices Prevalent Prior to the Code
Primary Producing Division. - It was claimed by members of the Primary
Producing Division that the following unfair trade practices were particular-
ly dettimental to the well-being of the Industry:
li Destructive Price Cutting. - The prices of meat reached a long
tine cyclical peal; in 19 38 and 1929, The fall in the prices of a number
of important fishery products from these years to the latter part of 1932
and early 1933 more than reflected the drop in meat prices. This long
tine cyclical movement in meat prices is more severe than the short time
cyclical movement in general commodity prices, though in the case under
discussion the two happened to coincide in point of time.
As the earnings of about 80 per cent of the persons engaged in the
primary production are directly dependent on the prices received for
the fish they catch, owing to the system of com-oensation by shares, these
earnings were reduced, in 1932 and 1933, below any accepted living stand-
ard. Repairs and upkeep had to be skimped, and marine insurance, in a
large number of cases, was allowed to lapse. The situation was better
in 1934, but even in that year the fisheries of most areas of the country
failed to earn depreciation.
In view, however, of the relationship between the price of neat and
the price of fish, previously referred to, it is the author's belief that
coercive action under the authority of the Code could not have done much
to remedy the price situation without some corresponding measure of con-
trol of meat prices.
2. Excess Catches. - The natural course followed by the owner or
captain of a fishing craft is to land from each trip the maximum practica-
ble quantity of fish or shell-fish. Prom 1929 to 1933 this practice tend-
ed to accentuate the fall in prices and led, at times, to the dumping of
quantities of fish at ports of landing.
3. Maladministration of Share Agreements. - Complaints were heard
at public hearings of financial abuses in connection with the administra-
tion of "lays," or share agreements. It was charged, for example, that
rebates allowed by dealers on fuel oil had been, in some cases, kept by
captains, instead of being credited to all the persons sharing in the
"lay."
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - Members of the Processing and
Wholesaling Division reported that the following unfair trade practices had
been particularly obnoxious;
1, Destructive Price Cutting. - The domward price trend, previous-
ly mentioned, had resulted in serious losses to processing and wholesal-
ing establishments, and their working capital had been heavily cut into.
This impairment was claimed to have gone so far that the available work-
ing capital had been insufficient to handle the increase in the volume of
business which accompanied the nrice recovery of 1934 and 1935.
9443
s-
-27-
2. Consignment Shipments. - The perishability of raw fish, the
small size of the majority of primary producing enterprises, and the di
to.nces at which some of the latter are located from the main distributing
and consuming centers had led to an extensive use of consignment shi;>-
r.ents. It had cone to he a general belief on the -oart of hoth primary
producers and distributors that this method of doing business had helped
to accentuate the decline in prices from 1929 to 1933. It has not been
possible to determine how much basis in fact this belief may have had.
5. Excessive Allowances on Customers' Claims. - Because of the
perishability of most fishery products, disputes with regard to the
quality and condition of shipments arise very easily. There was a wides-
siread complaint in the general wholesaling trades that many such claims
were made without sufficient reason, and sometimes after undue delay, to
e::tricate purchasers from difficulties arising from demoralizing of the
markets ,
4. Reversal of Communication Charges. - The perishability of fish-
ery products leads to an extensive use of telegrams and of long distance
telephone calls in inquiring as to prices and otherwise initiating trans-
actions. The practice of attracting business from competitors by allow-
ing -orospective customers to reverse such charges was claimed to have
reached the proportions of an abuse.
5. Diversion of Brokerage Charges. - There was extensive complaint
of the practice of accepting orders subject to an understanding that the
fee or commission customarily paid to a "broker should be credited wholly
or in part to the customer. Such diversion constituted, in effect, a
reduction in price. Compl ints regarding it were quite general in the
Processing and Wholesaling Division, but were particularly stressed in
connection with the distribution of canned fish and shellfish.
6. Competition of Truckers. - In some parts of the United States,
particularly the South and Middle West, there has grown up in recent
3'ears an extensive distribution of fishery products by truckers. As a
rule these operate single vehicles and have no fixed places of business.
They buy directly from fishermen and distribute over radii, in some
instances, of several hundred miles. They sell direct to consumers or
to retail stores and in some cases to secondary rfnolesalers at inland
points. As a result they have cut severely into the business of the
established wholesalers at the principal landing and distributing centers.
