Something Rotten in Boston?

Into Boston harbor last week came 29 trawlers jampacked with two million pounds of fish for the Lenten trade. But when the fish was put up for sale in the smoke-filled Fish Exchange, only 118,000 lbs. were sold. It was not for lack of bidders. As auctioneers went through their babble ("Haddock on the Maine . . . I'm offered seven . . . seventy-five . . . seven-eighty . . .all done? . . . all done"), haddock finally reached a top bid of 8 1/2-c-. But it was still half a cent below the minimum price unofficially set by the A.F.L. Atlantic Fishermen's Union, whose men man the boats. And until the price for haddock and other fish was met, the unionized "lumpers" who unload the boats would not work.

Lower Prices. The fishermen's case was simple. They wanted to keep fish prices up at a time when wholesale fish prices had been falling. Having dined on pompano during the war, they did not want to go back to carp. Some fishermen had earned $10,000 or more a year on the "highliners," the few crack boats whose fish-wise captains could fill their boats to the gunwales. But most made under $5,000 a year.

Now, snapped one fisherman: "I'm lucky to make $120 clear of taxes and expenses on a two weeks' trip."

But boat-owners, who get 40% of a boat's catch (the crew gets 60%), and fish companies think that prices in the open market must drop to their natural levels. They are only too well aware that New England's fishing industry is in no condition to keep prices up arbitrarily. Cold storage plants are as packed with fish as sardine cans. There were 15 million pounds of frozen rosefish in New England freezers at the beginning of the year, compared to four million pounds at the same time last year.

Ease a Headache. Lower retail prices and high consumption might ease some of the headaches of New England's fish industry. Sixteen Gloucester fish firms have already embarked on an advertising program to prod housewives in ten cities in the Midwest, South and East to eat more rosefish (other names: red perch, ocean perch, redfish).

But the price structure of the whole industry seemed ready for a shakedown. Reasons: 1) fish must again compete with meat, cheese and eggs; 2) Canadian, Newfoundland and Iceland fisheries are underselling the U.S. industry (TIME, April 22).

As this week opened, the Lenten season demand for fresh fish forced the price of haddock above the union's minimum, brought about a temporary truce between the fishermen and boat-owners. But much of last week's unsold catch was condemned by the state health inspector, sold for fish meal and fertilizer. Price: $4 a ton.

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