“= nye | he i rt bre ry a & /? te ae : ‘ Lg Jem a4 MARCH 1955 en Se = = ia _ — °o - FISH and WILDLIFE SERVICE ~ United States Department. of the Interior W ashington, D.C. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE DOUGLAS McKAY, SECRETARY JOHN L. FARLEY, DIRECTOR ’ COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW A review of developments and news of the fishery industries prepared in the BRANCH OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES A. W. Anderson, Editor J. Pileggi and J. J. O'Brien, Assistant Editors Mailed free to members of the fishery and alliedindustries. Address correspondence and requests to the: Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, U. S. Department of the Interior, Washington 25, D. C. Publication of material from sources outside the Service is not an endorsement. The Service is not responsible for the accuracy of facts, views, or opinions contained in material from outside sources. Although the contents of this publicationhave not been copyrighted and maybe reprinted freely, refer- ence to the source will be appreciated. z) Cac amane of this publication has been approved by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, Novem- er CONTENTS COVER: Fish auction at Nam Fong-o fish market, Suao, Y-lan hsien, Formosa. The U.S, Foreign Operations Administration Mutual Security Mission has financially and techni- cally assisted the Formosan fishery industry through improvement of fish processing and preservation facilities, including ice making, freezing, cold storage, and other proc- essing activities, (See pp. 57 & 58 of this issue.) Page Japanese High-Seas Mothership-Type Drift Gill-Net Salmon Fisheries--1954, by Francis M, Fukuhara ........ 1 Freezing and Cold Storage of Pacific Northwest Fish and Shellfish--Part IV - StorageCharacteristics of Four Species ofiSalmonidaes by; MauHeerdtyandIMwEwstansDymer eee) taken seterataierelrerctcie el tolotorcieiel i aicnencie elses eine we gS Page Page RESEARCH IN SERVICE LABORATORIES: ...... 18 TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS (Contd.): Determination of Cook Drip in Pacific Ocean Maryland: Perch (Sebastodes alutus) and Pacific Oysters York River Shad Catch, 1954 ........... o | BY (Ostrea gigas) by Use of a New Method, by Chincoteague Bay Winter Crab Fishery ..... 32 William N. Sumerwell ........... coo 560 als Missouri: Tech, Note No. 31 - Weight Range, Proximate Com- Commercial Fisheries, 1953 ............ 33 position, and Thiaminase Content of Fish Taken in New England Exploratory Fishery Program: Shallow-Water Trawling in Northern Gulf of Mexi- Delaware Catches Mostly Hake in Deep-Water co, by Charles F, Lee, Hugo W. Nilson, and ~ Trawling on Georges Bank (Cruise 2)...... 34 WilliamiGlecoieamsrmenuencws aac oueh ogee tere 21 Oregon: TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS: ..... aon obenelte 24 Steelhead Trout Tagged at McNary Dam..... 35 Additions to the U. S. Fleet of Fishing Vessels . 24 Pacific Salmon Investigations: American Samoa: Oil Pollution Studied by Service’s Seattle Bio- Governor Believes Tuna Industry Prospects jogicalsaboratony, eyerielsnetel-eeioicnelnenemene 35 ISLISHtieveieicneynchosetchetenenanenstenclsieren ler sense ne Fertilization Increases Size of Downstream Harold Gatty Comments on Tuna Cannery Oper- Red Salmon Migrants at Bare and Karluk Lakes 35 ations! neler 6d0ac 000 soo UdOCODOOaD Ba 825) Processed Fishery Products Output Increased in California: Ieee ooDooooDOObOOD DODO OU AddooGCdS 36 Canned Tuna Pack Sets Record in 1954 ...... 26 Railway Express to Cancel Minimum Charge In- Tuna Tagged off South America by Mayflower crease of Return Empty Insulated Containers . 37 (GruiseiG=4— 54) carerenels elienerorneeiencnenoners 26 Saltonstall-Kennedy Act Fisheries Projects: New Otter-Trawling Areas Explored off Southern Fishery Byproducts to be Studied by Fish and California by N, B, Scofield (Cruise 54-S-5) . Q7 WildlifelServicerscrieletchensbeloneieher ements 5 37 Cans--Shipments for Fishery Products, J anuary- Service Reactivates Research ese! Albatross Novembers1954aem meena ievelcleieneitetaicicienenetomm ao WM oo ubosgoedgeocapDdo Os OO BOO OKDS 5 a Federal Purchases of Fishery Products ...... 28 Service Reactivates Research Vessel Black Fish-Stick Output High in 1954 ............ 28 Douglas} caters sessraieted tees actos 39 Fishery Products Marketing Prospects for 1955 Skiffs used for Shrimp Fishing in Inside Waters. andjReview;for 1954) c7cneneiebeusieyelcioneleveielersierem cee, of Gulf of Mexico ....... fn fevers emenetene 39 Florida: South Pacific Fishery Investigations: University of Miami Offers Graduate Fishery Sardines Return in 1954/55 ..........-.- Bae GAM: GOUrSes ieraxe ier che ar apstess ake aioe Cae csieenlenetaee nS U. S. Commercial Fisheries Catch Increased in Gear Research and Development: G5 AT eiatetons AO iain ole wopaleRoneWeneltote delete 42 Sound Gear and Underwater Television to be U. S, Foreign Trade: Tested on Shrimp by Pompano ........... 30 Edible Fishery Products, November 1954 ... 43 Maine; Imports of Groundfish Fillets at All-Time High Tighter Sardine Inspection Laws Proposed ... 31 AN 954 eeesiereberetel: BRET ate a 4 sere 44 Contents Continued Page 97 = & 1 a | — ees =) gl gi = m& wa = wma i } we rs (—) — j BO gi = ad e <= (—] — wit = .17,No.3 JAPANESE HIGH-SEAS MOTHERSHIP-TYPE DRIFT GILL-NET SALMON FISHERY --1954 es ‘a as | cee me wae SS aS i AS Sean ydrographic'Gonditions: 2.5... ..0.+0++- ihe\Gatchewe acrok-jevouuer oh ctonepops ove lovopetcheks ee ~< Cary ° OGO50 eo je « o eee oe © ec fp o oe COSCANNOUUNADOORPUNWNHE WON AR AWUNUNAHRYW wwnhds eee PNEPNNEFOIOOONFOCOOCOCOSO eo je o PP PPP PP PP eo fe eo eee ° eee 6 © © oe lp o eMegemememe ge POUL UUTAOCHrP KE ACWNA TI] P PPL LLP PLP PPP PP PP cielemeiei en lometemecemel elletete) ©) G9 GO GO OO Go 09/00 Go Co Go Go Go Go Co Go eee ee ele eo ee @ eee oun on oP oO © ee © © © ie GO a O70 VHP POKTTUNHGTH OPO LUPE AH LPP PO ee ee ee cele es se es es ee 8 KT OT OES WWNNWWWWWWIDWWWNNWWWNINNNN WH eo 8 eo eo e © jp © © © oO eee ele eo we & PLP PPP PP PPP PP PoP eo © ar ° e je co ° 2 3 3 4 3 2 3 4 3 3 2 6 3 3 4 4 4 “ 8 0 2 1 9 2 0 2 3 6 4 7 3 PPL PPA PLO HOH ALA ALPE LPP LPP PPP e eos 8 8 © © © wo lp ele GEOEUROSOS DTU UN OD UBOR On OLUnO AMMO P PAL PAP LO PTOO PP PPP PP POP oR Pe ee e eee eo © |p © © © oe 8 8 GaSe OT OF UTE O LOTUT UEC WWWWNWWWWWWIWWWWNWWHWWHWINNNNNN le Peery eee e le eo © ee el eee ee 1/ From samples of 100 fish, March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW lat A monthly summary of the catch per ''tan'' (one unit of gill net) of the Miyajima Maru fleet is shown in table 8. These figures must be considered only as rough in- dices of abundance due to variations in mesh size (which were not reported by catch- er boats) and peculiarities in the reporting of effort statistics. Personnel of the Nippon Suisan Co., Ltd, took average weights of salmon in the landings throughout the entire fishing period, These data are given intable 9. The average weights are based on samples of 100 fish of each species per day, speci- mens being selected at randon from the fish bins, Sampling was generally done at the close of the day's deck activities or after the last catcher boat of the day was un- loaded, CONCLUSION The areas utilized by the 1954 Japanese high-seas salmon fleet were generally the same as those fished in 1952 and 1953. A comparison of certain pertinent fea- tures of the 1952, 1953, and 1954 high-seas salmon fisheries appears in table 10. In 1952 and 1953, three motherships participated in the fishery, and the entire catch was either frozen or salted. Four additional fleets entered the fishing in 1954, three of these equipped with canning facilities. Table 10 - Comparison of Fishing Seasons, Facilities, and Performance of the Three Post-World War II Japanese High-Seas Salmon Expeditions 7 Freezer, saltery, and two ships each with 2- line cannery, 1 ship with 1-line cannery. ] umbey of catcher boats— 194 737, 489 1,553, 107 3, 817, 159 638,571 2) 107,563 9,375, 620 701, 157 3,064, 439 5, 802, 196 430, 611 1, 398, 066 8, 053 75,107 Gatch target ... 5, 487, 000 14, 072, 440 Number over target 302, 787 As AOS D3) 6, 395, 708 1/ Approximate number. The number of catcher boats was increased from about 60 in 1952 to about 105 in 1953, In both these years, gear with "rami'' (China grass) webbing was used, with each catcher setting about 100 to 150 units of gear, With the increase in catch- er boats, the 1953 fleet took 7,763,573 salmon, an increase of 5, 660,786 fish from the initial year's (1952) operation, In 1954 the number of catcher boats was increased by about 90 over the previous year and 134 over 1952, The number of units set per day per catcher boat in 1954 was almost twice that of the preceding two years, Webbing was changed from "rami" to 'Amilon," the lat- ter reportedly more efficient in catching fish, This increase in effort and change in webbing resulted in a total catch in 1954 of 20, 468, 148 salmon; which exceeded total salmon landings of 1952 and 1953 by 18,365, 361 and 12,704,575, respectively. Sev- 12 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 veral factors may have contributed to the progressive increase in salmon landings in the three successive years: 1, Increase may reflect to some degree an increase in abundance of salm- on in the areas fished by the fleets. However, accurate estimates of abundance cannot be made using data at hand. 2. Increased proficiency in fishing methods, improved gear, and further knowledge of the fishing area undoubtedly contributed to better per- formance by the fleets, Modification and improvement of gear is re- portedly a factor. 3. The most obvious factor, however, seems to be the progressive in- crease in effort in the form of more catcher boats and more gear set by each catcher boat. LITERATURE CITED Fukuhara, F, M, 1953, Japanese 1952 North Pacific Salmon Fishery Expedition. Commercial Fisheries Review, vol, 15, no, 2 (Feb. 1953), pp. 1-17, Anonymous 1954, Fishing Industry Weekly no. 88, 10), May 1, Japanese text. Suisan Shuho Co., 2-9 Nishi-Kanda, Chiyodaku, Tokyo, Japan. FROZEN FOOD OUTLOOK FOR 1955 A good indication of the outlook for frozen food sales in 1955 is available to members of the fishing industry as a result of a recent nation-wide symposium of leaders inthe frozenfood field. The January 1955 Quick Frozen Foods carries articles by leaders in the field, which should be of interest and value to the fish- eries trade, Some of the titles include: Bright but Watch Storm Warnings Better Prices, Good Market in 1955 Big Future for Prepared Foods Size of Record Year up to Packers Warehouses Set to Meet Frozen Food Quality is Decisive Factor for '55 Growth Pack and Sales to Hit New High Records Frozen Food Industry Faces a Good Year| Sales Outlook Tremendous for 1955 Bright Year for Frozen Food Seen by Quality, Prices, Keys to 1955 Growth Brokers Plenty of Business to Go Around All Factors Point to Big Year Selling Effort Will Build Volume. Bigger Volume Ahead at Better Profit Quality Biggest Factor in 1955 Frozen Seafoods Set for Record Year Closer Cooperation Will Help All Year of Rugged Normalcy is Ahead Frozen Foods Outlook Sound and Locker Plant Sales to Swing up Favorable Frozen Foods Can't Miss in '55: New Users to Make '55 Greatest Fro- Sales Bound to Rise zen Food Year Quality is Keystone of Volume Growth Price Stability is Big Challenge Growth to Lag Behind Potential Frozenon Way to 10% of All FoodSales March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 13 FREEZING AND COLD STORAGE OF PACIFIC NORTHWEST FISH AND SHELLFISH Part IV - Storage Characteristics of Four Species of Salmonidae By M. Heerdt* and M. E. Stansby** ABSTRACT In storage at 6° to 16° F., steelhead trout steaks wrapped in cellophane were slightly ran- cid after about 90 days; pink salmon, chum salmon, and silver salmon steaks wrapped in cello- phane were slightly rancid after 180 days. Silver salmon steaks wrapped in aluminum foil and stored at 6° to 16° F, gave no indication of rancidity even after 270 days, INTRODUCTION The changes in color and flavor of pink salmon, chum salmon, and silver salm- on fillets that had been wrapped in moisture-vaporproof cellophane and held in fro- zen storage were Studied in 1942 by Stansby and Harrison. A similar study of pink salmon steaks was made by Bucher in 1944, As a continuation of the work of Stansby and Harrison and of Bucher, this paper reports on a study made to determine the frozen-storage characteristics--changes in odor, flavor, color, and texture--(1) of steaks of steelhead trout (Salmo gairdnerii airdnerii), pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), chum salmon (Oncorhynchus a: and silver salmon (Oncor ynchus kisutch) wrapped in moisture -vaporpr oof cellophane, and (2) of silver salmon steaks wrapped inaluminum foil. SOURCE AND HISTORY OF THE SAMPLES The fish used in these studies were obtained at the peak of their respective runs from lots that were typical of the species with respect tosize and maturity. Allofthe fish were of first quality and were obtainedfresh. Steelhead Trout: The steelhead trout were Caught in the Columbia River above Astoria, dressed heads onaboard the ves- sel, andicedashore onthe day of capture. They were purchased on the following day, iced at Astoria for transit, andre-icedin transit at Aberdeen. Twodays elapsed from the time the fish were caught untilthey were processed and put intothe Seattle freezer. Pink Salmon: The pink salmon were part of a lot of purse seine -caught fish ob- tained near Kanaka Bay, San JuanIslands, Washington. They were shipped inthe roundto Seattle inice, unloaded, andre- iced onshore. They were about three days out of the water before being processed and put into the freezer. Chum Salmon: The chum salmon were Figure 1 - Placing the salmon steak on the foil. taken ina gillnet, probably from the mouth of the Nisqually River near Oympia, Washington, dressed heads off aboard the vessel, and trucked to Seattle un-iced on the day of capture. These chum salmon were sexually mature. One day elapsed from the time they were caught until they were processed and ut into the freezer. Chemist Fishery Technological Laboratory, Branch of * > Chief, Pacific Coast and | Commercial Fisheries, U, S, Fish and Wild- Alaska Technological Research life Service, Seattle, Wash. 14 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW WoO, 10, No. 3 Silver Salmon: The silver salmon were caught by trolling and were then dress- ed heads on, without gills, and stored inice. They were about two days out of wa- ter before being processed and put into the freezer. PREPARATION OF SAMPLES FOR STORAGE General Procedure: In the preparation of the samples for storage, the fish were dressed, washed, and steaked. Two series of samples were then packaged. The first, a test series, was put up to show how long the fish would keep if prepared, packaged, and stored commer - cially as steaks. The second, a control series, was prepared under special condi- tions that were thought would maintain original quality for the duration of the test period. The purpose of the control series was to provide a standard against which any loss of quality in the test series could be measured. Dressing and Cutting the Fish for Test Samples: Fins, tails, heads, and viscera, if still present at the time of purchase, were removed, and the fish were then washed thoroughly and cut crosswise into $-inch-thick steaks. Dressing and Cutting the Fish for Controls: Fish for the control samples were dressed and cut exactly as for the test samples, with the exception that the steaks were reduced in size when necessary to fit flat in a one-half pound can. Preparation of Test Samples for Stor- age: When the test series were planned, consideration was given to the fact that the storage life of a particular species of fish depends greatly upon the methods of prep- aration, packaging, and storage used. Fish can be held for a long time with minimum loss of quality if, for example, the individ- ual fish are frozen ina block of ice and stored at a very low temperature. How- ever, such a method is obviously not prac- tical. What is needed is information on how long the fish will keep if prepared, packaged, and stored by ordinary commer- cial methods. For this reason, a practical low-cost commercial method in common use was employed, as follows: The test samples (individual steaks) of steelhead trout, pink salmon, chum salmon, and silver salmon were wrapped tightly in a Figure 2 - Starting the drugstore fold. single sheet of moisture-vaporproof cello- phane to exclude air. The drugstore fold was used to close the cellophane around the steaks. The wrapped steaks were then placed two-layers deep in two-piece folding waxed cartons 23 x 73 x 10% inches in size. Other test samples (individual steaks) of silver salmon were wrapped tightly in heavy aluminum foil in exactly the same manner as the samples that were wrap- ped in cellophane (figures 1, 2, and 3). The cartons, when filled and closed, were frozen overnight in rapidly moving air at -20° F. Preparation of Control Samples for Storage: Because fresh fish for use as controls would not be available throughout the test period, it was necessary to use frozen controls. In the present study, the controls were prepared by one of the most effective methods available for preserving frozen fish: that is, they were vac- uum-packed in hermetically sealed cans prior to being frozen. Although not always commercially practical, this method has been used by frozen-food laboratories to March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 15 prolong the time over which experimental samples will retain their original fresh qualities. The control samples (steaks) were packed two deep in one-half pound flat cans. These cans were then hermetically sealed under 15 inches of vacuum, frozen over- night in rapidly moving air at -20° F., and finally transferred to solid fiberboard cases, which were placed in frozen storage. STORAGE CONDITIONS As frozen-storage facilities were not available at the laboratory, commercial facilities were used. The temperature of storage ranged from 6° to 16° F. ORGANOLEPTIC EXAMINATION Objective chemical and physical tests have not proved entirely successful in the determination of frozen-fish quality; organoleptic factors of palatability and appearance are usually considered better criteria. All of the samples were there- fore examined organoleptically by a test panel for changes in odor, flavor, texture, oe and color. In each test, this panel was made up of at least eight people experi- enced in making organoleptic determina- tions. The samples were examined after 0, 90, 180, and 270 days of storage. General Preparation of Fish for Or- ganoleptic Examination: At each exam- ination, about 4 pounds of cellophane- or foil-wrapped test samples and 8 cans of vacuum-packed control samples were used, All samples were thawed at room temperature in moving air from an elec- tric fan. Salting and Baking: Both the thawed test apis and the aera controlsam- ~— ples were immersed ina 6-percent salt = solution for 5 minutes to bring out the natural flavor of the fish. Upon being re- moved from the solution, the samples were drained, baked for 20 minutes on cooky sheets in an oven set at 350° F., and immediately served to the test panel. Figure 3 - Finishing the drugstore fold, Organoleptic Test: After observing color changes, if any, and noting odor, flavor, and texture, each panel member rated the test sample and the control sample using the symbols VG for very good (highest quality), G for good (some loss of orig- inal quality but no indication of rancidity), F for fair (slightly rancid), P for poor (moderately rancid and barely edible), and U for unacceptable (very rancid). Nu- merical values of 4, 3, 2, 1, and 0 were assigned to VG, G, F, P, and U, respectively. The average of the resulting scores gave a single final numerical score that could be changed back to the equivalent alphabetical rating. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results of the organoleptic examinations appear in table 1, Of the species studied, steelhead trout had the shortest storage life. Steaks cut from them and wrapped in cellophane were slightly rancid after 90 days of storage. 