(15) Processors, country shippers, wholesalers and retailers must report to the district office defaults in surrender of points more than ten days after transfer. (Section 9.5 (c))

(16) Industrial users must register. (Sections 6.2, 6.10)

(17) Industrial users must report their inventories. (Section 6.4) (18) Industrial users must report their base-period use. (Section 6.5). (19) Persons who became industrial users because of changes in the list of processed foods must register. (Section 6.7)

(20) Industrial users who register late must report their inventories. (Section 6.7 (b))

(25) Any person who goes out of the business of dealing in or using processed foods must give notice and account for points. (Section 13.1)

(26) Reports upon sale of business. (Sections 11.1, 11.2)

(27) Persons who transfer or acquire processed foods in imminent danger of spoilage at less than full point value, must report the transfers or acquisitions. (Section 9.11' (e))

(28) Processors and country shippers who transfer processed foods in imminent danger of spoilage at less than full point value must file statement with periodic reports. (Section 9.11 (h))

(34) Exporters must account for all processed foods exported and points received in advance for such exports. (Section 22.3)

CURTAILMENT OF REFRIGERATOR CAR USE ASKED

The Office of Defense Transportation on February 1 called for drastic curtailment of the use of refrigerator cars by all shippers during the next two months to alleviate the current shortage of such cars in the perishable food producing states. "The supply of refrigerator cars is becoming tighter with each day's loading, and a restriction in their use is necessary if we are to transport the fruits, vegetables, seed potatoes, and other perishable products and move them at the proper time to avoid loss," the ODT said.

The ODT requested shippers of beer, wine, and canned goods to reduce their requirements for refrigerator cars by 50 percent during the next 60 days. If this reduction is made voluntarily, the ODT pointed out, shippers of such products may avoid the imposition of an Interstate Commerce Commission service order.

PURCHASE OF FIBRE AND WOODEN SHIPPING CONTAINERS RESTRICTED

Wooden and fibre shipping containers needed for shipping a product may be purchased with the rating assigned for producing the product, under the terms of revised Preference Rating Order P-140 and a new Order P-146, issued February 29, the War Production Board announced. Order P-140, amended, covers any wooden shipping container, while the new Order P-146 covers new fibre shipping containers. Formerly, both types were covered by Order P-140, which assigned ratings for containers independent of the production material ratings.

The method of assigning ratings for delivery employed in these orders is designed to bring the container rating system in line with WPB rating policy. Order P-146 affects any new box, crate, case, basket, inner carton, hamper or sleeve, in set-up or knock-down form, that is made wholly or in part from solid fibre of forty-five thousandths of an inch or heavier, or corrugated fibre, used for the delivery or shipment of materials. P-146 does not cover combination wood-and-fibre shipping containers consisting of 50 percent or more wood by area,

Order P-140, as amended, covers any new or used shipping container, in set-up or knockdown form, made wholly or partly of wood, that is used for shipment or delivery of commodities. Wooden shipping containers as defined in P-140 do not include containers made of more than 50 percent corrugated or solid fibre by area,

Container users, operating under the controlled Materials Plan or other WPB regulations, who are assigned ratings to purchase materials physically incorporated into the product, may use that same rating to replace containers in inventory. The orders also assign ratings for the purchase of containers for products that are manufactured or produced without a production material rating. Many products are listed in Schedule A, which among other things covers all foods and a large number of other products and materials that are not normally produced by manufacturers who are assigned production material ratings.

Other methods of obtaining ratings with which to purchase wooden and fibre shipping containers are also provided in the orders for those users who do not have a production material rating and whose product is not shown in Schedule A. Such users, under certain circumstances, may extend the ratings they receive. This may be done, for example, by a person who sells material that he does not manufacture. Provision is made also for ratings for the manufacturers or jobbers of inner containers or closures. A person not entitled to use the ratings assigned in other provisions of the orders may use an AA-2X rating if his

blanket Maintenance, Repair and Operating Supplies rating is AA-1, and AA-3 rating if his blanket MRO rating is AA-2, or an AA-5 rating if his blanket MRO rating is AA-3 or lower.

In cases of extreme hardship or in special instances where it is determined that the war effort will be aided by so doing, it is provided that special ratings may be assigned by WPB for the purchase of shipping containers.

The preference ratings assigned or permitted to be used by the orders may be applied to unfilled purchase orders for containers that were placed prior to February 29. All ratings applied to or extended to any purchase order before the effective date of the new orders (February 29), become ineffective after April 29.

EXPORT PACKAGING SPECIFICATIONS REVISED BY WFA

A new set of export packaging specifications, superseding those contained in FSC-1742-C, was announced by the War Food Administration in FSC-1742-D, dated February 25. All vendors were instructed to use the specified types of boxes as rapidly as existing stocks on hand or under contract are exhausted. Boxes to be used for a product for export will be designated in the announcement requesting offers of the product. Unless otherwise specified, the weight of contents of a fiberboard box shall not exceed 65 pounds.

NEW FISHERY LEAFLETS

During January and February, the following Fishery Leaflets were released. Copies can be obtained from the Fish and Wildlife Service, Merchandise Mart, Chicago 54, Illinois.

Shrimp production in the Gulf area for January and February was 22,940 barrels, compared with 28,189 barrels in 1943, according to the Service's New Orleans Market News office. The bulk of these was sold fresh or frozen. Reportedly, cannery help was scarce and the margins of profit were more favorable on fresh and frozen shrimp than on the canned product. The following table compares the proportions of shrimp diverted to canning and for other purposes in 1943 and 1944.

