Includes all arrivals as reported by express and rail terminals, and truck receipts as 2/ Data for individual cities are as of the last Thursday of the month, except those for 1305 nI J FISHERY MARKET NEWS DECEMBER 1944 CONTENTS RECEIPTS OF FISHERY PRODUCTS AT SEATTLE, 1943, by E. C. Hinsdale Pilchard catch boosts U. S. production Interior Department institutes closed season for sablefish U. S. halibut vessels granted privileges in Canada Surplus diesel engines and boats listed by Maritime Commission FRESH FISH TRADE October landings at three ports greater than in 1943 Ten-month total of New Bedford landings 23 percent above 1943 Favorable weather stimulates shrimp production in October October New York receipts increase 11 percent over September ..... October receipts at Chicago show a decrease of 1 percent from September FROZEN FISH TRADE U. S. holdings on November 1 32 percent greater than year previous October freezings by U. S. cold-storage plants 26 percent larger than October 1943. Boston cold-storage holdings show little change in October Chicago cold-storage holdings of October 26 show slight decrease Canadian holdings on November 1 16 percent greater than those of one year earlier Amdt. 25 to MPR-364 effective November 25 CANNED AND CURED FISH TRADE Final Alaska salmon pack to tals 4,856,330 cases Tuna and mackerel ten-month packs show large increases over 1943 Increased pilchard pack follows rise in catch October shrimp pack exceeds October 1943 by 25,500 cases ........ Point values for canned fish BYPRODUCTS TRADE Inside back cover Outside back cover 28 Applications for FISHERY MARKET NEWS, which is mailed free to members of the fishery industry and allied interests, should be addressed to the Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of the Interior, Washington 25, D. C. During 1943, the receipts of fresh and frozen fish, shellfish, and grayfish (dogfish) and soupfin shark livers at Seattle totaled 80,909,000 pounds, an increase of over 10 million pounds, or 15 percent, above the 1942 figure of 70,257,000 pounds. Making up the year's total were the local landings and shipments reported by the halibut and salmon exchanges, direct local receipts by wholesalers, coastwise vessel arrivals from Alaska, imports from British Columbia, and other shipments from non-local sources. Halibut led all other varieties with a total of 24,384,000 pounds, or 30 percent, of all receipts. Following in order were: salmon, 16,922,000 pounds, or 21 percent; flounders (sole), 10,295,000 pounds, or 13 percent; lingcod, 6,942,000 pounds, or 8 percent; sablefish, 5,046,000 pounds, or 6 percent; and rockfishes, 4,506,000 pounds, or 5 percent. Pacific oyster receipts were 2,486,000 pounds, only 3 percent of all receipts, but 53 percent of the shellfish total. Crabs followed with 1,448,000 pounds of meats, representing 2 percent of all receipts and 30 percent of those of shellfish. Heavier production by the otter-trawl fleet increased turbot receipts about 2-3/4 million pounds over 1942, but the total volume of other flounders (sole) was approximately on the same level as the previous year. Fresh lingcod receipts rose over 1 million pounds, or 19 percent; while fresh rockfishes, including sea bass, rock cod, and similar species, gained 163 percent. In 1943, receipts of chinook salmon dropped over 1-3/4 million pounds, or 22 percent, falling from 8,130,000 pounds received in 1942 to 6,349,000 pounds. Sockeye salmon receipts of 26,698 pounds were practically negligible in comparison to the abnormal total of 1,321,000 pounds the previous year. Although 1943 was classed as a good pink salmon year, receipts were not heavy at Seattle, the bulk of the catch going to canneries at other Puget Sound points. The 1943 pink salmon total, 538,000 pounds, cannot be compared to the 1942 receipts of only 1,547 pounds because pink salmon runs are negligible in even-numbered years. The comparable 1941 total was 896,000 pounds. The chum or fall salmon total of 2,768,000 pounds was 55 percent less than the 6,134,024 pounds received in 1942. Receipts of silver salmon also failed to measure up to the preceding year's total of 3,042,000 pounds, being nearly half a million pounds less. The most notable decline was in the landings of the United States halibut fleet. Receipts were nearly 1-3/4 million pounds less than those received in 1942, which, in turn, were over 4 million pounds less than the 1941 total. Until July 13, 1943, when ceiling prices were put into effect, the halibut season progressed normally, with indications that it would compare very favorably with 1941. As a direct result of the ceiling prices, halibut fares from Area III, the only fishing area open at the time, dropped to the lowest figure ever reached for Seattle. The halibut vessels practically stopped landing at Seattle and de*Fishery Marketing Specialist. TABLE I-Volume and Source of Total Receipts, By Species, 1943 and 1942 Pink: Cod, true: Local Local 