16 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 In contrast, pink, chum, and silver salmon steaks wrapped in cellophane were with- out any indication of rancidity after 90 days of storage and were only slightly ran- eth Packaging on the Quality o from Four Species of gaimonidae | Steelhead Trout | ihead Trout 1/ VG = Very good (highest quality) P = Poor (moderately rancid and barely edible) G= coud (same loss of original quality but no indication of rancidity) U = Unacceptable (very rancid) cid after 180 days. These data thus classify the storage life of frozen pink salmon, which is known to be relatively short, with that of chum and silver salmon. However, the data do not show exactly when within the 90-to-180-day period that each of the 3 different species actually became slightly rancid. For this reason, it is not possible to say that all 3 species have equal storage qualities. Silver salmon steaks packaged in heavy aluminum foil had the longest storage life: they showed no rancidity even after 270 days. Control Samples: Of the four species of fish packed as controls, only the chum salmon and silver salmon remained unchanged for the entire 270 days. The steel- head trout declined from very good at the beginning to good after 90 days, and the pink salmon declined from very good at the beginning to good after 180 days. SUMMARY 1. Steaks cut from fresh steelhead trout, pink salmon, chum salmon, and silver salmon and then wrapped in cellophane and stored at 6° to 16° F.. for 270 days had below average 1/frozen-storage characteristics: a. The steelhead trout steaks were slightly rancid after 90 days and remained slightly rancid for the rest of the storage period. b. The pink salmon steaks were slightly rancid after 180 days and moderately rancid after 270 days. c. The chum salmon and the silver salmon steaks were slightly rancid after 180 days and remained slightly rancid for the rest of the storage period. 2. Steaks cut from silver salmon, wrapped in aluminum foil, and stored at 6° to 16° F. for 270 days had above average storage characteristics. These steaks showed no rancidity even at the end of the storage period. LITERATURE CITED Bucher, Dorris L. Stansby, Maurice E. and Harrison, Roger W. 1944, Storage Tests on Frozen Pink Salmon, Fishery 1942, Preliminary Investigation of Methods for Freezing Market News, vol. 6, no. 11, November, pp. 2-4 and Storing Fillets of Some Pacific Northwest Fish, U. S, Fish and Wildlife Service, Special Scientific Report No. 15. T/ Fish with average frozen storage characteristics can be stored for 6 months without showing any rancidity. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 17 BIBLIOGRAPHY Freezing and Cold Storage of Pacific Northwest Fish and Shellfish: Part I - Storage Life of Various Rockfish Fillets, by D, T, Dassow, Commercial Fisheries Review, vol. 14 Miyauchi and M, E, Stansby, Commercial Fisheries no, 12a (December 1952 Supplement), pp. 29-35, Review, vol, 14, no, 12a (December 1952 Supple- Part III - Storage Characteristics of Six Species of Oily Fish, ment), pp. 29-35, by M, Heerdt, Jr., and M, E, Stansby, Commercial Part II - King Crab, by Martin Heerdt, Jr, and John A, Fisheries Review, vol. 16, no. 6(June 1954) pp. 1-5. ay Sag ott SPECIAL FISHERIES pin tetiN MARKE TING. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service FISHERY PRODUCTS will be PL DURE 4 27 28 29 30 31 February 23 - April 9 1955 FEBRUARY 1955 SUN MON TUE WED THU fal SAT 12345 6 7 8 9 101112 131415 17 18 19 20 21 2' 24 25 26 27 28 Government encourages use of Fish & Shellfish THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR IS ENCOURAGING THE GREATER USE OF ALL FISH AND SHELLFISH, PARTICULARLY THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WHICH THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LISTS AS PLENTIFUL FOODS DURING FEBRUARY AND MARCH: FROZEN HADDOCK FILLETS CANNED TUNA FROZEN HALIBUT FRESH AND FROZEN SHRIMP 18 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 17, No. 3 Bo a erg ee DETERMINATION OF COOK DRIP IN PACIFIC OCEAN PERCH (SEBASTODES ALUTUS) AND PACIFIC OYSTERS (OSTREA GIGAS) BY USE OF A NEW METHOD INTRODUCTION One of the characteristic changes that animal-protein tissues exhibit when they leave the natural or living state is the loss of ability to hold all of the water that is present in the living tissue. An example of the resulting fluid exudation from meat, of considerable practical importance, is that which occurs during the thawing of fro- zen meat, fish, and seafood, For instance, frozen oysters show a considerable loss of fluid when they are thawed. In the food industry, it is customary to refer to the fluid that exudes from pro- tein tissues as "drip. '' Tf the drip separates without the aid of any external force except gravity, it is called "free drip.'' If pressure is applied to the tissue, the ex- pressed fluid is called ' ipress drip.’ " Similarly, if the tissue is heated, the fluid that collects is termed "cook drip." Over a period of several years the Seattle Fishery Technological Laboratory has conducted experimental work on drip in fish and seafoods. One of the main ob- jects of this work has been to establish a reliable method for determining cookdrip. The importance of such a method lies in the fact that, through its use, one canstudy the influence of such factors as freshness, cold-storage time, and prethawing onthe amount of cook drip produced from fresh and frozen fish and shellfish. Eventually, when more is known about the factors affecting drip production, it may be possible to develop ways of handling foods so as to minimize losses from this source. More- over, infomation about drip production may lead to a better understanding of the changes taking place inthe cellular proteins that make up the primary structure of fish. In the establishment of the method for determining cooked drip, the following principles were considered: (i) The method must give reproducible results. (2) The cooking procedure used should be similar to one used in actual practice. (3) The cooking should be done in a medium maintained at constant temperature, (4) The fresh, frozen, and thawed samples should all be cooked to the same in- ternal temperature, This paper describes the method developed at the Seattle Laboratory for the de- termination of cook drip. Also given are the results obtained by use of the method on oyster and Pacific ocean perch samples. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 19 METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF COOK DRIP IN FISH AND SHELLFISH The samples are placed in flat half-pound tins containing small wire racks made from $-inch mesh screen, (These racks support the samples above the bottom of the can. ) In the case of fish, the samples of fillets are cut crosswise into pieces approx- imately l-inch long. These cross-section cuts are then packed two or three toacan, In the case of a seafood such as oysters, two or three whole specimens, depending on size, are packed per can. The cans are weighed before and after the samples are added so that the weight of the sample in each can is known. Lids that have a 13-inch hole cut in them are then seamed onto the cans, anda No. 8 2-hole rubber stopper is tightly fitted in the hole in the lid. A thermometer is run through one hole of the stopper so that its bulb is completely immersed in the sample, An 8-inch length of glass tubing is placed in the other hole to prevent evap- orative losses and to maintain atmospheric pressure within the can during the cook- ing process, 1 The weight of the can plus contents is obtained, and the sample is then cooked by immersing the can in boiling water until the internal temperature of the sample reaches 150 iz After the cooking is completed, the can is cooled in cold water and then opened. The cook drip that has collected in the bottom of the can is drain- ed off. The weight of the can plus contents is then taken, From the loss in weight of the sample, the percentage of cook drip is calculated, Six replicate determina- tions are usually run in each test, APPLICATION OF THE METHOD AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS The method was used to determine the amount of cook drip in one lot of frozen Pacific ocean perch samples, half of which were prethawed prior to being cooked Table 1 - Comparison of the Amounts of Cook Drip from Samples of Frozen Rock fish Fillets Cooked Without Being Prethawed and Cooked After Being Thawed Drip from Fillets Cooked Drip from Fillets Cooked Without Being Prethawed SES After Being Prethawed 1/ Number. Percent 25.9 Standard | elende. 1.4 | Standard eviation Deviation 1/ The fillets did not yield a measurable amount of thaw drip. and half of which were not. The results (table 1) indicate that the method has asat- isfactory degree of precision, The purpose of this work was to find out how the amount of cook drip obtained from frozen fish cooked without prethawing compares with that obtained from fro- i/ If the amount of free drip from the sample is to be determined, the stopper is removed from the can after the necessary drainage time has elapsed, The fluid that has collected below the wire rack is removed through a pipet. The percentage of free drip can be computed from the difference in the weight before and after the removal of the drip. 2/ A temperature of 150° F, is chosen because it is considered to produce the proper degree of heat treatment for adequate ~ cooking of the fish, 20 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 17, No. 3 zen fish cooked after prethawing. It was found that, with the particular sample of rockfish fillets used, the prethawing resulted in 5 percent less cook drip (table 1). One explanation of this finding can be deduced from the ice-crystal theory that has been ad- Samples of Medium Pacific Oys- | vanced by a number of workers, This theory ters Held in Storage at 34° F, suggests that ice crystals are formed within the cells in frozen foods and that the size of Percent the crystals depends on the temperature and 1/40-3 (10.5) quickness with which the foods are frozen. It follows that, during thawing, the water from the ice crystals may be partially reabsorbed or fixed by the cellular proteins. However, if thawing takes place during cooking, then the proteins may be denatured before much reabsorption of water can take place. Asa result, more water would be liberated. able 2 - Amounts of Cook Drip fro 1/ The cook-drip values in brackets were obtained on medium Pacific oysters from a different source : and during another season of the year. A number of experiments were also car- ried out to study the effects of freshness and of cold-storage time on the amount of cook drip produced by medium Pacific oysters. In the first experiment, oysters were taken directly from the shell and stored at 34° F,. Samples were removed after 0, 5, 12, 19, 23, and 26 days. After 12 days the samples started to develop achar- acteristic sour odor, The amounts of cook ] drip obtained in this experiment are givenin table 2 and in graph 1, As can be seen from the data, there was a sharp increase in the amount of cook drip 20 produced by these oysters after 12 tol9days in refrigerated storage. This time interval corresponds closely to that at which the sour spoilage odor developed. It is an interest- ing but unconfirmed indication that there may be a relationship between this type of spoilage and high levels of cook drip. Percentage of Cook Drip The study on fresh oysters indicates that it may be possible to estimate the age of a commercial pack of oysters by the cook- 20 == SS fn drip method. Thus, the method may be of Se awe 2 Z value for quality-control purposes. It was observed, however, that if the oysters were excessively broken or ruptured, the cook-drip values showed a considerable increase. Consequently, if cook drip was used for oyster-freshness evaluation, it shoud be used primarily with whole oysters, or a correction factor should be worked out for the presence of cut, broken, or rup- tured oysters. In a second series of experiments on Pacific oysters of medium size, the sam- ples were canned and placed in storage at 0 F. within 5 hours after being shucked. Samples were removed after 36 hours' storage and every week therafter for 4 weeks. The determination of cook drip was carried out on the samples without prethawing. The results show that the amount of cook drip from freshly shucked and frozen oys- ters increased very sharply from 10 percent in the fresh oysters (table 2) to 22 per- cent in oysters after 36 hours in frozen storage (table 3). The cook drip then in- creased slightly to 24 percent after one week in frozen storage and remained con- stant for the remainder of the month, From these tests it appears that cook-drip March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 21 loss from frozen oysters is correlated with some change that occurs very rapidly after the oysters have been frozen, An explanation may lie in the fact that the prin- cipal tissue protein, myosin, is quickly de- Drip from] Matured by freezing, as has been repeatedly shown by other workers, able 3 - Amounts of Cook Samples of Frozen Medium Pacif- ic Oysters Cooked Without Pre- Thawing After StorageatO F,. for Different Lengths of Time A somewhat different experiment onme- dium-sized Pacific oysters was designed to test the effect of freezing live oysters-in-the- shell on the amount of cook drip produced. The oysters were frozen 10 to a lot and then Percent aie double-wrapped in kraft freezer paper. The 24. 1 packages were removed after 6 months! stor- 24. 6 age in still air at 0 F., and the oysters were thawed overnight inacoldroomat34 F, They were then shucked, and the cook-drip value, which was determined as previously described, was found to be 15 percent, There was some dehydration, but it could probably be prevented by better packaging, (This work suggests that frozen oysters-in-the- shell might have possibilities as a specialty product if, with additional experimen- tal work, a satisfactory technique were developed. ) 23.8 --William N. Sumerwell, Biochemist, Fishery Technological Laboratory, Branch of Commercial Fisheries, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, O Seattle, Wash, TECHNICAL NOTE NO. 31 - WEIGHT RANGE, PROXIMATE COMPOSITION, AND THIAMINASE CONTENT OF FISH TAKEN IN SHALLOW-WATER TRAWLING IN NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO INTRODUCTION A few years ago a plant was opened in Pascagoula, Miss., for the production of canned cat food. At that time it was planned to utilize the small fish taken in shrimp- trawling operations. These fish are the so-called shrimp-trawl trash fish, which are otherwise discarded overboard and wasted. The cat food proved to be a popular product. The size of the plant was expand- ed, and another cat-food plant was builtinthe area, It was soonfound that the shrimp- trawl trash fish was too irregular a source and of insufficient volume to supply the expanded demand. At the present time the fish are therefore being supplied by a separate trawl fishery conducted by perhaps 20 to 40 vessels, mostly small former shrimp trawlers but including some larger vessels from as far away as Gloucester, Mass. Most of the fishing is conducted near port, and the trips are usually short, not more than two days. Nonetheless, with the high air and water temperatures of the Gulf, it is necessary to ice the fish fairly heavily. A considerable number of species are found in the catch. Skates, crabs, and shell are culled out on the boat deck and discarded. The few fish of marketable size and desired species as well as the few shrimp taken are removed and sold sep- 22 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 arately. A second more careful cull takes place in the canning plant as the catch is washed and carried up a mesh conveyor belt. There is little published information on the species most prevalent in the catch and on whether they show any pattern of seasonal variation; even less is known of their chemical composition, including their thiaminase content. Requests for in- formation of this kind have been received, since a possible market for the fish might exist in the North Central states. Fur farmers in that area are finding it increas- ingly difficult to obtain the horse meat which has been the staple animal mink-food in past years, and supplies of fresh-water fish are inadequate and expensive. The following work was therefore undertaken primarily to furnish data needed in the uti- lization of the fish for fur-animal feed. EXPERIMENTAL The proximate composition and weight range was determined for one lot com- posed of 10 species of Gulf trawl fish taken in March 1954.1/ A second lot was caught at a depth of 18 fathoms in May 1954 and comprised 19 species, some of which make up a very minor portion of the normal catch. Nine species of the first lot were also found in the second. In both lots, the croaker was the most common species, making up about 75 percent of the catch, Spot, scup (porgy), sea robin, and sea catfish made up much of the remaining 25 percent. However, a breakdown of any given lot according to percentage by weight of each species is of little signif- icance, owing to the variability in the number of minor species from one trawl to the next. Data on the second lot of Gulf trawl fish are given in table 1, All of the fish sampled were quite small, most weighing less than 3 ounces and none weighing as Table 1 - Data on Shallow-Water-Trawl Fish of Northern Gulf of Mexico Caught in May 1954 Number 3 4 - Any peers a Weight of Fish Proximate Composition eee 1/ Common Name Scientific Name genase Average | Maximum [Moisture | Protein Thiaminase— SWitrelle eet (GLANS) edeleLelelle||lolelielclle (Bercent)iieieielte Butterfish Poronotus triacanthus 44 38 54 76 13.4 16.8 )8.0)2.7 Low level Croaker Micropogon undulatus 33 47 71 91 76.6 15.8 |3.2)/6.2 None Flatfish - | Pleuronectidae spp. 43 20 58 303 76.2 18.4 |1.4/4.6 Not tested Hake . 2 2 ee - | Urophycis spp. 39 20 40 167 80.8 16.2 |0.8/3.9 None Lizardfish ... . |Snyodus foetens 25 41 117 207 17.5 18.6 |0.8/3.9 None Moray eel Gymnothorax ocellatus 4 140 162 185 79.6 17.3 |1.5/3.1 High level Policefish Anchoa hepsetus 119 12 15 20 78.1 17.4 {2.6/2.9 Not tested Scup (porgy) .....-. Stenotomus aculeatus 42 23 54 122 70.6 WEY NER at ERE) None Razor belly ...... Harengula pensacolae i GO 28 53 73 67.8 20.0 |7.1|6.4 High level Seabass.......- Centopristes ocyurus il 17 29 43 76.3 17.3 {1.5/5.8 Not tested Sea catfish... ...«-e Galeichthys felis 30 57 79 190 72.7 17.4 {4.3/6.4 None Seasropinwaawemeiteetteits Prionotus spp, 35 36 67 307 77.0 16.4 |1.2/6.2 None Sergeant major .... | Nautopaedium porosissimum 34 14 28 49 81.2 14.6 |2.1)2.5 Not tested Silvereelorcutlassfish | Trichiurus lepturus 45 18 56 82 78.8 16.8 |3.6/2.3 None Snapper (Pensacola red) | Lutianus blackfordi 9 20 32 58 77.4 17.6 {1.0/5.4 Not tested Spadefish ....... Chaetodipterus faber 3 58 76 100 73.8 16.8 |6.2)/3.2 Not tested Ges ooagdooean6 Leiostomus xanthurus 27 73 90 112 72.0 16.5 |8.3)/3.9 None quid . 222s es eee Loligo brevis 26 15 41 76 84.0 13.5 {1.5/1.0 None 66 0-00 o Cynscion avenarius 26 717 109 154 79.3 16.4 {1.8/2.7 None ‘1/ The thiaminase assays were made by Food Research Laboratories, Inc., Long Island City, N. Y. much as a pound. (There are 454 grams in a pound; 28 grams in an ounce), All a-. nalyses were carried out on a ground composite of the whole raw fish, since whole or ground raw fish is the form usually fed to fur animals. Protein content of this lot of fish ranged from 13.5 percent (squid) to 20.0 per- cent (razor belly). The oil content was quite variable ranging from 0. 8 percent (hake and lizardfish) to 8.3 percent (spot). Eleven of the species contained less than 3 per- cent oil, 4 species from 3 to 5 percent, and only 4 species contained more than 5 percent. The ash content was also variable, depending mainly on the ratio of bony skeleton to meat, and ranged from 1.0 percent (squid) to 8.9 percent (scup). Thirteen of the species obtained in the second lot of trawl fish were assayed for the enzyme called thiaminase. Knowledge of the presence of thiaminase is important i/ These data were reported in Commercial Fisheries Review, vol. 16, no. 6, June 1954, March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 23 because an appreciable amount of this enzyme in a small proportion of the fish ina mixed lot can destroy thiamine present in species of fish not containing the enzyme if the fish are ground or eaten together, Similarly, thiaminase may also destroy the thiamine in other constituents in the diet. It should be emphasized, however, that thiaminase is destroyed by heat, so that none would be found in canned cat food, which is thoroughly heat processed. The thiaminase assay involves the use of two aliquots of the fish. One aliquot is left fresh; the other is heat treated in order to destroy any thiaminase present. One hundred micrograms of thiamine is then added to both aliquots, and after a short period of incubation, the thiamine content in each aliquot is determined, If both assay the same, the fish contains no thiaminase; but if reduced amounts of thiamine are recovered from the uncooked aliquot, low levels of thiaminase are present, and if no thiamine is recovered, high levels are present. As can be seen in table 1, a high level of thiaminase was found in the razor belly and moray eel. These species should therefore be culled out if the catch is to be used as fur-animal feed. