| = | AUGUST 1950 Vol.12, No.8 Lu med = <4 4 Te) Lu Li s) (a) = =e Cc © aL poll Li United States Department of the Interior W ashington, D.C. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, Secretary FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE ALBERT M. DAY, Director COMMERCIAL BEY LIEW FISHERIES eu e Eee A REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS AND NEWS OF THE FISHERY INDUSTRIES PREPARED IN THE BRANCH OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES A. W. Anderson , Editor R.T. Whiteleather, Associate Editor Wm.H. Dumont and J. Pileggi, Assistant Editors Applications for COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW, which is mailed tree to members of the fishery industries and allied interests,should be addressed to the Director, Fish ond Wildlife Service, United States Department of the Interior, Washington, 25, D.C. The contents of this publication have not been copyrighted and may be reprinted freely; however, reference te the source will be apprecioted. The Service assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of materiol from outside sources. The printing of this publication has been approved by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, December 15,1949 CONTENTS COVER: THE PULLING OF A FISH TRAP OFF EQUIMINA, ANGOLA. THIS GEAR 1S USED IN ANGOLA FOR BONITA, AND MACKEREL. (SEE PAGE 30 OF THIS ISSUE.) CONTENTS CONTINUED ON RAGE 77 PAGE MESH SIZE AND CONSTRUCTION AS A FACTOR IN RELEASING SMALL FISH AND SHRIMP FROM TRAWL NETS, BY EUGENE W. ROELOFS 2... ccccccccccccnccnccncccccecencc ccc ccetsseseevcers vvcseererseeservesereseseses | ser 8 @ PAGE PAGE RESEARCH IN SERVICE LABORATORIES .seserereveee 12 FOREIGN: cccscvcsccecccesvcesccevevescsvceres SO TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS: ..ccccorsccescerereee ID ANGOLA: ADDITIONS TO THE FLEET OF U, S. FISHING FISHERY SURVEY .ccoscseccccecccessereseses JO VESSELS cccpoccoucsuerecasasecesereseccsoue Id BOLIVIA: ECA PROCUREMENT AUTHOR! ZATIONS FOR FISHERY FISH MARKETING SITUATION wessesseceseecees 39 PRODUCTS = JULY 1950 ...ccecescccrncscerese ID BRAZIL: EUROPEAN RECOVERY PROGRAM NOTES .....e.0+005 14 FISH MARKETING SITUATION vececesececsseeee 41 FEDERAL PURCHASES OF FISHERY PRODUCTS ...... 14 CANADA: GREAT LAKES FISHERY INVESTIGATIONS: ...e.0+. 15 SEEKS EXPANSION OF DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION TO POSSIBLE CONTROL OF GREAT LAKES SEA LAMPREYS MAKE UP LOSS IN EXPORT FISHERIES TRADE .. 42 BY ELECTRONIC DEVICES ...crcsccseresssevses 9 ARRANGES SALE OF NEWFOUNDLAND SALT COD IN GULF FISHERY INVESTIGATIONS ...sccecesceese I5 EUROPE ..ccocccerecerccccccesorevescsercss 42 NORTH ATLANTIC FISHERY INVESTIGATIONS: ..... 17 CEYLON: ALBATROSS Ji! LOCATES LARGE NUMBERS OF TWO- STATUS OF FISHERIES, 1949 weccecesececeees 43 YEAR OLD SCROD HADDOCK .. esc ccccccccccnces § N17 CHILE: : NORTH PACIFIC EXPLORATORY FISHERY PROGRAM: . 18 CURRENT FISH MARKETING SITUATION ...e+ee0. 43 RED ROCKFISH FISHING GROUNDS DISCOVERED ON GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC: UNCHARTED SEAMOUNT seucccurisesucvesscssese 10 GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS AFFECTING THE FISH- PACIFIC OCEANIC FISHERY INVESTIGATIONS: .... 18 ERIES cecccccecccccccccsceserccvcccseseces 44 OBSERVER ACCOMPANIES JAPANESE TUNA FISHING GREENLAND: ELEETSING TRUST OTERRUTORY) abteisteseienvncisistaeine al/6 DEVELOPMENT OF THE FISHERIES .sse-ccseases 44 PROGRESS REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1950 ...... 18 LNDONESIA LONG-LINE TUNA FISHING NEAR CANTON ISLAND RAISING PRAWN IN PONDS .escsoseserescreres 46 FOUND EXCELLENT BY HUGH M. SMITH «.e20.0.2 20 JAPAN: PRIBILOF ISLANDS FUR-SEAL TAKE FOR 1950 .... 21 PROPOSED PACIFIC FISHERIES AGREEMENT .e.+. 46 SERVICE FILM SELECTED FOR SHOWING AT EDIN- ESTIMATED PRODUCTION AND EXPORTS OF VITA= BURGH FILM FESTIVAL wcccscccscevcseccunvccs Cc MIN=A LIVER OILS FOR 1950 .ssescsececeses 47 SOUTH PACIFIC FISHERY INVESTIGATIONS: ...... 22 SURVEY OF FRESH-WATER AND SHELLFISH FISH- BLACK DOUGLAS MAKES DEEP PLANKTON TOWS .... 22 ERIES cescvveccccevevccccesccesessscceces 40 U, S. PACK OF CANNED GROUNDFISH FLAKES, 1949 24 MEXICO: U, S. AND ALASKA PACK OF CANNED SALMON, 1949 24 MEXICAN COASTAL TOWNS ASK FOR U. S.-MEXI= U, S. PACK OF CANNED. OYSTERS, 1949 ..esesere 25 CAN SHRIMP-FISHERY TREATY «eee eocee 49 PACK OF CALIFORNIA SARDINES, 1949 ... » 26 WEST COAST SHRIMP FISHERY sssceseseescseses 90 U, S. PACK OF CANNED SHAD, 1949 sscecsvereese 27 BRITISH NORTH BORNEO: WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICESS «ecesseveuseese 27 STATUS OF THE FISHERIES, 1949 wseveseseree SO WHOLESALE PRICES, JUNE 1950 .esesevevsvees 27 NORWAY: RETAIL PRICES, JUNE 1950 seavesecsssevsees 29 NORDIC FISHERY CONFERENCE essvesessserevee OS! COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW August 1950 Washington 25,D.C. Vol.12, No.8 RELEASING SMALL FISH AND SHRIMP FROM TRAWL NETS By Eugene W, Roelofs*™ INTRODUCTION The rapid development of the shrimp fishery in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, during recent years, accompanied by a general decline in finfish catches (other than menhaden), has resulted in a controversy regarding the relationship between the two industries, Many fishermen, and others, have been quite vociferous in their charges against the shrimp industry, Newspapers have carried feature stories describing the destruction of small fish by the shrimp trawls, There have been, however, very few facts which could be used as a basis for sound appraisal of the destruction, During the summer of 1949, the University of North Carolina's Institute of Fish- eries Research made a study of the release of small fish and shrimp from a highly- publicized and newly-developed webbing designed to retain shrimp and to release more fish than the type of webbing currently used in the industry, Two mesh sizes of standard webbing were used for comparison, While gathering information on the escapement of fish from the three nets, data were also obtained regarding the kinds and amounts of finfish taken and the distribution and growth of small fish within Pamlico Sound during the summer, The primary objective of the study, however, was to study the release of small fish and shrimp from the various types of webbing and to determine whether changes in net mesh construction and/or size resulted in sufficient savings of small fish to justify a modification of present regulations relating to shrimp trawls, GEAR An 18-foot trawl, similar to the conventional shrimp trawl, was used during the earlier part of the study, It was found, however, that the catches with this net were small, and it was felt that larger catches would result if conditions for escape from the cod end more closely approximated those found in the commercial nets, The 18-foot net, therefore, was replaced by a 50-foot net, Of a total of 39 experimental tows, 15 were made with the small and 2) with the large net, Three interchangeable cod ends were used in this study: (1) standard 32-thread twine, 2-inch stretched mesh (Figure 1-A); (2) same as above, 2¢-inch mesh (Figure 1-B); (3) a special cod endl/ made of 23-inch webbing, 18-thread twine (Figure 1-C), but with three softer and longer twines tied in with the regular twine, The longer, soft twines were designed by the inventor to entangle the shrimp and prevent their escape, while the larger mesh size would allow passage of small fish, * CHIEF, FINFISH AND HYDROBIOLOG! CAL INVESTIGATIONS , INSTITUTE OF FISHERIES RESEARCH, UNI VER- SITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, MOREHEAD CITY, Nv iG. iy FHE SPECIAL COD ND USED IN THE EXPERIMENTS REPORTED IN THIS ARTICLE WAS THE S9-CALLED GUTHRIE COD END) INVENTED BY LOUIS GUTHRIE, MOREHEAD CITY, ING (Ga (EDITORS). COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No, 8 STANDARD COD END 2-INCH STRETCHED MESH A 3 PLY 18-THREAD (MEDIUM) COTTON (TARRED) LARGE~MESH COD END 2l-INCH STRETCHED MESH B 3 PLY 36-THREAD (MEDIUM) COTTON (TREATED) SPECIAL COD END 2$-INCH STRETCHED fish ONE 3 PLY.18-THREAD (HKD) C COTTON WITH THREE 6-THREAD (SOFT STRANDS) COTTON (UNTREATED) COVER BAG 13-INCH STRETCHED MESH 3 PLY 18-THREAD (MEDIUM) [D COTTON (TREATED) FIGURE | - MESH SIZES OF THREE COD ENDS AND COVER BAG USED IN THIS STUDY. August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 3 A cover bag, made of 1$-inch webbing and 21-thread twine, (Figure 1-D) was sewed onto the belly of the net, four meshes ahead of the cod end, The cover bag was longer than the cod end and completely surrounded it so that fishor shrimp passing through the meshes of the cod end would be caught in the cover bag (Figure 2). METHODS The net was towed from the Institute's launch, the Robert E, Coker (Figure 3). Towing speed was about 3 knots; length of tows varied from one-half hour to slightly over one hour, All of the tows were made in Pam- lico Sound and the mouths of Pamlico and Neuse Rivers, No attempt was made to work in areas where shrimp were con- centrated inasmuch as the study was primarily concerned with escapement of small fish, Shrimp were taken in all tows but in a smaller ratio to finfish than would have been taken by following the "schools" of shrimp throughout the FIGURE 2 - THE COVER BAG SEWED ONTO THE BELLY OF Pamlico Sound area as practiced by com- THE NET, FOUR MESHES AHEAD OF THE COD END. mercial shrimpers e 14 FLOATS - 126 LEADS (§ OUNCE) When the net was lifted, the contents of the cover bag and the cod end were dis-= charged into separate compartments on deck, All fish and shrimp were measured in 0.5 centimeter intervals, FIGURE 3 - MOTOR CRUISER ROBERT E. COKER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA'S INSTITUTE OF FISHERIES RESEARCH. RESULTS In the 39 experimental tows, 1,884 shrimp and 13,083 fish were taken, The number of spot, croaker, and shrimp taken in each cod end and cover bag is pre- sented in Tables 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Included in these tablesis the per- 4 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No, 8 centage of escapement from each cod end of one-centimeter size groups, Sea trout taken in the various cod ends and cover bags are given in Table 4, The number of sea trout was relatively small and percentage of escapement by size was not calcu~ lated, Total numbers and kinds of fish caught are shown in Table 5, FIGURE 4 - WHEN THE NET WAS LIFTED, THE CONTENTS OF THE COVER BAG (UPPER CHECKER) AND THE COD END (LOWER CHECKER) WERE DISCHARGED INTO SEPARATE COMPARTMENTS ON DECK. SMALL FISH IN UPPER COMPARTMENT WERE RELEASED. Graphs were prepared to show the percentage escapement by size of spot, croaker, and shrimp from the three cod ends (Figures 5, 6, and 7, respectively). DISCUSSION COMPARISON OF COD ENDS: Figures 5, 6, and 7 best show the selectivity of the three cod ends as far as size of spot, croaker, and shrimp is concerned, The large- mesh (2;-inch) cod end releases more small fish and shrimp than does the special (25-inch) cod end; the latter, in turn, releases more than the 2-inch mesh, The Table 1 — Summary of Spot Escapement by Size Special Cod End | Large-Mesh Cod Ae | (24-inch mesh) (24-inch mesh) Cod End End} Bag | ment |End| Bag | ment Total wee in. 3 Her Percent 2.8-3.1 : 080M 3.1-3.5 87.8 ISG 3.59-3.9 88.7 22.35 3.9=-4.3 gece 14.7 4,3-4.7 3 4.3 4,7-5.1 {5 1.6 Spl =De0 6 0.0 5.5-5.9 ) 0.0 5.9-6.3 0 0.0 + @) ~~ Ptotal sre Tere] seal Sosa] wis] eee fess te 2 7 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW August 1950 ee oa) She i) e) ie) iS) 58) | a [weary sre ee Polo Torr a 0°O 0 0°O0 0°O 0°0 0 iB 0°0 0°O 0°O 0 os 0°O 0°O 0°O 0 T8 0°0 0°O aS td 06 6°T v2 9°S td VL TTL 6°9 T’S a 4g E°9T o°c S°ol G Og o°2Z¢ 8°42 6°S ae 9T S*39 9°0S 0°6T v aT 0*9S Ess E°es 4 v c esa | 8 | T_ queo1eg “On pay queo0.1e4| *ON | JUBDTEg Te40], quem | 3 quem | 2 quem pu pum poo (qsem youtT—<2) ysen yout-2 _|pum pop “Wee secor pud pop Tetoeds eztg Aq quemedeosm duyaqg jo Areung - ¢ eTqul, HODHNAMrCHANAM + eo es © © © © © © NnnonoodttnonNno DHAMAMOHHANOAN 4 oO e ee © © © © © © RNNNONnndttnonNns A OI RC sf EM Lohe 9°OT-2°OT a HANA AHHO ° DORM ° a : TO ao oo i] ° ° ° t AMNAOnd ° NUVNVAAN i] ° e TonoMoNnOoOoOR ee 1 CHANAMD e eyeiue seize se earn dtd up oOnwooerne ee e oe ete Pe eeoo a HFODHMOMMNE ANAND ANANR AYO 5 ! ted ostdgabard e rnurunnmn dt | ° ° pa 896 *8 ps2 | 818 fauotd oes pres soe) eee [ore fees yp TE40L a 0°0 Sieg, 0°0 ES S°9-6°S 0°0 Ge 6°G=-G*G 6°2 89 G°G-T°S 0*°OT LSD L°S=2°? 9° LT 926 L°0-S°d 9°Ts 698 iS °b-6°S o°Sr 942 6°S-S°S oO°T 9T S*S-T°S ie ae ON a Tes0L quem seq iS queU -odeosy | IeAo0p -odposy cate pum pop (Wsem youT—"2) Ysen Yout-g PUA PON YsSeW-oes1eT ezts Aq Jueuedeosy IexROID Jo pug pop bi) queu | Seg [pug ST BUST (qseu yout-22) PUA pop TeToeds 6 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No, 8 special net, however, allows greater escapement of the larger fish: spot over 12 centimeters (about 5 inches) and croakers over 14 centimeters (about 6 inches), In other words, the size range of fish escaping from the special net is slightly larger than that of the 2$-inch mesh net, The first part of each curve in the figures is perhaps not accurate because some very small fish which passed through the cod end may have escaped from the cover bag, giving a lower percentage escapement able 5 = Summary of Fish Taken in Savings- Croaker ceccccccccccccecs Miscellaneous Food: All'owitlOeisis sicleieisie cieslele FLGUHGOY, casceicicsicie vias Bluefish eeeoceeceesce POP Viisielsleisiclaleisicvelsio eles Hogfish ccccccesccsese Sea mullet ecoeeceocsese Spanish mackerel .ecee Cattash ciclslclaleisiciaisclelcie Total Misc. Food .we.. INon=food: Harvest TiSl esses lees Sand POLCh = _Cod End (2'/4-Inch ) SPECIAL Cod End (2 '72-inchy| E za WwW oO x Ww a 40 ¢—+-SMALL- M "N._Cod End(2-inch) S a 10.5 11.5 12.5 13.5 LENGTH OF FISH IN CENTIMETERS will be equal, about a month later, to 200 pounds of 50-count shrimp--if they all live, Since we do not know the natural mortality rate, we cannot tell exactly what advantage is to be gained, But if we assume a mortality as high as 50 per= cent in one month, the total weight would remain the same, but the shrimp would be of 50-count rather than 100-count size, A monthly mortality of 50 percent seems unreasonably high and, therefore, it seems certain that it would be economically profitable to release as many small shrimp as possible, DESTRUCTION OF SMALL FISH: Inasmuch as the study described above was not carried out according to the normal shrimping operations, it was anticipated that the data obtained would not present a true picture of the relative amounts of shrimp and fish taken in the commercial fishery, Arrangements were therefore made with a commercial shrimper to keep accurate records of a number of tows, Captain Merritt Moore, with the boat Penny, has provided records of 43 con- secutive tows, 41 of which were made in Pamlico Sound from August 30 to Septenm- ber 9, 1949. Captain Moore took 122.5 bushels of shrimp, 64.5 bushels of nonedible August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 9 food=fish species, and 41 bushels of edible food-fish species, . Of the latter, about 4, bushels were of marketable size, However, Captain Moore is probably one of the most astute shrimpers in the business, He uses a try net continuously and does not put over the regular net unless the presence of shrimp in substantial density is indicated, therefore, his boat perhaps takes more shrimp, in proportion to fish, than the average, It is well known among shrimpers that when good shrimp catches are made, small fish are less numerous, Nets used on the Penny are 50-foot flat nets with a 32=thread, 2=-inch cod end, Most of the shrimpers use smaller mesh nets and, therefore, would take more small fish, This fact, coupled with the indiscriminate dragging of many boats, results Figure 7—PERCENTAGE ESCAPEMENT OF SHRIMP \ . We LARGE- MESH ‘\ Cod Elem ) N = 2 WwW iS) a Ww a LL-MESH Cod End (2-Inch) 75 8.5 9.5 10.5 LENGTH OF SHRIMP IN CENTIMETERS in greater destruction Of small fish than Captain Moore's figures would indicate, A more complete study of finfish destruction is planned in 1950, Reports of dead fish covering the surface of large areas of Pamlico Sound dur- ing the shrimp season have appeared from time to time in newspapers, During the period of the experiment described here, dead fish were observed on only one oc- ~ casion when the Institute's boat was dragging in the wake of a boat which had just lifted a net, Another Institute observer spent two days aboard the Hatteras, work- ing in and around the main shrimp fleet, and saw no fish floating on the surface, It is believed that former reports have been grossly exaggerated, That some destruction occurs must be realized due to the nature of the oper- ation, Small fish are caught, and in some cases, in large numbers, However, many of the fish are not dead and are able to swim away when put back in the water, The 10 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No, 8 actual amount of destruction cannot be determined from studies to date; nor can the effect of this destruction on the croaker, sea trout, and spot fisheries, Catches . = : : - of these species have shown fluctuations in the past and will un- doubtedly continue to do so, An examination of the catch records in North Carolina, as reported in the Bi- enniel Reportsof the Department of Con= servation and Develop= ment, may serve as a method of studying the effectof shrimp-. ing on finfish fish- eries, A comparison of the 1938-1940 catch of the 18 food fish species with the 194,6- 1948 catch of the same FIGURE 8 - SHRIMP TAKEN IN ONE DRAG WITH SPECIAL NET. THOSE ON THE species shows a de- LEFT ESCAPED FROM THE SPECIAL COD END AND WERE CAUGHT IN THE COVER G1456 an the latt BAG. (SEE TEXT FOR RELATIVE ESCAPEMENT FROM OTHER NETS TESTED.) ciine in the latter biennium of 26,552,600 pounds, Over 50 percent of this decrease is due to the decline in the alewife, or herring fishery, a species not affected by the shrimp fishery. The decline in sea trout, croaker, and flounder amounted to 7,500,000 pounds (these are the only species showing a decrease which might be reduced by the shrimping industry), On the other hand, the catch of spot during the same period showed an in- crease, Inasmuch as spot (second only to croaker in numbers taken by shrimpers) showed an increase, and seven species not taken by shrimpers showed a decrease of 19,000,000 pounds during the heavy shrimping years, it would be difficult to ascribe de- creases in finfish to destruc- tion of young by the shrimp in- dustry, RECOMMENDATIONS: Inasmuch as the extent of current finfish destruction has not been ade- quately determined, there is as yet no biological basis for rec- ommending a change in the pres- ent shrimping laws relating to FIGURE 9 - SHRIMP TRAWLER PENNY. mesh construction or size, August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 11 It is pointed out, however, that the use of larger mesh nets, up to 2g-inch (stretched mesh) standard twine or 23-inch multiple twine, would release more small fish and small shrimp, thereby reducing labor and wearing of gear and pro- , viding whatever biological and economic benefits that might result from such re- leases, While accomplishing the above, the larger mesh sizes do not release suf- ficient shrimp to represent a significant loss, Inasmuch as there appear to be no disadvantages in using larger mesh nets, their use by the shrimping industry should be encouraged, Further studies, particularly regarding the amounts and kinds of fish taken by commercial shrimping vessels, are recommended for the 1950 shrimp season, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to acknowledge the assistance of the following Institute personnel in the field work: Captain John G, Wegener, Mr, A, Carter Broad, and Mr, Horace G, Loftin, Jr, Mr Boris 0, Knake, Fisheries Engineer of the U. S, Fish and Wildlife Service, who was an observer during much of the work and gave valuable aid and suggestions regarding the handling of the gear, also drew the sketches for this article, || ND rd THE SHRIMP FISHERY OF THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES North Carolina has two principal shrimp fishing areas, One, which represents the northern limit of the fishery, is in the Beaufort-Morehead City section, Here most of the fishing is in the inside waters around the mouths of the Neuse and Newport Rivers, in Core and Pamlico Sounds, and in the coastal waters a short distance each side of Beaufort Inlet, The second area is in the coastal watersoff the mouthof Cape Fear River, with Southport as the base for operations, Principal fishing grounds extend about 10 miles to the west from Cape Fear Point; but scattered fishing is done down to about Little River Inlet, About 84, percent of the total yearly shrimp catch is obtained from August through November with the.peak during October, --Fishery Leaflet 368 12 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 CC Za SERVICE LABORATORIES “47 Vill ttre rrae... woe en June 1950 BYPRODUCTS: A number of hatchery feeds were prepared and transported tothe Leavenworth, Washington, Hatchery for the summer feeding tests. These included vacuum-dried salmon-viscera meal; frozen salmon viscera; frozen salmon eggs, pre- served salmon eggs; frozen whole cod; frozen whole whale liver; and other frozen and dried meals, including Animal Protein Factor concentrates. * * Biotin assays were completed on all the meals being used in the test hatchery diets. * * * REFRIGERATION: After three months of storage, examination of the frozen oysters treated with ascorbic acidand glazes indicated that all samples continued to receive acceptable scores and no particular trends are as yet evident. 