The complaints of the latter were based on assertions that the truck-
ing enterprises were in many cases irresponsible and of the fl3',-by— night
type, and that their business was to a great extent obtained by the cutting
of trices to levels below their true cost of operation.
7. Unsanitary Handling. - The unsanitary handling of fish had had
an effect in diverting consumer demand away from the products of the In-
dustry. This was especially true in inland areas of the country, where
a taste for fish and shellfish had never been solidly established.
Unfair Trade Practices How Prevalent
The unfair tra.de practices described above are believed to be still pre-
valent, with the qualification that since the Spring of 1933 the trend of the
prices of fishery products has been upward, so that destructive price cutting
has not been so important an issue.
3443
-28-
Chapter VI.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Early Developments in the Industry 1/
The establishment of the Fishery Industry goes tack to the first
settlement of the United States. Seafood, especially shellfish, played a
large part in the diet of the Indian tribes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts;
and the early colonists, faced with the difficulties of establishing them-
selves as farmers and stock breeders, imitated their primitive predecessors
in this respect. Early visitors from Europe commented on the extensive
consumption of sea foods.
The development of the New England groundf ishery (the taking of cod
and haddock on the banks off Nova Scotia and Newfoundland) was accelerated
in Colonial days by the development of an export trade in salt fish from
the North Atlantic ports of the United States to the west Indies and south-
ern Europe.
In the middle of the nineteenth century the menhaden industry cone
into existence on the Middle and South Atlantic coasts. The product of
this industry, in imitation of an Indian custom, supplied the first impor-
tant domestic commercial fertilizer, when the imported supply of guano
from the islands off the coast of South America began to fail.
These old established fisheries of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are
still prominent, though in recent years their relative importance has
diminished. The settlement of Lhe inland states far outran the facilities
for the distribution of fresh fishery products; and by the end of the
nineteenth century a substantial proportion of the population had almost
ceased to be consumers of such foods. The migration from the interior of
the country back to the eastern cities, as the latter expanded, tended to
exit down the per capita demand for fishery products in the latter centers.
The pollution of the waters near these cities by industrial and other
wastes seriously affected the supply and the cost of some species.
Recent Developments 2/
Along with this decline in the Atlantic and Gulf fisheries there came,
after the beginning of the present century, a rapid development in the
fisheries of the Pacific coast. After the collapse of the Klondike gold
rush the fisheries of Alaska became the principal recourse for making a
livelihood in that territory. The development of the salmon canning indus-
try of Alaska and of the puget Sound and Columbia River regions started in
the 1880' s; but this industry for the most part, and the California sardine
and tuna and the Alaska herring industries in their entirety, are creations
1/ This discussion of early developments applies to both the
Primary Producing and the Processing and "Wholesaling Divisions
2/ The discussion of recent developments applies to both the
Primary Producing and the Processing and wholesaling Division
9443
-29-
of the last f/enty or twenty-five years. The great increase in the Pacific
Coast population during this period has of course created a substantial
market" for fresh fish. In the case of the Pacific Northwest the improvement
of transportation facilities has made possible a substantial trade with the
Middle TTest and even with the Atlantic Coast in fresh and frozen halibut
and salmon.
While the fisheries of the Atalntic and Gulf coasts have for the most
part declined relatively during the past thirty years, there has been a
considerable development in the fisheries of Florida, along with the increase
in the population of the state and the development of facilities for ship-
ping its products to the North and Northwest.
Nature of the Operations of the Industry
Primary Producing Division. - The operations of the members of the
Primary Producing Division consist in catching the fish and shellfish and in
landing them at the ports of operation. At the latter, in most instances,
they pass immediately into the hands of wholesalers or processors.
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - The members of the Processing
and Wholesaling Division fall, with respect to the nature of their operations,
into two rather distinct groups — the wholesaling and preparing trades and
the processing industries. The operations of the former consist in the
assembling of fresh fish and shellfish in the ports of landing or in other
centers, and in distributing them to the secondary wholesale and retail trade
throughout the country. These establishments also do much simple processing,
such as cleaning, packing in ice for shipment, shucking oysters, picking crab
meat, and heading and cooking scrimp.