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We wish to acknowledge the kind cooperation of Quinn Gautier of the Pascagoula Ice and Freezer Company, Pascagoula, Miss., and Stewart Springer and Francis J. Captiva of the Exploratory Fishing and Gear Research Section, U. S, Fish and Wild- life Service, Pascagoula, Miss., in collecting and shipping the samples of fish. --Charles F, Lee, Chemical Engineer and Hugo W. Nilson, Pharmacologist, Fishery Technological Laboratory, College Park, Md.; and --William Clegg, Chemist, Fishery Technological Laboratory, Seattle, Wash.; Branch of Commercial Fisheries U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, BROILED HALIBUT STEAKS Halibut steaks may be cooked in many different ways, including the following favorite of U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service home economists. 2 pounds halibut steaks 1 teaspoon salt Dash pepper ; cup butter or other fat, melted Cut fish into serving-size portions. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Place fish ona preheated greased broiler pan abouttwo inches from the heat and brush with butter. Broil 5 to 8 minutes or until slightly brown, Baste with butter and turn carefully. Brush other side with butter andbroil5to 8 minutes more or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Garnish and serve immediately. Serves 6. 24 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 ei Pees ‘NDS sa = AND EDEVELO PMENTS & Additions to the U. S. Fleet of Fishing Vessels A total of 23 vessels of 5 net tons and over received their first documents as fishing craft during December 1954--34 less than in December 1953. California led with 5 vessels, followed by South Carolina and Florida west coast with 3 vessels each. essels Obtaining Their First Documents as Fishing |[Vessels Obtaining First Docu- ments as Fishing Craft 1937-54 PRrRPoOonNnonw i Pet PODQNI & ee Partly estimated Note: Vessels assigned to the various sections on the basis of their home port. During 1954 a total of 717 vessels were documented for the first time as fishing vessels, compared with 729 vessels during 1953. Of the total vessels documented in 1954, 465 were built in 1954, 85 in 1953, and the remainder (167) in years prior to 1953. American Samoa GOVERNOR BELIEVES TUNA INDUSTRY PROSPECTS BRIGHT: The Pago Pago, American Samoa, tuna industry, alth ough still in the experimental s1 stage, shows every prospect of future success, says Governor Lowe of American Samoa. It has definitely been proved that the fish are there in large quantities--for part of the year, anyway. And the Japanese have proved that they could be caught. However, they are stillun- certain as to the year-round availability of fish. The cannery at American Samoa has, so far, been unable to maintain capacity production because supplies of tuna have been irregular--often days went by before a fishing boat arrived with a full load. Additional freezer space is badly needed at the cannery, but this should be available before long. Already an ice plant anda little extra freezer space have been provided. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 25 Lowe said there was no activity at the cannery for about two months in late 1954. When their contracts with the cannery expired in September 1954, Japanese fishermen returned home. New vessels were expected in Samoa about the end of November 1954. Several of these vessels were severely damaged or sunk in ty- phoons in waters off Japan, but these would be replaced. About 1,000 metric tons of tuna were processed since the cannery began opera- tions. In addition, 500 tons of frozen tuna were shipped to the United States in March 1954, The cannery has not yet signed a long-term lease with the United States Govern- ment, Lowe said. Their present lease expires at the end of 1955, but it was expected that they would then renew it on a long-term basis. Under the present contract the company is obliged to instruct local Samoan fishermen in the long-line technique-- the only method which has proved commercially successful in the South Pacific. But that program has yet to be implemented, reports the December 1954 Pacific Islands Monthly, a South Seas magazine. OK KR OK OK HAROLD GATTY COMMENTS ON TUNA CANNERY OPERATIONS: Harold Gatty, who brought about the first organized tuna fishing industry in the South Pacific, made some interesting comments on recent developments in that industry, accord- ing to the November 1954 Pacific Islands Monthly, an Australian magazine of the South Sea Islands. The United States firm operating the tuna cannery at Pago Pago, American Samoa, by using Japanese fishermen and a special technique, is getting huge quan- tities of tuna for the Pago Pago cannery. This is regarded by Mr. Gatty with sat- isfaction--it proves that his theories and calculations (that the South Pacific carries large quantities of edible fish) were correct. "The tuna of the Pacific Ocean is going to be one of the most important factors in the feeding of the future world," he said, ''and the most important and valuable kind of tuna is the albacore. Wherever in the world--especially in the Pacific--the water temperature is about 64°-66° F., the sea, from the surface right down to 200 fathoms or more, is thick with albacore tuna. You can get them over a very wide area--from New Zealand and the Chathams, through the Kermacdecs, for example, right up to the equator. "The Japanese last August (1954) fishing... just east of the Solomons took 2,200 tons of albacore. Few people realize the enormous quantities of this excellent food that are available to any people, once they acquire the knowledge of how to catch it. "The Japanese work on the basis that they will average from 4 to 5 fish per 100 baited hooks. They select their area; starting in the early morning they put out some 20 miles of lines, carrying thousands of hooks; and they begin to pick the lines up in the afternoon. "The Americans have found some areas around Christmas Island where the average per 100 hooks is 12 fish--that is literally a harvest of the sea. "The thing goes down to basic economics. The Japanese put about 35 men on each small vessel. Most of the heavy work is by hand--there are few mechanical aids in putting out and hauling in those miles of lines. There is very limited ac- commodation for the men--not enough bunks--and they have no fixed wage. They are paid on results, Their average pay, last season, was about US$9 per month. All fish canned in Pago Pago (an American Territory) is free of local tax and, being of American origin, the food enters the United States without tax penalty. The enterprise we tried to found in Fiji had none of those advantages." 26 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No.3 He thought that if tuna fishing flourishes in the future it would be due to mechaniza- tion. Two American tuna-fishing boats, working out of Hawaii, had eacha crew of only 6 men--the little vessels were mechanized to do the work done on other boats by 35 Japan- ese. Gatty believes that the Japanese willbe the first to exploit this great wealth of fish food. Before World War II there were 7 million Japanese fishermen--because of the crowded character of their smallcountry, they simply had to go out and get what they could out of the sea. California CANNED TUNA PACK SETS RECORDIN 1954: Anestimated pack of about 9,250,000 cases of cannedtuna were processed inCalitornia canneries during 1954. This breaks all previous records for tuna receipts andcase pack. As compared with the previous re- cord year of 1953 when 8,278,700 standard cases (48 No. 5 cans) were packed inCali- fornia, the 1954 pack indicates an increase of 972,000 cases, or 12 percent. Total fresh and frozen tuna receipts by California canners of approximately 206,000 tons also set a new record, and represented an increase of approximately 15,000 tons, or 8 percent, as compared with the previous record receipts established in 1950 when 191,500 tons of tuna were received in California for processing. Imports of frozen tuna into California from foreign countries during 1954 accounted for about 45,000 tons of the total receipts as compared with 1950 imports of only 8,200 tons. ok OK KOK TUNA TAGGED OFF SOUTH AMERICA BY '"MAYFLOWER" (Cruise C-4-54): A total of 1,035 skipjack tuna, 48 yellowfin tuna, and I big-eyed tuna was tagged — and released on a 2-months' cruise off South America by the commer- 90" elo cial tuna clipper Mayflower in co- operation with the California De- partment of Fish and Game. The vessel which sailed from San Diego, Calif., on October 23, 1954, and re- turned to that port December 29, 1954, cruised off the coasts of Peru, Ecuador, and near the Galapagos Islands. All tags used were ''type G." Owing to rough seas encountered on the trip, only two night light stations were occupied. Most of the col- lections of fish specimens were made from bait-net sets. Most of the trip was spent at Peru Bank. At the outset fishing was good but rough seas made tag- ging operations very difficult. The first week all tagging was done on ‘Mayflower tuna tagging Cruise C-4-54, Oct.23-Dec.29,1954. top of the bait boxes. This was a slow process and was abandoned after the sea calmed down a bit. The tagging cradle was then hung from the starboard side of the bait box at about waist height. This proved to be a good plan as tagging could be done in all but the very worst weather. The first 122 fish were tagged with a hollow tip needle, March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 27 thereafter a solid tip was used. The degree of bleeding from the tag wound decreased with the change to the latter type needle. OK KK NEW OTTER-TRAWLING AREAS EXPLORED OFF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BY "NB .SCOFIELD” Cruise 54-S-5): None of the southern California areas —— scouted by the California Department of Fish and Game's research vessel N. B. Scofield on a 5-weeks' cruise ending November 14, 1954, were found suitable for commercial otter trawl- ing. Inshore areas of proven productivity were intentionally avoided on this cruise which was LEGEND: made (1) to explore the area for concentrations @ OTTER TRAWL © BEAM TRAE of Pacific hake or bottomfish in commercial ©_HAKE PRESENT quantities; (2) to try out two sizes of midwater trawls. Although the coast of California from San Francisco south to the Mexican border was explored, particular emphasis was placed on the portion south of Point Conception and around the Channel Islands. Monterey Two sizes of midwater trawls were tested and they appeared to be effective in murky water; however, there is some doubt as to their effectiveness on large or active fish. MORRO BAT QO v ie re hes) oO e VAX = v WO A total of 68 drags were made of which 13 a Santa Barbara caught Pacific hake. In general, Pacific hake ae anne appeared scattered throughout the area scouted * but not in commercial concentrations in any one area. Many areas that appeared workable ST. CRUZ 1. “+ SAN NICOLAS NY ee on the charts and also gave good fathometer profiles were unfishable. Even smooth bottoms did not produce fish in commercial quantities. ST. CATALINA iQ e e % \ Work was first started in shallow areas off Sy Point Reyes tomake sure the gear was operating properly. Thena drag was made in water overa N,B, Scofield mile deep 20 miles off the Farallon Islands totest explores new otter- some new equipment. The area off Pedro Point pei southern was fished with the small midwater trawl in the wigs a) hope of collecting some small salmon which were knowntobe present. This net has a square mouth 25 feet oneach side. Smallherring were the only fish taken with this net. This gear appeared to be effective inmurky water. Continuing down the coast several drags were made off Point Montara and Ano Nuevo. The small midwater trawl was again tried off Monterey; the large mid- water trawl also was used off Monterey. The mouth of this net is 35 feet square. After working the area off Point Conception, the larger flats around the islands off the coast of southern California were scouted. The coast was worked from San Diego north to San Pedro. The large midwater trawl was tried near San Pedro but was not effective as the water was quite clear. In the area off the west end of Cata- lina Island and toward San Pedro several drags were made that brought up asphalt in considerable quantity. This material ranged from stony to almost fluid. ——— a= 28 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 Cans--Shipments for Fishery Products, January-November 1954 Total shipments of metal cans for fish and sea food during Jan- uary-November 1954 amounted to 102,533 short tons of steel (based on the amount of steel consumed in the manufacture of cans). Com- pared to 99,973 short tons in the same period a year ago. Larger packs of canned tuna and pilchards in 1954 accounted for the in- creased shipments for that year. Note: Statistics cover all commercial and captive plants known to be producing metal cans, Reported in base boxes of steel consumed in the manufacture of cans, the data for fishery products are converted to tons of steel by using the factor: 23,0 base boxes of steel equal one short ton of steel, Federal Purchases of Fishery Products FRESH AND FROZEN FISHERY PRODUCTS PURCHASED BY DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, DECEMBER 1954: For the military feeding of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, the Army Quartermaster Corps in December 1954 purchased fresh and frozenfishery products amounting to 2,006,014 pounds, valued at $814,866 (see table). Purchases o resh and Frozen Fishery Products by Department of the Army (December and the 12 months of 1954 lun December janis uaJan’=Dec. amullammDecembermanal D elec Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. DS. : & > $ ,006,014]1,361,536| 25, 290,351|26, 769,073] 814,866] 601,920 | 10,394,794)11,857,012 This was a decrease of 13.6 percent in quantity and 12.9 percent in value as compared with November, but greater by 47.3 and 35.4 percent, respectively, than purchases in December 1953. Army Quartermaster Corps purchases of fresh and frozen fishery products during the 12 months of 1954 totaled 25,290,351 pounds (valued at $10,394,794), 5.5 percent lower in quantity and 12.3 percent less in value as compared with the 12 months in 1953. Prices paid for fresh and frozen fishery products by the Quartermaster Corps in December averaged 40.6 cents per pound as compared with 40.3 cents in Novem- ber and 44,2 cents per pound in December 1953. The average price for the 12 months of 1954 was 41.1 cents as compared with 44.3 cents in 1953 and 46.6 cents per pound in 1952. In addition to the purchases of fresh and frozen fishery products indicated, the Armed Forces generally make some local purchases which are not included in the figures given above. Therefore, actual purchases are somewhat higher than indicated, but it is not possible to obtain data on the local purchases made by mil- itary installations throughout the country. Fish-Stick Output High in 1954 United States production of fish sticks, the popular new breaded food item, totaled 50.1 million pounds in 1954 as compared with 7.5 million pounds in 1953, the U..S. Fish and Wildlife Service revealed February 10 (see table). March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 29 Acclaimed as a revitalizer of the commercial fishing industry, fish sticks brought a gross income of nearly $40 million to retailers in 1954, with proportion- ate revenue to all segments of the industry concerned with the production, distri- bution, and marketing of this unique commodity. Monthly production of fish sticks reached a high of 5.6 million pounds in Octo- ber 1954, This compares with 1.4 million pounds in the same month of 1953 when U.S, Fis ______U. S, Fish-Stick Produc Production, 1954 and 1953 Mg oben | onion Month Cooked Uncoo | Uncooked | Total Total Cooked and Uncooked AS aan pow oma ae WES hens alo op Soon oO 2,433,500 2,770 ,600 115,000 56, 3,179,600 133,000 4,003,500 148,000 3,814,500 34,900 3,914,700 21,800 4,447,300 30,800 3,875,700 416,600 4,403,300 454,400 .| 3,801,200 4,311,100 809,500 .| 4,736,400 5,618,600 1,434,900 3,969,700 4,793,900 1,901,800 tes 201, 900 4,955, 300 2,001,200 ; volume output first began. Production for the Stainless steel power cutters used for cutting fil- Jast quarter of 1954 came to 15.4 million pounds ieee andislebsiiato fish sticks: as against 5.3 million pounds for the same quar - ter of 1953. The first, second, and third quarters of 1954 showed outputs of 10 mil- lion pounds, 12.2 million pounds, and 12.6 million pounds, respectively. Fish sticks are uniformly shaped pieces of fish dipped in batter, breaded, fro- zen, and distributed in consumer-sized packages. Similar to french-fried potatoes in appearance, they are marketed in cooked and uncooked form. Production of cooked sticks in 1954 came to 43.9 million pounds and uncooked sticks to 6.1 mil- lion pounds. Cooked sticks, which have been deep-fat fried before freezing, are oven-heated by the consumer for serving. Uncooked sticks are designed for those housewives and chefs who prefer to do the frying themselves. Both imported and domestic fish go into the production of fish sticks. Cod (mostly imported) is the principal species, but haddock, ocean perch, and a few others are also used, Fishery Products Marketing Prospects for 1955 and Review for 1954 PROSPECTS FOR 1955: Prospects for the first 4 to 5 months in 1955 are that United States civilian per-capita consumption of fishery products will be at least equal to the rate of a year earlier. Larger stocks of the canned and frozen products were available for distribution during the winter when commercial landings were seasonally light, and imports probably as large as in early 1954. Retail prices of fishery products in the next few months are expected to average a little lower than a year ago, reflecting in part the heavier supplies. 