2 ESTES Tests on weight-loss determinations in connection with the project on freez- ing pink salmon fillets indicated that there had been no significant weight loss in storage of the samples except those treated with a thermoplastic wax dip. The wax coatingonthe latter had cracked badly allowing significant moisture loss and excessive surface dehydration. / =< a REFRIGERATED LOCKER STORAGE OF FISH AND SHELLFISH Two principal methods are available for preparing fish for locker or home freezing. Whole fish, either partially dressed or as they come from the water, can be frozen without further treatment; or the fish can be cut into chunks, steaks, or fillets, and packaged in a suitable wrap- ping material or packed in glass jars, Shellfish are usually best handled in airtight containers such as glass jars, --Fishery Leaflet 128 August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 13 aes | RENDS See AND Additions to the Fleet of U.S. Fishing Vessels During May 1950, a total of 102 vessels of 5 net tons and over received their first documents as fishing craft--39 less than in May 1949. Washington led with 21 vessels, followed by Alaska with 14, and California with 9 vessels, the Treasury Department's Bureau of the Customs reports. During the first five months of 1950, a total of 351 vessels were docu- mented, compared with 401 during the same period in 1949. Vessels Obtaining Their First Documents as Fishing Craft, May 1950 EES Five mos. ending with May | Total Section 1950 1949 1950 1949 1949 New England @eeeeoreaeeeee 0208080 date WAt antic eicjeiciclelelcls elele AWE dielclelelalelalslelclelclctalcla/cielcleve nknewn eeeeeoeeeneeeoeeeseeeen = me — = TO ib lea(eietsialassuoiatersunissa eiela’e Note: Vessels have been assigned to the various sections on the basis of their home port. ECA Procurement Authorizations for Fishery Products July 1950 No procurement and reimbursement authorizations for fishery products (edible and inedible) were an- nounced by the Economic Cooperation Administration during July 1950. In addition, no cancellations or decreases affecting previous authorizations for fish-— ery products were reported. FOR EUROPEAN RECOVERY PLIED B unire “STATES oF AMERICA Total ECA procurement authorizations for fishery products from April 1, 1948, through July 31, 1950, amounted to $28,286,000 ($16,296,000 for edible fish- ery products, $10,450,000 for fish and whale oils, and $1,540,000 for fish meal). 14, COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 European Recovery Program Notes EUROPEAN PAYMENTS UNION: Commenting on the Paris action of the Organiza- tion for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), the Acting Administrator of ECA stated that the establishment of the European Payments Union with all Marshall Plan countries as full and active members is one of the most significant and far-reaching developments of the European Recovery Program. He further stated that "the Payments Union is the first step towards the goal of a unified Euro- pean economy. Currency convertibility, made possible by the payments plan, will lead to greatly increased intra-European trade which in turn will lessen European dependence on extraordinary dollar aid." FOOD INDUSTRY STUDY: Two groups of specialists from 15 Marshall Plan countries left France during the month to make studies of American techniques in timber production; and in the handling of perishable foodstuffs, including transport, storage, and use of refrigeration. The perishable foods team, set = up as a 54-man group, will make an eight-week study. The members are from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The food industry study is designed to help Europeans eliminate present-day waste in the movement of perishable foods. In requesting this study, OEEC pointed out that the use of refrigerated depots and vehicles in the movement of perishable foods is much more highly developed in the United States than in Europe. The study will also aid food production techniques in Africa, as the British, French, and Belgian members of the team will pass on the information gained here totheir countries! overseas territories. Federal Purchases of Fishery Products DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, May 1950: The Army Quartermaster Corps purchased 1,270,467 pounds (valued at $439,998) of fresh and frozen: fishery products dur— ing May this year for the U. S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force for military feeding (see Table). Compared with the previous month, May purchases were up 28 percent in quantity, but only 1 percent in value; and compared with the corresponding month a year earlier, this May's purchases were 3 percent greater in quantity and 12 percent in value. Purchases of Fresh and Frozen Fishery Products by Department of the Army (May and the First Five Months, 1949 and 1950 QU RACINE Te Tee Tae ; | January - May | 1950 1949 1950 1949 ff 1950 [ 1949 1950 70,467] 1,254,220 4,352 o7 | 57a asolasstave | auctars | 2,oc8 lL »270,467 | 1,254,229 | 4,832,873 | 6,574,933}/439,998 | 393,676 | 2,062,398 | 2,214,499 For the first five months this year total purchases were still below the corresponding period a year ago by 26 percent in quantity and 7 percent in value. kolo wo August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 15 Great Lakes Fishery Investigations POSSIBLE CONTROL OF GREAT LAKES SEA LAMPREYS BY ELECTRONIC DEVICES: For Research Laboratories of Chicago, I1l., on June 25 by the U. S. Department of the Interior. The Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking to develop radar—type instruments, antisubmarine sound generators, and other electronic devices to electrocute the sea lampreys which have virtually destroyed the lake-trout fishery in most of the Great Lakes. Preliminary research by the Cook laboratories gives hope of finding methods of controlling the sea lamprey. The Cook Research Laboratories will have in operation by October 15 an experimental device on Carp Lake River in Michigan for electrocuting downstream—-migrating lampreys. The electrical device on Carp Lake River is designed for killing the young sea lampreys that are moving down- stream from their rearing areas in the headwaters of the river. The goal of the Cook laboratories is to develop a device—electromagnetic, sonic or light--which is selective in operation, killing only sea lampreys. Such a device, or combination of devices and techniques, may be developed by next year. Experiments have already progressed to the point that it seems pos-— sible that a method of killing the upstream-migrating (or spawning) lampreys without harming spawning game fish can be discovered. This is considered to be the most promising development in sea lamprey control work. According to Fish and Wildlife Service scientists, who are working with the Cook Research Laboratories in the control program, the sea lamprey has peculiar— ities which may spell its own destruction. For example, the lamprey migrates at night to spawn in the upper reaches of rivers and streams. Bright underwater lights may confuse the lamprey, making his electrocution easier. Sound waves, produced by sonic generators tuned to the heartbeat of lampreys, may also kill them. A combination of these factors may be developed into a positive lamprey— control program. Desirable game fish may be protected from electrocution devices by their ability to detect and stay away from electric fields. Sea lampreys, on the other hand, will swim right into charged areas and be killed or so severely injured that they will die within a few hours. Sonic or light devices, on the other hand, may repel lampreys but not fishes, enabling game fish to proceed upstream during certain periods when the electrical devices are shut off. Gulf Fishery Investigations The Guif of Mexico, despite its importance to the economy of the South and the Nation, is one of the least understood of the world's major bodies of water. This applies not only to the mass water movements within the Gulf, and to the nutrient salts which are available to support marine life, but also to the abun- dance, ranges, distributions, and life histories of the many species of fish oc- curring in that body of water. The Fish and Wildlife Service, the primary re- search agency of the newly-formed Gulf States Marine Fisheries Compact, has the responsibility for solving these unknowms through the Service's Gulf Fishery Investigations. (The Gulf Fishery Investigations under the Branch of Fishery 16 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vole 12, No. 8 Biology with its vessel Alaska will deal with the biological and oceanographic phases of the Gulf of Mexico's problems, while the Service's Gulf Exploratory Fishery Program under the Branch of Commercial Fisheries with its vessel Oregon will concentrate on the exploration of the Sus fishery resources and their commercial possibilities.) The first step of the Investigations is to survey the physical oceanography of the Gulf as a whole. The recently-organized Oceanographic Department of Texas A. and M. is authorized to design and execute a program to define the pattern of currents and temperatures, surface and subsurface, for the entire Gulf, and how these vary throughout the year. Complementing this, analyses of the quantities and distribution of nutrient salts available in these waters will be carried on in order to gain an under- standing of the fertility of these waters. Except for that portion which is in- fluenced by the major rivers (each of which contributes nutrients leached out of the land), the Gulf is assumed to be far less productive than the waters of more northern latitudes. Along with these studies, the microscopic life of the seas, known as plank— ton, will be studied quantitatively, not only for the microscopic plant and ani- mal life, but especially for the eggs and larvae of fish. Adequate sampling of a body of water as extensive as the Gulf presents a major problem. Advantage will be taken of recent developments in high speed nets — possibly of the Hardy plankton sampler. The relative sterility of the waters should reduce the prob— lem of sorting, identifying, and measuring, to something within limits. Here lie the best clues (for those fish with pelagic eggs) to the areas and to the time of spawning, to the species, and even to their relative numbers, In this study lies also the clue to the variations in survival, which becomes in— creasingly apparent as the biggest contributing factor to the fluctuations in abundance of all of our fisheries, of which the sardine study on the Pacific Coast is an example. Along with these basic studies there will be investigations into the life his- tory of some of the species of greatest commercial importance. For one, the men- haden, which is now the greatest contributor (in tonnage) to the fisheries produc- tion of the United States, and whose life history is virtually a blank. The solution of all these problems, and more, will be sought under the Gulf Fishery Investigations, with headquarters at Galveston, Texas. The Alaska, the Service's Gulf Fishery Investigations vessel, is now being outfitted for this work in the Gulf. Obviously, the scope of the Investigations exceeds the capac— ity of any one agency. Therefore, the Service is seeking cooperation with the many State and private institutions in the States making up the Compact. Be- sides Texas A. and M., the University of Miami and Louisiana State University have already agreed to work on a part of the program; others will join so that the whole can be subdivided into segments small enough to be mastered. a August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 17 North Atlantic Fishery Investigations "ALBATROSS III" LOCATES LARGE NUMBERS OF TWO-YEAR OLD SCROD HADDOCK: Large numbers of two-year old scrod haddock were ‘caught ab numerous places on on Georges Bank by the Albatross III on its Cruise 37 (July 6 to July 17, 1950). After completing about half of a census of the fish on this Bank, the vessel returned to Woods Hole before the cruise was completed because of trouble with the trawl- winch motor. During the cruise, a series of 31 shoal-—water stations in the central part of Georges Bank was completed. Data on the size and numbers of all species of fish, bottom temperatures, bottom samples, and bottom water samples were ob— tained at each station. HAULING UP THE BELLY OF THE ALBATROSS 111'S OTTER TRAWL NET ON A RECENT CRUISE. 18 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 North Pacific Exploratory Fishery Program RED ROCKFISH FISHING GROUNDS DISCOVERED ON UNCHARTED SEAMOUNT: What is ap— parently an unknown seamount at 46°44' N. latitude, 130°47' W. longitude, was located by the John N. Cobb, the Becca North Pacific exploratory fishing vessel, on August 3. This seamount, which is not shown on navigation charts for the area, is about 280 miles west of Willapa Bay on the Washington coast. The discovery was made from routine readings of electronic devices while the vessel was conducting albacore tuna explorations in the North Pacific. Soundings taken of this seamount show that the shallowest portion is 22 fathoms deep, and there is an extensive level area at 70 fathoms. Surrounding ocean waters are 1,400 to 1,600 fathoms deep. The vessel set long-line fishing gear on the seamount grounds. When the gear was hauled up, it was heavy with red rockfish (Sebastodes ruberrimus), av— eraging 15 pounds each in the round. West Coast fishermen commonly call this species "red snapper," and it is considered the most desirable and valuable mar— ket fish of this species. The fish caught were of top quality. This discovery is considered important since it discloses new fishing grounds which might prove of value in the future, and also may answer some of the scientific questions concerning the occurrence of the rockfish and other species to be found in offshore waters. Pacific Oceanic Fishery Investigations OBSERVER ACCOMPANIES JAPANESE TUNA FISHING FLEET IN TRUST TERRITORY: In early June “June this year, a fleet of 25 Japanese long-line tuna fishing hing vessels in the company of a 10,000-ton mothership set out on a tuna fishing expedition in the waters of the Caroline and Marshall Islands region. A scientist of the Pa- cific Oceanic Fisheries Investigations met this fleet off Guam and is accompany— ing it during the voyage as a scientific and technical observer and as the rep— resentative of the High Commissioner of the United States Trust Territories in the Pacific. Two Japanese research ships will join the fleet later for oceano— graphic and biological studies. In May 1950, SCAP authorized Japanese operation of only mothership-—type tuna fishing in the area extending south from the authorized Japanese fishing area to the Equator, including the waters in the United States Trust Territory around the Caroline Islands, the Marianas and the Marshall Islands, but not the Gilbert Islands. < PROGRESS REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1950: This is a short summary of the work of the Pacific Oceanic Fishery Investigations during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1950. Morphometric Studies: Efforts during the year were concentrated on the morphometric approach to racial divisions and migrations of Pacific tunas. Ex— tensive series of measurement data have been gathered on tunas for the Hawaiian area and have been summarized statistically to serve as a basis of comparison with other areas, Data are being gathered on tunas of the Phoenix and Line Is— lands by the Investigations! research vessels, August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 19 JOHN R. MANNING, ONE OF THE TREE RESEARCH VESSELS OF THE PACIFIC OCEANIC FISHERY TNVEST!IGATIONS, AT PEARL HARBOR Comparison of data from Hawaii with similar data from the American west coast indicates that the two populations are distinct. Comparisons of other species and other areas are in progress. Tagging of Tunas: Preliminary experiments indicate that both a hook-type external tag (or a modification thereof) and an internal tag may be practical for use on skipjack tuna. The latter—type tag would be recovered by means of an electronic detector, the design of which is under consideration. Preliminary trials have shown that tuna may be transported alive in the bait well of the research vessel Hugh M. Smith for periods of at least a day or two. Perhaps live tunas may be successfully Tly held in ponds for testing types ee tags and for other purposes. Hydrographic Observations: A series of aerial hydrographic observations from the Hawaiian Islands across the equatorial counter-—equatorial current sys— tem was completed last winter and a similar series has been begun for the summer season. In addition, two temperature sections have been taken in the region as far as the equator. The object is to determine fluctuations occurring in the equatorial current system, and to furnish information concerning the effect of hydrographic conditions on local and seasonal productivity and on abundance of tunas. Distribution and Abundance of Tunas: Work on distribution and abundance of tunas in relation to their environment and productivity of various areas of the sea has been started. Fifty baskets of specially designed tuna long lines have been built to study vertical distribution of tunas anda Japanese line hauler, installed on the Hugh M. Smith, has been found to be practical. 20 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vole 12, No. 8 Food and Feeding Habits of Tunas: The study of food and feeding habits of tuna, which involved assembly and identification of a reference collection of central Pacific fish and larger invertebrates, is largely completed. Stomach contents have been identified from a series of 60 Hawaiian big-eyed tuna and identification has begun upon a sizable collection of tuna stomachs brought back from Cruise 2 of the John R. Manning and Cruise 4 of the Hugh M. Smith. Fish Eggs and Larvae: Examination of plankton samples from all cruises for fish eggs and larvae has been nearly completed. The Philippine Fisheries Pro- gram has furnished partial series of identified juveniles of several species of tunas. Cruise 4 of the Hugh M. Smith was especially designed to provide infor— mation concerning vertical distribution of tuna eggs and larvae. A series of stations was occupied and nets were fished at different levels from the surface to 200 meters (109 fathoms). Further progress of these studies awaits identifi- cation of series of tuna eggs and larvae after sorting of hauls is completed. Bait Fish: Studies of bait fish have progressed to the point of making determinations of minimum oxygen levels for the iad (a silverside smelt, H. in- sularum) and the mosquito fish (Mollienesia sp.). It has not been possible with present facilities to hold the local bait anchovy (nehu, Anchoviella purpureus ) for such work. Since the University of Hawaii's field station at Coconut Island is now usable, it will be possible to experiment with this important species. Japanese Fisheries Literature Study: Compilation and analyses of informa- tion and literature from Japanese and other sources are about 50 percent com— plete--53 of about 60 translated papers have been reproduced and distributed. These papers in the future will be released in the "Special Scientific Report: Fisheries" series. Three reports have been written on material gathered in Ja- pane Some fishing methods used by the Japanese are being adapted for use by POFI. Information on fishing methods has been sent to other activities of the Fish and Wildlife Service and interested private groups. A film depicting Ja-— panese long-line fishing methods was exhibited to the Hawaiian fishing industry during the year. eS —_—— — catches in a preliminary trial of this gear by the Pacific Oceanic Fishery In- vestigations research vessel Hugh M. Smith during the week of July 16. Fishing 30 baskets of flag-—line gear comparable to that employed in the Hawaiian fisher— ies, catches were made consisting of 73 yellowfin tuna, 4 albacore tuna, and 6 marlin. The yellowfin were of 60- to 100-pound size. The catch rate of about 75 fish per hundred hooks is more than double the average take in the Hawaiian flag-—line fishery. The week's flag-line fishing was undertaken before starting a series of oceanographic stations running from 5° S. latitude to Oahu along 158° W. longi- tude, since it offered an excellent opportunity for preliminary tests of the theory advanced by POFI scientists that good flag-line fishing should be found in subsurface waters near Canton Island. This was the first flag-lining ever done in this vicinity and appears to bear out the theory. The vicinity of Canton Island is expected to contain a sizable population of tuna because of the upwelling of deep water along the equator which enriches this region, providing nutrients for the small organisms at the bottom of the food chain which ultimately supports the tunas and other large, predacious fish. August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 21 The vessel reported also that sharks were very abundant and that many were taken on the flaglines. About 25 percent of the tunas caught were partly eaten by sharks before being landed. Surface schools of both yellowfin and shipjack tuna were observed to be very numerous at Canton Island and elsewhere in the Phoenix group. Two other POFI research vessels, the John R. Manning and the Henry O'Malley, were due to arrive at Canton Island during the week of July 24 and plan to spend the next month measuring the abundance of these surface schools of tuna and determining what quantities can be caught by live-bait and purse-seine fishing. The Henry O'Malley was to bring bait from Midway and also use bait fish from the lagoons at Canton and Hull Islands. SS, Sh ee ony Pribilof Islands Fur-Seal Take For 1950 = A total of 60,090 fur-seal skins were taken this year in the Government—ad- ministered sealing operations on Alaska's Pribilof Islands, the Secretary of the Interior announced August 7. The annual sealskin harvest began on June 10 and continued through July 27. Last year's total was 70,891 skins, while the average annual yield over the past ten years has been 66,920. Fewer seals were killed this year as a result of normal fluctuations—-such as occur in all wildlife populations. Variations FUR-SEAL HAREMS ON POLOVINA ROOKERY, ST. PAUL ISLAND, ALASKA. 