The processing establishments, the majority of which are located at
ports of landing where they buy direct from the fishermen, can and cure fish.
The curing is done by drying, salting, pickling, and smoking.
Trade Associations
Primary Producing Division. - The fishery producing industry has
been an unfavorable field for the development of association and coopera/tive
activities. Most of the associations that existed before the establishment
of NBA had little influence or vitality. There was a tendency for them to be
dominated by small groups of large concerns, which combined the operation of
fishing fleets with wholesale or processing operations.
The first incentive to trade association in many branches of the
fisheries was supplied ~oy NBA; and though the discontinuance of the Code has
greatly retarded this movement, something of value has probably remained.
An Act of Congress entitled, "An Act Authorizing Associations of Producers
of Aquatic Products, " passed in the Spring of 1934, was designed to promote
cooperative fishermen's Organizations. Up to the present, however, the
movement has not gone very far.
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - The remarks just made with
regard to trade organization in the Primary Producing Division apply also,
but to a less extreme degree, to the wholesale trades. The principal canning
9443
-30-
industries had strong organizations or were affiliated with the National
Oanners Association.
Relationship Between Labor and Management
Frimary Frcducing Division. - Several factors have tended to prevent
the development of capital-labor controversies of the ordinary type in the
fisher;- producing industry. The enterprises are for the most part snail, the
proportion of entrepreneurs is large, and most of them are drawn from the
sane social class and the same communities as the rank and file of the fisher-
men. In some cases fishermen who do not own vessels or boats have interests
in the gear. About eighty per cent of all fishermen, moreover, work on
shares. Taken together, these conditions modify the employee status in the
fisheries extensively, and tend to render labor controversies in the ordinary
sense unnecessary. The fact that fishery products are so perishable, finally,
has made it relatively easy for discontented employees to obtain concessions
by brief and informal intermissions of their work.
Between the fishermen operating the large groundfish fleets of Hew
England and their employees, and in a few parallel cases in other parts of
the country, something like the ordinary capital-labor relationship exists.
This is, however a rather recent development.
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - The relationship between labor
and management in this part of the Industry is to a great extent the same as
in the Primary Producing Division, as the enterprises are for the most part
small, and the perishability of the products handled has a similar effect.
In the large scale canning industries, however, and in the general preparing
and wholesale trades of the big cities, particularly New York, there have
been labor controversies and strikes of the ordinary type.
Gross and Net Income
Primary Producing Division. - Questionnaire data collected by the
author indicated that the average gross income per fishing vessel, after
paying operating expenses and fishermen's compensation, but before deducting
upkeep, insurance, taxes, other overhead charges, and depreciation, was
$8,342 in 1929, $4,340 in 1933, and $5,873 in 1934. The same data put the
average annual overhead expense and depreciation per vessel at $8,185, with
little change from 1929 to 1934.
These figures indicate a heavy average loss to owners of fishing
vessels in 1933, and a considerable though smaller loss in the yeex follow-
ing. In 1933 there was a loss, on an average, in all the main areas, and in
1934 in all except California. A minority of individual vessels, of course,
made a. profit in both years. The relative improvement in 1934 is believed
to be entirely the result of the recovery in the prices of fishery products,
following the recent upward movement in the price of meat.
Data on the financial returns in the boat fisheries are not available.
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - At present no satisfactory
data exist on income in this Division of the Industry.
9443
-31-
Effect of the Code on the Industry
The primary advantage of the code system for the primary producing
industry and the wholesale trades lay in the fact that it provided then for
the first time with a systematic framework of industrial organization. 'The
psychology of these industries was such that an organization of the sort
would have teen exceedingly slow to develop without the incentive provided
by the KRA. legislation and the expressed wish of the government.
The code system did not last long enough to permit these industries
to derive from it the benefits that should ultimately have accrued. The
provisions of some of the codes, moreover, were not as well suited to the
industry's real problems as they would have been if the system had been
developed more gradually and experimentally. The need for organization,
however, still exists.