30 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 REVIEW FOR 1954: United States civilian consumption of fishery products per person in 1954 was about the same as a year earlier. Total supplies were some- what larger than in 1953, especially after midyear when the heavier 1954 packs of some canned fish started moving to market in volume. Prices of fishery products in general averaged approximately the same as in 1953, judging from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wholesale price index. Landings of edible fish and shellfish in 1954 were somewhat larger than in the pre- ceding year, with part of the increase comprised of those fish which are processed and subsequently marketed inthe canned or frozenforms. The total volume of fishery prod- ucts frozencommercially inthe United States and Alaska amounted to 303 million pounds, 10 percent greater thanin1953. Also, fairly large pack increases in 1954 were reported for canned tuna, Maine sardines, and Pacific sardines (pilchards). These increases much more than offset declines from 1953 for canned mackerel and anchovies. Stocks of fishery products at the end of 1954 were somewhat larger than at the beginning of the year. For the canned products this was largely the result of a heav- ier total pack than in 1953. The 10-percent larger stocks of frozen fishery products on January 1, 1955, than a year earlier resulted from larger United States production and record imports of frozen cod, haddock, and ocean perch fillets and blocks. Fro- zen fillet blocks are the raw material for fish sticks, which have become increasing- ly popular in the domestic market in the past two years. This analysis appeared ina report prepared by the Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.Department of Agriculture, incooperation withthe U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service, and published in the former agency's February 10, 1955, release of The National Food Situation(NFS-71). Florida UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI OFFERS GRADUATE FISHERY COURSES: The Depart- ment of Marine Science of the University of Miami offers courses leading toa Master's degree with specialization in marine biology, oceanography, andfisheries. Rising in- terest inthe various aspects of the science of the oceans has made it impossible to meet the demand for trained marine biologists, oceanographers, andfishery biologists. Interested students with a Bachelor's degree in zoology, physics, chemistry, or related sciences should contact the Department of Marine Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla., for further information. The research counterpart of the Department of Marine Science is the Marine Laboratory of the University of Miami. A wide variety of research projects, both in "pure" and "applied" science, are conducted under the supervision of the faculty members who give the academic courses. This combination of research and teach- ing is believed to benefit both. The research projects are supported by a wide vari- ety of agencies and individuals--government, industry, and private. Students are frequently offered the opportunity to take part in research projects, increasing the value of their professional training. Part-time jobs and other financial assistance are available to qualified students. @ Gear Research and Development SOUND GEAR AND UNDERWATER TELEVISION TO BE TESTED ON SHRIMP BY ''POMPANO”™: Field tests with experimental sound gear to determine the prac- March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 31 cability of detection and location of shrimp by means of passive listening devices will be made by the Service's gear research vessel Pompano on a two-months' cruise which began in January 1955. Underwater television equipment will be used in conjunction with the underwater sound gear in an attempt to learn more of the behavior of shrimp in their natural habitat. Attempts will also be made to observe and photograph shrimping gear in operation. The Pompano departed Miami on January 12 on an extended gear-research cruise to the Key West area. The vessel will be berthed at the U.S. Naval Station in Key West and make a series of trips to adjacent shrimping grounds. Scheduled field operations will extend to March 1955, when the Pompano will return to Miami. cD Maine TIGHTER SARDINE INSPECTION LAWS PROPOSED: Legislation to drastically strengthen Maine's inspection and quality control of Maine sardines was filed by Senator J. H. Wyman in the State Senate on February 11, 1955. The Senator, who is also a sardine-cannery operator, said that his bill incor- porated the results of nine months of extensive research, financed and supervised by the Maine Sardine Tax Committee, and that it had been unanimously approved by the industry at a series of recent meetings, according to a February 11 release from the Maine Sardine Industry. "This legislation is one of the broadest forward steps ever taken by a major industry in this State and should eventually provide a much better utilization of one of our great natural resources with resultant stabilization of employment and prof- it for all concerned," he stated. The bill greatly increases the authority of Maine's Commissioner of Agriculture, through his inspection division, to set up and enforce standards of quality and grades for the 24 to 3 million cases of sardines packed annually in the State. It also pro- vides foe better State supervision of conditions in the plants, fish handling, and other factors involved in the packing operation, and would create a seven-man industry advisory committee to periodically consult with the Commissioner on administration of the law. Another bill, simultaneously filed by the same Senator, would require that all sardine cans containing only four fish be plainly labeled accordingly, BE he stated that this also had the full backing of the industry. The Maine Agriculture Commissioner said that his Department was heartily in accord with "this progressive legislation'' and would support it in every way possible. Sardine inspection, a responsibility of the Maine Agriculture Department, is financed by a three-cents-per-case assessment on all packers and involves an expenditure of approximately $90,000 a year. The Senator said that research on the quality-control program was started by the Tax Committee in March 1954, through a subcommittee. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was engaged to conduct the technical phases of the work and it assigned canning experts to the job on a full-time basis, with headquarters at Booth- bay Harbor. Commenting on the legislation, the Tax Committee Chairman said that such action would mean a more uniform and improved product which the industry needed in order to maintain a favorable position in today's highly competitive food market. TE Sng ot 32 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 Maryland YORK RIVER SHAD CATCH, 1954: A recent survey of the York River and its tributaries determined that about 176,000 shad (over 500,000 pounds) were caught during the spring of 1954. This valuable catch is froma water area of about 50 square miles, reports the Service's Fishery Marketing Specialist in the Chesapeake Bay area. Kok OK ok Ok CHINCOTEAGUE BAY WINTER CRAB FISHERY: Chincoteague Bay has the only winter crab fishery in Maryland, and it operates from December 1 until March15. The fishery is not a large one and normally consists of only about 35 boats. It is based primarily on the capture of mature female blue crabs which have assembled in schools for the winter and have become inactive on the bottom in the deeper parts of the Bay. The male crabs remain scattered and apparently stay up in the creeks and so are not frequently caught in the winter. The "crab dredge," the gear used in this industry, is pulled by power boat but hauled in by hand. During the first several winters of the newly-formed industry the crabbers made a fairly good in- come from this fishery, but during the last two years, because the price of crabs has remained low, many watermen have stopped crabbing. The catch is usually about 3-4 barrels of crabs per boat and if the price is low the overhead expenses take the profit out of the operation, reports the January 1955 Maryland Tidewater News of the Department of Research and Education. An interesting sidelight of the Chincoteague Bay hard-shell clam fishery is that a sizable part of the catch is made through the operations of the crab dredge boats. Most boats are now trying to catch clams rather than crabs, although the dredging license is issued only for crabbing. This is quite legal since the law at present does not mention the capture of clams by dredge. The clams are worth more than the crabs to the watermen and they naturally work where clams are abundant, dis- regarding the availability or scarcity of crabs. The winter crab industry during the past two years has been worth about $20,000 per winter, exclusive of the summer crab fishery which is more valuable. The price is low because of the competition with Virginia and North Carolina crabs which are trucked into the State during the winter months. During the last two winters the weather has been so warm that, according to watermen who have had a poor season, the .crabs have continued to be active during the winter. Crabs are not easily caught by dredge when they are active. The average size of the Chincoteague Bay crab is small, compared with crabs from other areas, which has resulted in a marketing problem. This tends to keep the price down except when crabs are unavailable from other areas. At times the percentage of adult female crabs under legal size runs as high as 60 percent of the total caught in certain parts of the Bay. This, of course, creates a culling problem and requires a great deal of extra work and time. The frequent occurrence of the small crabs in the commercial catches, unfortu- nately, poses an enforcement problem to administrative agencies. The laws govern- ing the capture of crabs in Chincoteague Bay are based on the average size of crabs from the Chesapeake Bay. In the latter area, adult female crabs rarely run over four percent illegal crabs; consequently, a waterman would not be expected to have illegal crabs in his possession in excess of five percent, a level which might be over- looked by even the most conscientious crabber. On the other hand, in Chincoteague Bay the illegal mature female crabs average 17 percent throughout the season, placing a laborious culling problem upon the individual watermen. Studies have shown that the Chincoteague blue crab is probably a genetically- stunted race. The return of all small mature crabs, male or female, lends itself March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 33 to the danger of ''down-breeding.'' This means that the average size of adult crabs will become even smaller in the future, if the pronounced selective catch of the larger legal-sized crabs is intensified and prolonged. This is a well-known and observable phenomenon in livestock breeding. It would be unthinkable to continue this practice if it were known that a race of smaller crabs could result in Chinco- teague Bay. As yet there is no information that indicates such a trend, and to dem- onstrate the phenomenon would require many years of experimentation. Missouri COMMERCIAL FISHERIES, 1953: In 1953, 74 Missouri residents purchased wholesale fish dealer permits. In addition, 25 nonresidents purchased permits to buy and sell fish in Missouri, according to a recent report from the Missouri Con- servation Commission. According to their 1953 reports to the Conservation Commission, the resident dealers handled about 9.8 million pounds of marine and fresh-water fish, 80,296 pounds of shrimp, 29,449 pounds of frogs, 4,175 pounds of oysters, 2,874 pounds of scallops, and 98 pounds of lobsters. Other species handled included white bass, buffalofish, carp, bullhead, chubs, crappie, walleye, paddlefish, sunfish, trout, lake trout, drum, ocean catfish, flounder, haddock, halibut, Florida mullet, ocean perch, pollock, salmon, red snapper, sole, and whiting. Marine and game fishes were ob- tained from sources outside the State. Whiting was popular among some Missouri fish customers. The resident deal- ers reported handling about 5.8 million pounds in 1953. The largest amounts were handled in St. Louis and Kansas City. Buffalofish and carp were also popular -- about 1.2 million pounds of buffalofish and 0.8 million pounds of carp were handled by the dealers. Apparently Missouri commercial fishermen provided only a small amount of the fish handled by the Missouri fish dealers. In 1953 only about 7 percent of the 2.6 million pounds of river fish handled were obtained from sources in the State. According to information derived from the monthly reports of commercial fisher - men to the Commission, the total harvest of commercial fishes in Missouri amounted to about 384,322 pounds in 1953. About 198,685 pounds were taken from the Missis- sippi River and about 184,160 pounds from the Missouri River. Only about 1,477 pounds were reported from Missouri's waters of the St. Francis River. Carp led all other species in Missouri's commercial fish harvest. Buffalofish, flathead cat- fish, and drum followed in that order. Other species taken by Missouri commercial fishermen included blue catfish, paddlefish, garfish, channel catfish, quillback, suck- er, sturgeon, dogfish, bullhead, and eel. Missouri commercial fishermen are permitted to use seines, trammel nets, hoop nets, and lines in waters in which commercial fishing is allowed. These waters include the Mississippi River, the Missouri River, and that part of the St. Francis which forms the boundary between Missouri and Arkansas. About 48 percent of the 1953 harvest was taken in hoop nets. Trammel nets took about 39 percent of the har - vest, seines about 7 percent, and lines about 6 percent. --Herbert J. Fisher, Biologist, Missouri Conservation Commission. 34 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Violiipe NOS New England Exploratory Fishery Program "DELAWARE" CATCHES MOSTLY HAKE IN DEEP-WATER TRAWLING ON GEORGES BANK (Cruise 2): A total of 17,000 pounds, mostly hake, was caught in ra six tows by the Service's ex- Lh Dp=— [_ 490| ploratory fishing vessel Dela- y \ ware in deep-water trawling on 8g Georges Bank during a nine-day ~| cruise completed at East Boston Rey January 28. Total catch for the A | six deep-water tows included i red hake 10,500 pounds, white an «| 450 hake 1,700 pounds, blue hake =a ] ~—| 300 pounds, lobsters 1,200 pounds, ocean perch 700 pounds, haddock 100 pounds, and dogfish 2,500 pounds. The most prom- 100 FATHOMS | SESE ESD -HNTER TOws ising results were noted during | | B-—SHALLOW-WATER TOWS tows 5 and 6 at locatign 40 33'- | 40°39' N. latitude, 66 49'-67 02' W. longitude, in depths from | i is 170 to over 250 fathoms, which hk |7ae (72° [70 168 6° |} produced a catch of white hake Deep-water otter-trawl fishing on southeast Georges Bank by Delaware (1, 700 pounds), lobsters (1, 300 (Cruise2). Dark area marks approximate location of trawling operations, pounds), ocean perch (700 pounds), and haddock (50 pounds). This was the second trip of a survey to determine the distribution and abundance of commercially-valuable species in the deep waters of the Georges Bank continental slope. The Delaware fished with a standard No. 41 otter trawl and completed 21 tows in the area between 40 and 41 N. latitude and 65° and 67 W. longitude. Limita- tions of the trawl-winch equipment prevented extensive coverage of the deeper areas. During the initial part of the trip 6 tows were made at depths between 130 and over 250 fathoms located between 40°37'-41°07' N. latitude and 66°21'-67°900' W. longi- tude. (Area '"'A'' on chart.) Fishing operations carried out in depths from 45-70 fathoms (area "B" on chart) resulted in a total catch of 15,200 pounds. Dogfish comprised the major portion of the catch in 3 of the 15 tows completed in shoaler water. Best catches, in the shoal- water area, were made in depths from 56-70 fathoms at 41 32'-41 36' N. latitude, 65-57'-66 06! W. longitude, where 3 consecutive sets produced a total of 4,000 pounds of haddock and haddock scrod. The trawl nets were not damaged by underwater obstructions throughout the trip. Eight lobsters were turned over to the State of Massachusetts for tagging and release. The Delaware sailed February 4, 1955, on Cruise 3, which has as its objective: (1) to determine the present abundance of shrimp in the areas of the Gulf of Maine which supported a winter fishery in the years 1941-48, and which subsequently be- came unproductive; (2) to explore suitable bottoms between these areas. The stand- ard No. 41 trawl net with a 24'' cotton liner in the cod end will be used on this cruise. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 35 Oregon STEELHEAD TROUT TAGGED AT McNARY DAM: Some of the mystery of steelhead trout migration in upper Columbia River tributaries may be cleared up by a tagging operation conducted by the Oregon Fish Commission early in February 1955 at McNary Dam. Through cooperation of the Army Corps of Engineers, Fish Commission biolo- gists were able to tag 464 adult steelhead trout which apparently had taken up resi- dence in the upper pools of the Washington shore fishway at McNary Dam. In all, 684 of the fish were removed from the fishway which had been partially drained for maintenance and repair work. Tipoff that steelhead trout would probably be in the Washington fishway came in January when 1,571 "homesteading" fish were found in the Oregon shore ladder when it was dewatered for an annual check. Why some of the upriver-bound steel- head trout decided to hide out in fishladders is not definitely known, according to the Fish Commission biologist in charge of Columbia River investigations. He said steelhead trout have also been found in Bonneville Dam fishways during annual main- tenance checks. The Oregon biologist now hopes that recoveries of the McNary-tagged steelhead trout will be reported in order to clear up some of the questions concerning their migration above McNary which have puzzled fisheries workers. The opportunity to tag a large number of fish in a short period of time fits in well with an over-all study of Columbia River steelhead trout migration which the Fish Commission has undertaken, the Biologist stated. —~F» ~— a \ Pacific Salmon Investigations OIL POLLUTION STUDIED BY SERVICE'S SEATTLE BIOLOGICAL LABORA- TORY: The possibility of polluted waters at Lutak Inlet near Haines, Alaska, has prompted the Service's biological laboratory at Seattle, Wash., to begin a limited investigation to determine the toxicity of petroleum products to fish life. The source of the possible pollution is a group of jet-fuel and Diesel-fuel storage tanks at the Inlet. When these tanks are flushed out some of the petroleum products enter Inlet waters, giving rise to a need for definite knowledge on the effect of these products on salmon and other marine resources in the area. Using silver salmon fingerlings as test fish, the laboratory has tested auto- mobile gasoline, jet-aviation fuel, Diesel-truck oil, and sludge oil. Automobile gasoline and jet-aviation fuel have proved more lethal to the fingerlings than the other two products: surface films of automobile gasoline and jet-aviation fuel were lethal at 5,000 and 10,000 parts per million, respectively, and agitated solutions of the two products at 100 and 500 parts per million. Tests with surface films of Diesel oil and sludge oil proved lethal at 20,000 and 100,000 parts per million, respectively, and agitated solutions of Diesel oil at 5,000 parts per million. Fingerlings tested with agitated solutions of sludge oil were greatly distressed but not killed. 2k ok ok ok FERTILIZATION INCREASES SIZE OF DOWNSTREAM RED SALMON MIGRANTS AT BARE AND KARLUK LAKES: There is considerable evidence that experimental fertilization of Bare Lake on Kodiak Island with sodium nitrate and super phosphate 36 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 is increasing the size of the downstream redsalmonmigrants, reports the Service's Branch of Fishery Biology. Table 1 shows the number, age, composition, and mean Table 1 - Downstream Migration of Red (Sockeye) Salmon at Bare Lake, 1950-54 wee. ae th No. of Fish |2- ean Old |3-Year Old CHE: ap of Total length and weight of the migrants for the past five years. Table 2 indicates how fertilization is affecting survival of the young red salm- on. Survival measurements in years in which the lake is not fertilized will be avail- able later for comparison purposes. Table urvival of Red (Sockeye) Salmon at Bare Lake, 1950-54 urvival to Seaward |Fresh-water Kee lake a ctebs | ei as OI oe —" Ie Migrant Stage Survival 77,000 670,000 1/ Based on number of females in the escapement, their mean size, and the egg retention after spawning, 2/ Partly estimated, At Karluk Lake the fresh-water survival of red salmon is usually less than 1 percent; however, downstream migrants are larger than those at Bare Lake and their ocean survival will be better. It is estimated that the ocean survival of Kar- luk migrants is 3 to 4 times higher than migrants of Bare Lake. Consequently, it may be assumed that a fresh-water survival as at Bare Lake of over 2 percent, if put into effect at Karluk, would result in a higher rate of fish production there. —_ > SS Processed Fishery Products Output Increased in 1954 The pack of canned fish and shellfish in the United States and Alaska in 1954 totaled about 860 million pounds as compared with 792 million pounds in 1953, Secretary of the Interior McKay revealed February 7. The 1954 pack was the third largest in history, exceeded only by the 1941 and 1950 outputs of 881 million and 965 million pounds, respectively, according to statistics compiled by the Fish and Wild- life Service. The largest individual increase was in the Pacific sardine pack which came to 60 million pounds as against 3 million pounds in 1953, The 57-million-pound gain was due to a return of this species to southern California waters after a virtual ab- sence in recent years, Production of canned tuna set an all-time record of 209 million pounds in 1954 as compared with 189 million pounds in the previous year. The 20-million-pound increase was due to a larger domestic catch and heavier imports of frozen tuna from Japan and Peru. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 37 The canned salmon pack in 1954 was 194 million pounds, a gain of about three percent over 1953. Bolstering the output were a 23-million pound pack of sockeye salmon in the Puget Sound area (the largest since 1913) and a 28-million-pound pack of chum salmon in southeastern Alaska (as compared to 20 million pounds in 1953). Production of canned Maine sardines in 1954 came to about 61 million pounds-- eight percent more than in the previous year. Canned oysters showed about the same pack as in 1953 when approximately 6.8 million pounds were produced. Re- ports from the Pacific Northwest revealed heavy canning of oyster stew in that section, with a 1954 pack of more than 4.8 million pounds as compared with 3.4 million pounds in 1953. United States cold-storage plants froze 303 million pounds of fish and shellfish in 1954--27.6 million pounds over the previous year. Domestic production of groundfish and ocean perch fillets in 1954 totaled 126 million pounds as compared with 112 million pounds in 1953. Production of fish sticks, manufactured chiefly from imported cod fillets, came to more than 50 mil- lion pounds as compared with 7.5 million pounds in 1953 when this commodity was first introduced. Preliminary figures on fishery byproducts show that fish-meal and fish-oil production in 1954 was about the same as in 1953 when 239,000 tons of meal and 20.3 million gallons of oil were produced. As in 1953, menhaden accounted for more than 70 percent of the meal and 85 percent of the oil. Railway Express to Cancel Minimum Charge Increase of Return Empty Insulated Containers The Railway Express Agency agreed in late January to withdraw the increase (from $1.80 to $2.30) in the minimum charge per shipment on return empty insulated containers described in Item 923 of the Express Classification. The Agency had earlier announced the increase to be effective February 12, 1955, in Supplement 23 to the Express Classification, but promised to cancel this increase on the return empty insulated containers (Can-Pro and Shamrock) as soon as possible. The min- imum charges on all other return empty containers was increased to $2.30 per ship- ment effective February 12, 1955. Saltonstall-Kennedy Act Fisheries Projects FISHERY BYPRODUCTS TO BE STUDIED BY FISH ae WILDLIFE SERVICE: The allocation of $273,000 for a research program aimed at improving markets for fish meals and fish oils was announced January 26 by Secretary of the Interior McKay. These markets now handle approximately one-fourth of the total domestic commer - cial fish production each year. The Fish and Wildlife Service will make the study under the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act, P. L. 466. The program calls for development of a quality index for fish meals; the devising of new industrial uses for fish oils; and biological studies of menhaden, chiefly used in meal and oil production. 38 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 An allocation of $65,000 for the fish-meal project has been made for the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1955. Fish meal is used as feed for poultry, swine, dairy animals, and domestic pets, and the quality index will be used to show the nutritive worth of the byproduct. The index will be used at processing plants and distribution points. Fishing-industry scientists, feed manufacturers, agricultural colleges, and consultant laboratories will participate with the Service on the project, with most of the laboratory work being done by Service personnel. Testing by controlled feed- ing will be handled by universities and similar institutions on a contract basis. The project, which will supplement work being done by the Service under its annual ap- propriation for "investigation of resources,'' is expected to continue in fiscal years 1956 and 1957. The program's fish-oil research, for which $170,000 has been earmarked for the balance of fiscal year 1955, is necessitated by a surplus of domestic fats and oils coupled with the fact that fish oils, though having special qualities, appear to be used interchangeably with other oils. Studies of potential uses peculiar to fish oils are expected to enable producers to seek new markets where competition is based on merit rather than price. The work of the Service will consist of outlining the studies, negotiating contracts, supervising contract work, evaluating results, and disseminating the findings to industry for commercial application. Major studies will be made by universities and other nonprofit institutions on a contract basis. The project supplements work being done by the Service under its annual appropria- tion for investigations of resources. It is expected to continue into fiscal years 1956 and 1957, The biological-research phase of the program, for which $38,000 has been set aside for the remainder of fiscal year 1955, will feature life-history studies of men- haden. Most of the work will be done by the Service at Beaufort, N. C., where a fully-equipped laboratory is maintained, Intensive sampling will be done to develop information on age and growth rates. This information will be used to determine whether the menhaden range is inhabited by separate groups of this species or one large, freely-mixing population. Age analysis will furnish an insight into the suc- cess of yearly broods and reveal prospects for future abundance. As the project progresses, related studies on spawning areas, spawning periods, and nursery grounds will be made. The project is expected to continue in fiscal 1956. * kK KK Ok SERVICE REACTIVATES RESEARCH VESSEL "ALBATROSS III:'' The Service's biological research vessel Albatross II was returned fo full operation in January 1955 with funds provided by the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act, P.L. 466 (83rd Congress). Based at Woods Hole, Mass., the vessel will be in year-round operation for at least three years. On its initial trip (cruise 56) since its reactivation, the Albatross III sailed from Woods Hole on February 1 and conducted a groundfish survey on Georges Bank, The vessel returned to port February 13. Operations were limited by severe winter weather but they were successful so far as weather permitted. Whiting were most abundant in the South Channel area from 40-120 fathoms. Cod and haddock were abundant in the northerly sections of the Bank. The best catch of haddock, about 800 pounds, was made in 21 fathoms on Eastern Edge of Georges Shoals. Cod were mostly of steak size. No scrod cod were caught. Small haddock, 1- to 2-year old fish, were not found in any quantity. Ocean perch were taken only on the Georges side of the South Channel in 100 fathoms. Haddock stom- achs were collected for food studies at most stations. Maturity information was collected for haddock. Ovaries were preserved for fecundity studies. Blood was collected for serological analyses in racial studies. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 39 One-half hour tows with a No. 36 trawl were made at 49 stations in 20-120 fathoms over various parts of the Bank. Bathythermograph casts were made at all stations. This is the first of a continuing series of quarterly surveys planned for the next three years. OK OK KOK SERVICE REACTIVATES RESEARCH VESSEL "BLACK DOUGLAS:" The Fish and Wildlife Service's research vessel Black Douglas departed San Francisco on February 10 for San Diego, hernew home port, to take part in the South Pacific fish- ery investigations. An allocation of funds under the terms of the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act, P. L. 466 (83rd Congress), allows the Service to operate the Black Douglas again. This vessel had been inactive for two years. En route to San Diego the vessel dropped drift bottles at selected localities to obtain information on direction and speed of ocean currents off the California coast. This work is part of the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations, a joint study of the sardine, jack mackerel, anchovy, and other fishes being made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Cali- fornia Department of Fish and Game, Hopkins Marine Station, and the California Academy of Sciences. Skiffs used for Shrimp Fishing in Inside Waters of Gulf of Mexico In the last two years a new type of skiff is being built in Gulf of Mexico ship- yards for shrimp fishing in inside waters. These skiffs, used principally in the Lafitte-Barataria area of Louisiana, vary in size from 20 to 26 feet in length (mostly 22-24 feet), have a beam of from 6 to 8 or 9 feet, anda draft of 18 to 24 inches. A very few may have cabins or half cab- ins built onthem. Most of these skiffs are pow- ered by 85 or 115 hp. marine gasoline engines, While trawling the en- gines reportedly burn from 25 to 35 gallons of gasoline aday. : ee: ide vi iff used for shrimp fishing in the inside Designed BE meee ally : sane ioe lee see platform in siges reanhane oer for shrimp fishing in the inside waters of the Gulf of Mexico, these boats are considered quite efficient for this purpose. Generally they pull a 30- to 40-foot shrimp trawl. However, they are used for other than shrimp fishing also: crab fishing (running lines), hand-line fishing, as well as a speedy means of transportation to and from fishing and hunt- ing camps located in the lowland marshland areas. Although the majority of these skiffs are owned by regular commercial fishermen, casual and sport fishermen have also invested in this type of craft. 40 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 When trawling gear is used by the skiffs, it is handled entirely by hand. The platform at the stern has enough space for playing out the trawl as well as hauling it aboard. After the net is pulled aboard, the cod end con- taining the catch remains in the water. The cod end with the catch is moved forward where a small frame extend- ing over the side of the boat suffices to hold open the bag for brailing out the catch. With some exceptions, the crew consists generally of one man. This was partic- ularly true the spring and sum- mer of 1954. In 1953 when shrimp prices were higher than in 1954, the skiffs were oper- Stern view of shrimp skiff showing shrimp trawl spreadfor drying. Noteoverhang ate d by two men or a man and of platform used to shoot and haul inthe net. a boy. The cruising speed of.the skiffs is from 18 to 22 miles per hour, with a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour. The cruising range depends upon the gasoline capacity of the craft which ey : varies from 30 to 60 gallons. At cruis- ing speed, approxi- mately 4 gallons of gasoline per hour is used; trawling fuel consumption is 3 gallons and less per hour, At high or maximum speed, 5 gallons or more of fuel are consum- ed per hour. None of these skiffs op- erate out of a fish- ing port where the distance to the fish- ing grounds is much Another view of the shrimp skiff showing the smallframe on the port side next to the seat. ) This frame is usedonanumber of boats. Inserted inthe two holes are two small pieces over 30 miles a- of woodor planks ( 2-24 feet long) extending out over the water to support the cod end with way. the catch and hold it open so that the catch may be brailed out with a small hand net. Cypress is used in the hull construction of practically all of the shrimp skiffs. The development of this type of craft has been a gradual process over a period of years--from the old flat-bottom type of boat toward the design of the larger shrimp trawlers but with the trend toward use of lighter wood in the construction. During the last few years, the construction of the type of skiff described has been accelerated, and construction is continuing at a fairly rapid rate. Changes in design are gradually being incorporated in the new ones. All skiffs are now being built with a flare and ''V" bottom toward the bow, and include a keel which is suf- ficient for protection of the bottom as well as reinforcement. The trend seems to be towards larger craft of this type. There are several in service with a length of 28 feet. One about 30 feet long was reported under construction in the summer of 1954, and there are reports of building even larger ones. The inclusion of a hold March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 41 for icing shrimp is under consideration. There is at least one skiff completely en- closed with deck and cabin. Actually if the size continues to increase, the term "skiff'' as applied to these craft will not be applicable. ? " } er rere, | iE A view of the bow of a shrimp skiff showing the sorting Stern view of a shrimp skiff showing a portion of the otter platform in place, boards and shrimp trawl hanging on ‘‘T”’ upright, Despite lower shrimp prices in 1954, a few owners of the old type of inside trawler are changing over to the use of skiffs. Many shrimp fishermen operating solely in inland waters are of the opinion that these skiffs are superior to the older inside trawlers in all respects: (1) maneuverability, (2) speed, and (3) over- all efficiency and economical operation, including manpower, maintenance, and repairs. An estimate indicates that there are from 200 to 300 skiffs of this type operating out of the Lafitte-Barataria area. --S. C. Denham, Fishery Marketing Specialist, In Charge New Orleans Market.News Service, Branch of Commercial Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Orleans, La. 12) South Pacific Fishery Investigations SARDINES RETURN IN 1954/55: Approximately 65,000 tons of sardines have been taken in Southern California waters in the 1954/55 season--over 20 times as many as in the 1953/54 season. Widespread and abundant sardine spawning off southern California in the spring of 1954 heralded this return; more than 30 times as many eggs were spawned in 1954 than in the same area in 1953. 42 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 The egg and larvae surveys provide a preliminary estimate of 115,000 billion eggs spawned off southern California in 1954, This indicates that approximately 2.3 billion (230,000 tons) sardines spawned in this area, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service's Southern Pacific Fishery Investigations. The southern California area is one of two main sardine-spawning centers; the other center lies off central Lower California. Estimates of the numbers of eggs spawned in this southern center in 1954 are not complete; however, spawning was as great as, or greater than, in 1953, when approximately 8.8 billion sardines spawned. The sardine reappearance off southern California in 1954 was associated with an earlier warming of these waters than in 1952 and 1953. Whether a cause and effect relationship exists is unknown, but the occurrence of such contrasting con- ditions in 1953 and 1954 affords opportunity to test many hypotheses advanced about sardine movements. That sardines move north from Mexican waters to make major contributions to the California fishery has long been known. Therefore, the increased abundance of sardines in 1954 is not new but is the resumption of a pattern that had been inter - rupted for at least two years. Probably the most important single bit of information to be found in the 1954 observations is that sardine spawning off southern California does not depend on local fish but can result from fish moving in from the south. The location and numbers of sardine eggs spawned in the spring and summer of 1955 will be observed from month to month in an effort to predict the location and numbers of fish during the fall and winter. Other participants in the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investiga- tions are Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California, Bureau of Marine Fisheries of the California Department of Fish and Game, Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, and California Academy of Sciences. The Marine Re- search Committee is coordinating the research. ‘ee U. S. Commercial Fisheries Catch Increased in 1954 Commercial fishermen in the United States and Alaska caught about 4,700 mil- lion pounds of fish and shellfish during 1954. The 1953 catch of 4,450 million pounds was thus exceeded by 250 million pounds, or about six percent, according to statistics compiled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Food fish showed more spectacular gains in 1954 than the species used for fish meal and fish oils, in contrast to the reverse situation in 1953. Food-fish items with large increases were tuna, sardines, Maine herring, haddock, and ocean perch. San Pedro, Calif., led the food-fish ports with a 1954 catch of about 381 million pounds. Gloucester, Mass., was second with 221 million pounds; followed by Boston, Mass., 151 million pounds; San Diego, Calif., 130 million pounds; and New Bedford, Mass., 72 million pounds. From the standpoint of ex-vessel value, San Pedro again led all other food-fish ports with landings worth $37 million. San Diego's catch was valued at 21.0 million while the Massachusetts landings in Boston, New Bedford, and Gloucester were worth $11.3 million, $9.4 million, and $7.9 million, respectively. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 43 The chief meal-and-oil species, menhaden, set a new record for the fourth con- secutive year with total 1954 landings of 1,750 million pounds. Although the catch of albacore tuna off Washington and Oregon was an almost complete failure, the national catch of all tuna species amounted to about 322 mil- lion pounds as compared with 305 million pounds in 1953. Pacific sardines, which for many years yielded annual catches of more than one billion pounds but then virtually disappeared as a commercial item, staged a come- back in 1954 with landings of 132 million pounds as against less than 10 million pounds in the previous year. Maine produced a 1954 catch of about 102 million pounds of herring--used chief- ly in the canning of sardines--as compared with 120 million pounds in the previous year. Landings of haddock in Maine and Massachusetts of approximately 156 mil- lion pounds were 16 million pounds more than in 1953. Ocean perch landed in these two States amounted to about 179 pounds as against 154 million pounds in 1953. The total shrimp catch for 1954 of about 235 million pounds was roughly the same as in 1953. In recent years the annual catch of this species has been valued at more than $50 million ex-vessel, making shrimp the most valuable item taken by domestic fishermen. Salmon landings increased about 7 million pounds--landings totaled 320 million pounds as compared with 313 million pounds in 1953. The increase was due chiefly to outstanding catches of sockeye salmon from the Pacific Northwest's Fraser River and chum salmon in southeastern Alaska waters. The large catches of these species more than compensated for the normal absence of pink salmon from Puget Sound which occurs during even-numbered years. Pacific Coast halibut landed by United States and Canadian fishermen amounted to about 70 million pounds--an all-time record--as compared with 60 million pounds in 1953. Steady increases during the last 30 years have resulted from conservation efforts by the Pacific Halibut Commission, established by the United States and Can- ada in 1924, Decreases were recorded for anchovies and mackerels in California, Due main- ly to lack of an export market, the anchovy catch dropped from 85 million pounds in 1953 to about 37 million pounds in 1954. A scarcity of Pacific and jack mackerel resulted in a decline in landings of these species from 63 million pounds in 1953 to about 35 million pounds in 1954. U. S. Foreign Trade EDIBLE FISHERY PRODUCTS, NOVEMBER 1954: United States imports of fresh, frozen, and processed edible fish and shellfish in November 1954 amounted to 62.6 million pounds (valued at $16.4 million), according to a Department of Com- merce summary tabulation (see table). This was a decrease of 8 percent in quantity and 4 percent in value as compared with October imports of 67.7 million pounds (valued at $17.1 million). Compared with a year earlier, November imports were up 3 percent in quantity and 1 percent in value. Exports of processed edible fish and shellfish (excluding fresh and frozen) in November 1954 totaled 5.8 million pounds (valued at $1.4 million)--a decrease of 44 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vo. 17, No. 3 15 percent in quantity and 39 percent in value as compared with October exports of 6.8 million pounds (valued at $2.3 million). November exports were up 125 per- United States Foreign Trade in Edible Fishery Prod with Comparisons 000 Lbs. | Million $ ion $ Viillion $ Fish & shellfish: fresh, frozen & processed 1 Fish & shellfish: processed l/only (excluding fresh and frozen) 1/ Includes pastes, sauces, clam chowder and juice, and other specialties. cent in quantity and 56 percent in value as compared with a year earlier. OK OK OK IMPORTS OF GROUNDFISH FILLETS AT ALL-TIME HIGH IN 1954: United States imports of groundfish (cod, haddock, hake, pollock, cusk, and ocean perch) fillets in 1954 totaled 135.7 million pounds, 26 per- cent above the previous record year of 1952 when 108.0 million pounds were imported (see table). The 1954 imports were 48 percent greater than the 91.6 mil- lion pounds received in 1953. Use of imported fillet blocks and slabs (principally cod) for the manufacture of fish sticks accounted for the record increase of fro- zen groundfish fillets. Canada again led as the largest foreign supplier of groundfish fillets in 1954, shipping 63 percent of the total; followed by Iceland who supplied 27 percent. All countries supplying these fillets shipped more to the Unjted States in 1954 than in 1953. The quota of groundfish (including ocean perch) fillets permitted to enter the United States in 1954 at the reduced rate of 1% cents 85,997,560 | 59,672,557 4,660,118| 3,956,095 2,080,376 2,715,085 256,482| 2, "944.295 595,256 37,039,659 | 25,410,418| 35,733,748| 24,162,173| 12,529,576 170,436 138,560| 1,645,175 279,049 93,858 3,589,171 | 1,532,100| 1,433,954 406,670 91 511,059 232,270. 