22 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 in food supply, the abundance of predators, and other natural mortality factors determine the number of seals available, Stabilization of the yearly kill at about 67,000 seals indicated that the seal herd may have reached its maximum size. The fur-seal industry on the Pribilofs is a responsibility of the United States Government, but 20 percent of the annual take of skins becomes the prop— erty of the Canadian Government under the provision of the Fur Seal Act of 1944 between the two countries. The U. S. seal skins are dressed and dyed by a St. Louis fur company (Government agents for the processing and selling of the skins) and are sold at public auction. The net proceeds go to the U. S. Treasury. Approximately 80 percent of the world's fur seals come to the Pribilof Is- lands to breed. During the winter they range southward as far as southern Cali- fornia and then return in the spring to the barren; volcanic Pribilofs. The pelts are obtained chiefly from three-year-old males. Pelagic sealing——-the kill- - ing of seals while they are at sea——is prohibited under the agreement between Canada and the U. S. =? AOE? \ Service Film Selected For Showing At Edinburgh Film Festival Among the 17 United States Government films selected for showing at the Edinburgh Film Festival to be held at Edinburgh, Scotland, August 20-September10, 1950, is the Fish and Wildlife Service film Food for Thought, the Department of State reported on August 8. The selections have been made from films produced by the following Depart— ments and Agencies: Department of Agriculture; Department of the Army; Federal Security Agency (Children's Bureau); Department of the Interior; Department of the Navy; Department of State; Department of the Treasury (Coast Guard); and Veterans Administration. The Edinburgh Film Festival was organized in 1947 under the sponsorship of a committee widely representative of the film interests in Great Britain and in close collaboration with the British Government for the purpose of showing real- ist, documentary, and experimental films on a noncompetitive basis. Every film selected by the British Committee for showing at the Festival is awarded a cer-— tificate. The United States participated informally in the 1948 and 1949 Festi- vals through the American Embassy at; London. South Pacific Fishery Investigations "BLACK DOUGLAS" MAKES DEEP PLANKTON TOWS: Four deep plankton tows (to a depth of 425 meters or 297 fathoms) were made by biologists aboard the Black Douglas, the Service's South Pacific Fishery Investigations vessel which is working on the cooperative Pacific sardine research program with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the California Division of Fish and Game, and the California Academy of Science. These tows were made on the vessel's Cruise XVI from July 6 through July 24,in the area between Cape Mendocino and Pt. Sur, Cal- ifornia. Plankton volumes were found to be similar to those of the June cruise August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW ; 295 and generally less abundant than in collections made the early part of this season. Va- rious fish eggs and larvae were present in almost every haul made during the July Cruise. No schools of sardines were seen. One school of what was most likely jack mack- erel was seen off- shore to the south- west of Monterey. Lines were trolled to locate albacore, but none was seen or caught. Night dip-net fishing results were good-=- sauries and lan- ternfish were the most common fish caught. Very large numbers of adult sauries were seen on most all inshore sta- tions that were occupied atnight, and although some were observed over the whole pattern, they were fewer offshore. Four f ONE-METER PLANKTON NET USED IN THE COOPERATIVE PACIFIC SARDINE RESEARCH un tur, PROGRAM BY THE BLACK DOUGLAS, RESEARCH VESSEL OF THE SERVICE'S SOUTH seals were ob- PACIFIC FISHERY INVESTIGATIONS. DEVICE SUSPENDED IN MOUTH OF NET 1S served off Cape A CURRENT METER WHICH MEASURES THE AMOUNT OF WATER STRAINED DURING ACH HAUL. Mendocino and one Fah off San Francisco. Black-footed albatross appeared fewer than on previous cruises of this years U.S. Pack of Canned Groundfish Flakes, COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 I949 Groundfisn rlakes canned during 1949 amounted to 32,365 seanadea cases (cases of various sizes converted to the equivalent of 48 14-ounce cans to the case) with Pack of Camned Groundfish Flakes, 1940- 49 (Quantity in Std. Cases=/; & Value to the Baanone ear | Quantit ee Per Std.Case— Std.Cases 2,365 sor, 224 35,014 548,113 18,560 303,831 151,886 2,107,446 2,332,176 1,318,167 497,815 1,011,582 371,699 345 , 938 f/Cases of various sizes converted to the equivalent of 48 cans to the case, each can containing 14 ounces of fish. a value to the packers of $506,22). This was a decrease of 8 percent in both quantity and value as compared Canning of groundfish flakes took place in two plants in Maine and two in Massachusetts. Production of this product’ during 1949 was the second lowest during the past ten years; the low— est production was in 1947 when 18,560 were canned (see table). value, the 1949 production was in fifth place. In Average price per standard case at. the canners' level in 1949 was only 1 cent below 1948, which indi- cated that demand continued along the same level as in 1949 and prices were almost equal to those which prevailed in 1948. > i U. Sand Alaska Pack of Canned Salmon, 1949 Salmon canned in the Pacific Coast states and Alaska in 1949 amounted to 5,524,916 standard cases, valued at $103,430,980 to the canners (see table 1)— an increase of 15 percent in quantity, but a decline of 14 percent in value, compared with 1948. Alaska accounted for 79 percent of the 1949 pack; Puget Sound, 17 percent; the Columbia River Districts of Washington and Oregon, 3 per- cent; and the coastal areas of the Pacific Coast States, 1 percent. Pink salmon, which are canned principally in the Southeastern and Central Districts of Alaska, and in the Puget Sound District of Washington, accounted for 59 percent of the volume and 50 percent of the value of the 1949 salmon pack. Salmon were canned at 34 plants in Washington, 11 in Oregon, 3 in California, and 117 in Alaska. Pacific Coast ee Total U. _ = Tears as pare coe Value __| Per Std.Case4/|sta.casee/| Value ar Sits a.caseY sta. Gasor Value rent sta, cso : ; ted or sockeye Silver or coho 81,263 = eS a 22 as af 5,524,916 se a50 500 18.72 fi/Cases of various sizes converted to the equivalent of J/SEE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW, 48 l-pound cans per case, each can “ontaining 16 ounces. JUNE 1950, PP. 27-8. August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 25 Table 2 - U. S. and Alaska Pack of Canned Salmon, 1940-49 (Quantity in Standard Cases-/and Value to Canners) Pacific Coast States Total U. S. & Alaska e ss eee Avg. Price Total Avg. Price Total Avg. Price eAslt al : vor Sta, Casal L949 4,091,098 pol, ’ 250 fe 9 $103,430, 980 7 948 120,537,196 120,635,435 53,157,194 70,160,653 44,644,303 557,769 i 52,586,405 51,196,140 245,588 5,187,136 56,383,276 57,824,267 275,889 5,110,847 62,935,114 48,300,209 759,032 13,673,968 61,974,177 56,217,601 899 ,589 11,199,317 67,416,918 31 474,492 535,665 6,575,176 5 38 049,668 .ft/Cases of various sizes converted to 48 l-pound cans per case. Prices of canned salmon dropped considerably during 1949 as compared with the prevailing prices in 1948 (see table 2), From a record high of $24.98 per standard case in 1948, prices of canned salmon declined to $18.72 per standard case in 1949. This latter price, however, was still higher than for any year previous to 1947. The price in 1947 was $2)..38 per standard case. x —~—', Y U.S. Pack of Canned Oysters, 1949 Table 1 - Pack of Canned Oysters by States, and by Size of Can and Case, 1949 Quantity in Standardl/and Actual Cases, and Value to the Canners Avg. Price | Size of Can Total Per Std. Cased/| ___and Case Quant ity Value Actual Cases] Avg. Price Per Actual Case 2 14.70 4,175,746 788,140 996,829 4-2/3 ounces net (48 cans) 5 ounces net (48 cans) 17,98 16.23 6-1/2 ounces net (48 cans) fashington and Oregon . Other sizes (standard cases) 564,492 Total cccseccesence Total wecccccccceccese "Standard cases" represent cases of various sizes converted to the equivalent of 48 cans to the case, each can containing 4-2/3 ounces (drained weight) of oyster meats. 15.50 e In 1949, a total of 452,918 standard cases (48 4-2/3-ounce cans) of canned oysters were packed in the United States with Table 2 - Pack of Canned Oysters, 1940-49 (Quantity in Std.Casest/ & Value to the Canners) Atlantic Coast Pacific and Coast a value of $6,525,207 to the Gulf States States Total processors—-an increase of 95,838 Std. Cases+/ Std. Cases Std. Cases cases (27 percent) as compared 338,929 113,989 452,918 with the previous year. 273,591 83,489 357,080 318,550 91,937 410,487 Over half of the 1949 pack 261,622 129,215 390,835 of oysters was canned in Loui- 220,847 5,117 225,964 siana (39 percent) and Missis-— 273,556 - 273,556 sippi (16 percent). The Atlantic 344,931 937 345,868 and Gulf States accounted for 75 445 , 782 77,480 523,262 percent of the pack, and the 465 ,854 191,191 657,045 States of Washington and Oregon 535,486 157,099 690 ,585 for the remaining 25 percent. 1/Cases of various sizes converted to the equiv-— alent of 48 4-2/3-ounce cans per case (14 pounds net). Oysters were canneu in 24 plants in Louisiana; 19 in Mis- sissippi; 8 in Washington; 4 in 26 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, Now &. South Carolina; 2 plants each in North Carolina, Alabama, and Oregon; and 1 plant in Georgia. The average price per standard case increased from $13.38 in 1948 to $14.41 in 1949 e Pack of California Sardines, 1949 15 ounces aot, tall (48 cans) .... 1,517,609 15 s nm, oval (48 cans) .... 1,653,346 $ pound cans 8 ounces net, tall (48 cans) 294,866 6s m , oblong (48 cans) .... 267,105 5 ounces net, (100 cans) 420,258 Other sizes converted to 15 ounces net (48 cans) 24,426 235,549 A |_ 4,177,610 [21,334,625[ = h/*"Standard cases" represent canes of wariouk sizes converted to 48 No. 1 tall cans (15 ounces net) to the case, e/Includes special packs of sardines (pilchards) in soybean oil; in olive oil, and in olive oil and tomato sauce; fillets without sauce or oil and fillets in soybean oil. California's sar- dine (pilchard) pack in 1949 was 3,768,212 standard cases, valued at $21,334,825 to the canners—an increase of 42 percent in quan- tity, but a decline of able 2 - Pack of California Sy pee Pilchards) 1940-49 Quantity in Standard Casesl/ and Value to the Canners yoor_ | anny Total Avg. Price Quantit Value Per Sta./ case 21,334,825 21,892,893 3 percent in value as 16,538,375 compared with 1948 19,895,649 (see table 1). While 15,346,472 the 1949 pack was the 15,225,919 second largest inhis— 14,352,359 tory, it was 1,238,942 15,509,964 cases less than the 5,007,154 18,091,873 record 1941 production; but the value of the 1949 pack was only 3 percent below the rec— ord $21,892,893 re- ceusee the previous year. Sardines (pilchards) were canned in 49 plants inCali- ornia. 2,945 , 882 8,975,257 The average price per standard case continued to decline. The record price per standard case was received by the canners in 1947 ($10.01 per case). In1948, the price declined to $8.25 per standard case; and in 1949, the price dropped to $5.66 per standard case. This was even below the 1946 price of $6.68 (see table 2). August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 27 U.S. Pack of Canned Shad, 1949 Canned shad produced in 1949 amounted to 13,835 standard cases, valued at $106,194 to the canners (see table 1)—a decline of 6 percent in quantity and 22 percent in value as compared with the previous year. This does not include a small production of canned smoked shad, which since 1946 has been canned only by a single firm. Table 1 - Pack of Canned Shaal by ieee in Standard Cases2/and by Size of Can & Case in Actual Cases, 1949 antity and Value to the Canners eee eee eee Avg. Price | Size of Can Total |Avg.Price State Quant it 1 Value Per ae Case and Case ee =a Per meaee Std. Std. Cases@/| ; lActual Cases] arylend2/ Satcietsteeu | ROD Lea 15 ounces net (48 ee aa SOL ost 090 ashington, Oregon | Other sizes ea and California - +6 standard cases*/ .. 504 8,104] 16.08 106,194) = Total ecccscere TOCA sisiclsicisivielelsleleiols 13,835 i1/Does not include production of canned smoked shad. 2/Cases of various sizes converted to the equivalent of 48 No. 1 tall cans per case, each can containing 15 ounces of fish. The production in Mar land was principally fillets. Nearly 94 percent of the pack was canned on the Pacific Coast, principally in the Columbia River District of Oregon. While the Pacific Coast pack of 12,984 cases was slightly larger than in the previous year, the Atlantic Coast pack of 851 cases was the smallest since 1940. Shad were canned in 5 plants in Oregon, 2 in Maryland, and 1 each in Washington and California. tity in Standard Cases®/ana Value to Canners) Pacific Coast Atlantic Coast To + ae CUT Avg. Price Avg. Price Total Avg.Price Value _|Per Sta. 1a, Case®/Quantity Value | Per Std. Case2AQ antity Value_|Por Std. Case2/| 110,196 169,777 3/ 110,210 103,003 78,762 156,077 N/Does not include the production of smoked shad. 2/Cases of various sizes converted to the equivalent of 48 No. 1 tall cans per case, each can containing 15 ounces of fish. A small pack of shad on the Pacific Coast has been included with the Atlantic Coast production. The canners! average price per standard case in 1949 was $7.68, compared with $9.26 in 1948. During the past ten years, the highest average price was $13.11 in 1945 as compared with the lowest of $3.06 in 1940 (see table 2). Wholesale and Retail Prices WHOLESALE PRICES, JUNE 1950: The fish and shellfish (fresh, frozen, and canned) wholesale inde: index for June was 95.0 vercent of the 1947 average—O,5 percent higher than the previous month, but almost the same as for June 1949 (see tablel), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. 28 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 Of the various subgroup indexes for June, the frozen processed fishand shell- fish subgroup was tne onlyone that declined (by 1.9 percent) as compared with May; however, it was still 12.2 percent higher than for June 1949, June frozen fillet prices included in this subgroup were all lower than in May; on the other hand, frozen shrimp prices remained at the same level. However, prices of each item included in this subgroup were higher than the corresponding month a year ago. Table 1 - wholesale Average Prices and Indexes of Fish and Shelifish, June 1950, with Compsrative Data GROUP, SUBGROUP, AND ITEM SPECIFICATION [POINT OF PRICING | UNIT | AVERAGE Prices ($) | Zune 1220] Mey 1950 | June 1949 FISH AND SHELLFISH (Fresh, Frozen, and Canned) csersereecccccerecsreserccscecssssssrscesssesscscseseesscosess Fresh and Frozen Fishery Products: ...secesssse . ae 5 Drawn, Dressed, OF WHOlG FANTiSh: cc ecesececccsccccsecscscscessseseeeee eset essees ees es Haddock, large, offshore, drawn, fresh .... Boston +10 Halibut, Western, 20/80 lbs., dressed, fresh OF LYOZED seeveseccreccsrcccescecce Salmon, king, lge. & med., dressed, New York City Lake trout, domestic, mostly No. 1, drawn (dressed), fresh .:..... apaetcbe sss isaucs Whitefish, mostly Lake Superior, drawn (dressed), fresh ...cccccccsceess SsoecooD Whitefish, mostly Lake Erie pound net, Found, fresh ceceeececevceseceresesessees Yellow pike, mostly Michigan (Lakes Michigan & Huron), round, fresh . 20-1bd. tins .... Boston Shrimp, lge. (26-30 fresh or frozen ..eceseeseess eee New York City . 88.7 83.9 Oysters, shucked, standards ........ see gs 5 A 90.8 86.2 Processed, Frozen (Fish and Shellfish): ....cssssssssececsecesessesesssesssssesscsosess ecesessvecee scaces | _101.4 | 103.4 ([ 90.4 | Fillets: Flounder yellowtail), skinless, LO-1b. DOXES .ecweceneuee decceee Boston Haddock, small, 10-1b.cello-pack " Rosefish, 10-lb. cello-pack ..... Gloucester Shrimp, lge. (26-30 count), 5- to 10-1lb.bzs go . . Canned Fishery Products: sesesesseceseseces oe ee seccccecesececes PPPPPeTTTerrerr reer irri rte tees seeseoee oe Salmon, pink, No. 1 tall ( POT CASO seceesecererencesees Tuna, light meat, solid pack, No. (7 oz.), 48 Cans per CASO csccccecceccscece Sardines (pilchards), California, tom paok, No. 1 oval (15 0z.), 48 cans CABO «. Sardines, Maine, keyless oil, No, drawn oz. 100 cans per case ...... Peres oes The largest increase occurred ir. the drawn, dressed, or whole finfish sub— group (June prices in this subgroup were 1.1 percent higher than for the previous month). Prices of fresh drawn haddock, halibut, whitefish at New York City, and yellow pike rose during June, while prices of fresh salmon, whitefish at Chicago, am lake trout dropped substantially. Compared with June 1949, prices for all the items in this subgroup were still 15.6 percent higher this June. From May to June, fresh processed fish and shellfish prices rose 0.8 percent and they were 7.3 percent above those which prevailed in June 1949. There was a drop in fresh haddock fillet prices which was compensated by an increase in the prices of shucked oysters during June. Prices quoted for each item in this sub- group during June this year were still higher than those that were quoted inJune a year earlier. The camed fish index fc- June was 87.9 percent of the 1947 average—O0.3 percent above liay this year, but still 15.6 percent below June 1949. A drop in the prices for canned Maine sardines during June was compensated by an increase in the prices of canned pink salmon. Canned tuna and California sardines were quoted at the same prices as prevailed in May. However, prices of each item in this subgroup continued to be lower than those quoted ir June 1949. August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 29 RETAIL PRICES, JUNE 1950: Retail food prices rose substantially for the second consecutive month, and on June 15 the retail food index was 204.6 percent of the 1935-39 average (see table 2). This was slightly higher than a year ear-— lier am 41 percent above June 1946. Between mid-May and mid-June, food prices advanced in all of the 56 cities surveyed, with increases of 3.5 percent or greater reported in Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Buffalo. For all fish and shellfish (fresh, frozen, and canned), the June 15 retail index was 295.3 percent of the 1935-39 average--O.7 percent higher than on May15, but 5.5 percent lower than on June 15, 1949. The increase in retail prices of all fish and shellfish which occurred from mid-May to mid-June this year was only slightly greater than that which occurred in the wholesale prices for this same group. Table 2 — Retail Price Indexes for Foods and Fishery Products, June 15, 1950, with Comparative Data TYNE RO EAS June 15,1950] May 15,1950 | June 15,1949 1935-39 = 100 201. 200.3 204.3 All fish and shellfish (fresh, frozen, and canned) 295.3 293.22 312.6 do fcnot calnseitay ies MEE enue. do ole 327.8 Loh oh Fresh and frozen fishery products prices at retail rose 1.3 percent from mid- May to mid-June this year, and on June 15 were 8.7 percent higher than on the same date a year earlier. Canned pink salmon retailed at 0.8 percent less in mid-June than in mid-May, and prices on June 15 were 28.4 percent below June 15, 1949. "SS PACIFIC EXPLORER" Part |\V-Personnel and the Movement of Materials The operators of tuna-receiving ships should plan to develop ulti- mately a truly high seas fishery, The receiving ship and its allied fishing fleet should be capable of long-range operations, be able to effectively transfer tuna and supplies on the high seas, and be devel- oped with the idea of having eventual freedom from the regulations of foreign governments, Since there is reason to believe that the tunas are distributed over much of the tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean, thought should be given to the development of methods for eventually utilizing these areas in addition to the more efficient utilization of the tuna fishery off the Americas, --Fishery Leaflet 326 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 30 Angola (Portuguese West Africa) FISHERY SURVEY: Conclusions: An Economic Cooperdtion Administration survey of the fisheries of Angola between Luanda and Baia dos Tigres, with specific reference to fish meal and oil,wasmade between April 19 and May3, 1950, These are the conclusions of the survey: 1, There is every reason to believe that the fish supply off the coast of the southern part of Angola can support an expanded industry. 2, Expansion should Y include added production of dried salted fish for Afri- can consumption as well as ad- ditional fish meal and oil, 3. Consideration should also be @iven to in- creasing the supply of fresh = SSE fish for human DRYING RACKS FOR SALTED FISH AT BAIA consumption in the northern portion of the Colony, Inland cities in Angola eee Belgian Congo are inadequately supplied with fresh FARTA. LARGEST FISH CANNING PLANT IN ANGOLA AT PRAIA AMELIA. August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW $l 4. Use of ECA funds for the mechanization of new and existing fish-meal and oil facilities andcertain marine equipment is justified, Use of ECA funds for the purchase of fishing boats, tugs,or barges, is not warranted, 5. Encouragement should not be given to increased production of canned fish until research has established the avail- ability of canning types of fish, and markets are assured, Nature of the Survey: Fourteen localities and about 50 different fish-proc~ essing plants or factories were visited--included facilities for production of dried salted fish, fish meal and oil, and canned fish, Purpose of the Survey: The reason for the survey was the "Application for Financing by the ECA Reserve Fund for the Development of Overseas Territories" submitted to ECA/Portugal in February 1950 as an English translation of a summary of the project, The "application" as submitted was not sufficiently detailed to permit full analysis, Project Proposal: ‘The project envisioned the installation of new and addi- tional fish-reduction plants and facilities in six localities in that portion of Angola south of Lobita, Exception should be taken to the sites pro- posed for some of the new facilities, In se- lecting the new plant locations, the southern coastal area was divided into six approximately equal zones with each new installation to service about 20 miles of coast line, The pro- per types of fish are known to be availablein some areas, and it was NATIVES PLACING SALTED FISH ON DRYING RACKS AT CASO. assumed they would be Similarly plentiful in all areas, Whether or not this is true is not known, It is believed inadvisable to expend funds for extensive installations in several areas until fishery re-= search has established that fish are abundant and that fishing can be continued On a sustained annual basis without seriously depleting the supply. Discussion of Specific Installations: Three of the new installations seem to have been proposed without appropriate consideration of existing fish process- HARBOR AT BAIA FARTA SHOWING ANGOLAN FISHING BOATS. IN THE CENTER IS A NEW FISH CANNING PLANT. 