In the fish and shellfish canning industries the conditions affecting
the operation of the Code differed comparatively little from those normal
to the manufacturing industries as a class. In the Canned Salmon and in
both the California and the New England Sardine Industries the Codes were
felt to have worked tolerably well and to have had beneficial effects. In
abolishing the use of Oriental contract labor in the Alaska canneries the
Canned Salmon Code effected an important labor reform which, having proved
financially beneficial to the operating companies, seems likely to be
permanent.
Trade Marks
Processing and Wholesaling Division. - The products of the fish and
shellfish canning industries are generally trademarked, as are also some cured
products. The trademark ing of non-processed products of the preparing and
distributing trades, however, is practically impossible.
Effect of Imports on the Industry
Primary Producing Division. - The fisheries of Hew England, the
Great Lakes, and the Pacific northwest have been adversely affected "oy the
importation of Canadian products. Complaints have been made particularly
in connection with the importation of lobsters into Boston, of fish from
the Canadian waters of the Great Lakes and from the interior lakes of
Canada into the American lake ports, and of salmon and halibut from British
Columbia in competition with shipments from Washington and Oregon. In the
case of lobsters and of fresh water fish particularly the importations
represent substantial items in the domestic consumption. More recently im-
ports of frozen fish from Japan have attained considerable volume.
Processin ; and Wholesaling Division. - The preparing and wholesaling
trades are of course affected by the foreign competition described in the
preceding paragraph, except insofar as they handle the importations them-
selves. The latter is the case with some of the products in question, but
not with all.
In the case of the processing industries the competition of canned
fish and shellfish and of fish meal from Japan is more important than the
Canadian competition. These importations have given rise to numerous
complaints and investigations on the part of the Tariff Commission and of
other authorities.
9443
-32-
APPENDIX
Names and Code Status of the Divisions of the Fishery Industry-
May 27, 1935
Division
Fisheries Proper
Regular Food Fisheries: 1_/
Atlantic Mackerel
Oyster
Blue Crab
G-reat Lakes
Alaska Herring
Pacific Halibut
Pacific Crab
Florida
Lobster
Inedible Products Fisheries:
Menhaden
Sponge
Oyster Cultivating Sub industry
Trout Farming
Preparing and Wholesaling Trades
General, rath Geographical Subdivisions:
New England
Middle Atlantic
Midwest
Southeast
Gulf South
Northwest and Alaska
Southwest
Specialized: 2/
Oyster
Crab
Blue
Pacific
Lobster
Sponge
Alaska Herring
Code Status
Supplementary Code Approved
ii n it
Supplementary Code Heard, out not
approved
Supplementary Code Heard
it n n
11
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
II
National Code Only
ii it ti
Supplementary Code Approved
ii n it
Supplementary Code Approved
ii ii ii
it n ii
Supplementary Code Heard, but not
approved
Supplementary Code Heard Approved
Supplementary Code Approved
Supplementary Code Heard, but not
approved
Supplementary Code Approved
Supplementary Code Approved
Included under Northwest and Alaska
Preparing and Wholesaling Code
Supplementary Code Approved
ii ii n
Supplementary Code Heard, out not
approved
Specialized Processing Subindustries
Canning:
Salmon
Sardine
New England
California
Canned Salmon Code
Supplementary Code Approved
ti ii ii
9443
-33-
Division
Code Status
Specialized Processing Sub industries (Continued)
Tuna
Clara Products
Oyster
Shrimp
California Mackerel
Alaska Crab
Reduction: 3/
Sardine
Alaska Herring
iienhaden
Secondary Processing Subinaustries
Oyster Shell Crushing
Processed or Refined Fish Oil
Canning Code
it 11
Supplementary Code Heard, but not
approved
Included under Northv/est and Alaska
Pre-oaring and Wholesaling Code
Supplementary Code Approved
Supplementary Code Heard, but not
approved
National Code Only
Oyster Shell Crushers Code
Processed or Refined Fish Oil Code
l/ Only the fisheries for which supplementary Codes reached oublic he-ring
are listed under this head; the total number is much larger.
2/ Only the subindustries of this group for vrhich specific supplementary
Codes reached public hearing are listed under this head.
3/ A reduction plant is engaged in converting a fishery product into meal
and oil, as distinct from products for human consumption. The raw
material may be by-products of canning, or the reduction plant may
operate independently, and utilize whole fish.
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