2 2 388,575 270,761| 1,325,250 263,719 11,475 595,813 147,956 144,550 133,550 239,156 1/ Préliminary. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVEIW 45 per pound was 33,950,386 pounds. Imports in excess of the quota entered ata duty of 25 cents per pound. The reduced-rate quota in 1953 was 33,866,287 pounds. The 1955 quota is 35,432,624, ECS Utah FISH-MEAL PLANT POSSIBILITY STUDIED: Researchers at the Utah Agri- cultural Experiment Station are exploring the possibilities of a fish-meal plant to make fish meal from carp, reports Feedstuffs (February 5, 1955). It is estimated that Utah has 100,000 acres of warm water, and scientists say carp will produce more protein per acre than any other form of life. Also, they say, studies show carp meal prepared from local fish is equal to herring meal and better than menhaden and tuna meals. a = 9 Wholesale Prices, January 1955 Fresh fish and shellfish landings continued seasonally light in January 1955, the demand for most fishery products was good, and wholesale prices were higher than Table 1 - Wolesale Average Prices and Indexes for Edible Fish and Shellfish, January 1955 and Comparisons Point of Avg. Prices1/ Indexes Group, Subgroup, and Item Specification Pricing Unit ($) (1947-49=100) Jan. Dec, | Nov. 1955 | 1954 | 1954 108.9 | 100.5] 102.8 Whitefish, L. Erie pound or gill net,rnd., fres Lake trout, domestic, No. 1, drawn, fresh, . Yellow pike, L. Michigan&Huron,rnd.,fresh . SEPEEEE Fillets, haddock, sml., skins on, 20-1b, tins Boston Shrimp, lge. (26-30 count), headless, fresh. . |New York Oysters, shucked, standards Processed, Frozen (Fish & Shellfish): .. . Fillets: Flounder (yellowtail), skinless, 1-1b, pkg... . ; Haddock, sml,,skins on, 1-lb. pkg. . . Ocean perch, skins on, 1-1b. pkg. Shrimp, lge. (26-30 count), 5-lb. pkg. Salmon, pink, No. 1 tall (16 oz.), 48 cans/cs. . 104.4] 104.4] 104.4 Tuna, lt, meat, chunk, No. 1/2 tuna (6-1/2 oz.), Aglcans/CSs |= sts) | 2 Tunisia See i (ts A Tunisian sponge-fishing boat at Djerba. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 75 valued at US$120, 774, as compared with 1953 exports of 196,000 lbs, valued at US$94, 273 (see table), Cuttlefish bone was the leading item in value, followed by Fig, 2 - Sorting sponges according to size atSfax, Tunisia. Fig, 3 - Sponges packed for shipment at Sfax, Tunisia. snails and sponges, according to a U. S. consular dispatch (January 3, 1954) from Tunis, Tunisian Fishery Products Exports to United States, 1953-54 ISponges.... 110, 000 175, 000 289, 000 120, 714 = 000 94, 273 United Kingdom PROBLEMS OF FISHING TRAWLERS: The British people are eating less fish, according to the London press (Financial Times, November 23, 1954). The latest figure (for 1953) shows that an average of 18.7 pounds per person was consumed, compared with 28.7 pounds for 1948, the peak year of the postwar boom in fish eat- ing. In the summer of 1953 the trawler owners laid up 20 percent of their distant- water fleet, but even so 18,000 tons of edible fish remained unsold throughout the summer. Between April and July 1954 a quarter of the fleet was laid up. The fish- mongers, however, maintain that the tide in their fortunes has turned and that con- sumption in 1954 was not less than 1953, and may have been slightly higher--per- haps the first fruits of the £80,000 (US$224, 000) ayear advertising campaign carried out by the White Fish Authority, and the £120,000 (US$336, 000) campaign of the dis- tant-water section of the British Trawlers Federation, But this declining consumption is only one of the problems the trawlermen are facing. Increasing costs are their biggest difficulty. A catch on the average hasto 76 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 be one-quarter larger than prewar for the owner merely to break even, and almost one-third larger for him to obtain a comparable rate of profit. Replacement costs have doubled over the last five years, and have increased nearly five times over the prewar figure: the distant-water trawlers at present under construction will cost nearly £200,000 (US$560,000) each | to put to sea and between £250 and £.300 (US$700- 840) a day to operate. Fuel costs have quadrupled since 1938 and BA seanorse/ § now account for approximately 25 per- : cent of gross earnings compared with 20 percent in 1938. Labor shortages also constitute a problem. Trawler captains can earn £3,000 (US$8,400) a year and the crew members about £20 (US$56) a week, but there is a declineinthe newcomers en- tering the trade. As yet thisis causing only occasionaldelays at certain ports, notably along the northeast coast and at EWFOUNDLAND Grimsby, but the problem would seem to be merely postponed. For one thing : e : trawlingis an extremely hazardous oc- Distant- water tr. = 2 a 0 the Davis Straits and Newioundland Inthe west, Bear ir, CUuPation- indeed, ithas the highest cas- land in the north, and Nova Sembla in the east, Middle- ualty rate of any trade in the United King- water trawlers fish the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland, dom--and, moreover, itis seasonal. the Faroes, and the Norwegian coast, Near-water trawlers The men need to have an alternative oc- operate off the shores of the British Isles, cupation during the summer laying-up months. The main difficulty at present is finding crews for the older vessels, which cannot offer the living conditions of their modern sisterships and--more important--because they do not possess the best equipment they will provide lower earnings to be shared among the crew. It is this question of aging vessels that is the core of the trawler problems, The distant fleet is relatively modern and well equipped--more than one-third of the fleet has been built since World War II, when many of the trawlers were requisitioned by the Navy and lost in action and the owners compensated. On the other hand only about 10 percent of the middle- and near-water trawlers has been built since 1945, The fish-eating boom in the immediate postwar years was satisfied in a large part from the middle and near waters, The five-year relief from fishing in the waters affected by the war permitted the numbers of fish to in- crease enormously. In these conditions fishing was never easier. There was no need to rebuild, and the old ships were adequate. With 18 nations operating, however, the North Sea quickly became overfished; the trawlers could not get sufficient fish to fill their capacity. As the trips neces- sarily became longer, costs rose and the quality of the fish fell--a reason for the declining consumption, since there has always been a ready market for good-qual- ity fish. Thus the owners could not build new and better-equipped vessels. The onus of supplying the already declining fish palates of the public fell on the distant-water fleet, who at present are catching nearly half the fish eaten in the country. The costs of the distant-water trawler, however, are more than twice those of a North Sea trawler, An average voyage can range in length from 1, 700 miles (Iceland) to 2, 800 miles (Spitzbergen), taking 20-28 days, two-thirds of which are usually spent reaching and returning from the fishing grounds, Fish, more- over, quickly deteriorates and as yet deep freezing is in its infancy. The installa- March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 77 tion of such equipment reduces holding capacity and increases costs further. The problem is only partly solved by increasing the speed of the vessels--now at 12-13 knots, compared withthe prewar speed of 9-12 knots, For the present the trawler owners have reverted to the prewar practice of shelving the fish (placing it in layers between ice on boards of wood or aluminium alloy) instead of the immediate postwar usage of merely storing in holds with con- sequent diminution of quality. The main solution lies in freezing the first catches at least. Nevertheless the number of new near- and middle-water trawlers under con- struction or on order--50 in all--far exceeds the figures for any year since the immediate postwar period when the fleet was increased by the conversion of many naval ships, and before that since 1929-30. The new ships are expected to cost nearly £5 million (US$14 million) while the estimate for an additional 15 distant- water vessels is in the neighborhood of £3 million (US$8.4 million). This increase in construction is largely the result of the power given to the White Fish Authority in August 1953 to make grants as well as loans towards the cost of vessels and en- gines. In many cases applicants have only to provide 15 percent of the cost ofa vessel from their own resources, In the long run the significant factor in the prosperity of the trawling industry is the public taste for fish. Since the abolition of price controls, quality has been the determining factor in the market for fish. The consumer, however, is only slowly beginning to appreciate frozen fish, despite its lower price. On the other hand one of the results of the declining consumption is the country's diminishing de- pendence on foreign landings--they dropped from 11 percent of total landings in1952 to 8 percent in 1953, which was the estimate for 1954, also. In reply to charges of unduly high prices, the trawler owners point out that, al- though near- and middle-water fish is subsidized, deep-water fish is not, and it is competing with subsidized foods. Moreover they maintain that a penny (1 U. S. cent) reduction per pound would cost £4.5 million (US$12.6 million), which is more than the total net profits of the trawler owners and the fish wholesalers in the whole coun- try. OK OK KK FAMILY EXPENDITURES FOR FISHERY PRODUCTS, 1951/52: British ex- penditures for fishery products in the period from the fourth quarter of 1951 to the fourth quarter of 1952 averaged 12,22 pence (14.3 U. S. cents) per head per week as compared with 60.14 pence (70.4 U. S. cents) for rationed and all other meat and bacon, Adult households consumed more than three times as much fish per head as those with four or more children, while the difference for prepared fish was less, reports The Fishing News (December 10, 1954), a British fishery peri- odical, "This may be partly a reflection of children's tastes,'' says the annual report of the National FoodSurvey Committee, Domestic Food Consumption and Expendi- ture, 1952. The survey, previously confined to urban working class households and special samples, was extended in 1950 to provide a national sample of household budgets, and in 1952 it was possible to obtain a more representative sample of about 3, 000 households per quarter, Expenditure on most foods increased during 1952, mainly because of rising prices, but expenditure on fish tended to fall, no doubt because of improved meat supplies, 78 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 Consumption of fresh, processed, and prepared fish in 1952 averaged 7,52 ounces per head per week, and there was 6 percent less fish consumed in the fourth quarter of 1952 compared with the same quarter in 1951, Consumption showed a seasonal decline from 8.1 ounces at the beginning of the year to under 7 ounces in the third quarter, recovering to 7.6 ounces at the end. This was, however, still half an ounce lower than in the last quarter of the previous year, which suggests a downward tendency. The drop was chiefly in white fish of the cheaper types, such as cod. Prices remained fairly steady for this type of fish, so that the reason for the drop was probably the increased availability of meat, Fat fish--mainly herring--showed a seasonal fall in the spring and summer, but consumption at the end of the year was slightly higher than at the beginning, "Tt might have been expected that the improved meat supplies would have had more effect on fish consumption, but the impact was lessened by the reduction in supplies of cheese and the seasonal decline in eggs." An analysis of household expenditure on individual foods gives a weekly expend- iture on fish of an adult couple as 36. 8d. (43.1 U.S. cents), and of each child0O. 5d. (0.6 U.S. cents), The increase in expenidture for fish was only 1 percent "possi- bly because children have a greater preference for other protein foods, '"' the report adds. OK OR KK of an advertising program by the British trawler owners associated with the British —— == == == = == sz = —— SS == == — {i The Cheapest Hood Money Can Buy ! & > c ULAR SN SS PETES, SCRE ER ELE Se SSS # —S> EEE FEEL ECES Sere SS i Z ze EER Aiea ra eee S BPP ELLE GEER ee Se, Terese Pe ecee Ee Cao Seere = Syecece esse {i eS 2) What are the facts about Fish? This favourite food is 1, More than half the fish — head, tail, fins and backbone — is cut away in flleting. more popular than ever. Cod caught in Distant Waters This loss, plus the cost of labour to do the job, means that the wholesaler buys his Ady, has risen less in price than any other staple food since _cod fillets for 10d. a Ib. TIONI IO ATES CIGNA PANES SUG WE) } me sg the war —and it’s the cheapest food money cay buy, 2 The dock wholesaler has to buy boxes and ice, employ packers and quickly = ty Ray even though it's non-subsidised! Most of our staple transport the fish to Billingsgate or your local fshmonger. a oa wo =A OL! foods are subsidised —meat. butter, milk, BE 3 The dock wholesaler and your fishmonger add a reasonable profit in order to earn | | i vegetables and cereals. Last year these subsidies cost the Government (you, the a living. Result — best cod fillet at 16d. to 1/94. a Ib. | taxpayer and consumer) £334,000,000, Fish is not subsidised! Yet a fillet of cod, | OD reaver H ) the price of fillet steak. Despite increases in the cost of every single item in fishing, ah Naturally, in the worst winter months when fisting is | . BR SSS, extremely difficult and catches are low, prices g0 up. ‘i and with no belp from subsidies, the British Distant Water Fleet has kept the price of “==> ~<5027 But in summer, when fishing is easier and catches | fish down to very near its war-end price — a remarkable achievement! Ve larger, they go down. However, fresh frozen cod = containing weight for weight, just as much body-building protein, costs Jess than half One reason why the present price of fish is so low is that British trawling is a free, fillets from peak catches are now available aan I ‘competitive industry. Anyone can own a boat. Anyone can buy and sell fish. Trawler throughout the year at low prices. EGGS Qs captains. their mates have a real incentive to seek the best fishing grounds and land Today Britain is no longer an island built on coal and surrounded by fish. The modern <4 top-quality fish. Both captain and crew share the profits with their companies. Although, jer, costs £200,000, is oil-fired and travels thousands of miles to find the fish. me trawling is a hard and dangerous job, it is one where enterprise is actively encouraged, al and skill and daring are quickly rewarded. Let's see exactly what you're paying for when you buy in, you cas y a fresh cod fillet at your local fishmonger. A best quality the week, And thanks to the British Fishing Industry cod will fetch on average 444. a Ib. when it's sold at you enjoy a wider choice of fresh, good-quality fish the dockside auction. Then this is what happens:— at a lower price than anywhere else in the world. aaa i DERIID | Saeeah | BRITISH TRAWLERS : eee BRITISH TR) AW se i FEDERATION Type of advertising copy used in British magazines and newspapers. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 79 Trawlers Federation has been approved, The principal aim of the campaign to be initiated will be to increase public interest in cod. A levy of a halfpenny on every stone (4 U. S. cents per 100 pounds) of deep-water fish landed is to be imposed. This is expected to provide a sum from which £100, 000 (US$280, 000) will be found for advertising purposes. One statement published credits an official of the Association with saying that because of a mistaken idea that cod was an inferior fish, much had been left unsold. "This mistaken view," he said, 'is held not only by housewives but by inland merchants and fish friers,. The friers will not look at cod for their business because they say customers demand either haddock or skate," The coming campaign will cost double what has been spent in any previous year, reports the November 19, 1954, issue of The Fishing News, a British fishery paper. Venezuela SEVERAL SARDINE CANNERIES CLOSE DOWN: Several Venezuelan sardine cording to the President of the Fish Canners' Association, In general, the canneries are operating at 30 percent of capacity, a January 12 U. S. Embassy dispatch from Caracas points out, The President of the Association pointed out that this is a chronic condition be- cause of the small local market which, though it may be increased a little, cannever absorb the potential canned fish production, The only long-term solution of this con- dition, in his opinion, is foreign markets--some form of fish dollar, either a differ- ential exchange, or an export subsidy. OK OK OK OK FOREIGN-FLAG FISHING IN GULF OF VENEZUELA: Although Venezuela claims 3 miles for territorial waters, and 12 miles for vigilance, security, and pro- tection of national interest, the complete extent of Venezuela's interests inthe waters of the Gulf of Venezuela has never been fully defined and declared, according to the legal adviser of the Venezuelan Foreign Office. New legislation governingthe commercial fisheries off the Venezuelan coast is expected to be enacted under the provision of the 1953 Venezuelan Constitution for jurisdiction over waters of the continental shelf, Venezuela and Colombia have in the past discussed and expect in the future to reach some bilateral agreement as to the jurisdiction of the two countries over the Gulf of Venezuela. According to the legal adviser the Colombians have indicated a desire to extend jurisdiction somewhat north of a line drawn across the Gulf from the northern point of the Goajira Peninsula to the northern point of the Paraguana Peninsula, probably eventually to be determined, taking into consideration the depths of the waters north of such a line, The primary interest of both Governments lies in possible submarine oil deposits, but the legal adviser felt that such an agreement between the two countries might well provide for control of fisheries also, a Decem- ber 14 U. S. Embassy dispatch from Caracas points out, Although, in the absence of legislation under the Continental-Shelf provision of the 1953 Constitution and in the absence of anagreement with Colombia, Venezuelan legis- lation only stipulates the 3- and 12-mile zones of jurisdiction, the legal adviser express- 80 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Wools a5 INO 2 ed the opinion that Venezuela's position as to the status of the waters of the Gulf of Venezuela should be recognized as at present indefinite. He indicated, for example, that any attempt by foreign-flag vessels to undertake large-scale commercial fish- ing operations in the Gulf would be accorded the most serious scrutiny of the Vene- zuelan Government, and probably would be opposed by both Venezuela and Colombia, KK K PRICES FOR 1955 PEARLCROP: The Managing Director of the Banco Agricolay Pecuario, which has supported floor prices for pearls, informed the press on Jan- uary 11 that the bank will not attempt to support the prices for the 1955 pearl crop as the bottom has dropped out of the pearl market. On the bank's 1954 stock, he stated that only 400, 000 karats of small-shot-size pearls were sold, 100,000 karats of rounds, and 50,000 karats of barroques. The bank still held 300,000 karats of barroques and 30,000 karats of unclassified pearls. When these have been disposed of the bank will be out of the pearl business, states a January 11, 1955, U. S. Embassy dispatch from Caracas, A representative left for Mexico on January 6, 1955, to hunt a market for the Venezuelan pearls. The 1955 season began on January 3, 1955, anditis estimated this year's harvest will be worth Bs. 5, 000,000 (US$1, 500,000). Despite the de- valued Mexican money, it was believed that country offered good prospects for mar- keting Venezuelan pearls. Some inquiries have been received from India and buy- ers from there were expected later in the season. The pearl season in Venezuela is from January 1 to April 30, 1955. SPARE COPIES OF 1947 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW AVAILABLE The Service has available for distribution spare copies of the 1947 issues (volume 9) of Commercial Fisheries Review. Issues are available for eachmonth (Nos. 3 through 12) except Jan- uary and February (Nos. 1 & 2). Listed below is one of the articles ap- pearing in each issue: - 1947 METHODS OF NET MENDING--NEW ENGLAND" . 