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and the War Food Administration relating to maximum price regulations or price support programs, whether such dockets or such correspondence originate in the Office of Price Administration, the Office of Economic Stabilization, or within the War Food Administration, shall, prior to submission to the Administrator for approval or other consideration, be transmitted to the Office of Price.

Temporarily, Mr. Ashley Sellers, Assistant Administrator, will serve also as the Director of Price.

6. As used in this memorandum, the term "food" shall have the meaning defined in Executive Order No. 9280, issued December 5, 1942.

LEE MARSHALL MADE DIRECTOR OF FOOD DISTRIBUTION

Lee Marshall is resuming active duty with the War Food Administration as Director of Food Distribution, it was announced January 14 by Administrator Marvin Jones. Mr. Marshall succeeds Roy F. Hendrickson who is to become Deputy Director of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Formerly, Mr. Marshall served with the War Food Administration as Director of Materials and Facilities, in which capacity he cooperated with the War Production Board in setting up the 1944 program for a greater supply of farm and food machinery, repair parts, fertilizers, and other production materials. In the interim, Mr. Marshall has acted as consultant to the Administrator, and now returns to full time duty with WFA. He has been granted leave from his position as chairman of the board of the Continental Baking Company.

FOOD DISTRIBUTION REGULATION 3 AMENDED

Food Distribution Regulation 3, which requires that ship suppliers be licensed to buy set-aside and restricted food, was revised January 10, effective January 1, by the War Food Administration to remove from the schedules those foods no longer subject to food distribution orders and to add those now coming under such orders. Set-aside food is that portion of the food which is held or set aside for Government use by a manufacturer or authorized distributor under a Food Distribution Order. Restricted food refers to food on which civil

ian use is restricted or limited and Government agencies are permitted to buy in excess of the civilian quota. Designated food refers to certain foods which are in short supply and therefore require special clearance before a ship supplier can obtain them, as described in the Regulation.

Food schedules under FDR 3 will be revised periodically to keep them up-to-date with changes in food orders.

Fishery items listed on the revised schedules, together with the Food Distribution Order applying to each, are as follows:

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Business firms and individuals who normally apply for priority assistance on WPB Form 541 (formerly PD-1A) for the acquisition of equipment or materials other than controlled materials, were warned January 20 by the War Production Board that effective February 1 only applications made on the new revised version of that form will be considered. The old form will be honored only until February 1. Ample supplies of the new form have been available in all WPB field offices since the first of the year. The new form may be identified by a listing of WPB field offices where, in accordance with indicated instructions, these applications are now to be filed.

As of February 1, all applications made out on the old form or applications filed with Washington rather than with the WPB field office nearest the person seeking priority assis

tance, will be returned for re-filing. Applicants were urged by WPB to adhere to these instructions to save their time and the unnecessary delays in final action which improper filing will entail, WPB said. The handling of these applications in the field has been progressively stepped up as WPB field offices have assumed greater responsibilities in carrying out the WPB decentralization program.

DIESEL ENGINE PURCHASES CONTROLLED

To control the purchase of marine diesel engines and limit their use to essential purposes, the WPB announced on January 31, it has designated these engines as "Class Y Products." This means that a purchaser must get WPB approval before placing his purchase order. The classification affects yards that build or repair ships, and also operators of fishing and commercial craft in rivers, harbors, lakes, and in coastwise traffic.

The action was taken by amending the Scheduled Products Table for the Shipbuilding Division (Table 11) to General Scheduling Order M-293. It designates as Class Y Products the purchase orders of ship repair yards for main propulsion, auxiliary drive or emergency generator drive marine diesel engines for vessels not operated under the jurisdiction of the United States or Canadian Army or Navy, the War Shipping Administration, Wartime Merchant Shipping, Ltd., or Trafalgar Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. Class Y designation also is given to these engines for new vessels which are not for the account of the foregoing agencies or the Maritime Commission.

The amended order will affect chiefly the vessels under jurisdiction of the Coordinator of Fisheries and of the Office of Defense Transportation. It provides that purchase orders for these engines, other than those for the exempt agencies, must have WPB approval on Form WPB-1319.

PREFERENCE RATING FOR WORK GLOVES REQUIRED

Shortages of work gloves, and their importance to the war production program, have made it necessary to take precautionary measures for conserving available supplies, the War Production Board announced January 21. To eliminate waste and over-buying, war industries requiring work gloves in their operations are being instructed by WPB to file WPB Form PD-1A applications for preference rating in procuring work gloves. Applications are to be filed on a quarterly basis, and made by the first of the month preceding the calendar quarter during which deliveries are required. The quantities applied for must be restricted to minimum requirements, based on current average monthly consumption for the preceding three months, WPB said. In making application for preference rating for procuring work gloves it is essential that complete information be given on each of the following items:

(a) Description and quantity in dozens.