32 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVicw Vol. 12, No. 8 ing plants or of other facilities which would be required, The three proposed sites which fall into this category are Baia Farta, Lucira, and Baia dos Tigres, In the Baia Farta area there are already two well equipped, fully mechanized fish-reduction plants and a number of poorly equipped hand-operated. sun-drying plants, It was admitted ; that sufficient fish for full operation is not obtained, and that if reasonable commercial credit were available, facilitiesfor the catch- ing of fish and for the production of fish meal and oil would be increased by the industry without governmental assistance, In this area, particular- ly, it is suggested that encouragement in the form of reasonable credit b ‘ > = made available to thecom= UNLOADING TUNNY AND SHARK AT THE CANNING PLANT IN BAIA FARTA. mercial operators already established in the business of producing fish meal and oil, Baia dos Tigres is reported to be in the vicinity of most abundant supplies of the oil- and meal-producing fish, However, there are other factors which make it seem inadvisable to expand reduction facilities at this point, There already is a fishermen's cooperative in existence and apparently functioning satisfactorily, However, the fish=reduction plant operated by the cooperative is of a primitive type which cannot utilize a large volume of fish and cannot be expected to produce the highest quality product, The buildings and shore facili= TWO FISH REDUCTION PLANTS AT BAIA DOS T!GRES. THE ONE IN THE CENTER 1S UNDER COOPERATIVE OWNERSHIP WHILE THE ONE ON THE RIGHT IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED. ties of the cooperative are substantial and could easily be converted to a fully mechanized plant, For this area it is suggested that plant equipment for mechani- zation of this plant be included in the proposed project. However, because of the austere living conditions, there should first be an assurance that sufficientfish- ermen will be availabie, August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 33 Conditions at Lucira were reported to be similar to Baia dos Tigres, This proposed location admittedly was selected as the most logical in providing a PRIVATELY-OWNED FISH REDUCTION PLANT AT BAIA DOS TIGRES. NOTE WALL SURROUNDING F1SH-MEAL DRYING YARD. chain of plants from Lobita to the southern boundary of the colony and was without regard to known availability of the necessary varieties of fish or adequacy of shore facilities, In the preliminary report of the survey it was suggested that consideration might well be given to the Portuguese proposal to expand fisheprocessing facilities in Equimina--Baia dos Elefantes, Mossamedes, and Porto Alexandre, AN ANGOLAN FISH CUTTING SHED, AND MEAL AND OIL PLANT AT EQUIMINA. The most plentiful supply of fish known to exist in Angola is in the area from Mossamedes south to Baia dos Tigres, with about 45 percent of the catch taken at Porto Alexandre alone, There are nearly as many fish-processing plants (salting and drying, meal and oil, and canning) in these two port areas as in all the remainder of Angola, There is more justification for expansion of fish meal and oil production facilities in these two areas than elsewhere in Angola, Plant Capacities: In the project proposal, the capacities of the new in- stallations are to be 10 metric tons of raw fish per hour in each plant except at Porto Alexandre which would be 20 tons per hour, These plant capacities seem reasonable on the basis of known and prospective fish supplies, There seems to be no reason to suggest other capacities, 34 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 Fish Production: In Angola, the fishery is divided into three zones or areas each of which has its own "Gremio" or Association. Minor financing of fishermen is handled by the Gremio and all of the salted dried fish, fish meal, and fish oil is marketed through the Gremio, The Associa- tion, however, does not handle sales of fresh or canned fish, The production in the northern or Luanda district has been fairly stable since 1944 with most of the fish going for human consumption as aS x fresh fish, There is no PART OF A FISH-HANDLING PLANT AT BAIA DOS ELEFANTES. PRO- reported use of fish as DUCTION IS PRINCIPALLY SALTED AND DRIED FISH, AND SOME dried salted, or for meal HENS tls eA Mc and oil, In the central or Lobito district and southern or Mossamedes district, total fish landings were fairly stable in 1944-46, dropped materially in 1947, and reached new highs in 1948, The relatively small catch in 1947 in the Lobito and Mossamedes districts is attributed to a longer than usual rainy season which has always been a period of light fishing by the traps and short-range fishing equipment, The arrival of Portuguese purse seiners in 1948 accounts, in large part, for the substantial increase in catch, Disposition of the Production: There should be no particular difficulty in disposing of the fish meal produced by the new facilities, There are programmed plans to increase the pro- duction of meat animals throughout Europe and Africa, and high quality fish meal SES el we eagle seme bh a is a prime source of animal protein desirable in the feeding of meat animals, There is a proposal at the present time to enlarge the meat production in Angola which might well absorb most, if not all, of the feeding-quality fish meal to be produced by the pro~ posed new plants, Fish meal is currently exported _ primarily to Belgian Congo, * Mozambique, Germany, the ANGOLAN FISHING VILLAGE NEAR BENGUELA. ‘NOTE EVAPORATION BEDS’ Netherlands, Denmark and FOR THE PRODUCTION OF SALT FROM SEA WATER. the United States, Most of these are expected to be continuing markets but with increasing production of fish meal and other animal protein in many countries, prices for fish meal in Europe and the United States cannot be expected to remain August 1950 at current high levels, favorable markets. Fish ear Utilized n/Converted from bales to metric tons. Fish oil is in very ample world supply and prices are not favorable. COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Table 1 = Angola's Production and Utilization of Fishery Products, 1944-48 Fresh Fish Dried Fish Fish Meal & Fish Oil Canned Fish Fish Fish Fish Produc 1/|utilizea | Meal Oil | Utilized |Product] Utilized One bale equals 66 pounds. 395 The African colonies should, however, continue to be Total Fish Product} Utilized How= ever, a new oil-processing plant is under construction in Portugal through which it is anticipated that fishoil from Angola will be made suitable for human food Table 2 - Angola's Fish Meal and Oil Production Facilities, 1948 District Luanda eeeveseececes 356 0 ) ne oS 1 ) 12/ iL 0 oil production facilities without me- chanical equipment. nder construction in 1949. erel, and baited lines for bottom fish. Until comparatively recently, offshore fishing was done primarily from sail boats some of which have small auxil- iary motors, and from rowboats. Late in 1947, when sardines failed to ap- pear in the usual quantities off the shores of Portugal, several sardine purse seiners migrated to Angola. Fishing was found to be good and the rapidrise in production of fish meal and oil between 1946 and 1948 is at- tributable tothe arrival of this class of fishing boats in southern Angolan waters. In 1946, there were four "traineiras" (seine and line fishing power boats) and in 1948, there were ol. The "traineira," similar to a Factories Facilities at 2 use. Currently fish oil is of lower value in Angolathan fuel oil and is burned for fuel in most fish-process- ing plants having oil-burning equip- ment. Fishing Facilities: For many years, thefishing has been by in- effectual primitive methods and some of these are stillinuse. The na- tives fish primarily by round nets and seines which are taken from and returned to shore in dugout canoes and then pulled onto the shore by up to 40 or 50 men. - Catches are uncertain and not usually very large. The Portuguese have for many years used trap nets, round nets, hook and line for tuna, bonito, and mack- Table 3 - Angola's Exports of Fisher Products, 1949 Fish sh} Dried Canned Year | Meal Oil Fish Fish In Metric Tons jaa ra) = ra oO WwW 7) a = ow TRAINEIRA COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW . 37 United States purse seiner, is about 70 to 85 ft. in length, and has a cargo ca- pacity of about 20 to 25 metric tons. Ice or other refrigeration is used only in connection with fish for human consumption as fresh fish. Operated in 1946 and “a Armacoes (trap nets) ecece. raineiras (purse seines and line fishing) ...ecce. asteiras (draggers)....c. acadas (round nets)eccece INAS Slwavale rey eVelel oballoveleievere/eleleleve The "traineira," powered with gasoline or Diesel engines of about 100 h.p., seems to be well suited for Angolan operations. At most of the fishing ports only small boats with shallow draft can discharge the cargo without excessive handling and fishing boats larger than those proposed would be inadvis- able until deep-water unloading canbe pro- vided. 31 4) 2356 220 92 74 401 {1,596 Management of the Proposed Reduction Plants: According to the project proposal it is planned that the new plants be financed, managed, and operated by a State-sponsored cooperative of the fisherman and the small commercial fishery plant operators in each area. This seems to be a reasonable proposal, and it was found that without exception already established commercial operators approved of the new ventures. The larger operators were inter- ested because they foresaw an opportunity to dispose of*the fish landed whichmight ' UNLOADING TUNNY (A MACKEREL) AND SIMILAR SORTING FISH FOR SALTING AND DRYING AS THEY FISH FROM AN ANGOLAN FISHING BOAT AT ARE UNLOADED AT PRAIA AMELIA. PRAIA AMELIA. be in excess of their own plant capacities. In effect, the new reduction plants would supplement rather than compete with existing facilities except, it is be- lieved, in the Lobita-Baia Farta area. Financial Requirements: The project proposal as submitted envisioned a total expenditure (for six meal and oil plants, fishing boats, barges, and tugs) of 104,004,000 Hscudos ($3,714,000 U. S.). Of this amount, the U. S. dollar (ECA funds) expenditure was estimated to be: Machinery, in general (not including transportation or installation) .. $ 820,000 imon ((probabilly, steel oil) “tanks)) “.). cic clelvievicc ss veciee 3,000 Fish unloading machinery ee ecerceseceeccsecsvrenee 200000 35,000 HUShim a mDOAtS man Gm GUESieleleleleleleleleisicielelersieleicleisieleleisisiereren 130017, 000 FON ELOTD arse OS (SLOG) meisterelcteleletctetelciotelelcls, efefele eleoleievere 15,000 Coc tonn (Grom: motisny vaverlcie derete citelelevele etelelete cele clatelcheveve ere 60,000 Total @eeeeeveeeetseooseeeeeeeeesreeeceseoeoeseevueoeeoneed $2,500,000 38 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 There is no justification for the purchase of fishing boats or tugs in the United States, or elsewhere, for dollars, The Portuguese are expert fishing-boat TYPICAL ANGOLAN SMALL-SAIL FISHING BOATS AT BAIA DOS TIGRES. builders and will build boats better suited to their own needs and at much lower cost than for similar ones built in the United States, The expenditure of dollars for fish-oil tanks and for barges is also seriously questioned, Stickwater Concentrate: In the wet-reduction process, certain soluble pro- teins and vitamins are carried out in the stickwater or press-liquor, The concen- trated soluable proteins that can be recovered from the stickwater has a ready sale at advantageous prices, There are, however, difficulties in transportation of the concentrate to market and the initial investment of the processing equip- ment is rather high, It is suggested the Portuguese might investigate the feasi- bility of marketing the product and might consider the installation of one con-= centration unit, probably at Mossamedes, to which the stickwater from other areas could be delivered by barge, Fish Varieties Processed: There are several of the oily, small fish claimed to be abundant or at least plentiful off the coast of southern Angola, The most FISH MEAL SUN-DRYING YARD AT CASO (MOSSAMEDES BAY). NATIVES ARE TURNING THE COOKED FISH. abundant, known locally as savelha, is a herring-like fisn and of little value ex~ cept for meal and oil, There are several other varieties reportedly in ample supply which are impor= tant for salting and drying as well as for meal and oil, This group includes the mackerel-type fish known locally as cavalla; the smaller specimens of skipjack known in Angola as tunny; the "sardines" which are pilchard-like fish and known locally as sardinha, August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 39 A number of other varieties are caught and many are used for fish-meal pro- duction, During various seasons of the year,a vast number of different varieties are caught, particularly in traps, and many are of little value for other than reduction, However, the inclusion of these miscellaneous "trash" fish in the pro= duction of fish meal results in an irregular production frequently of low quality. One of the objectives of the proposed project is to permit selective fishing through the use of mobile equipment and thus obtain only those fish which are best suited for the production of meal and oil, Labor and Supervision: Trained fishermen and operators of special machinery are not ex) expected to be available from the natives in Angola but such persons are readily obtainable in Portugal, One of the project objectives is to encourage the migration of experienced fishermen from over=-populated villages in Portugal to the Colony, Presumably, other technicians will be similarly transferred to Angola, The mechanization of the production of fish meal and oil will relieve the labor situation in Angola where there is now an acute shortage, It requires large crews of natives to handle the fish, operate the presses, and to turn the "guano" (cooked fish spread for drying in the sun), --Robert W, Tyson, Chief, Special Com- modities Branch, Food and Agriculture Division, Economic Cooperation Ad= ministration, Washington, D, C, Bolivia FISH MARKETING SITUATION: :2/ Although Bolivia is one of two South American countries with .no coastline, its rivers and lakes are said to be well stocked with fish which are caught and consumed by residents along the shores, Rainbow, lake trout, and "boga," are fished from Lake Titicaca and sold fresh in the La Paz markets, This is the only commercial fishing in Bolivia, according to Robert 0, Smith, U, S, Fish and Wildlife Service representative, who made a survey of South American markets for United States fishery products, Fresh salt-water fish, such as, corbina, sharks, and mullet are brought by rail from both Chile and Peru, Possibly because of transportation costs and perishability, fresh fish costs the consumer about double the price of meat on a poundage basis, The dollar value of 1949 Bolivian imports of processed fishery products was around $200,000, Imports in 1950 may equal those for 1949, but in view of the I/THIS 1S THE SIXTH REPORT |N A SERIES TO GIVE INFORMATION ON CURRENT AND POTENTIAL MARKETS FOR UNITED STATES FISHERY PRODUCTS IN SOUTH AMERICA. MILTON J. LINDNER AND ROBERT O. SMITH, UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES, WERE IN SOUTH AMERICA IN JUNE INVESTIGATING MARKETS -IN CONNECTION WITH A SURVEY SPONSORED COOPERATIVELY WITH THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE'S OFFICE OF FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL RELATIONS, MORE DE- TAILED REPORTS WILL BE 1SSUED AT A LATER DATE AS FOREIGN MARKET CIRCULARS AND WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE BRANCH OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES, U. S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, WASHINGTON 25, D. C. THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THIS STUDY APPEARED IN COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW, JUNE 1950, P. 18, AND THE FIRST REPORT IN THIS SERIES ON THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC ON PP. 33-4 OF THE SAME ISSUE; THE SECOND ON THE NETHERLANDS WEST INDIES APPEARED IN JULY 1950, PP. 46-7; AND OTHERS APPEAR IN THIS ISSUE AS FOLLOWS: THE THIRD ON URUGUAY, P. 61; THE FOURTH ON PARAGUAY, P. 523; THE FIFTH ON BRAZIL, P. 41; THE SEVENTH ON SURINAM, P. 57; THE EIGHTH ON VENEZUELA, P. 62; AND THE NINTH ON CHILE, P. 43. 40 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No. 8 trade agreement with Spain, most purchases probably will be made in that country since it offers a wide variety of fishery products (canned, pastes, and dried) of the kind most popular in Bolivia, The chief countries supplying fishery products to Bolivia prior to 1950 were Chile and Peru--fresh fish; United States--sardines, salmon, caviar, and fish paste; Spain and Portugal-~anchovies, Sardines were also imported from Brazil and Canada; salmon from England and Canada; caviar from Norway and England; and fish paste and other canned varieties from England, Norway, and Canada, Bolivia has concluded trade agreements with Spain, France, Belgium, and by the end of this calendar year probably will have a similar agreement with Italy, Spain is able to offer a wide variety of fishery products including sardines, anchovies, and tuna, Importers expect to fill increasing percentages of their canned fish requirements from Spain, as both price and quality are advanta- geous, It is improbable that Belgium will enter this trade, but both France and Italy can be expected to do so, The prospect for importation of United States fishery products is dim, except insofar as salmon is concerned, and possibly some supplies purchased by mining companies for their commissaries, Throughout South America there seems to be continued interest in sardines packed in tomato sauce (Portola type) in 15-ounce flat ovals, but the extent of the market could not be gauged, A study of the composition and distribution of the Bolivian population (estimated at 3.8 million in 1946), ex~ portable products, the need for foreign BOLIVIA. exchange , and the necessity for import- ing basic food products and materials, indicates that the volume and value of imported processed fishery products must remain small and will fluctuate according to the world prices for minerals, Of the total population, 53 percent are Indians, most of whom are farmers, herders, or miners who supply their own requirements except for a negligible amount of goods obtained by barter or sale of their products, They have little purchasing power or demand for imported products, About 32 percent is composed of Cholos, of mixed Spanish and Indian blood, who have practically no demand for imported fishery products, The white population comprises 15 percent of the total, but are almost 100 percent of the buyers of imported "luxury" items, ee August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW ral Brazil FISH MARKETING sttuation:2/ Imports and foreign exchange in Brazil are under rigid government control, and available dollars are not used for import of canned fishery products, according to information submitted by Milton J, Lindner, U, S, Fish and Wildlife Service representative, who in June this year covered the eastern part of South America in a survey of South American markets for U, S, fishery prod- ucts, ; Dry-salted cod has been the major Brazilian fishery import--about 44 million pounds a year or about 95 percent of total fishery imports, Prior to the war, New-= foundland was the principal supplier of this product; but since 1948, through a coffee exchange arrangement, Norway has taken over this business, In prewar years, imports of fishery products (other than dried cod) averaged about 2,6 million pounds annually--about 62 percent came from Portugal, The United States supplied only about 1 percent of the prewar sardine imports--chiefly Cali- fornia sardines in tomato sauce, Canned salmon was the only other significant United States export to Brazil, A few cans of red salmon were observed in some retail stores, but at prohibitive prices--more than $3.50 for a one-pound tall can (U. S, currency equivalent), Because of import restrictions, less than 300 pounds of sardines entered Brazil in 1949. Local production is now supplying the Brazilian market, but much of the pack contains scales and is decidedly objectionable to the consumers, Very little canned fish have been imported into Brazil during the past year, In June this year there was no indication of an immediate change in these condi- tions in the near future, Except for a sanitary inspection, no other special requirements are necessary on imported fishery products, Brazilian imports and foreign exchange are controlled by two offices in the Bank of Brazil. Imports from hard=-currency areas are permitted only for products appearing on a list published by the Bank, No fishery products are included on the list, Thereisa growing barter trade in which certain items are imported in exchange for exports of slow-moving Brazilian products, Barter deals with hard- currency areas are generally limited to products appearing on the list, In Rio de Janeiro fish prices in June were high compared with meat and other staple articles of diet, Better grades of fresh round fish retailed for the same price as filet mignon--about 50 cents per pound, Cheaper types of fish retailed for more than the cheaper cuts of meat, Norwegian boned cod with skin on was re- tailing for 53 cents per pound, Brazil is not an exporter of processed fishery products, In 1949, exports totaled only about 700 pounds, 1/ THIS 1S THE FIFTH REPORT IN A SERIES TO GIVE INFORMATION ON CURRENT AND POTENTIAL MARKETS FOR UNITED STATES FISHERY PRODUCTS IN SOUTH AMERICA. SEE FOOTNOTE ON P. 39 OF THIS !SSUE. 42 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No. 8 Canada 7 SEEKS EXPANSION OF DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION TO MAKE UP LOSS IN EXPORT