1947 - NUTRITIVE VALUE OF BAKED CROAKER Tl 1947 - NEW TYPE THERMOCOUPLE SEAL FOR TIN CONTAINERS im 1947 - nCORRELAT | ON OF pH AND QUALITY OF SHUCKED PACIFIC, OYSTERS 1947 - nNUTRITIVE VALUE FOR GROWTH OF SOME FISH PROTEINS 1947 - SOME STUDIES ON THE FEEDING VALUE OF FISH MEALS 1947 - . 1947 - 5 1047 < BACTERIAL POPULATION OF GRINING TANKS IN FISH FILLETING PLANTS" \NOTES ON FREEZING SHRIMP A THE CHESAPEAKE BAY CRAB INDUSTRY For these spare copies write the Branch of Commercial Fisheries, U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service, Washington 25, D. C. Single issues or acomplete setof Nos, 3 through 12 may be requested. Requests will be filled as received until supplies are exhausted. March 1955 Department of Commerce BUREAU OF THE CENSUS EXPORT COMMODITY CLASSIFICATION FOR FISH STICKS AND SOLE: ole, frozen cooked fish sticks, an fried fish sticks are additional items which have been added to the applicable statistical export commodity classifica- tions (Schedule B) by the Bureau of the Listings to be Inserted whether or not whole, however packed (includ- ing fillets); Other 008990 Fish, shellfish, and Cooked fish sticks, other marine animal frozen, products, prepared or |Fish sticks, fried. preserved, n. e. c, 081990 Fish oils and fish liver |Pollock liver oil. oils, n. e. c. Census, according to the January 1955 Foreign Trade Statistics Notes from that agency. These listings are included in Collectors' Bulletin 11 which gives new items to be added to those already shown within the numbered classification in the printed Schedule B. POL Sy, } Department of Defense SARDINES EXEMPTED FROM "BUY AMERICAN ACT:" Sardines and bulk agar are included in a new list recently issued by the De- partment of Defense of supplies and ma- terials to be procured for public use with- out regard to the so-called Buy American Act. The list is part of an amendment to the Armed Services Procurement Regu- lations, governing purchases for the COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW FEDERAL ACTIONS 81 The items on the list are substantially the same as those listed armed services. in 1950. — =! Department of Health, Education, and Welfare PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE SHELLFISH CERTIFICATION LIMITATIONS PROPOSED: A proposal for limiting the scope of the shellfish certification program was announced by the Public Health Service Shellfish Sanitation Section. It was stated that this plan will not be adopted as Serv- ice policy until it is acceptable to the majority of the states. The need to limit the shellfish cer- tification program stems from personnel and financial limitations of both the states and the Public Health Service; from stat- utory responsibilities of other govern- mental food control agencies; and from the lack of epidemological evidence in- dicating a need for extending the certifi- cation program to cover such prepared shellfish products. The plan is as follows: A. Redefine shellfishas 'Allfresh or frozen oysters, clams, or mussels either shucked or in the shell." B. Limit the certification program to the fresh and frozen product and not include processed shellfish foods such as frozenoyster stew, frozenclam chow- der, frozenclam cakes, seafooddinners containing oysters, crabcakes, scallops, fish fillets, and other prepared shellfish products except that frozen breaded shell- fish may be included in the certification program at the option of each state. 82 Under this limitationthe Public Health Service would, where requested, and pro- vided the state has a rigid system of in- spection and control, include the state certified shellfish breaders on the list of certified shippers. However, if a state does not want to extend its certification program to breading plants, the Public Health Service would make no deductions from the state's shellfish sanitation rat- ing because of the omission If a dealer in such a state is botha shucker-packer and a breader, his name and certificate number would be listed as a shucker-packer; however, he could not use his certificate number on pack- ages of breaded shellfish. (The indica- tion of state certification on containers of breaded frozen shellfish should not create a conSumer impression that the product is packed under continuous in- spection of either state or Federal in- spection such as would be provided under the Seafood Inspection Service as author - ized by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.) C. Make no further extension of the shellfish certification program to en- compass other processed shellfish prod- ucts unless there is sufficient public- health justification for such an extension. D. Urge each state to require that only certified shellfish be used in pre- pared shellfish products. White House UNIFORM STANDARDS SET FOR BIDS UNDER "BUY AMERICAN ACT:" The President on December 17, 1954, issued an Executive Order establishing uniform standards and procedures to be applied in administering the Buy Ameri- can Act. The order is designed to bring about the greatest possible uniformity among executive agencies applying the basic legislation, reports the December 27, 1954, Foreign Commerce Weekly, a De- partment of Commerce publication. The Buy American Act, which became law in 1933, provides that preference in the award of Government contracts shall COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17. No, 3 be given to domestic suppliers, as against foreign suppliers, unless the domestic sup- plrer's bid or offered price is unreasonable or the award to him would be inconsistent with the public interest. Two methods are provided in the or- der for determining whether the domestic supplier's bid or offered price is unrea- sonable. The head of each agency will select the method better suited to the pro- curement procedures of his agency. Under the first method the bid or of- fered price of a domestic supplier will be deemed unreasonable if it is greater than 106 percent of the bid or offered price of the foreign bidder --including applicable duty and costs incurred after arrival in the United States. Under the alternative method the domestic price will be deermed unreason- able if it exceeds the sum of: (1) The foreign bid or offered price--including applicable duty and costs incurred after arrival in the United States--and (2) 10 percent of such bid exclusive of such duty and costs. When the price amounts to less than $25,000, in the interest of administrative simplicity, only the ap- plicable duty need be excluded from the bid or offered price in making a deter - minination under this second method. Previously a difference of 25 percent between foreign and domestic bids fre- quently was required. The order provides exceptions per- mitting agency heads to retain their authority or responsibility to place a fair proportion of their total purchases with small business concerns, and to reject any bid or offer for security rea- sons or because it would be in the nation- al interest to do so. The order also permits rejection of a foreign bid or offer in any situation in which the domestic low bidder would pro- duce substantially all of the materials in areas of substantial unemployment as de- termined by the Secretary of Labor after a determination by the President that such preference would be in the national in- terest. In issuing the Executive Order the President announced that he had made a determination that it is at this time in March 1955 the national interest to give a preference to U.S. low bidders who will produce substantially all of the materials con- tracted for in labor surplus areas. Wherever the head of an executive agency proposing to purchase domestic materials determines that a greater dif- ferential than that provided in the order is not unreasonable or is not inconsistent with the public interest, he is authorized to do so by the order and thereafter to submit a written report of the facts in the case to the President. Eighty-Fourth Congress (First Session) FEBRUARY 1955: Listed below are public bills and resolutions introduced and referred to committees or passed by the Highty- Fourth Congress (First Session) and signed by the President that directly or indirectly affect the fisheries and allied industries. Public bills and resolutions are shown in this section when introduced and, if passed, when signed by the Presi- dent; but also shown from month to month are the more pertinent reports, hearings, or chamber actions on some of the bills. ALASKA NET REGULATIONS: On February 8 Senate Subcommittee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, in exec- utive session, ordered favorably reported with amendments, S, 456, relating to the regulation of fishing nets in Alaska waters, On February 9 Senate Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, in executive session, ordered the bill with amendments favorably reported, for the protection and regulation of the fisheries of Alaska,”’ approved June 26, 1906, as amended, to except set gill nets, stake gill nets, and anchored gill nets from the regulations of the Fish and Wildlife Service, covering the placing of fixed-gear fishing appliances, The bill is intended merely to preserve the status quo in this important phase of the salm- on industry, by eliminating the necessity for a drastic re- vision in regulations which have been in effect for the past 25 years, The report also discusses the history of the bill, amendments, and changes in existing law. COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 83 House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries on February 17 ordered reported to the House H, R, 249, relating to the regulation of fish nets in Alaska waters (H. Rept. 85). = Relating to the Regulation of Nets in Alaska Waters, House Report No. 85 (March 2, 1955, 84th Congress, Ist Ses- Sion), 4 pp., printed, The report points out the purpose of the bill as amended is to continue the authority of the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior to regulate the use of gill nets in the salmon fisheries of Alaska. The necessity for the bill arises from a recent court decision in Alaska which classified gill nets as fixed fishing appliances, the location of which is specified by law. For the past 25 years the Fish and Wildlife Service has treated gill nets as a type of fishing gear subject to its regulation and has made regulations governing their use based upon the particular conservation needs of each area. In the absence of this bill, gill nets as well as salmon traps would be governed by the law covering the latter, Not only would this require a prompt and drastic revision of the rules of the Service but it would work hardship on various groups of fishermen without any compensating advantage. Senate on February 21 passed with committee amend- ments S, 456, relating to the regulation of fishing nets in Alaska waters. ALASKA AND HAWAI STATUS: H, J. Res. 213 (Hos- mer), introduced February 14, Joint resolution authorizing the Territory of Hawaii to be incorporated in the State of California; and authorizing the Territory of Alaska to be incorporated in the State of Washington; to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. CHEMICAL ADDITIVES IN FOODS: H, R, 4099 (Priest), introduced February 16, A bill to protect the public health by amending the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the use in food of new chemical additives which have not been adequately tested to establish their safety; to theCom- mittee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Also H, R, 4100 (O'Hara of Minnesota) and H, R, 4475 (Delaney), similar to H, R, 4099. GREAT LAKES FISHERIES TREATY: Senate on Febru- ary 9 adopted an order directing the Secretary of the Senate to return to the President, as requested by him on January 26, 1955, convention between the United States and Canada re- specting Great Lakes Fisheries; signed at Washington on April 2, 1946. HAWAII-ALASKA STATEHOOD: House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs on February 16 ordered reported favorably to the House, with amendments, H, R, 2535, re- lating to admission of Alaska and Hawaii into the Union. The committee vote to report the bill was 19 in favor, 6 against, and 1 present. MARKETING FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT: S, 1075 (Humphrey), introduced February 15, A bill to encourage the improvement and development of marketing facilities for handling perishable agricultural commodities; to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. In part the bill provides; «| | Sec. 3. It is the purpose of this Act to facilitate, encourage, and assist municipalities and political sub- divisions of States, public agencies, and instrumentalities 84 of one or moreStates or municipalities, public corporations, and boards, and private enterprise in the creation and development of modern and efficient public wholesale markets for the handling of perishable agricultural commodities in areas where such mar- kets are found to be needed and where Federal assistance is re- quested and authorized as prescribed in this Act, to the end that unnecessary costs and burdens attendant with the marketing of perishable agricultural commodities caused by inadequate or obsolete facilities may be eliminated and that the spread between the amount received by producers and the amount paid by con- sumers may be reduced, Sec, 4, For the purposes of this act--,.. “(c) ‘Perishable agricultural commodities’ means agricul- tural commodities and products thereof, consisting principally of freshfruits and vegetables, handled alone or in combination with poultry, eggs, meats, seafood, anddairy products, ...”” Also H, R, 4054 (Cooley) and H, R, 4167 (Anfuso) similar to s. 1075, MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE: H, R, 3424 (Davidson), intro- duced February 2. A billto amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to establish a$1,.25 minimum hourly wage, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Education and Labor. Also similar to H, R. 3424 were H, R, 3496(Zelenko), intro- ducedF ebruary 2; H. R, 3797 (Radwan) introduced February 8; and H, R, 4062(Doyle), H, R. 4122(Fogarty), introducedF ebru- ary 16, TARIFF RATES ADJUSTMENT: H, R, 3800(Scudder), intro- ducédF ebruary 8. A bill to amend the Tariff Act of 1930 so as to provide a permanent procedure for adjustment of tariff rates ona selective basis, to regulate the flow of imported articles on a basis of fair competition with domestic articles, and for other purposes; totheCommittee on Ways andMeans, . TRADE AGREEMENTS EXTENSION: H, R, 1, HouseCom- mittee on Ways and Means on February 10 voted(20 to 5) to re- port to the House, R, 1, to extend until June 30, 1958, the author- ity of the President to enter into trade agreements, The Commitee was granted permission to file by midnight February 14 a report onthe bill, (H, Rept. 50.) Amendments adopted to the bill include; (1) To make it clear that provisions of existing law such as section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act will prevail de- spite any provision in atrade agreement, (2) The enactment of this Act shall not be construed to de- termine or indicate the approval or disapproval by the Congress of organizational provisions of any foreign trade agreements entered into under this section. The purpose of this amendment is to make it clear that the enactment of this legislation will not imply congressional approvalor disapproval of the organizational provisions of GATT (GeneralAgreement on Tariffs andTrade). (3) Provides for the withdrawal of most favored nation treat- ment from any nation that discriminates against the United States with respect to trade matters, (4) Strikefrom the bill the provisions authorizing the reduc- tion of tariffs irrespective of the fact that such action is not de- signed to carry out any foreign trade agreement .on articles being imported into the UnitedStates in negligible quantities. COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Wool, 17, No, 2 Trade Agreements Extension Act of 1955, House Report No, 50 (Feb, 14, 1955, 84th Congress, Ist Session), 86 pp., printed, The report points out the principal features of H, R, 1, explains them, and discusses the history of the leg- islation, the need, and changes in existing law. A technical analysis of the bill is also included. Appendix A presents criticisms of trade-agreements program; Appendix B pre- sents the testimony of Executive Department, business, in- dustry, agricultural groups, labor, public-interest groups, and press in support of the bill; Appendix C discusses the accomplishments of the trade-agreements program and gives the United States exports of products subject to trade agree- ment concessions; and Appendix D describes how a trade agreement is made, The report states that the principal features of H, R, 1 are: ‘|, .The purpose of H, R, 1 is to continue to June 30, 1958, the authority of the President to enter into trade agree- ments, The present authority (extended by Public Law 464, 83rd Cong.) terminates on June 12, 1955. In addition to the extension of the trade-agreements authority, the principal features of H, R.1 are as follows: ‘*1, The President would be authorized to negotiate tariff reductions by any 1 of 3 alternative methods, which may not be used cumulatively, “‘(a) The first method authorizes the President to re- duce by a total of 15 percent tariff rates existing on July 1, 1955, in stages of not more than'5 percent in each of the 3 years of the authority; ‘“(b) An alternative authority to that provided in (a) above is the authorization to reduce tariffs by 50 percent of the rate prevailing on January 1, 1945, but only in the case of those products normally not imported or normally imported in negligible quantities; ““c) As a third alternative the President is authorized to negotiate reductions in those rates which are higher than 50 percent of the value of an import to a rate equivalent to 50 percent, ‘9. In the case of the announced trade agreement in- volving Japan, the bill authorizes the same decreases in rates of duty (i. e., 50 percent of the rate existing on January 1, 1945) as are authorized under existing law, even though the agree- ment is entered into after June 12, 1955, “*3. The reduction authority referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 above is subject to the peril-point and escape-clause procedures as contained in present law. “‘4. The President is required to avoid to the maximum extent he deems practicable the subdivision of existing tariff classification categories to prevent undue complication of the present tariff structure. ‘5, The President would be required to submit to Con- gress an annual report on the trade-agreements program, This report is to contain, among other things, information on modification of trade agreements, including a report on the incorporation of escape clauses in existing agreements and information relating to agreements entered into... .”’ House on February 18 passed by roll call vote, H, R, 1, to extend the authority of the President to enter into trade agreements under section 350 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as March 1955 amended, Prior to its passage a motion to recommit the bill with instructions to incorporate an amendment de- signed to strengthen the escape-clause provision was re- jected, Several committee amendments were adopted, TRADE AGREEMENTS EFFECT ON LABOR: H, R. 4304 (Roosevelt), introduced February 23, A Dill to require an annual report by the President on the effect of the Trade Agreements Act on labor, employment, and industrial ac- tivity. To the Committee on Ways and Means, WATER POLLUTION CONTROL: S, 890 (Martin of Penn., Chavez, Duff, Knowland, Kuchel) introduced February 1. A bill to extend and strengthen the Water Pollution Control Act; to the Committee on Public Works, Also S, 982 (Neely) introduced February 8, H, R. 3426 (Dondero) introduced February 2, and H, R, 4010(Mollohan) introduced February 14--all similar to S, 890 WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION: H, R,3547 (Byrnes of Wisconsin), introduced February 3, A bill to encourage 3553 (Lipscomb), H, R, 3554 (Pillion), H, R. 3555 (Ray), H, R. COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 85 the prevention of air and water pollution by allowing the cost of treatment works for the abatement of air and stream pollu- tion to be amortized at an accelerated rate for income-tax purposes; to the Committee on Ways and Means, Also H, R, 3548 (Abbitt), H, R, 3549 (Bentley), H, R. 3550 (Ford), H.R, 3551 (Hinshaw), H, R. 3552 (Jackson), HR 3556 (Simpson of Penn.), all introduced February 3; H, Ry 3662 Wondero), introduced February 7;H., R. 3906(Laird), introduced February 10; and S, 917 (Martin of Penn,, Duff, Capehart, Knowland, Kuchel, Potter, and Wiley), introduced February 4 -- all similar to H, R, 3547, WEATHER STATION IN GULF OF MEXICO: H, R, 4473 (Colmer), introduced February 28, A bill to provide that one floating ocean station shall be maintained at all times in the Gulf of Mexico to provide storm warnings for States border- ing on the Gulf of Mexico; to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, SPARE COPIES OF 1948 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW AVAILABLE The Service has availablefor distribution spare copies of the 1948 issues (volume 10) of Commercial Fisheries Review. Listed below are some of the articles appearing in the various issues: JAN. 1948 FEB, 1948 MAR. 1948 APR. 1948 MAY 1948 JUNE 1948 JULY 1948 AUG, 1948 SEPT .1948 Oct. 1948 FAT NOV. 1948 DEC. 1948 NTHIAMINASE IN FISHERY PRODUCTS WKITE RIGS FOR OTTER TRAWL GEAR IN FISH MEAL W "TECHNOLOGICAL STUDIES OF THE STARFISH," PART 1 (PARTS 11, ; , APPEAR IN THE FEB., MARCH, MAY, JUNE, AND JULY ISSUES, RESPECTIVELY) NEXPERIMENTAL FISHING FOR RED SNAPPER, PART | - THE USE OF HOOP NETS a EXPERIMENTAL FISHING FOR RED SNAPPER, PART || - THE USE OF MECHANICAL REELS 111, 1V, V, AND VI, COORDINATED PLANS FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST" nFISHERIES REVIEW--GULF STATES, 1947" . THE FISHERIES AND FISHERIES RESOURCES OF MEXICO SANITARY CONTROL ,, PRACTICES FOR THE OYSTER !NDUSTRY PRELIMINARY STUDY OF TOTAL BACTERIAL PLATE COUNT METHOD, FOR FISHERY PRODUCTS UNITED STATES POLICY WITH REGARD TO HIGH SEAS FISHERIES For these spare copies write the Branch of Commercial Fisheries, U. S. Fish and WildlifeService, Washington 25, D. C. Single issues or a complete set of Nos. 1 through 12 maybe requested. Requests will be filled as received until supplies are exhausted. 