(b) Number of employees requiring work gloves. (c) Average monthly consumption for preceding

three months.

(d) Names of regular suppliers.

(e) Where possible, the brand name of glove required. (f) Glove inventory.

Quantity due on uncompleted orders.

Because of existing shortages, it is not possible to permit stockpiling of work gloves, WPB officials said. Gloves lying idle, awaiting issuance to employees may result in other critical war industry plants being slowed down, or stopped entirely because of a lack of work gloves. Applications for preference rating on work gloves required during the second quarter of 1944 should be filed between February 15 and March 1, with deliveries spread over April, May and June.

War industries are urged by WPB to adopt the following conservation measures in order to reduce consumption of work gloves and spread present available supplies.

1. Be sure employees use the right type of glove for the particular operation. If there is any question, consult glove manufacturers or WPB.

2. Require that used gloves be turned in when new ones are issued. This tends to prevent gloves from leaving the plant.

3. Soiled canton gloves should be laundered wet-wash.

4. Leather palm gloves should be cleansed of grease, grit, and grime through use of solvents. will prolong life of the glove.

5. Minor damage to gloves should be repaired.

This

6. Impress upon all employees the seriousness of the present shortage, and the need for conserving work gloves.

USE OF RUBBER PERMITTED FOR CRAB TRAP FRAMES

Rubber Order R-1 as amended January 12 by the WPB permits the use of only synthetic inner tube scrap in the manufacture of covering for crab trap frames. This insulating covering is necessary in the operation of traps used in the Pacific Northwest crab fishery. Reference to this item is made under Code No. 22 of Schedule A to the Order R-1 as corrected January 12.

Sectional Marketing Reviews

FISHERIES OF MASSACHUSETTS

Recalling its century-old glory as the center of the world's whaling operations, New Bedford, Massachusetts, has now become the third ranking port for the handling of fresh fish in the United States. First and second places are held by Gloucester and Boston, respectively. One of the few fishing ports in the United States to show an increase in landings since the war began, New Bedford received a total of 62,000,000 pounds of fish and shellfish in 1943, compared with 58,000,000 in 1942. Although complete figures for earlier years are not available, the present volume is believed to be about double that of 1940.

The modern fishery boom in New Bedford is built on the flounder fishery, whereas her earlier maritime fame rested on whaling, at its peak in the 1850's. About half of all the fish now landed at this southern Massachusetts port are flounders-chiefly the species known as the yellowtail. With its yellowtail catches doubling and even tripling recent records, New Bedford is now the center of the U. S. flounder fishery, receiving half of all the flounders landed in New England ports, and about a quarter of the total U. S. catch. Present landings run from 25 to 35 million pounds a year, compared with 10 to 15 million pounds about 1940.

Growth of the New Bedford fisheries, while most other ports have been declining, is due chiefly to the fact that while many of the big trawlers that fish out of the larger ports have been requisitioned for military service, the New Bedford fisheries are carried on by a variety of smaller boats and the fleet has been able to maintain its size. Boats fishing out of New Bedford totaled about 135 last year, most of the fleet being small otter trawlers of from 5 to 50 gross tons. Boats of this type are chiefly engaged in the yellowtail fishery. About a dozen medium-size otter trawlers also operate out of New Bedford, in addition to a score of scallop draggers and a smaller number of harpooners.

Besides flounders, fish landed in important quantities at New Bedford include haddock, mackerel, cod, sea scallops, and eelpout. About 30 other species are caught in small quantities by New Bedford boats. No Man's Land, southwest of Marthas Vineyard, is one of the chief fishing grounds for the New Bedford fleet, which also operates in the South Channel and on Nantucket Shoals. The fishery is active throughout the year, but the largest landings are made during the summer months.

FISHERIES OF RHODE ISLAND

During the year 1942, a very decided let-up was apparent in both the number of men engaged and also in the production of fishery products in Rhode Island. This situation was due largely to many former fishermen working in defense industries and to the drafting of men into the armed forces.

However, as 1943 progressed, there was a very decided increase in the number of persons engaged in the fishing industry. While more men have been taken into the armed services, defense projects in this area have been completed and many of these workers have returned to their fishing occupations. This movement has been particularly noticeable in the quahog and otter trawl fisheries. Many boats began during 1943 to drag for yellowtail and whiting.

A new fishery was started in 1943 which promises to mean much to the Rhode Island fishing industry. This is the dredging for "black quahogs." These bivalves are taken from 3 to 6 miles off the coast in water from 8 to 15 fathoms deep. The shell is black in color and

as it is much more brittle than that of the common quahog, it is more easily broken in dredging. The meat is dark in color and has a sweetish taste, being somewhat stronger in flavor than the bay quahog. There is no limit by law to the day's catch, and this coupled with the fact that the Government is buying them in large quantities, has caused several crews of dredgers to fit out for this work. The price is not quite so high as for regular quahogs, but as there is no limit on the quantity taken, the fishery is proving profitable.