FISHERIES TRADE: Confronted with contracting sales in certain traditional export markets, the Canadian fisheries industry, with the support of the Government, has taken a number of positive steps during the past year to encourage increased domestic consumption of fishery products, reports a May 19 American Embassy dispatch from Ottawa, In addition, research improvement, and inspection and quality controls are being considered, Consideration has been given to methods to assist the industry in protecting the fisheries trade with sterling areas and other countries confronted by exchange difficulties, With a plan to aid exports of Newfoundland salt cod to European countries during the current year, the first step in this direction has been taken, The annual meeting of the Fisheries Council of Canada held in March strongly stressed the need for developing an increased domestic market, particularly as the export outlook was not encouraging, Pointing out that consumption of fish in Canada is less than 10 pounds per capita, compared with a meat consumption of ap-= proximately 144 pounds per capita, one speaker pointed out that the Canadian mar- ket should present an attractive challenge and incentive to the industry, The annual production of the Canadian fishing industry is now in the neighbor- hood of $175,000,000, Due to exchange difficulties and other factors affecting many of Canada's traditional markets, exports have been shrinking, Shipments last year from Canada (including Newfoundland) amounted to $106,200,000 as compared with $120,400,000 in 1948, a decline of 12 percent, The United States is Canada's leading market, accounting for 63 percent of total exports last year with purchases aggregating $67,200,000, Purchases by the United Kingdom and British colonies (financed by ECA funds) increased appreciably last year from $9,200,000 to $15,700,000, but European purchases were off more than 50 percent, totaling approximately $10,000,000, compared to $21,600,0CO in the previous year, No improvement is expected in export sales in the current year, although it is hoped to maintain last year's level of shipments, Special emphasis in the meantime will be placed on a program to expand home sales, ARRANGES SALE OF NEWFOUNDLAND SALT COD IN EUROPE: Financial arrangements with the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece for the sale of some of this year's production of Newfoundland salt cod in Europe were announced by the Canadian Fisheries Minister on July 6, 1950, It is expected that about C$6,000,000 (approxi- mately U.S. $5,460,000) worth of cod will be sold, according to a July 7 American Embassy dispatch from Ottawa, The fish will go to Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece under a one-year contin- uance of a system set up before Confederation to enable Newfoundland to sell in these soft-currency countries, These countries will pay for the fish in sterling, which will be applied against Newfoundland's debt to the United Kingdom, which Canada took over last year, ‘The Federal Government will reimburse the Newfoundland fishermen in Canadian dollars, In addition, the Italian Government has agreed to set aside C$500,000 for the purchase of cured cod from Gaspe, Quebec, This is a high-grade product which has been going to Italy for some years, especially to the Milan area, The Canadian Government recently announced that the Fisheries Price Support Board would buy 1949 salt cod still in the hands of fishermen, butnot that portion of the catch held by processors and distributors, August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 43 Ceylon STATUS OF FISHERIES, 1949: There were complaints about the inability of the fishing industries of Ceylon to produce enough fish for local consumption at fair prices throughout 1949. A group of Danish experts, who came to the Island in 1949 to propose ways of rehabilitating the fishing industry, reportedly suggested drastic changes which have met with opposition from fishermen, according to a May 12 American consular report from Colombo, By Chile CURRENT FISH MARKETING SITUATION: :2/ With a coastline of 2,600 miles, it is not surprising th: that Chile should produce and consume a wide variety of fishery products, according to information submitted by Robert 0, Smith, U, S, Fish and Wildlife Service representative, who in June this year made a study of markets for U. S. fishery products in South America, Fish and shellfish production in 1949, according to the most recent figures, totaled about 168 million pounds, Fish is increasingin importance as a competitor of meat in Chile, A steady decrease in meat consumption has taken place since 1945. The production index for meat products dropped from 129,9 (1936-38 equals 100) in 1945 to 97.4 percent in 1949. On the other hand, the production index for fishery products climbed from 136.6 in 1945 to 224.1 iparesut in 1949. In foreign trade, Chile has a net balance of exports for both fresh and pro- cessed fishery products, In the course of ten years (1939-49), the ratio of im- ports to exports has changed from 5,5 to 1 to 1 to 22,5,respectively, Obviously, a part of the decline in imports must be attributed to shortages of foreign ex- change, but the large increase in exports is evidence of the development of the Chilean fishery industries, Chilean exports of canned fish may be expected to in- erease considerably within the next few years, though 1950 costs of production are high and canners are not in a position to capture any significant part of the world market for tuna or bonito, A decline in Chilean fresh fish exports during 1949 was due to a sudden disappearance of swordfish from the cOsstal waters of the country, The leading fishery products imported into Chile in 1949 were canned sardines, salmon, and miscellaneous canned fish and shellfish. Chile's foreign exchange budget for 1950 does not include any provision for importing fishery products, V/ THIS 1S THE NINTH REPORT IN A SERIES TO GIVE INFORMATION ON CURRENT AND POTENTIAL MARKETS FOR UNITED STATES FISHERY PRODUCTS IN SOUTH AMERICA. SEE FOOTNOTE ON P. 39 OF THIS ISSUE. a 44 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No, 8 German Federal Republic GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS AFFECTING THE FISHERIES: Although the equalization fund tax (Ausgleichsabgabe )2/ expired on March 31, 1950, payments continued to be made from the equalization funds to support fish prices, according to a May 19 American consular dispatch from Bremerhaven, About $119,000 was made available to support fish prices at the minimum level of 18 pfennig per kilogram (approxi- mately 2 cents per pound), and about $476,000 was made available to processors and wholesalers in the form of short-term credits, A law providing a coal subsidy of $3.57 per metric ton for high~seas fish- ing vessels (retroactive to July 1, 1949) was approved on March 20 this year, Work continued on the new German customs tariff which is expected to provide for an ad-valorem duty on fish imports in place of the present prohibitive specific duty, However, the new tariff rates probably will not be made public until after the September tariff discussions at Torquay, England, 1/ SEE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW, MARCH 1959, P. 51. AE Greenland DEVELOPMENT OF THE FISHERIES: As early as 1905 a number of citizens applied to the Danish State for permission to carry on private business in Greenland, con- sisting among other things of fishing and the preparation of fishery products, according to an article in the March 1950 issue of Konserves, a Danish canning periodical, However, not until almost half a century later did freezing of fish and fishery products become a reality, Apart from a limited admittance to four natural ports, Greenland has but now been opened to private Danish business, Legis- lation is now being prepared to reform the whole administrative and economic system of Greenland, Frozen and Salted Fish: Det Grgnlandske Fiskeri-Kompagni was founded in February 1948 with a share capital of 2 million Danish kroner (approximately $416,000). In the course of two years, this company has built a fishing and freez- ing station at Tovkussak, situated between Godthaab and Sukkertoppen on the West Coast, Long-distance fishing has been carried on from this station with ten small ne and with a fishing and freezing vessel of 300 metric tons (the Green= land The Greenland from June to September 19,9 produced, with a crew of 26 men, 294 metric tons of wet-salted cod, 58 tons of quick-frozen cod fillets, 10,6 tons of frozen halibut, and also liver oil, The vessel is equipped with two contact freezers with a capacity of 6 metric tons per 24 hours, and a cold-storage room in the hold, In addition, production at the land station in the summer of 1949 amounted to 177 metric tons of wet-salted cod, 73 tons of quick~frozen cod fillets, and 18.6 tons of frozen halibut, The land station has a plate freezer with a capa= city of 10 tons per 24 hours, and ome cold-storage rooms with a temperature of ~35° C, (-31° F,) and ~20° c, (-1,° F,), respectively, and a capacity of 250 metric tons of fillets, There are piers and buildings with rooms for cutting of fillets and salting, workshops, and dining and dwelling units for 100 men, i August 1959 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW h5 Although the present fishing season is from June through September, it is ex» pected that operations can be expanded over most of the year, Fillets are packed in cellophane-lined, paraffined cartons and frozen in 63= pound blocks, but 1950 production will be packed in smaller units, which are bee lieved to be more readily marketable, Splitting and salting of cod and cutting of fillets require considerable labor, The yield of the finished product represents about 30 percent of the round fish in each instance and the amount of labor is about the same for an equal weight of salt- ed or filleted cod, Since the available labor can be used more effectively in fish- ing operations, it probably will not be long before the first splitting and fillet~ ing machines will be used, Byproducts: Plans are underway for installation of a fish-meal plant together with an oil recovery unit, at Tovkussak, In addition to herring and rosefish, which : .. contain considerable oil, other oily fish include sharks and capelin, The latter two are present in appreciable quantities, In addition, the fish- ery for rosefish prob- ably can be expanded, Consideration has also been given to an arti- Picial drying plant for salt cod, Outlook for 1950: Fishing will be greatly - - increased during the THE GREENLAND, A FISHING AND FREEZING VESSEL OF 300 METRIC TONS 1950 season as a number OPERATING WITH 10 SMALL MOTORBOATS OUT OF TOVKUSSAK, GREENLAND. of big boats will be fishing from the station, In order to facilitate the work, the station will be equipped with mechanical conveyers, Emphasis has been placed on freezing fishery products since the transportation: of fresh Greenland fish to the United States or Europe is precluded by the long dis- tances involved, Freezing has made it possible to preserve herring for bait, and halibut which otherwise are worthless, The same is true of wolffish which is of no value when salted, but makes a frozen fillet equal'to cod in appearance and taste, Salting, on the other hand, has disadvantages in that in the winter it must be car= ried on in heated rooms, As a result, the handling of cod has had to cease during the winter months, Filleting, however, has a significant advantage in this respect since it can be carried on throughout the winter, Although frozen fillets are somewhat more costly to produce than salted cod, because of the freezing and packing operations, the prices for these fillets are higher than salt fish, and the difference is enough to overcome the increased pro- duction costs of frozen fillets, Also, the market for salted fish is limited and the purchasers are among the less wealthy nations; whereas, Greenland can figure on the United States, for one, as a market for prime quick-frozen cod fillets in at- tractive consumer packages, 46 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No, 8 Shrimp Fishery:2/ Since there is a large market for frozen headless shrimp in the United States, Greenland exports of shrimp could make it the next most im- portant article to cod, The shrimp fishing areas supplying Holsteinborg and Narssak are minor compared to the shrimp grounds in Disco Bay discovered in 1948 and 1949 by Paul Hansen, a fishery biologist for the Greenland Commission who has conducted research in Greenland waters for almost a generation, He has char- acterized these resources as among the richest in the world, These newly-discovered shrimp grounds are about 25 nautical miles long and about 4 to 6 nautical miles broad at a depth of 400 meters (218 fathoms), The bottom is smooth clay without stones, In addition, shrimp are found outside these ~- grounds in a large area where they cannot be fished, Thus, the shrimp are natural- ly conserved, since eventual overfishing on the areas with a smooth bottom will be compensated for by the migration of shrimp from the areas with a rough bottom, 1/ SEE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW, MARCH 1950, PP. 54-5. Indonesia RAISING PRAWN IN PONDS: Ponds for the cultivation of prawn (shrimp) have been used for some time in Indonesia (mainly in Java), according to W. H. Schuster, Food Culture Specialist of the Laboratorium Penjelidikan Laut, Indonesia, reports the June 1950 Australian Fisheries Newsletter, Shallow ponds are constructed, filled with sea water, and stocked with young prawn, Ponds are not regularly replenished with water, except that they are kept filled. Artificial fertilization of the water is not necessary, Occasionally, man- grove leaves or nearby grass are added as a general practice, Other than that, prawn are fed unwanted fish meat, worms, and the like, but they also get natural food from the pond itself, The species of prawn cultivated in Indonesia are of the same family as those caught on the Australian coast, In Javanese culture ponds, prawn grow to about four inches long in as short a time as three months, Yield per acre is about 350 pounds annually, Japan PROPOSED PACIFIC FISHERIES AGREEMENT: A Pacific Fisheries Agreement (tenta= tive plan) has been formulated by the Fisheries Committee of the House of Council= lors of the Japanese Diet, a July 21 American consular dispatch from Tokyo reports, The purpose of the agreement is to promote the propagation and protection of marine resources in the Pacific water areas north of 30° south latitude and establish a rational foundation for the ocean fishery in the same areas so as to secure a ra- tional development thereof to the highest degree, and further to secure the co~ Operation among the coastal states with regard to the management of the said fish= ery. Tne proposed agreement has been discussed with representatives of the Japanese fishing industry and the Diet and has received general approval, August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 47 The Fisheries Committee of the House of Councillors is also working on propoe sals for specific fisheries agreements with the United States and Korea, SS oil to be produced in 1950, the Tapeneas Ministry of International Trade and In- dustry expects only about 5 percent of the first three low=potency categories -(see Table 1) to be consumed in the domestic market, and the remainder to be ex- ported to the United States, a July 15 American consular dispatch from Tokyo re- ports, During the first five months this year, Japan exported to the United States 20,001,537 million units (2,877,732 pounds) of vitamin-A fish oil (Table 2), Table 1 - | ____—Table 1 ~ Estimated 1950 1950 Japanese Production of Vitamin A Fish Oil __| Japanese Production of Vitamin A Fish Oil lAverage_—i| Percentage of Gitar bol badn mane lWaborcentasouor Total: aes.) Potency Potency in Each Potency Classification (U.S.P. Quantit Classification Quantit Units Per Gram In Million Units Percent 4,900 & below 4,900 185 , 510 5,000 - 9,900] 6,520 6,785,809 10,000 - 29,900] 15,000 12,624,789 30,000 - 49,900] 33,500 2,463,838 50,000 - 99,900] 63,000 4,687,565 100,000 - 149,900}112,300 5,268,056 150,000 & above 254,000 Total 554,453 32,350,000 @eeeceeeoerseesee In addition, Japan plans to export 3,000,000 million units (mostiy of the potency classification between 100,000 and 149,900 units per gram) of vitamin-A whale~-liver oil to the United States during 1950, Of this quantity, 2,415,621 Average Porecntees of Total | Potency Potency in Each Potency Classification Wisin] Quantit Classification Units Per Gram In Million Units Percent 4,900 & below 4,900 111,420 5,000 - 9,900 6,520 4,192,632 21.0 10,000 - 29,900] 15,000 7,808,888 39.0 30,000 - 49,900] 33,500 1,525,354 7.6 50,000 = 99,900] 63,000 2,897,038 14.5 100,000 = 149,900} 112,300 3,255,256 16.3 150,000 & above 234,000 210,949 1.0 Maaiasteristeciesiststc o.onien’el -fit20 OUTROS amin ala RN LOO mann won Mon fas CMZ 75a million units have already been exported during the first five months this year, The availability of thé remaining quantity, approximately 580,000 million units, depends on the whaling catch during the last seven months of 1950, An official of a leading Japanese vitamin-oil company stated that the in- dustry is endeavoring to produce at least 35,000,000 million units of vitamin-A liver oil (including fish and whale-liver 011) in 1950 but, because of the al- leged current monetary stringency, the industry would find it difficult to pro- duce more than this quantity even to meet a larger export demand, He stated that financial considerations were forcing manufacturers to liquidate their stocks as soon as possible to meet their current obligations, so they are not in a position to bargain for higher prices, He believed that in view of the bargaining efforts COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No, 8 48 of United States buyers, taking advantage of the intense competition among Japanese manufacturers, a floor price system on fish-liver oils was desirable as a means of realizing reasonable profits for the industry in the future, Industry officials maintain that it would be unfair for competitors in the United States to think that Japanese manufacturers are resorting to dumping because of their comparatively low prices, The cost of production, they allege, is much lower in Japan because the fish-liver oil is a byproduct of the fisheries industry which utilizes the entire fish, whereas in the United States, shark and other varie- ties of fish are caught largely for the purpose of extracting the liver and most of the remainder of the carcass is discarded, making costs of procurement much higher, SURVEY OF FRESH-WATER AND SHELLFISH FISHERIES: A survey of Japan's fresh-water and shellfish : fisheries has been completed by Donald L, McKernan, Visiting Expert Consultant, who is on leave from his position as Director of Rasoanen of the Oregon Fish Commission and who has been on a special assignment with the Natural Resources Section of SCAP since March, according to the latter agency's Weekly Summary of June 25, A study of Japanese aquiculture, including carp culture in rice paddies, oyster and clam culture, and "nori" (seaweed) culture, was made to determine ways in which these fisheries can be further developed to provide much-needed protein for the Japanese people, The conclusions of the survey were as follows; several hundreds of millions of pounds of carp could be produced easily, As the carp do not require additional feeding, the increase in rice paddy culture can be ac- complished without any great expenditure for food, There appear to be two practical methods of in- creasing the annual production of the inlandfisheries of Japan--increasing the carp culture on inland waters and inaugurating fisheries management programs to pro- tect and rehabilitate the dwindling natural population, thus increasing the productivity of the natural fisher- ies resources, Carp Culture: Three principal sources of carp production in Japan are natural waters, wnich during the war yielded about 11 million pounds each year, cul- ture ponds and hatcheries, which produced about 22 mil- lion pounds, and rice paddy culture, which produced about 6 million pounds each year, All three methods of carp production can be util- ized to a much greater extent to increase Japan's food supply. The netural waters show reduced annual yield as evidence of overfishing, Many irrigation reservoirs ponds, and larger impoundments behind dams can be used for carp culture, thus increasing the yield to a great extent, However, the largest increase in Japan's fresh water fisheries can come from the maximum utilization of rice paddies for carp culture, Of about 7,000,000 acres of rice paddies in Japan, only about 45,000 acres or 0.64 percent, are now being used for carp production, About 5,000,000 pounds of carp are being produced in rice paddies at the present time, According to experiments, between 125 and 200 pounds of carp per acre can be produced annually in the rice paddies without artificially feeding the fish, Ex- periments show that in most instances the rice harvest is increased by raising carp in the paddies, Carp cul- ture in rice paddies gives many farm areas a three-crop farm yield--whesat, carp, and rice from the same land, Complete utilization of the rice paddies for carp cul- tivation would give a potential yield of over one bil- lion pounds of carp a year, If only a substantial part of the 7,000,000 acres of rice paddies were utilized, Food for the carp in hatcheries, culture ponds, and some rice paddies has been scarce and expensive until recently. Research by government scientists should un- cover additional sources of carp food, such as, fish offal, and greater use of small marine crustaceans, Trout Culture: The propagation by government hatch- eries of rainbow and brook trout introduced from the United States is both inefficient and costly, This pro- pagation, carried on for years, has failed to establish rainbow or brook trout to any large extent in the natural waters of Japan, Trout hatcheries operated by the government are not producing quantities of trout com- mensurate with the cost, Mortality is often between 90 and 100 percent during the first year and probably