It was disclosed at this hearing that the United States produced
83,331,000 pounds of crabs, valued at $2,568,000. Of this amount,
68,760,000 pounds, valued at $1,722,000, were caught in Maryland and
Virginia waters. Thus it may be seen that the bulk of the American
production comes from the Chesapeake.

During 1930, the United States imported about 10,000,000 pounds of
crab meat, valued at $4,600,000. Practically all of this was a canned,
hermetically sealed article from Japan, and. a duty of 15% ad valorem
was placed thereon, and on all crab meat entering the United States.
On the basis of the foregoing, the people of the United States consumed
about 20,000,000 pounds of crab meat in 1930, of which about one-half
was domestic.

The Conservation Department, through its Seafood Auditor, has
made a very careful survey of the crab industry of Maryland, in an
effort to determine where the supply of crabs and crab meat is at present
being marketed. It is astonishing to find that crab shippers are limited
in their markets to a few nearby states and cities, With the increase
of crabs in our waters during the past five years, these markets have
naturally become somewhat congested, and prices obtained have been
too low for the watermen and packers engaged in the business to make
more than a bare living.

At a meeting held by the Conservation Commissioner at Crisfield
during the early autumn of 1932, before the seafood committee of the
local Chamber of Commerce, these facts were revealed, and it was pro-
posed to organize units throughout tidewater Maryland, to be followed
by a State-wide organization, for the purpose not only of working out
an efficient system of marketing crabs and other seafood, but to prevent
waste in these industries.

It has been estimated that one-third of the crab production of Mary-
land during the past two years has been improperly marketed, and if
standardized could be obtained and a more efficient system be worked
out, either by canning or quick freezing, it will enormously aid the
people engaged in the industry, and at the same time widen the distri-
bution of this important seafood of Chesapeake Bay and combat the
encroachments of the Oriental product.

When the production of crabs in the Chesapeake in 1925 was 29,-
000,000 pounds, the main shipping points or markets were Baltimore,
Washington, Philadelphia and New York. The Seafood Auditor's survey
shows that with an increased production in 1931 to 68,000,000 pounds,
the crab packers shipped to substantially the same markets. To show
how poorly distributed the supply is, it was found that Baltimore, with
800,000 inhabitants, used 1,500,000 pounds of crabs coming from Mary-
land waters and 600,000 pounds from Virginia, while the City of New
York, with approximately 7,000,000 inhabitants, got only 400,000 pounds
from Maryland. Little or no crab meat gets west of Pittsburgh. The
great potential market of the Middle West could consume all the sur-
plus crab meat that Maryland might produce, and with proper distribu-
tion would give a fair profit to the crab packer as well as the watermen
engaged in taking this important seafood,

Commercial Value of the Tidal Waters

The survey previously referred to, which was completed by the Sea-
food. Auditor in co-operation with the United States Bureau of Fisheries,
brought out some very interesting facts which are worthy of mention.

In the last few years, the increased value of seafood in certain waters
of the State has been marked, especially is this true of Queen Anne's