Evening star., 1934-03-29
EASTER DEMAND
SPURSF|SH TRADE
Scarcity Due to Winter
Pushes Up Prices of
Some Varieties.
BY JOHN A. CRONE.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, March 29-Twelve
trawlers loaded with fish tied UP at
piers II and 18, East River, before
dawn today. Within three hours more
than half of their cargoes were on
boats, trains and trucks en- route
1000 miles or more inland for use
Good Friday. which is the biggest
national fish consuming day.
The trawlerS, which had been fish,
ing various banks in the Atlantic 300
to 500 miles east or south of New
York had been out II to IA days.
They encountered blows and cold
weather which materially affected
their catches.
Storms of the Virginia capes made
shad scarce. The shad catch was
about rs per cent below expectations.
The landed price of shad was so high
as to make it prohibitive in many
consuming circles, so wholesale mer-
chants here had to substitute some
other fish for the shad ordered by
the inland retailer.
LObsters Also Scarce.
The mackerel are not running New
YorkWard these days. They usually
come this way when water tempera-
lures range from so to IS degrees.
The cold weather also has reduced
the lobster and crab catch.
The beats brought in tons of cod
and founder, which are moderately
priced They also carried some Shad,
weakfish, bluefsh, sea bass, sea trout,
mackerel and king mackerel.
From the Great Lakes, especially
from points in Wisconsin and Michi-
gan. came many pounds of small
smelts, which are selling at prices too
low to net their takers any profit,
according to w. A. Winant, veteran
president of the Fulton Market Fish
mongers Association and now chair
man of the fishing code under the
N. R A.
Large smelts have maintained their
quotations because supplies have not
been plentiful. Pulpo, a sort of devil
fish or octopus, which is largely i'm
ported, and squid are popular with
the Italians at this season. The sup
ply of such fish of South Carolina
however, also has been limited.
Severe Winter Cited.
Old man Winter has destroyed
thousands of dollars worth of fishing
paraphernalia Lobster pots. weirs
nets and boats have been lost OF
wrecked virtually from one end OF
the Atlantic Coast TO the other in
the last few months, with the result
that sellers of such materials will dc
a brisk business within the next few
weeks if fishermen can be financed
Reduced catches are reported all
along the Atlantic Coast From
January l to March 1908 vessels
arrived at the Boston piers with
1859, 600 pounds of groundfsh-a
general trade term for such species
as hake pollock. haddock and cod
as against l.085 arrivals with "a 763.-
500 pounds in the same period o.
1888.
Naturally. the smaller catches have
reduced frozen supplies The cole
storage holdings of mackerel. for ex
ample. were 3,l04.l91 pounds on Feb
ruary Is, against 7.9l4864 pounds OF
February Is. 1882.
The smaller catches the last twt
years have added values TO such land
ings. Boston landings in 1882 had {
value of s5.367 900. against $1,000 OO(
| in 1888 Gloucester landings in 1913:
brought s4340o0, against $4,000 il
1888. Portland landings in 1882 wert
worth s283,000, against S3l5.O00 las,
year This trend may continue thi.
! year.
tCopyrisht 1934)