aver- ages about 75 percent, With more than 30 government hatcheries operating throughout Japan in addition to many private hatcheries, the harvest of trout is only around.one million pounds annually, At a cost of about 47 cents per pound, trout are far too expensive for the average Japanese family, Greatly increasing the pro- duction of rainbow and brook trout in Japan at the pre- sent time does not seem probable, Ayu Fishery: The "ayu," a trout-like anadromous fish, is one of the most highly valued of all Japanese fish, Formerly it migrated up practically all of the rivers in Honshu, Kyushu, and even southern Hokkaido, The landings of this species are not recorded, but un- doubtedly the catch reaches several million pounds each year, Because of recent dam construction on mseny of the important rivers in Japan, the ayu have declined in abundance and are now being artificially stocked above the dams, The fish used for this stocking come from Lake Biwa or from the estuaries of rivers containing August 1950 IN JAPAN BEFORE WORLD WAR ||. ayu runs, The populations appear in danger of further reduction because of this large-scale capture and trans: fer of young ayu, No great increase in ayu production is likely to occur because of the probable reduction of stream habitat by further construction of large, im- passable dams, Eel Culture and Fishery: valued in Japan, Peak production, in 1942, amounted to 20 million pounds, Present production, a.considerable percent of which is by private eel culturists, is much less than during the peak war year, The large dam con- struction program is further reducing the population of’ eels by blocking their migrations to fresh water, In view of further contemplated dam construction, it is doubtful if the landings of eels can be increased to any great extent, Probably only through great effort can the production be increased and maintained at any- where near the 1942 level. The eel also is highly Production from Natural Waters: The inland waters (lakes and streams) yield great quantities of fish to the fishermen, but indications are that these fisheries have been exploited too intensively and are not produc- ing as much annually as in former years, Availabledata show that management programs on these inland waters could increase to a large extent the fresh-water fish- aries landings in Japan, COMMERCIAL FISHERIES feries, REVIEW 49 MANY EEL CULTURE PONDS, SUCH AS THIS ONE AT LAKE HAMANA, SH!IZUOKA PREFECTURE, JAPAN, EXISTED Dam Construction: Large development programs on many of the major rivers of Japan will probably destroy the migratory fish, such as,salmon, trout, ayu, and eel; at present no adequate methods are known to prevent the destruction of these anadromous fisheries resources where high dams are contemplated near the mouths of the rivers, Dam proponents and fisheries technicians have conducted no cooperative studies to plan the river de- velopment programs so as to alleviate the damage to fish- With proper planning and operation of the dams, the lakes formed behind the dams probably can be used to increase fish production instead of destroying the fish- eries, Many species, such as carp, Prussian carp, and various cyprinoids would do very well in these impound- ments if the proper environmental conditions could be maintained for them, Shellfish and Edible Seaweed: Oyster, clam, and "nori" (edible seaweed) culture are more highly devel- oped in Japan than anywhere else in the world, The fish- eries produced about 286 million pounds annually just prior to the war, and although production declined ex- cessively immediately following the Japanese surrender, it is increasing again and should surpass this mark with- in a.few years, The already intense cultivation of these species precludes any great increases in production over the prewar level but, with a good research program to develop more efficient techniques in cultivating these bay fisheries, production undoubtedly can be increased significantly, JAPANESE GOVERNMENT FV Mexico MEXICAN COASTAL TOWNS ASK FOR U, S.-MEXICAN SHRIMP-FISHERY TREATY: The cham- bers of commerce of the Mexican coastal towns along the Gulf of Mexico have peti- tioned the Ministries of Marine and Foreign Relations to negotiate a fishery treaty with the United States, particularly with respect to shrimp, according to an item 50 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No. 8 appearing in the Mexican newspaper Excelsior of July 1 and as reported by the Amer- ican Embassy at Mexico City. The account states that the merchants and fishermen believe that the Mexican fishing zone should have a limit of nine nautical miles from the coast rather than the three miles recognized by the United States. WEST COAST SHRIMP FISHERY: There are 13 shrimp plants now in existence on the west coast of Mexico with a daily freezing capacity of 147% metric tons (Table 1), according to an April 17 American Embassy report from Mexico, D. F, Table 1 - Shrimp Plants on Mexican West Goast - Location, Number, and Freezing Capacit City and State Daily Freezing Capacity Metric Tons UAYMAS, SONOTA eeoccoecscescccscrccccsccces 67 fazatlan, Sinaloa ..cccrcecesccsccvccccece 30 Reforma, SimalOa cecceecceccreccsercece 10 El Dorado, Sinaloa eeccccccerevcsererccoce opolobampo, Sinalog ecccccccccscccccccces 1 Golfo, SONOTE servecceveccccsecosorccece Santa Rosalia, Baja California cececerecee Total SCoeeeseesescosesoeseeoreeseseoverce Table 2 - Monthly Shrimp Production and Number of Trips at Guaymas, Sonora 1948-49 Season 1947-48 Season Production Production Two other plants, having a capa= city of ten metric tons of shrimp, are projected and will be built in the immediate future at Mazatlan, Lbs. Lbs. Bcc: cestceg At present, the West Coast shrimp 1.813.935 930.912 fishing industry is largely centered 1,447,972 749 , 335 st “Gilagmielo (TaD 1S) 2s OURO Saat 1.318 953 1 307. 328 pears that there are shrimp areas along 1.082.759 ’ 2 the Mexican west coast south of Mazatlan, "607 598 and it seems certain that that port will 331,342 rise in importance and soon will be equalling, or exceeding, Guaymas as a 232,243 shrimp center, British North Borneo STATUS OF THE FISHERIES, 1949: A commercial venture, approved by the Govern- ment, will be started in 1950 whereby eight Chinese junks from Hong Kong, about 60 to 70 feet each in length, will carry on fishing activities along the west coast of North Borneo, If successful, more boats of this type may be brought in, according to a report from the United States Foreign Service, The principal fisheries products exported during 1949 were salt fish, dried prawn and prawn dust, shark fins, and trochus shells, August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW d1 Norway NORDIC FISHERY CONFERENCE: Iceland's extension of its territorial waters as they affect that country's fisheries and the condition of the fisheries export market were the subjects of two of the most important discussions at the Nordic Fishery Conference held at Lysekil, Sweden, in June this year, a June 21 American Embassy dispatch from Oslo reports, The speech given at the Conference by the Icelandic representative, H. G, Ander= sen was reported upon by Verdens Gang, a Norwegian newspaper, by its comPesyendent Asbjfrn Barlaup, He reported: "It is today a public secret that Iceland has extended its fishery limits and that the new provisions are so rigorous that there is a dan- ger that Norwegian herring fishermen must consider themselves excluded from Icelandic waters, Norwegian fishermen can no longer process their catch in shelter of the Icelandic skerries, If they wish to continue their work, they must process and salt the fish on the open ocean, It is easy to understandwhat this will mean to the large Norwegian fish~ eries in Icelandic waters, Naturally, none of the Norwegian delegates to the conference will participate in any discussion of this peculiar question," Barlaup said the most remarkable thing about H, G, Andersen's speech was that he completely left out the official Icelandic argument for the new fishery limits, namely, that the provision was dictated by consideration of fish conservation, Other- wise he found the speech a well-formulated argument for the step taken by Iceland, Barlaup gave a detailed report of the Swedish protest against the extension of the Icelandic fishery limits, He further tried to explain the real reasons for this measure, drawing the conclusion that Iceland probably aimed at reducing the competi- tion of the Norwegian herring products on the international markets, The condition of the fisheries export market was discussed by a Danish delegate at the Conference, The correspondent pointed out that Norway has reached a rather strange position in the inter-Nordic fish market, "While Norway has removed all re- strictions on the import of fish from Sweden and Denmark, the Swedes permit imports only according to a preceding analysis of the demand, and Denmark requires a license for imports--contrary to the spirit and provisions of the Marshall Plan," NORWEGIAN-FRENCH TRADE AGREEMENT: Trade delegations representing Norway and France signed a supplementary commodity agreement at Oslo on July 6, 1950, to be effective from that date to June 30, 1951. Among the principal commodities listed for export from Norway to France are fishery and allied products, No fisheries products are included in the exports from France to Norway, ‘There seems to be a strong opinion that in comparison with the two previous agreements, the present agreement will result in a reduction of Nor- wegian exports to and imports from France, a July 19 American Embassy dispatch from Oslo reports, The main products which are to be exported from Norway to France are fresh and frozen fish, fresh or frozen herring, salted herring, smoked herring, raw sealskins, fish and canned fish for the colonies, and fish oils, 52 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No, 8 Norwegian Exports of Fishery and Allied Products to France Commodities In Kroner |In U.S.$| 1,000,000 aw sealskins eeeececeres ee eseceseresessseees Fresh or frozen fish, including salmon cece. 6,500,000 Fresh or frozen herring cece-ccerccesercrecoe 1,000,000 Salitedbhormine Saetess caeercmcs vow sietin sleet 1,300 ,0008/ Smoked herring eeccecceccccsecrcvoccccvecccce 1,200,0004/ Canned Lich Goo. u ides See e eee eR eee eee 500, 0003/ Fish and canned fish (for colonies) ...seee 2,000,000 Pearl CSSEONCE ceoocesesereceseeseseseeeseresn = ardened whale oil (for North Africa) eecces 100 M.T. Industrial fish O11 cecccccccscccceccccvecce Ib srat5} 0) WU 200 " 150 Cod=-Liver O11 eccccccccccroresccccccssecccoes Veterinary fish O11] wecccccercceeccccorsesece Cod roe (for North Africa) ....c..e-ecccccee Fish hoOkKs: .cccccccccccccccc cc cc cc cccccccoces 1/The Norwegian Government will permit the export to France of these commodities to the quantities or values mentioned; import licenses will be made out by the French Government for the same quantities or values. 2/Free import. 3/Part for North Africa. 4/For North Africa and overseas territories. Paraguay FISH MARKETING stTuaTion:2/ Fresh fish and imported canned fishery products are scarce and considered a luxury in Paraguay because the people are traditional beef eaters, as in Argentina and Uruguay, according to Milton J, Lindner, U, 3S, Fish and Wildlife Service representative, who is making a survey of South American markets for United States fishery products, Paraguay produces no canned fish and very little fresh fish, Paraguay has imported only small quantities of these products, but practically none from the United States, Prior to the war, imports were largely from Norway, Spain and Portugal, and consisted principally of sardines and tuna in olive oil, and dry cod, During the war, these items were replaced by dried fish from Brazil and canned fish from Argentina, From 1945 to 1947, there were decreasing importa~ tions from Argentina and Brazil and increasing importations from Europe, Since 1948, imports have declined rapidly and only very small amounts are now entering the country, There are no labeling or packaging restrictions on imported fishery products, but they must undergo a sanitary inspection, Dollars are very scarce and exchange control makes it impossible to import fishery products from the United States, Whatever dollars become available are required for essential equipment and repair parts, Lack of exchange has caused an almost complete stoppage of all fishery imports and there appears to be no indication of any immediate improvement in this condition, 1/ THIS |S THE FOURTH REPORT IN A SERIES TO GIVE INFORMATION ON CURRENT AND POTENTIAL MARKETS FOR UNITED STATES FISHERY PRODUCTS IN SOUTH AMERICA, ALSO SEE FOOTNOTE ON P. 39 OF THIS ISSUE, August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 53 The cost of living index in Paraguay was 759 in April 1950, and over 800 in June (1938 equals 100), Retail prices on many staple goods are fixed by the govern- Ment, although it is impossible to obtain most of them at the government price, Higher prices must be paid, and prices are still rising, Beef is relatively cheap, however, when compared with the prices charged for imported canned fish--most of which are packed in Argentina, The best qualities of beef retail for about 10 cents per pound (U. S. currency equivalent), The cheaper cuts retail for about 4 cents, Argentine "tuna" (actually a mackerel), was observed in the retail markets for about $1.20 for a 7-ounce can, A 13$-ounce tall can of Argentine "caballa" (mackerel in tomato sauce) was selling for about 80 cents, One store had recently obtained a shipment of canned Chilean sardines and tuna in peanut and sunflower oil, Sardines in 15g-ounce round flat cans retailed for about 94 cents each; tuna in a 7-ounce can retailed for about 81 cents, Prices of imported canned fish have risen so high they are priced out of the market, The cheapest heads-on gutted fresh fish were selling for about 12 cents per pound, and the best, about 50 cents, -~_- Republic of the Philippines IMPORT CONTROL LAW AFFECTS FISHERY PRODUCTS IMPORTS: A law (Republic Act 426, Import Control Law) providing for the establishment of an Import Control Board, which no later than 60 days from the date of approval shall fix import quotas for import commodities included in the Act, was approved by the Philippine: Govern- ment on May 18 and signed by the President on May 22, This Act brings all imports under the control of the Import Control Board and reduces the imports of certain specific commodities (including fishery and allied products). Reduced quotas will be based on certain percentages (depending upon the classification) of the average value of each imported commodity for the base years 1946, 1947, and 1948. The Import Control Board is responsible for the establishment of policies governing the fixing and allocation of quotas for any commodity pursuant to the provisions of the Act; the promulgation of necessary rules and regulations for en= forcement and implementation of the Act; carrying out the provisions of the Act, Direct administration of the Act is placed in the hands of an Import Control Administration, This unit will grant quota allocations among importers; receive and act on applications for quota allocations and import licenses and issue the corresponding quota-allocations import licenses; implement and carry out all pole icies and resolutions established by the Import Control Board, The following sections of the Act will probably be of interest to prospective shippers of fishery products to the Philippines: "Section 5. Any person desiring to import any article, goods or commodities into the Philippines shall file an application for a cor- responding quota allocation and license with the Import Control Admin- istration, For old importers, the application shall be executed under oath and shall contain, among others, their name, address, nationality, stock on hand of the goods applied, the amount of their importation in 5h, COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No, 8 the years 1946, 1947, and 1948 of the articles, goods or commodities applied for; and if a new importer, his application shall contain a statement of his actual financial resources to finance the importation of the goods applied for, "Section 6, No person, corporation or association shall import any article, goods or commodity into the Philippines without a proper import license issued for said purpose in accordance with this Act, Any importation or order to import any articles, goods or commodities under control under the old import control law between April 30, 1950, and the date of the approval of this Act shall be considered illegal unless such order or importation was duly approved by the old Import Control Board," Section 7 of the Act divides imports into four classifications, and cuts in- ports under each classification specific percentages depending on the classifica- tion: (1) Prime imports--commodities of prime necessity and not suffi- ciently available locally, Shall be reduced by not more than 40 per- cent, No fishery or allied products are listed under this category, (2) Essential imports--commodities which, though not of prime necessity, are necessary for the health and material well-being of the people, Shall be reduced by not less than 40 percent nor more than 60 percent, Fish nets are included among those commodities list- ed under this classification, (3) Non-essential imports--commodities not necessary for the health and material well-being of the people, but whose consumption is concomitant with the rise of their standard of living, Shall be reduced by not less than 60 percent nor more than 80 percent, The following fishery products are included among those commodities list- ed under this classification: Fish and Fish Products Fresh: Canned: Haddock and halibut Abalone Other fresh fish Anchovies Shellfish Crabs and crab meat Dried, smoked, salted or cured Cuttlefish (squid) (except salmon and sardines) Clams Anchovies Herring Beche-de-mer (trepang) Mackerel Codfish Oysters Cuttlefish (squid) Roe Haddock Shrimp Herring Tuna and bonito Shark fins Sauces, fish Shrimp Canned shellfish Other shellfish All other canned fish Other dried fish (includes salmon and sardines) August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW (4) Luxury imports--commodities intended primarily for ostentation or pleasure, Shell be reduced by not less than 80 percent nor more than 90 percent, Imports of these commodities are to be discouraged completely. Included among those commodities listed under this classification are: Animal fats and oil, edible All others (fish and whale oils are probably included here) Animal products, inedible Shell manufactures Shells and manufactures Section 7 also contains the following over-all statement: "Upon the joint certification by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Secretary of Commerce and Industry that the domestic supply of certain articles, goods or commodities heretofore imported is sufficient to meet the local demand, the board shall impose the maximum percentage reduction on the import quotas for such articles, goods or commodities, as provided for in this Act, Upon joint certifi- cation by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Secretary of Commerce and Industry that an article or commodity not un- der control has a sufficient local supply to meet adequately the local demand, and the board upon investigation, is convinced of the necessity of controlling such items to protect local industry or industries, the Import Control Board may place in the control list the said article or commodity, The Import Control Board is hereby authorized to transfer a controlled import item from a lower class to a higher class of import should the board be convinced that the local supply of said commodity warrants said transfer," Other important sections of the Act are the following: "Section 9, No item of import not enumerated in the appendices of this Act shall be allowed an import license and exchange cover in ex= cess of its import value (c.i.f.) for the year 1948 except agricultural machineries and equipment and other machinery, materials and equipment for dollar-producing and dollar-saving industries, "Section 10, For the purpose of fixing the import quota for each article, goods, or commodity, the average annual c,i,f, value thereof for the years 1946, 1947, and 1948 shall be used as basis, "Section 11, Within 30 days after the Import Control Board as herein provided shall have fixed the import quota for each item of import, any importer desiring to import any such item may file an ap~ plication with the Commissioner for an allocation of a portion of said import quota, Any ruling or resolution of the Import Control Board as provided in Republic Act numbered 330 to the contrary notwithstanding, the applicants may file their application within 45 days after the ap-= proval of this Act.2/ "Section 12, The portion of the import quotas available for old importers shall be allocated by the Commissioner among them in propor- tion to the annual average amount of their importation of the articles i R.A. 330 WAS THE ORIGINAL IMPORT CONTROL LAW PASSED IN JUNE 1948. 