FISHERIES OF THE GULF STATES

Gulf shrimp production in January 1943 as compared with January 1942, showed only a slight decrease in the total number of barrels produced, according to the Service's representatives in that area. However, there was a large drop in the amount of shrimp used for canning, accompanied by a considerable increase in the shrimp used for other purposes. The following table shows the production of shrimp by reporting areas and probable utilization.

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The total number of cases of canned shrimp reported by the Food and Drug Administration for plants covered by their inspection service stood at 381,165 standard cases for the 1943-44 season to the end of January. As last year, at the end of January, 540,637 cases had been packed, this was a decrease of 30 percent for the current season.

Fishermen of the Biloxi area were inactive in protest against price ceilings the entire month of January and the only production reported in that section was 85 barrels of oysters. The fishermen voted to go back to work under the regular ceilings after the War Labor Board and the Office of Price Administration refused to negotiate with them while they were on strike.

An unusually high demand for oyster shells has brought an important increase in the price of this byproduct, offsetting much of the higher cost of shucking and other additional wartime costs.

FISHERIES OF WASHINGTON AND OREGON

Normally light production of fishery products in the Pacific Northwest area was reported for January by the Service's Market News office at Seattle. In the early part of the month, there was considerable fishing for chum salmon and this species led the fresh fish receipts at Seattle in the first two weeks. For the month, however, the most important activities in this section were those of the shark and otter trawl fleets, particularly the soupfin shark fishery. Prices for the meat of this species ranged from 8 to 20 cents per pound and landings became increasingly important in the last half of the month. Soupfin shark livers, reported to be selling at $6.00 to $6.50 per pound in the latter part of January, were bringing about $2.00 a pound more than they did a year earlier.

The first catches of Columbia River smelt in the current season were reported in the week ending January 8. Early arrivals of these fish in the Seattle market brought 24 cents per pound, but later in the month this price dropped to a range of about 9 to 17 cents.

Fresh Fish Trade

ELEVEN-MONTH LANDINGS AT BOSTON 44 MILLION POUNDS LESS THAN YEAR AGO

Fishery products landed at the ports of Boston and Gloucester, Mass., and Portland, Maine, during the month of November 1943, totaled 24,058,567 pounds valued at $1,527,535 to the fishermen, according to Current Fishery Statistics No. 99, released by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The November production was 160,000 pounds more than the same month the previous year, while the total weighted average price was 6.35 cents per pound as compared with 6.42 cents for November 1942.

The total landings for the first 11 months of 1943 amounted to 321,375,173 pounds, representing a decrease of 11 percent compared with the landings during the same months the previous year. The total weighted average price received during the period was 6.83 cents per pound compared with 5.07 cents in 1942. Landings at Gloucester during the first 11 months of 1943 were 7 million pounds greater than those of 1942, while Boston receipts dropped 44 million pounds.

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Landings by Fishing Vessels at Boston and Gloucester, Mass., and Portland, Maine

Scallops (meats)

Other, fresh

Total

By ports:

Boston

Gloucester

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24.058.567 6.35 27,253,037 6.55 23,896,363 6.42 321,375,173
6.55 23,896,363 6.42 321,375,173 6.83 360.578,935 5.07

11,946,196 7.68 11,493,039 8.08 11,663,669 8.07 142,825,886 8.82 187,192,609 6.32 11,304,027 5.03 14,811,142 5.45 11,251,805 4.96 160,888,130 5.30 153,616,280 3.78 808.344 5.14 948,856 5.07 980,889 3.70 17.661,157 4.71 19.770,046 3.25 Weighted average of prices per pound paid to fishermen.

Portland

DECEMBER AND TWELVE-MONTH LANDINGS AT THREE PORTS LESS THAN IN 1942

Receipts of fishery products during December at the ports of Boston and Gloucester, Mass., and Portland, Maine, showed a decline of 19 percent when compared with landings of December 1942, and of 58 percent compared with November 1943, according to data published in Current Fishery Statistics No. 104 by the Fish and Wildlife Service. December landings totaled 9,987,887 pounds, valued at $563,868 to the fishermen. This represented an average price of 5.65 cents per pound, compared with 6.35 cents received in November and 8.35 cents in December 1942. The principal species landed during the month were rosefish and pollockthese two species accounting for 71 percent of the total. Only 149,349 pounds were landed at Boston during the month due to a tie-up of the fishing fleet at this port in protest against ceiling prices. Accordingly, the Gloucester fleet landed 92 percent of the total receipts at the three ports during December.

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