786,545 20 786,545 FISH Cont'd, Salmon Continued): Frozen, other Total fresh & frozen Silver or coho: Pounds Percent Pounds Local 1,300 +1525 80 75 33.766 Total fresh 35,048 Frozen, other 2,324,122 - 26 3,124,697 Flounders: Turbot, " Sand & Dover, Unclassified, 3,102,215 199,699 10,283,779 8,479 10,292,258 3,175 41,460 Sole, other Total fresh Flounder, frozen, other 14,251 Unclassified, other 2,606,156 Unclassified, frozen, other 8,747,979 Total fresh & frozen 24,384,099 Frozen, other 78,057 Total fresh & frozen Steelhead trout: Herring: Other 1,200 Local 479,040 + 25,550 96 753,000 Frozen, other 3.900 34 778,550 Sturgeon: Lingcod: Local 18,607 Local 450 Other 324,783 + 312 21,484 +19 5,765,265 + 332 5,765.597 120,105 Total fresh 19,057 110.330 Local Other Total fresh All fish: Local Total fresh Frozen, other Total fresh & frozen SHELLFISH Clams, hard (meats): Local Other Total fresh Frozen, other Total fresh & frozen Crabs, Dungeness: Local Other Total fresh Lobsters, spiny (Calif.), other 55 6,134,024 Oysters (meats): Local: 15,700 Olympia, shucked 783,202 +616 51,686,882 + 3 50,059,659 4,879,600 99 2,444,854 56,566,482 +8 52,504,513 16,852,964 + 39 12,130,425 73,419,446 + 14 64,634,938 1,448,231 + 9 773,212+ 660 101,748 9,990 + 33 7.492 109,240 1,334,196 TABLE I-Volume and Source of Total Receipts, By Species, 1943 and 1942 (Continued) SHELLFISH (Cont'd. Oysters (meats) (Cont'd. Local: Pacific, shucked shell Other, shell Total shucked " shell Total shell & shucked Scallops, bay(meats), local 2,485,641-115 1942 All shellfish: Local 1,157,535 Other 502,151 +48 338,795 84,335 Total fresh 4,662,174 +48 3,139,828 Frozen, other 126,823 3,139,828 6,339 Frozen, other 16,979,787 +40 12,130,425 Total fresh & frozen 78,208,443 +15 167,774,766 Squid: Soupfin shark 454,853 +37 333,009 16,335 Total 16,335 *Not classified separately in 1942 2,700,925 +9 2,482,187 70,256,953 NOTE: Sources listed as "local" are either direct landings or receipts from nearby areas. livered their catches to Alaskan ports and Prince Rupert, Canada. It was contended that more profitable prices could be obtained in the northern ports because the longer haul to Seattle, in most instances, involved shrinkage, loss of grade, and limited the number of trips that could be made before the season's end. Excluding livers and shellfish items, total fresh and frozen fish receipts amounted to 73,419,000 pounds. Of this volume, 16,853,000 pounds, or 23 percent, consisted of frozen fish from Alaska and other non-local sources, representing an increase of 39 percent over 1942. Halibut accounted for 52 percent of the total, all species of salmon, 28 percent; and sablefish, 17 percent; with the remaining 3 percent consisting of true cod, lingcod, and rockfishes. The 1943 receipts of frozen halibut, 8,748,000 pounds, were more than double those in 1942, and frozen sablefish increased over 1 million pounds, or 36 percent. Frozen chinook and silver salmon, however, declined 10 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Receipts of fresh fish from local sources, including landings of the halibut fleet but not receipts of grayfish and soupfin shark livers and shellfish, totaled 51,687,000 pounds, or about 64 percent of the port's grand total of landings and receipts from all sources. This was 3 percent greater than the 1942 fresh fish figure of 50,060,000 pounds. Receipts of fresh fish from other than local sources doubled as compared with the previous year due primarily to a 2 million-pound increase in halibut receipts. This development resulted from the dearth of halibut landings at Seattle after price ceilings went into effect. Prices received by fishermen during the early part of 1943 were far above any paid in 1942. For example, during the first six months of 1943, the average price for chinook salmon reached 31.8 cents per pound compared to 18 cents in 1942. Halibut prices for the same period averaged 23.6 cents per pound for No. 1 and 21.7 cents for No. 2 compared to the 1942 average of 17.8 cents per pound for No. 1 and 16.6 cents for No. 2 fish. These price comparisons are for the first six months of 1943 only since OPA ceiling prices were established and became effective in mid-July of that year. The Pacific Coast shark fishery, which expanded considerably during 1942, continued to grow during 1943 with receipts of livers of soupfin shark and grayfish (dogfish) increasing appreciably. Soupfin shark livers amounted to 462,000 pounds and sold for an average price of $4.55 per pound compared to the 1942 receipts of 333,009 pounds and average price of $4.26. Grayfish livers totaled 2,246,000 pounds and averaged 46 cents per pound compared to 2,149,000 pounds at 28 cents per pound received in 1942. Soupfin shark carcasses changed from a practically worthless item to one of relative importance in the shark fishery as evidenced by the fact that dressed and trimmed carcasses brought from 9 to 17 cents per pound during the latter months of 1943. |