56 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No, 8 and on the evidence of the sales tax actually paid by them corresponding to the years 1946, 1947 and 1948, The importers! tax receipts corres-~ ponding to any particular article, goods or commodity, being certified under oath, and other documentary evidence shall be used as the princi- pal basis for determining the value of the previous imports of such in- porters: provided, that no importer shall be allowed more than 30 per centum of the total import quota for any item except when such limita- tion may, in the opinion of the Import Control Board, be detrimental to public interest, Allocation for importers who imported during a frac~ tion only of the year 1946, 1947 and/or 1948 shall be computed on the basis of the ratio which said fraction of the year bears to the whole year, "Section 14, The Board shall reserve 30 per centum of the total im- port quota for any article, goods or commodities for the fiscal year 1950-51, forty per centum for the fiscal year 1951-52, and 50 per centum for the fiscal year 1952-53 in favor of bona fide new importers who did not import such items at any time during the years 1946, 1947 and 1948, To qualify as new importer, one must be a Filipino citizen or a juridical entity at least 60 per centum of whose stock is owned by Filipino citi- zens, After the total number of new importers has been determined, the portion of the import quota herein reserved shall be allocated propor- tionately among them on the basis of financial capacity and business standing of the applicant: provided, that said applicant has been duly licensed to engage in a business and industry and has an esteblished place of business, or cooperative associations organized yonder Commonwealth Act numbered 565 known as the National Cooperative Act, Should there be no such new applicants or should the said reserved portion be not entirely covered by new applicants, the said reserved portion of the import quota or any balance thereof shall be allocated among the rest of the importers: provided, further, that nothing contained in this section shall in any way impair or abridge the rights granted to citizens and juridical en- tities of the United States of America under the Executive Agreement signed on July 4, 1946, between that country and the Republic of the Philippines, 2/™ Under the Act, quota allocations of any importer for any particular article are not transferable, Of course, imports are further limited to the amount of foreign exchange available, When the foreign exchange available cannot cover all the ap- plications for importation, the Import Control Board is to reduce proportionately the foreign exchange available among the import-license holders, The Philippine Cabinet on February 21, 1950, approved the recommendations of a special committee to limit disbursements of dollars for imports in 1950 to actual receipts of dollars from exports, from United States payments and expenditures in the Philippines, and from other inward remittances, Therefore, the amount of dol- lars available to pay for imports probably will be rather limited, 2/ ACT PASSED DURING COMMONWEALTH REGIME, NOVEMBER 1935-JULY 1946, 3/ REFERENCE |S TO ARTICLE X=4,OF THE AGREEMENT, WHICH STATES THAT IF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES DETERMINES THAT THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT IS IN ANY MANNER DISCRIMINATING AGAINST CITI= ZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OR ANY FORM OF UNITED STATES BUSINESS ENTERPRISE, THEN YHE PRES| DENT OF THE UNITED STATES SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE WHOLE OR ANY POR- TION OF THIS AGREEMENT. August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 57 U. S. Exports of Fishery Products to the Philippines, 1946-48 (Quantity and Value): Ne Commodity ; d lbs. almon, fresh or frozen (except canned) seccosccece ; 12,602 5,167 Fish, n.e.S., fresh or frozen (except canned) ..... ’ 124,198 25,748 Oysters, fresh, in shell ceccecccoeccerccccerccccce = = st ’ " , shucked, frozen, etCe eeeccce 4,296 2,915 hrimp, fresh, frozen or in 100@ wecccccovccee 900 730 ud 729,477 24,139 Salmon, sltd., pckld., dry cured ..cccosccceee 11,500 1,350 (Cod, Hake, etc., sltd., pcekld., etc. woe.cse. 25,564 9,923 Fish, sltd., pekled., dry cured, 0.6.5. ssccoece 70,712 7,625 erring, sltd., pekled., dry cured ° 34,358 3,870 Sardines, sltd., pckld., dry cured ..... f 34,750 3,609 Salmon, Canned cecserercscrccccccscscere 295,326 | 2,782,290 | 1,007,615 3,544,385 | 23,272,497 | 4,897,686 20,406 36,175 11,361 1,533,672 357,696 298,985 35,958 26,524,403 | 5,811,857 | 16,745,773 | 3,402,920 4,245 4,631 3,115 3,251 180 235 675 1,232 11,046 10,049 10,404 6,914 5,022 3,159 8,941 9,316,852 1,027,648 | 12,154,442 25,696 ,026 2,302 1,372 4,806 e 140 100 - - - 107,056 28,808 272,217 351,884 84,913) 299,970 69,803 50,000 - - n/Does not include some minor and allied products, such as, nets. These figures are based on c.i.f. values as reported by the Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce. The Republic of the Philippines' import values will be slightly different; however, taking the average value for the years 1946, 1947, and 1948 for any of the items (classi- fied as non-essential imports by the Philippines) as shown in this table and applying the present import restriction for this category (imports shall be reduced by not less than 60 percent nor more than 80 percent), it will be possible to get an approximation of the quantity of each of the items included in the table which will be permitted to enter the Philippines after May 22, 1950, if dollars are available. POT CU Weletelclulsie[eiolelealelcielaieletclsietelclotelciulciercis Surinam CURRENT FISH MARKETING SITUATION: :1/ Fish are an important item in the diet in Surinam rinam (Dutch Guiana), according to information submitted by Milton J, Lindner, U, S. Fish and Wildlife Service representative, who in June this year covered the eastern part of South America in a survey of South American markets for U, S., fish» ery products, There is some local production of fish with the catch estimated at more than 3.3 million pounds annually, However, the large proportion of the fishery prcducts consumed in Surinam are imported, Much of the local production is salted, dried, or smoke-cooked, There are no fish canneries in the country, Postwar imports of fishery products are about the same as prewar--about 2 mil- lion pounds annually, About 70 percent of the imports have been salted or dry- salted fish, mostly from Canada, Principal imports of canned fish are California and New Brunswick sardines; Canadian, Netherlands, and Norwegian herring; and United States and Canadian salmon, New Brunswick sardines, which are cheaper than the Maine sardines, command the mar- ket, California sardines in tomato sauce are preferred to Dutch herring in tomato as the latter are considered too dry. 1/ THIS 1S THE SEVENTH REPORT IN A SERIES TO GIVE INFORMATION ON CURRENT AND POTENTIAL MARKETS FOR UNITED STATES FISHERY PRODUCTS IN SOUTH AMERICA. ALSO SEE FOOTNOTE ON P. 39 OF THIS ISSUE. ° 58 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No, 8 Salted herring and dry-salted hake and cod are the principal imports of cured fish, Dry-salted hake, which have less moisture and keep better in the tropical climate, are preferred to cod, Prior to World War II, a few dried shrimp were im~ ported but these have been replaced by a local production of sea-bobs, There seems to be no market for canned tuna or canned shrimp, Canned salmon is considered a luxury but is in heavy demand for feast days, Scarcity of dollars is not as severe as in some of the other South American countries, Nevertheless, imports of fishery products from the United States are somewhat restricted, Importers generally reserve dollars for products they cannot procure in soft-currency areas, However, this practice has not been observed strictly for fish as there is a definite consumer demand for canned salmon and California sardines, Although importers indicated that the dollar shortage restricted importation of United States canned fishery products, Surinam imported more fish from the United States in 1949 than in any year since the war, These imports were almost exclusively canned California sardines and canned salmon, Imports from hard-currency countries are expected to be less during the last half of 1950 than during the first half, Many items from hard currency areas are regulated on a quota basis; and im- ports of certain "luxury" items are prohibited, Salted or pickled fish are on the unrestricted list, Salmon, prepared or canned fish and shellfish are on the quota list, Fresh fish or shellfish, canned anchovies, canned smoked salmon or smoked or jellied eel are on the prohibited list of imports from hard-currency areas, A ceiling price applies on such imported items as dry-salted fish, canned her-= ring, and California sardines, but these are expected to be lifted in July, In June, wholesalers were permitted an 8 percent markup, and retailers, 15 percent, In Paramaribo, prices of fish, both fresh and-canned, compared quite favorably with those of beef, A one-pound tall can of red salmon retailed for 99 cents (U.S, currency equivalent); a one-pound oval of California sardines, 2 cents; and a 33- ounce flat can of New Brunswick sardines, 13 cents, Beef ranged from 33 to 72 cents, depending on the cut, No special labeling or sanitary requirements are necessary on imported fishery products, Trieste STATUS OF THE FISHERIES, 1949: Much of the fishing industry in the area now known as the Free Territory of Trieste was carried on in the towns of the Istrian Coast which are now located in the Yugoslav Zone, Following the establishment of the Free Territory, control of the property belonging to the Italian fishing com= panies passed into the hands of the Yugoslavs, but several of the companies con- tinued operations on a limited scale in Trieste, a May 24 American consular dis- patch from Trieste reports, Plans were made in 1949 for the building of a large new canning plant in Trieste, but it was finally decided that the existing small canneries were sufficient, August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 59 Encouragement of the fishing industry was considered desirable, primarily as a means of insuring a supply of fresh fish for the Zone and for export, A secondary consideration was the employment possibilities which would be created, although it was recognized that most of the fishermen operating out of Trieste were and presum- ably would oontinue to be of other than local origin. Another secondary consider— ation was that some of the small shipyards in the Zone would be given work, Accord- ingly, an ERP counterpart loan was granted to a cooperative society of fishermen created for the purpose in the amount of 265.5 million lire (equivalent to approxi- mately $500,000) for the construction of a deep-sea fishing fleet of 12 vessels totaling 64,5 metric tons, The first of the ships was completed late in the summer of 1949 in time to take advantage of an exceptional run of tuna in these waters, A fishermen's school is to be opened to train a small number of local youths to take positions in the new modern fishing fleet, Construction of the deep-sea fleet to supplement the many small craft (which operate only in adjacent waters) was decided upon because of the fact that the richest fishing grounds in the Adriatic were, as a result of the war, under Yugo- slav control, Trieste was not included in the fishing agreement negotiated be- tween the Italian and the Yugoslav Governments and local fishermen, when apprehended by the Yugoslavs in what they considered to ve their territorial waters, were sub- jected to severe reprisals, It was accordingly desirable that at least part of the fleet be able to fish further afield, Another project designed to increase the fishing catch is currently under con- struction at the mouth of the Timavo River, which runs along the boundary separating the Zone from Italy. Here, three river channels are being deepened to permit millet to run into the river where they are to be netted, A modern refrigeration plant, barracks for the workers, and other facilities are under construction, Full effects of the American Military Government program are not expected to be felt until 1950, In 1949, the total catch of 4,733 metric tons was almost identical to that of 1948 but exceeded the 1938 figure by about 1,350 tons, Of the 1949 catch, 3,698 tons were consumed locally and 1,035 tons were exported, in comparison to 215 tons exported in 1938, United Kingdom PLANS FOR AIDING WHITE-FISH INDUSTRY: Plans for helping the British white-fish industry were announced by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons on July 4, A special authority is to be set up with adequate powers to regulate, reorganize, and develop the industry, according to the July 8 issue of The Fishing News, a British fishery periodical, Since it will take some time to get this new body functioning, the Government has decided to use part of the food subsidies to assist ‘he inshore and "middle-water" catchers of white fish for a period of six months," On the basis of current prices, the cost is not expected to exceed &1,700,000 (approximately $4,760,000). In the case of catchers using vessels not exceeding 70 ft, in length, the sub- sidy would be 10d per stone (approximately 86 cents per hundredweight) for white fish, payable under conditions broadly similar to those in force before April 15 - 60 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 12, No. 8 this year when price controls were removed, Catchers using vessels over 70 ft, but under 140 ft. in length would not be paid according to the weight of the fish landed, but would receive payment up to a maximum of B12 ($33.60) per day, and varying ac- cording to the gross earnings of each voyage and the number of days per trip. Trawlers over 140 ft, in length would receive no financial aid, This interim subsidy is designed not only to secure improvement for the white- fish industry until the White-Fish Authority is able to apply long-term remsdies, but also to encourage the catchers of prime fish to maintain supplies of the better types of fish, The underlying objective is to insure the continued Supply, at reasonable prices, of fish which is a vital element in the Nation's diet, The new White-Fish Authority will be on a United Kingdom basis, However, it is reported that it would not be possible to introduce legislation before the summer recess of Parliament to create this new Authority which is to be similar to the Her~ ring Industry Board, Composed of independent members, it will have statutory powers, but will work in consultation with the industry, ped lint prelate pan tiles, Sa ar a tl fae ele eee One of f the most ambitious projects in Scotland's development program is the 5 aiEaaea erection of four large freezing and cold-storage plants for herring at Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Buckie, and Wick, according to a June 27 American consular dispatch from Edinburgh, The establishment of these plants will be the first undertaking of its kind in Scotland and one of the most important in the British Isles, Each plant would be able to freeze and store up to approximately 120,000 pounds of herring a day, and the fishermen could be paid full price for them, Besides putting the herring industry on a more satisfactory basis, another ad- vantage of the freezing and cold=-storage plants is that all surplus herring during gluts could be kept in first-class condition and released to the market when required, Indicative of the broad scope of the program is the announcement that the plants will cost more than $2,800,000, It has been suggested that 80 percent of this sum will be advanced by the Scottish Herring Board and 20 percent by private enterprise, and more that the development of their fisheries, both marine and fresh water, may furnish a valuable additional supply of protein food, and many of them have appropri- ated funds for such development, according to The Colonial Territories (1949-50), command paper 7958, published June 1, 1950. ‘This document is a summary of developments in the colonies throughout the past year presented to the British Parliament by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, FISHERIES IN THE COLONIAL TERRITORIES:: Colonial Governments are realizing more According to this report, many of the Colonial Governments have appropriated funds for the development of their fisheries, and in some cases these funds are being used for the purchase of powered fishing vessels with United Kingdom skippers to engage in experimental fishing and teach the local fishermen improved catching methods, Methods of fish preservation best suited to local conditions are also being investigated, Attention is being given to the development of inland fisheries in rivers and lakes such as those in East and Central Africa, As a result of the research at the Fisheries Research Station at Jinja, Uganda, a new fishery has been established in Lake Victoria from which it is hoped to provide fish for the labor force engaged on the Owen Falls hydroelectric scheme, The Fisheries Research Institute at Jinja started August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 61 work during the year, Routine work on the stocks of fish was carried out in Lakes Viotoria, Edward, and Albert, and in other smaller lakes, Experimental fishing, using new fishing methods, was done, with commercially promising results, Observae tions are also being made on a fish (Allantochromis alaudi) occurring naturally in Lake Victoria which as a mollusk eater may be important in the control of certain human and cattle diseases caused by parasites in which mollusks are intermediate hosts, Fish farming is being encouraged, and suitable fry for this purpose have been introduced into the West Indies from Malaya and Africa, A two years! survey of the fisheries of the banks between Seychelles and Mauri- tius was completed at the end of 1949. The results were encouraging and commercial interests have now taken up large-scale fishing in this area, Besides the explora- tion of the fishing banks, data have been collected on the feeding and breeding habits of the fish, and on their abundance, This will allow an estimate to be made as to the amount of fish which could be caught on these banks annually without risk of overfishing. A South African fishing company has been granted a concession for catching crawfish in Tristan da Cunha, The crawfish are taken to South Africa for canning, The industry has been successfully launched and has brought new hope to the is- landers who have hitherto been largely supported by gifts from outside, Uruguay CURRENT FISH MARKETING sttuation:2/ Consumption of fish in Uruguay is unimpor- tant as compared with that of beef, Uruguayans consume annually about 165 pounds of beef per capita in contrast with about 38 pounds of fish, This information was sub- mitted by Milton J, Lindner, U, S, Fish and Wildlife Service representative, who in June this year covered the eastern part of South America in a survey of South Ameri- can markets for U. S, fishery products Retail prices of fresh fish and beef are set by the government, and both products are subsidized, The price of beef, ranging from Ls to 2) cents per pound, depending on cut, averages about 15 cents per pound (U, S, currency equivalent), The lowest priced fresh fish was about 9 cents per pound, Dry whole cod retails for about 50 cents per pound, A one-pound tall can of pink salmon sells for about $1.00. A one- pound oval can of sardines (pilchards) retails for about 75 cents, Imports are rigidly controlled in accordance with the availability of foreign exchange and the need for the product, Fishery products imports are obtained largely from soft-currency countries, Imported canned fish is considered a luxury product, but is readily available in all grocery stores, Consumer preference is for Spanish pack, in olive oil, Imports of canned fishery products from the United States have been greater in the postwar period than in prewar, but have dropped off considerably since 1947, In 1947, imports of canned fishery products from the United States totaled $81,000 in value. In 1949, imports from the United States were valued at $11,000. U.S. prod= ucts were principally canned pilchards, salmon, squid, and shrimp, Prices of these WW, THIS 1S THE THIRD REPORT IN A SERIES TO GIVE INFORMATION -ON CURRENT AND POTENTIAL MARKETS FOR UNITED STATES FISHERY PRODUCTS IN SOUTH AMERICA. ALSO SEE FOOTNOTE ON P. 39 OF THIS ISSUE. 