The Original Intention Of A Policy And The Reality Of Interests

Due to the declination of fishery and depression of fish market in Shanghai in the 1930s,fishermen and fishery experts called on the National Government to rescue Shanghai’s fishery.Affected by the idea of fishery control,the National Government implemented a number of plans to develop fishery economy.In order to balance between the supply and demand of aquatic products,regulate the price,gain control over Shanghai fishery and increase financial income,the National Government decided to build Shanghai fish market.For the sake of effectively playing its role,Shanghai fish market must achieve the trade concentration of Shanghai’s aquatic products.As the fish guilds were originally the core of Shanghai aquatic transactions before 1936,the trade concentration of Shanghai Fish Market means that the market should try its best to make the fish guilds join it and therefore become the Shanghai Fish Market brokers.Only in this way would the first transactions of aquatic products into Shanghai be concentrated into Shanghai Fish Market.In substance,it was the struggle between the National Government and Shanghai fish guilds for the leading power in Shanghai fishery.In order to successfully achieve the trade concentration,Shanghai Fish Market first adopted various peaceful methods and then used compulsive means.It began with the fresh aquatic products,after that focused on salted products.The whole process can be divided into three stages.The first stage is from 1934 to the opening of Shanghai Fish Market in May 1936.During this time,Fish Market successfully persuaded 17 fish guilds to join it.The second stage is the collaboration with 13 seafood fish guilds.In the last stage,Shanghai fish market worked on the trading concentration of salted fish.Until September 1937,Shanghai Fish Market had achieved a certain degree of trade concentration of Shanghai aquatic products.The trade concentration of Shanghai Fish Market had brought two major results.On the one hand,the location of the fishery transactions was transferred from the French Concession to the Fuxing Island,which caused inconvenience to the fishermen and fishmongers.On the other hand,the modern aquatic trade system and framework was formed,to which the fish guilds were also subject.Interests,in fact,are the core of the trade concentration of Shanghai Fish Market.The intricate interests conflict among the National Government and different fishery-related parties were showed in both the process and results of trade concentration.Among them,the conflict between the National Government and the Shanghai fish guilds was most serious.The National Government failed to put Shanghai fish guilds under its control.On the contrary,Shanghai Fish Market was controlled by Du Yuesheng and Shanghai fish guilds,who continued to keep the leading power in Shanghai fishery.Besides,the fight between fresh water fish guilds and seafood fish guilds,the dispute among seafood fish guilds,as well as the fights inside the Shanghai Fishery economic chain had always been through the trade concentration of Shanghai Fish Market.In above large-scale,multi-level interests disputes,the trade concentration of Shanghai fish market played a significant role.It was not only the result of interests,but also the trigger of the following interests’ conflicts.It was an important opportunity for the redistribution of interests in Shanghai fishery,and paved the way for the future changes of fishery interests in Shanghai.