Gulf oyster production also declined in the 2-month period. This was attributed to a lack of labor on the oyster beds and in the shucking houses, The Biloxi area in particular showed a decrease in operations. A summary for January and February, compared to 1943, follows:

Otter trawl and shark fishing were the most important activities in the Northwest Pacific fisheries again in February, according to the Service's representatives in that area. Receipts in the Seattle market, principal distributing center for this area, were consistently behind those of a year ago during this month, partly due to the greatly decreased catches of smelt in the Columbia River for the early part of the current season. Prices for dressed soupfin shark in February ranged from 7 to 12 cents per pound and the livers of this species were reported to be bringing $6.50 per pound.

Fresh Fish Trade

LANDINGS AT THREE PORTS DURING JANUARY LOWEST SINCE 1923

Fishing vessels delivering their catch to the ports of Boston and Gloucester, Mass., and Portland, Maine, in January landed 10,097,760 pounds of fishery products, valued at $679,451, according to Current Fishery Statistics No. 109, published by the Fish and Wildlife Service. These were the lowest landings reported for this month since 1923. The catch was reduced by inaction of the major part of the Boston fleet during the first three weeks of the month due to a price dispute. Cod, haddock, and rosefish accounted for 78 percent of the January landings.

The over-all weighted average price per pound received by the fishermen was 6.73 cents as compared with 5.65 cents during December 1943, and 9.10 cents during January 1943.

Item

Cod
Haddock

Hake

Pollock

Cusk

Halibut

Mackerel

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

Flounders:

Gray sole

125,472 9:14

97,894 8.82 159,463 7.34 57,824 9.27 100,202 6.31

131,243 10.65
12,895 21.86
190,360 7.55

2,234,986 8.97

1,102,411 10.96

2,939,803 6.99

93,920 8.40

1,263,453 8.16

101,323 8.67

2,983,021 5.97

565

228,162 30.00

101,332,717 4.05 21,698,645 4.27

597,882 7.66

699,572 45.21 2,858,310

6.73 9,987,887 5.65 14.517,730 9.10 331,363,060 6.80

9,938,573 10.40 142,975,235 8.82 3,389,689 6.79 170,098,754 5.32 1,189,468 4.77 18,289,071 4.76

*Weighted average of prices per pound paid to fishermen.

NEW YORK SALT-WATER RECEIPTS GAIN IN JANUARY

Receipts of fishery products at the salt-water market in January showed increases of 11 percent as compared with the previous month and 1 percent as compared with January 1943, according to the Service's Market News office in New York.

Vessel landings, of which there were none during December due to vessel tie-ups, rose to 1,048,000 pounds in January. Receipts from New England ports increased greatly, due to the resumption of fishing activities by fishermen operating out of Boston and New Bedford. Yellowtail receipts from New Bedford were an especially large factor in the increase. The greatest gain occurred during the latter part of the month.

On January 27, the OPA retail ceiling prices became effective. The market was liberally supplied with fish, but retailers were reluctant to buy even normal supplies because of the uncertain effect of ceiling prices on their sales. As a result, quantities of fish had to be carried over, and in some instances were offered at prices far below the wholesale ceiling levels.

The increase in receipts probably would have been greater had some shippers in Connecticut not been handicapped by temporary lack of motor transportation facilities.

Receipts of bluefish and Spanish mackerel, while lighter than in December, were greatly in excess of receipts in January 1943. King mackerel receipts were slightly below a year earlier, but increased more than 200 percent over December 1943.

Smelt, which comprised 9 percent of the total receipts, showed a gain of 109 percent over December 1943 and 91 percent over January 1943.

Receipts of Fresh and Frozen fishery Products--Salt-water Market, New York City"

Receipts of fresh and frozen fishery products at Chicago during January were 14 percent greater than in January 1943, but were 17 percent less than those for December, according to the Service's Market News office in Chicago. Decreases in shipments of fresh shrimp, frozen halibut, lake herring, and carp were largely responsible for the decline from December. Among the leading items were pickerel (mostly Canadian imports), lake herring, lake trout, carp, and rosefish fillets. Manitoba was the leading source of supply, furnishing the local market with over a million pounds. Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Minnesota fol

lowed in the order named.

Rail express receipts showed a consistent increase, gaining 16 percent over December, and 41 percent over January 1943; rail freight shipments declined 32 and 1 percent, respectively, for these periods; while use of motor trucks, now limited particularly to short hauls, increased 8 percent over January 1943 but declined 22 percent in comparison to December.

Total receipts of fresh and frozen fishery products at Seattle in January amounted to 3,305,000 pounds, according to the Service's local Fishery Market News office. This represents a decrease of 38 percent compared with December 1943. A decline at this time of the year is normally experienced due to the seasonal closing of the salmon fishery and the restrictions imposed on other fisheries by winter weather.

Compared with January 1943, receipts dropped 18 percent. Smaller shipments of frozen halibut, salmon, and sablefish from Alaska were the chief cause. Soupfin shark landings at Seattle were also considerably less. Receipts of fresh-shucked Pacific oysters nearly tripled showing the greatest increase. War-time restrictions have prevented the canning of any Pacific oysters with the result that the entire catch is being taken by the fresh market.

377,000

117,000

2,486,000

248,000 111,000 9,956,000 1,919,000 1,594,000 24,383,000 192,000 166,000 5,958,000 243,000 135,000 4,483,000 209,000 324,000 4,981,000 312,000 205,000 3,163,000

*Halibut and shark fleets and receipts from local and all other sources,