62 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 products were competitive with those of other countries but the exchange situation made it extremely difficult to obtain dollars for importing fishery products, Squid, according to reports, would have a greater acceptance in this market if it were cleaned prior to packing, Postwar (1947-49) imports of preserved fish into Uruguay are about the same as prewar (1937-39). The principal items are dry whole cod from Norway, and sardines in olive oil from French North Africa, Together these two items account for about 60 percent of the total imports, Other items imported are salted anchovies from French North Africa, herring from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and tuna in oil from Spain, France, and Portugal, There are no packaging or labeling restrictions or requirements on imported fishery products, The products, however, must undergo a rigid sanitary inspection to determine their fitness for human consumption, 1S Venezuela FISH MARKETING situation: 2/ A relatively high dollar income, low taxes, and dependence on imported food products, makes Venezuela one of the more important South American outlets for processed fishery products, Almost every existing kind = of processed fishery product is available in Venezuela, ac- cording to Robert 0, Snith, U, S, Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice representative, who in June this year made a study of markets for U, S, fishery prod- ucts in South America, ai Frozen foods are very sparingly distributed, being found chiefly in the petroleum areas, and in sections of cities, such as.Caracas, where there is -a considerable foreign population, There is definite prejudice against frozen fishery products for general consumption, and outside of the foreign colonies, : they are sold only during periods > when fresh fish are scarce, RETAIL MARKET IN CARACAS, VENEZUELA The 1949 exports of fishery products from the United States to Venezuela totaled 2,166,300 pounds, valued at $1,031,200, On the basis of quantity, the first four products were: (1) canned sar- dines; (2) canned salmon; (3) canned tuna; and (4) canned shrimp, The problem of sanitary regulations for inspection and control of imported pro~ cessed foods is a thorny one for all South American countries, and especially for J/ THIS |S THE EIGHTH REPORT IN A SERIES TO GIVE |NFORMATION ON CURRENT AND POTENTIAL MARKETS FOR UNITED STATES FISHERY PRODUCTS IN SOUTH AMERICA, SEE FOOTNOTE ON P. 39 OF THIS ISSUE. August 1950 COMVERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 63 Venezuela because of the quantities and diversified products brought in, Consider- ation is being given to requiring a certificate from the country of origin stating that the product complies with standards of quality for food products consumed with- in that country, Canned sardines also occupy first place in the fishery products exported by Vene- zuela, Sardine canning is an important industry in the Cumana-Golfo de Cariaco area, There are nine canneries located along the Gulf of Cariaco from Cumana eastward, Although the principal product is sardines in vegetable oil, a few cases of frigate mackerel (caballa) , Span-= ish mackerel (carite), and roe (mostly jurel or crevalle) are also packed, Venezuela (population esti- mated at 4,397,918 in 1947) holds @ unique position among South Amer- ican countries in having no funded debt, no property taxes, unrestricted importation of products from hard- currency areas, plus the fact that the National Treasury receives an income from petroleum production amounting to between one and two million U, S, dollars per day, VENEZUELAN FISHING SCHOONERS DOCKED AT WILLEMSIED, CURACAO, DUTCH WEST INDIES. ABOUT 90 PERCENT ‘OF 2 CURACAO'S FISH LANDINGS ARE SUPPLIED BY VENEZUELAN However, since petroleum be- BOATS. FISH ARE RETA! LED DIRECTLY FROM THE BOATS. came the No, 1 industry, the food economy has become unbalanced by movement of labor from farm to industry, so that at present there is scarcely a food category in which the country is self-sufficient, The more important shortages are in basic commodities, such as, meats, flour, beans, rice, and edible oils, CANNED FISH INDUSTRY POLICY: A Venezuelan interministerial committee, after a study of several months, recommended to the Cabinet a broad policy of protection for the canned fish industry, according to the May 17 issue of El Nacional as re-= ported by the American Embassy at Caracas in its dispatches of May 19 and 22, The subcommittee recommends among other things, an increase in customs duty on canned fish with quotas in certain cases; creation through the Banco Central of a "fish dollar" to aid exportation; collaboration of the Foreign Ministry to negotiate treaties bartering Venezuelan canned fish; establishment of a tin can factory; and economic aid to the industry, The Foreign Minister and the Minister of Development, who announced the report of the subcommittee, also informed the fish canners they were satisfied with the work of the subcommittee and because the problem is one af-= fecting a national industry, it can be solved immediately in accordance with the policy of protectionism that has been followed by the country for some time, The fish canners expressed satisfaction to the press and reported that decause they were confident of a prompt favorable official solution, and due to certain re=- cent exportations, the industry has recovered from the dolaramal “However, the month 64 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No, 8 of April was a poor one for the industry, and had not the announcement been made by the two ministers, the situation of the canners would have produced a grave crisis, The recommendations of the interministerial committee are to be presented to the full Cabinet on May 19, 1950. Included among the specific recommendations of the subcommittee was an increase in the duty on sardines and other canned fish to 2 bolivares per kilogram (approxi- mately 27 cents per pound); stipulate protection for the national industry in inter- national agreements to be renewed or revised; and open diplomatic negotiations with the United States to develop treatment for Venezuelan sardines equal to that granted by Venezuela to the sardines from the United States, NOTE: CANNED SALMON, CANNED SARDINES IN OIL (EXCEPT OLIVE OIL), IN SAUCE OR IN THEIR OWN JUICE, AND CANNED SHELLFISH ” ARE INCLUDED iN SCHEDULE | OF THE UNITED STAT ES-= VENEZUELAN TRADE AGREEMENT SIGNED ON NOVEMBER 6, 1939, IN FORCE SINCE DECEMBER 16, 1939, AND THE VENEZUELAN IMPORT DUTY ON SUCH UNITED STATES PRODUCTS CANNOT BE HIGHER THAN THOSE SPECIFIED IN THE TRADE AGREEMENT (EDITORS). FISHING PORT*TO BE BUILT AT CUMANA: The Venezuelan Development Corporation has announced in the Caracas press it has signed a contract with a Holland firmfor a definitive study and plans for the construction of a fishing port at Cumana, accord= ing to a June 27 American consular dispatch from Caracas, This is one of the three ports planned, The second, a fishing port for Isla Margarita, will be contracted for shortly, The thirdfishing port,for the central region (LaGuaira), will be undertaken by the Ministry of Public Works with plans prepared in collaboration with the Vene- zuelan Development Corporation, These project are part of the plan to increase the marine fish supply, Yugoslavia WORK OF FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE: The Yugoslavic Institute for Oceanography and Fishery : at Split has done research which has given to the fishing industry "infor- mation for a more successful utilization of the riches of the Adriatic," according to the June 11 issue of Politika and as reported by the American Embassy at Belgrade in a June 20 dispatch, Special attention was paid to research on sardines which are "much sought after in domestic and foreign markets," and in 1948, despite the belief that the movements of sardines could not be followed, marked sardines were traced as well as herring and bluefish, Other research projects of the Institute included studies of sea temperatures, deep-sea vegetation, and fluorescent deep-sea fish, August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 65 Food and Drug Administration JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ORDERS REGARDING CANNED OYSTERS: A summary of the judi- cial review of the orders under Section 701 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos— metic Act (Willapoint Oysters, Inc., v. Oscar R. Ewing, Administrator, and J. Donald Kingsley, Acting Administrator, Federal ee Agency) was recently 8 issued by the Food .and Drug Administration (J.R. 701 /f/ NeJe, F.D.Ce 10). This case concerns the petition to circuit court of appeals for review of orders pro- mulgating regulations fixing and establishing a definition and standard of iden- tity and a standard of fill of container for canned oysters. Petition was granted in part and denied in part. Certiorari denied by Supreme Court. On May 22 and September 12, 1948, Willapoint Oysters, Inc., filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, petitions for judicial re- view of orders of the Administrator of the Federal Security Agency, dated, re- spectively, March 10, 1948, and August 3, 1948, establishing a definition and standard of identity and a standard of fill of container for canned oysters. The principal issues were whether the requirement of the standard that the No. 1 EO can shall contain at least 64 ounces of oyster meat should apply to Western oysters, and whether Western oysters should be identified as "Pacific Oysters" on the can labels. The court dismissed the petition with respect to the standard of fill of container, but set aside the requirement of the standard of identity that the can be labeled as "Pacific Oysters." The petitioner filed for rehearing or for certification of questions to the Supreme Court, which was denied on June 3, 1949. The petitioner then filed a motion for a stay of issuance of mandate, pending application to the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, which motion was allowed over the Government's objection, on July 18, 1949. A petition for a writ of certiorari was subsequent— ly filed with the Supreme Court, and on October 24, 1949, the petition wasdienied. On November 4, 1949, the circuit court of appeals issued a final decree, or- dering that the portion of the standard of identity which specifies that Western canners label their product "Pacific Oysters" be set aside, and denying in all other respects the application of the petitioner. The petitioner filed for rehearing of its petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court, which petition was denied on April 24, 1950. NOTE: Copies of "Notice of Judgement," J. R. 701 (f) NeJe, Fe De Co 10, are available from the Food and Drug Administration, Federal Security Agency, Washington 25, De Ce 66 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 Department of State FISHING VESSELS: A convention between the United States and Canada for the exten- Sion of port privileges to halibut fishing vessels on the Pacific Coasts of the United States and Canada, signed at Ottawa on March 24, 1950, was proclaimed by the President August 2, 1950. The convention entered into force on July 13, 1950, upon the exchange of.instruments of ratification at Ottawa, the Department of State announced on August 4. By this convention, fishermen of each country engaged in the halibut fishery of the North Pacific Ocean are granted privileges in the ports of entry of theother country to obtain supplies, repairs and equipment, and to land their catches of halibut and sablefish without the payment of duties, sell them locally on payment of the applicable customs duty, transship them in bond under customs supervision to any port of their own country, or sell them in bond for export. United States fishing vessels have been accorded certain privileges inports of British Columbia for over fifty years. For short periods in.the past this Government has extended similar privileges, under wartime powers and by special legislation, to Canadian fishermen in Alaskan ports. Except for such periods, prior to the entry into force of this convention, Canadian fishing vessels could enter ports of the United States only when in distress or to secure supplies, repairs, or equipment. Though the United States under this convention extends privileges to Canadi- an halibut fishermen in all West Coast ports, the exercise of the privileges will, for geographical reasons, be confined mainly to Alaskan ports and to Seattle, Washington. & SEY Eighty-first Congress (Second Session) JULY 1950 Listed below are public bills, resolutions, etc., introduced and referred to committees, or passed by the Eighty-First Congress (Second Session) and signed by the President during July 1950, which affect in any way the fisheries and allied industries. Public bills, resolutions, etc., are mentioned under this section only when introduced and, if passed, when they are signed by the President. PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS INTRODUCED AND REFERRED the requisitioning thereof, provide fi- TO COMMITTEES: nancial assistance for expansion of pro- ductive capacity and supply, strengthen Senate: controls over credit, regulate specula- : ! tion on commodity exchanges, and by S. 3888 (Johnson) - A bill to provide that these measures facilitate the production the United States shall aid the States of goods and services necessary for the in fish and restoration and management national security, and for other purposes; projects, and for other purposes; to to the Committee on Banking and Currency. the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. House of Representatives: S. 3936 (Maybank) - A bill to establish a H. Re 9074 (Miller) - A bill to amend chap- system of priorities and allocations ter 61 (relating to lotteries) of title for materials and facilities, authorize 18, United States Code, to make clear August 1950 that such chapter does not apply to nonprofit contests wherein prizes are awarded for the species, size, weight, or quality of fish caught by the con- testant; to the Committee on the Judi- COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 67 He Re 9276 (Marcantonio) - A bill to pre- vent further price increases am to reduce present prices to price levels consistent with a stable economy and the welfare of the American people; to clary. the Committee on Banking and Currency. R. 9113 (Weichel) - A bill to prevent the shipment in interstate commerce of undersized fish; to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. H He Je Res. 503 (Klein) = Joint resolution to restore to the President all powers of the Price Control Act of 1942, in- cluding those of rationing or alloca- tion; to the Committee on Banking and H. R. 9134 (Nicholson) - A bill to amend Currency. title 46, United States Code, section 251; to the Committee on Merchant Ma- rine and Fisheries. (After the word "fisheries" will add: "Except as other- wise provided by treaty or convention to which the United States is a party, no foreign-flag vessel shall, whether documented as a cargo vessel or other— wise, land in a port of the United States its catch of fish or fish prod- ucts, or any fish or fish products taken on board such vessel on the high seas from a vessel engaged in fishing operations or in the processing of fish or fish products."') He Je Res. 515 (Javits) - Joint resolu- tion to provide for the appointment by the President of a Mobilization Production Board and a Food Conserva— tion Agency; to the Committee onArmed Services. He Res. 715, providing for the consideration of and 2 hours debate on He Re 5967, to clarify the status of freight forwarders and their relationship with motor common carriers (H. Rept. 2598). SIGNED BY THE PRESIDENT: H. Re 9141 (Cooley) - A bill to encourage the improvement and development of marketing facilities for handling per- ishable agricultural commodities; to the Committee on Agriculture. Public Law 614 (S.2658) - An act to establish rearing ponds and a fish hatchery in the State of Kentucky. Signed July 18, 1950. Public Law 590 (S. 3550) - An act extending import-control authority over fats and H. Re 9176 (Spence) — Same as S. 3936; oils and rice and rice products for a 1- to the Committee on Banking and cur- year period from June 30, 1950. Signed rency. June 30, 1950. CONGRESSIONAL REPORTS: Committee reports (of interest to the fisheries and allied industries) on bills seh in this section (available only from the committee submitting the report): Senate: tee feels that the studies contemplated under the authority of this bill should be carried on by specific annual appro- priations in accordance with the recom- mendations of the Bureau of the Budget.) Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce Report No. 2168 (July 26, 1950), 2 Pes printed, to accompany H. R. 7209, au- thorizing and directing the Secretary Report No. 2169 (July 26, 1950), 5 p., of the Interior to undertake contin-— uing studies of Atlantic Coast fish species for the purpose of developing and protecting fish resources. Bill reported favorably without amendment by the Committee and passage recom— mended. (This bill as passed by the House is a combination of three bills introduced in the House: H. R. 7209, H. Re 6973, and H. R. 986. In its conclusion, the Senate Committee stat- ed: "Your committee believes that the study authorized herein is highly important if our coastal area is to continue to be important as a fishing ground for either sportsmen or commer— cial fishermen. However, your commit— printed, to accompany H. R. 7887, granting the consent and approval of Congress to an amendment to the Atlantic States Ma- rine Fisheries Compact, and repealing the limitation on the life of such com- pact. Bill reported favorably without amendment by the Committee and passage recommended as previously amended. (This bill, which passed the House, amends the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Compact (Public Law 539, 77th Cong.) to permit any two or moreStates ratifying the amend- ment to.the compact to designate the At- lantic States Marine Fisheries Comnis- sion as a joint regulatory agency with such powers as they may jointly confer for the regulation of the fishing operations 68 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW of the citizens and vessels of such designating States with respect to specific fisheries in which such States have a common interest. Bill also eliminates the provision re- stricting the life of the Commission to 15 years, thus establishing it as a permanent organization, as are the Pacific Coast and Gulf States com- pacts.) House of Representatives: Committee on the Judiciary Report No. 2536 (July 12, 1950), 3 Pes printed, to accompany H. Re. 9074, a- mending chapter 61 (relating to lot- teries of title 18, United States Code) to make clear that such chapter does not apply to nonprofit contests wherein prizes are awarded for the species, size, weight, or quality of fish caught by the contestant. Bill reported favorably without amendment by Committee and passage recommended. (In aporoving the original measure, the committee saw fit to incorporate a qualification limiting the applica- tion of the exemption to fishing con- tests not conducted for profit.) Committee on Foreign Affairs Report No. 2757 (Implementation of the Tuna Conventions), July 27, 1950, 15 p., printed, to accompany H. R. 8945, a bill Vol. 12, No. 8 to give effect to the Convention for the Establishment of an International Commis— sion for the Scientific Investigation of Tuna, signed at Mexico City January 25, 1949,: by the United States of America and the United Mexican States, and the Con— vention for the Establishment of an Inter- American Tropical Tuna Commission, signed at Washington May 31, 1949, by the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica, and for other purposes. Bill reported favorably with amendment by the Committee andpassage recommended. (The report discusses the purpose of the legis- lation; the tuna industry; United States fisheries policy; the tuna conventions, including the purpose and differences in the two conventions, the provisions and costs of the bill; and contains an appen- dix which gives the texts of the two con- ventions. In its conclusions, the Commit- tee reported that "If the tuna fishery is to have a stable economic basis, scientif- ic investigation will be required. The United States cannot undertake action uni- laterally, for the tuna industry is an international one. The fishery area and the bait supply lie off foreign shores. International action is required. Inter- national agreements to proceed with the investigative work have been ratified by the United States. This legislation pro- vides the means for putting these agree— ments into effect. No new policy is in- volved, for the United States has taken substantially similar action in other fisheries.") CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS: Printed Congressional hearings of interest to the fisheries and allied in- dustries (available only from the committee holding the hearing): Senate: Committee on Small Business on partici- pation of small business in Government procurement), 47 p., printed. Contains statements by Paul G. Hoffman and oth- ers as to what is being done by ECA to help small business to participate in ECA programs, and several reports sub- mitted by ECA on this subject, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Convention Hearings on April 4-5, 1950, before a Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce: on S. 2801, "A bill to give effect to the International Convention for the North- west Atlantic Fisheries, signed at Washington under date of February 8, 1949, and for other purposes," 120 p., printed. Contains statements and re- ports presented at the hearings on S. 2801. August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW LANDINGS AND RECEIPTS In Millions of Pounds MAINE - LANDINGS MASSACHUSETTS - LANDINGS NOT INCLUDING IMPORTS BOSTON , GLOUCESTER , NEW BEDFORD , & CAPE COD JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR, APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. NEW YORK CITY-RECEIPTS OF FRESH & FROZEN FISH CHICAGO - RECEIPTS OF FRESH & FROZEN FISH 2 SALT-WATER MARKET 6 WHOLESALE MARKET 24 JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT, NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. GULF - SHRIMP LANDINGS SEATTLE - RECEIPTS OF FRESH & FROZEN FISH HEADS OFF - FOR ALL USES WHOLESALE MARKET , LANDINGS , & IMPORTS JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR. APR.MAY JUNE JAN, FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. In Thousands of Tons CALIFORNIA - PILCHARD LANDINGS CALIFORNIA- TUNA AND TUNA-LIKE FISH EG JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY JUNE JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. eeccoces ESTIMATED 69 70 : COMMERCIAL FISHERIZS REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 COLD STORAGE HOLDINGS and FREEZINGS of FISHERY PRODUCTS In Millions of Pounds U.S. & ALASKA - HOLDINGS OF FROZEN FISH U.S. & ALASKA - FREEZINGS 180 160 ie) JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR, APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. NEW ENGLAND - HOLDINGS OF FROZEN FISH NEW YORK CITY - HOLDINGS OF FROZEN FISH JAN. FEB. MAR. APR, MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT, NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. CHICAGO - HOLDINGS OF FROZEN FISH GULF - HOLDINGS OF FROZEN FISH JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT, NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND ALASKA - = HOLDINGS OF FROZEN FISH CALIFORNIA - HOLDINGS OF FROZEN FISH . @ ro} ora &£ aan @ © JAN. FEB. MAR, APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG, SEPT, OCT, NOV, DEC. JAN, FEB. MAR, APR, MAY. JUNE JULY AUG, SEPT. OCT, NOV. DEC. 4 August 1950 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW CANNED FISHERY PRODUCTS In Thousands MAINE - SARDINES, ESTIMATED PACK CALIFORNIA - TUNA AND TUNA-LIKE FISH 1200 JAN, FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT, NOV. DEC, CALIFORNIA - MACKEREL JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. WASHINGTON - PUGET SOUND SALMON JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. of Standard Cases UNITED STATES - SHRIMP lo) JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV, DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY JUNE CALIFORNIA - PILCHARDS Pz actu fs 4 (0) JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB. MAR. APR.MAY JUNE ALASKA - SALMON JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY. JUNE JULY AUG. SEPT. OCT, NOV. DEC. STANDARD CASES Variety No.Cans Can Designation Net. Wat. SARDINES 100 1/4 drawn 31/4 oz. SHRIMP 48 —_ 5 oz. TUNA 48 No. 1/2 tuna 7 oz. PILCHARDS 48 No. 1 oval 15 oz. MACKEREL 48 No. 300 15 oz. SALMON 48 l-pound tall 16 oz. 72 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 12, No. 8 PRICES . IMPORTS and BY-PRODUCTS BOSTON - WEIGHTED AVERAGE PRICE MAINE - IMPORTS OF FRESH SEA HERRING ON NEW ENGLAND FISH EXCHANGE IN ¢ PER POUND IN MILLIONS OF POUNDS ie