86 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 FISHERY _INDICATORS Ce CHART | - FISHERY LANDINGS for SELECTED STATES In Millions of Pounds MASSACHUSETTS Zs CUMULATIVE DATA Jomg. 1955 - 6OWI2 MQs. 1954 - 492.2 12 1953 - 449.3 12 Mos. 52) 44 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC LOUISIANAL/ CUMULATIVE DATA « 1954 = 120.4 es 1953 - 195.3 1953 = 175.6 1 Mg. 1955 - 1954 - 12 MOS, 1954 - JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC T/ONLY PARTIAL--!NCLUDES LANDINGS AT PRINCIPAL PORTS. NEW JERSEY CUMULATIVE DATA CUMULATIVE DATA 1955 - 3.1 12 mgs. 1954 - 133.8 1954 - 2.7] 12 1953 - 138.7 . 1954 - 402.8) J™ 0 —_ UAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN) FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC CUMULATIVE CUMULATIVE DATA 1 HQ. 1955 : - - 12 mgs. 1954 - 42.4 1 1954 6. 12 1953 - 38.0 12 MOS. 1954 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 2/ONLY PART}AL--!NCLUDING PRODUCTION OF MAJOR FISHERIES AND MARKET FISH LANDINGS AT PRINCIPAL PORTS. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW CHART 2 - LANDINGS for SELECTED FISHERIES HADDOCK (Maine and Massachusetts) CUMULATIVE DATA « 1954 - 128.2 1953 - 116.1 1953 - 122.1 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC J/LA, & ALA, DATA BASED ON LANDINGS AT PRINCIPAL PORTS AND ARE NOT COMPLETE. MENHADEN (East and Gulf Coasts 0 JAN PILCHARD (California) CUMULATIVE DATA 1954/55 SEASON, AUG.-JAN, 1953/54 SEASON, AUG, -JAN. 1953/54 SEASON, TOTAL AUG,-JULY ~ Legend: ___ 1954/55 1953/54 AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY OCEAN PERCH (Maine and Massachusetts) CUMULATIVE DATA V1 mgs. 1954 - 174.4 1 Sy 1953) = 147.7 1953 - 153.9 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC WHITING (Maine and Massachusetts) 1953 - 62.9 1953 - 63.4 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC In Thousands of PACIFIC AND JACK MACKEREL (California) CUMULATIVE DATA 1 Mg. 1955 - 1 a 1954 - J 2 MOS, 1954 - 19.1 TUNA AND TUNA-LIKE FISH (California) JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 88 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW U. S. & ALASKA HOLDINGS 0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC NEW ENGLAND HOLDINGs!/ JAN FEB MAR _APR_MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT _NOV_DEC 1/MAINE, MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE |SLAND, AND CONNECTICUT. MIDDLE WEST HOLDINGS3/ 0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC B/OHIO, IND., ILL., MICH., WIS., MINN., IOWA, MO., N. DAK., NEBR., & KANS. WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND ALASKA HOLDINGS JAN FEB MAR _APR_MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC *Excludes salted, CHART 3 - COLD-STORAGE HOLDINGS and FREEZINGS of FISHERY PRODUCTS + In Millions of Pounds U. S. & ALASKA FREEZINGS CUMULATIVE DATA 2 mgs. 1955 - 27.9 2 , 1954 - 16.7 12 1954 - 302.7 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC MIDDLE & SOUTH ATLANTIC HOLDINGS2/ | UAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC GULF & SOUTH CENTRAL HOLDINGS4/ ey JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG.SEPT OCw NOV DEC 4/ALA., MISS., LA., TEX., ARK., KY., & TENN. CALIFORNIA HOLDINGS JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC cured, and smoked products. Wool, wf, MoO. 3 March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 89 CHART 4 - RECEIPTS and COLD-STORAGE HOLDINGS of FISHERY PRODUCTS at PRINCIPAL DISTRIBUTION CENTERS In Millions of Pound RECEIPTS!/ AT WHOLESALE SALT-WATER MARKET (FRESH AND FROZEN) COLD-STORAGE HOLDINGS2/ 22 20 18 16 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC T/INCLUDE TRUCK AND RAIL IMPORTS FROM CANADA AND DIRECT VESSEL LANDINGS 2/AS REPORTED BY PLANTS IN METROPOLITAN AREA. AT NEW YORK CITY. RECEIPTS AT WHOLESALE MARKET fs (FRESH AND FROZEN) CHICAGO COLD-STORAGE HOLDINGS 0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC y JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC SEATTLE BOSTON WHOLESALE MARKET RECEIPf\s, LANDINGS, COLD-STORAGE HOLDINGS ¥ ROZEN) || CUMULATIVE DATA 14]}/1 Mo. 1955 - 3,5 1 MO, 1954 - 3.8 12 MOS. 1954 - 109,0 FISH MEAL FISH OIL (In Thousands of Tons) (In Millions of Gallons) i] CUMULATIVE DATA 48], 14g. 1955 - 1.9 1 1954 - 3.9 12 Mos. 1954 - 228.3 oc = =~ JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV_DEC 90 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 CHART 6- CANNED PACKS of SELECTED FISHERY PRODUCTS In Thousands of Standard Cases TUNA AND TUNA-LIKE FISH - CALIFORNIA MACKEREL!/ - CALIFORNIA CUMULATIVE DATA DATA MQ. 1955 - 522.2 1 Mg. 1955 - 9 1954 - 711.5 1 1954 - 9 12 MOS, 1954 - 9,258.1 H12 MOS, 1954 - 365.6 wa N/A Nae Y JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV. DEC g JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC ANCHOVIES - CALIFORNIA CUMULATIVE DATA 1955 - 104.6 1954 - S8.4}' - 1954 - 659.0]! JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC SARDINES (ESTIMATED) - MAINE STANDARD CASES CUMULATIVE DATA ee 1 MQ. 1955 - 6.6 : - 1 1954 - 2.4 Varie No. Cans Can Designation Net Wet. 12 Mos. 1954 - 3,037.7 2 SARDINES ....... 100 4 drawn 33 oz. SHRIMP.......+« 48 oS 5 RUN Avrststetetetetelersicis 48 No, } tuna 6&7 PILCHARDS ..... 48 No. 1 oval 15 SALMON ........ 48 1-pound tall 16 ANCHOVIES ....: 48 + 1b. 8 FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC SARDINES - CALIFORNIA Legend: CUMULATIVE DATA 1954/55 SEASON, AUG. -JAN. - 1,391.9 - 577.5 1953/54 SEASON, AUG.-JAN. = 64.1 = - 642.5 1953/54 SEASON, Vi SS TOTAL AUG.-JULy - 64,1 TOTAL AUG.-JULy __- 955.8 2 {elias mee — 0 He OCT _NOV_DEC_ JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY. AUG SEPT OCT_NOV_DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 91 GROUNDFISH (INCLUDING OCEAN PERCH) FILLETS, FRESH & FROZEN CUMULATIVE DATA 247 2 mgs. 1955 - 21.5 2 = 1954 20.1 1954 - 135.6 o JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC SHRIMP, FRESH & FROZEN, FROM MEXICO CUMULATIVE DATA TMQ. 1955 - 2.1 1 1954 - 3.6 12 Mos. 1954 - 34.9 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC TUNA, FRESH & FROZEN CUMULATIVE DATA 8.2 6.4 1954 - 123.4 12 MOS. e JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC CANNED TUNA AND TUNA-LIKE FISH (IN OIL) CUMULATIVE DATA 1 «= 1955 - 1.4 1 @ 1954 - 2,1 12 MOS, 1954 - 14,1 0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC CHART 7 - U.S. FISHERY PRODUCTS IMPORTS In Millions of Pounds Legend: ewe 1955 1953 | FILLETS & STEAKS OTHER THAN GROUNDFISH, FRESH & FROZEN CUMULATIVE DATA 1955 - 3.6 1 MQ. 1 1954 - 3.4 12 NOS, 1954 - 48.0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC LOBSTER & SPINY LOBSTER, FRESH & FROZEN Co CUMULATIVE DATA 1 Mg. 1955 - 1 1954 - 12 MOS, 1954 - 4 4 me} 4 3 3 1 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC SEA HERRING, FRESH, THROUGH MAINE PORTS CUMULATIVE DATA MOS, el FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEG CANNED SARDINES (IN OIL AND NOT IN OIL) CUMULATIVE DATA MQ. 1 1 12 mos, JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 92 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 LE RECENT = ty i Pe SO aA ena + ls ee Ola BO Hg + FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE PUBLICATIONS THESE PROCESSED PUBLICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE FREE FROM THE DIVISION OF INFORMATION, U. S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERV- ICE, WASHINGTON 25, D. C. TYPES OF PUBLICATIONS ARE DESIG- NATED AS FOLLOWS: CFS - CURRENT FISHERY STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES AND ALASKA. FISHERY LEAFLETS. STATISTICAL SECTION LISTS OF DEALERS IN AND PRODUCERS OF FISHERY PRODUCTS AND BYPRODUCTS. SEP.- SEPARATES (REPRINTS) FROM COMMERCIAL FISHERIES Fae Sia REVIEW. Number Title CFS-1060 - Florida Landings, August 1954, 3 pp. CFS-1069 - Fish Mealand Oil, October 1954, 2 pp. CFS-1074 - RhodeIsland Landings, July 1954, 3 pp. CFS-1075 - Florida Landings, Sept. 1954, 6 pp. CFS-1076 - New York Landings, Oct. 1954, 4 pp. CFS-1077 - FrozenFish Report, November 1954, 8 pp. CFS-1078 - Maine Landings, October 1954, 4 pp. CFS-1079 - Fish Meal and Oil, November 1954, 2 pp. CFS-1080 - Florida Landings, October 1954, 6 pp. CFS-1081 - Florida Landings, November 1954, 6 pp. CFS-1082 - New Jersey Landings, October 1954, 2 pp. CFS-1084 - Alabama Landings, October 1954, 2 pp. CFS-1086 - New Jersey Landings, November 1954, 2 pp. CFS-1089 - Maine Landings, November 1954, 4 pp. FL -336w - Quarterly Outlook for Marketing Fisher Products, Jan.-March 1955, 32 pp. - United States Foreign Trade in Edible Fishery Products, 1949-1953, 44 pp. Sep. No.392 - Use of anElectricaland Guiding De - vice in Experiments witha ''Fish Pump." Sep.No.393 - Vitamin Content of Fishery Byprod- ucts. Part 2 - Vitamin Bj9 in Pacific Sardine (Sardinops caeruela) Organs and Riboflavin, Nicotinic Acid, and Vita- menB gin Albacore Tuna (Germo ala- lunga) Organs. Keeping Quality of Chilled Dungeness Crab Meat in Hermetically-Sealed Metal Containers. Study of Pharmaceutical and Other Industrial Products from Salmon Eggs. Metabolism Trialto Determine Com- parative Nutritive Value of Fishand Meat. Interim Federal Specifications for Shrimp Issued. FL -421 Sep. No. 394 setae DAT: \te-* peaanan THE FOLLOWING SERVICE PUBLICATION IS AVAILABLE ONLY FROM THE SPECIFIC OFFICE MENTIONED: Gulf States Production of aos Products for Selected Areas, 1953, E am, 40 pp., processed, De cember 1954. (Available free from the Market News Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 314 Custom House, New Or- leans 16, La.) This report consists of two parts. In Part I the author discusses the trends and conditions in the Gulf Coast Fisheries in 1953 and gives a resume of the individual fish- eries. For the shrimp fishery a detailed ac- count is givenof the general conditions, total landings, composition of the landings by species, data on cold-storage freezings and holdings, ex-vessel prices at certain areas in Louisiana and Texas, and the canned-shrimp pack. Pro- duction and market conditions for the oyster, blue crab, and finfish fisheries are included in the summary, as well as the significant devel- opments in these fisheries. Part II contains statistical tables on total landings by areas and species by months; by individual area and species by months; crab meat production by areas and months; fishery imports at New Orleans and Morgan City, La., and at Port Isabel and Brownsville, Tex.; monthly LCL express shipments from New Orleans by months and by destination; weekly canned oys- ter and shrimp packs; and a summary table of Gulf shrimp landings for selected areas. Tables showing the monthly wholesale price range of fishery products sold on the New Orleans French Market, fishery products market classifications in the Gulf area, and the monthly fishery pro- duction index for selected Gulf States areas are also included. These are the areas covered by the report: Apalachicola, Fla.; Mobile and Bayou LaBatre, Ala.; Pascagoula and Biloxi, Miss.; New Orleans and Lower Mississippi River, Golden Meadow, Houma, Chauvin, Dulac, Morgan City, Berwick, and Patterson, La.; Galveston, Freeport, Port Lavaca, Palacios, Aransas Pass, Rockport, Port Isabel, and Brownsville, Tex. MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS THESE PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FROM THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, BUT USUALLY MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE OR- GANIZATION ISSUING THEM, CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING PUBLICA- TIONS THAT FOLLOW SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE RESPECTIVE OR- GANI ZATION OR PUBLISHER MENTIONED, DATA ON PRICES, IF READ- ILY AVAILABLE, ARE SHOWN, (British Columbia) Provincial Department of Fish- eries Report (with th appendices) for ie the Year March 1955 BE OBTAINED FROM THE ORGANIZATIONS ISSUING THEM, Ended December 31st, 1953, 110 pp., illus., printed. Provincial Department of Fisheries, Victoria, B. C., 1953. The first part of this report is devoted to an analysis of British Columbia's 1953 production and value of fishery products, the canned salmon pack, and a review of the salmon canning industry. Also discussed are the other canning industries (pilchard, her- ring, tuna, and shellfish), the production of processed fish (mild-cured salmon, dry-salted salmon, dry-salted herring, and pickled her- ring), the halibut fishery, fish oil and fish meal, net fishing in nontidal waters, value of Canadi- an fisheries and the standing of the provinces for 1952, and species and value of fish caught in British Columbia. A report on the herring investigation and the 1953 report of the biolo- gist on the oyster and clam investigations are included. The second section consists of these articles: "Contributions to the Life-History of the Sockeye Salmon(No. 39), by D. R. Foskett;" "Results of Investigation of the Herring Popula- tions on the West Coast and Lower East Coast of Vancouver Island in 1953-54," by F. H.C. Taylor and D. N. Outram; "Report of the Inter- national Pacific Halibut Commission;" ''Re- port of the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission for 1953;" "'Salmon-Spawning Report, British Columbia, 1953.'' The report concludes with detailed statistical tables on the British Columbia fisheries. Bulletin of the Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido Uni- versity, vol. 5, no. 1, 122 pp., illus., printed in Japanese with summaries in English. Hakodate, Japan, May 1954. Contains among others the following scientific papers: ''A Report on Pre- vention of Fishing Gear from Being Washed Away by Means of Radar Watching;" "Studies on the fixed nets inFunka Bay. Ill--on the di- mensions of principal parts;"' "Studies on the Fishery of Mackerel by Purse Seines in the Sea near Hokkaido. Il--Construction and opera- tion of the purse seines and the aguri nets (mackerel ring nets);"" "Studies on Components in Dry Distillation Products in Some Fish-Scrap (1);" "Studies on Mechanisms of Manufacturing Algin. Part V--Amended theory on mechanisms of manufacturing algin;" ''Studies on the Coli- Group Distributed in Marine Foods, II--Enter- ococci in squid (Ommastrephes sloani Pacificus) caught in the sea near Hakodate; Fatty Acid Constituents of Squid Oil;"' and ''Studies on the Nutritive Value and Absorption Coefficient of 'Surme-Ika! (Ommastrephes sloani Pacificus) Protein." Bulletin of the Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido University, vol. 5, no. 2, 98 pp., illus., printed in Japanese with summaries in English. Hako- date, Japan, August 1954. Contains among others the following scientific papers: ''Fundamental Studies on Spherical Glass Floats for Fishing Nets. (3) On the point at which floats are broken by external water pressure;'' ''Chemical Studies on Marine Algae. [X-~Histidine, arginine, and lysine contents in various species of marine algae;"' ''Studies on the Mechanism of Nitrogen Assimilation in Marine Algae. IV--On the op- tirrum temperature of the nitrate reductase in some species of marine algae;" "Studies onthe COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 93 Mechanism of Nitrogen Assimilation in Marine Algae. V--Onthe hydrogen donator of nitrate re - ductase;"' ''Bacteriological studies on Canned Crab. III--Bacteriological studies onthe swelling of canned crab (3);"' "Bacteriological Studies on CannedCrab. II--Bacteriological studies on the swelling of cannedcrab(2);" "Bacteriological Studies onCannedCrab. IV--The relation between the degree of sterilization and the concentration of the bacterial spore suspension which was iso- latedfrom 'swelledcannedcrab';" "Studies on the Manufacture of Canned Mackerel. Part VII-- The relation between the freshness degree of raw mackerel meat and the quality of canned boiled mackerel;" and ''The Relation Between the Fresh- ness Degree of Raw Saury (Cololabis saira 'Bre- veoort') andthe Qualities of Canned Boiled Saury and of Canned Tomato-Sauced Saury." Bulletin of the Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido Uni- ty, vol. 5, no. 3, 89 pp versity, vo us., printed in Japanese with summaries inEnglish. Hakodate, Japan, November 1954. Contains among others the following scientific papers: ''Chemical Studies on Atka Mackerel Meat;"' "Studies onthe Decom- position of Atka Mackerel (Pleurogrammus ozonus, 'Hokke' in Japanese) Meat. I--On the velocity of bacterial decomposition of Atka mackerel meat and the limit of freshness of the meat as the raw ma- terial; "Studies on Bacterial Contamination and Disinfectionin Canneries. I--Bacterialcontam- inationincanneries." ''Studies on Bacterial Con- tamination and Disinfection inCanneries. II--Dis- infective effect of sodium hypochlorite incanner - ies;"' and "Estimation of the Radius of Gyration of Fishing Boats." Bulletin of Hokkaido Regional Fisheries Research Laboratory, No. 11, ees 1954, 154 pp., illus., printed in Japanese with summaries in English. Hokkaido Regional Fisheries Research Laboratory, Yoichi, Hokkaido, Japan. Contains a number of papers, including the following: "Marking Experiments of Young Herring (Clupea pallasii), 1954,'' by Heihachi Kondo and Nobuy- uki Nakayama; "Studies on Freshness Determi- nation of Fish Meat by Resazurin Test," by Tsu- tomu Uno and Toshio Tokunaga; "Studies on the Preservation of Fish-Cakes--III. Effect of the survived microorganisms on the spoilage of fish-cake,'' by Motonobu Yokoseki, Hiroshi Oshima, and Masatoki Sasajima; ''Studies of Manufacturing Process for the Oil from Fish Liver,’ by Katsutoshi Miwa, Toru Iwadare, and Shigeshi Komaki; ''Preliminary Report on the Quality of Oil Obtained by Autolysis of Arrow- toothed Halibut (Atheresthes evermanni JORDAN et STARKS), by Shigeshi Komaki, Toru Iwadare, and Katsutoshi Mima; ''Biochemical Studies on squid--II. On the protein components of its meat (2),"' by Kunitsugu Kitabayashi. (Canada) Fisheries Statistics of Canada, 1953 (Quebec), 8 pp., printed, French and English, 25 Canadian cents. Dominion Bureau of Statis- tics, Ottawa, Canada, 1954. Consists of tables giving the production and landed and marketed values of the principal species of fish and shell- fish landed in Quebec in 1951-53; quantity and value of manufactured fishery products for 1952-53; vessels used in the sea fisheries, 94 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 THESE PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FROM THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, BUT USUALLY MAY capital equipment in the primary fisheries operations; and the number of persons engaged in the fisheries. (Canada) Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, vol. XII, no. 1, illus., printed, Jan- uary 1955. Fisheries Research Board of Can- ada, Ottawa, Canada. Contains, among others, the following articles: ''Distribution, Age and Growth of Eastern Pacific Albacore (Thunnus alalunga Gmelin),'' by J. M. Partlo; 'Histo- fonieat Studies on Albacore (Thunnus alalunga) Gonads from the Eastern Pacific, yJ. M. Partlo; ''The Artificial Drying of Lightly Salted Codfish,"' by R. Legendre; "Electrophoretic Studies of Proteins Extractable from Postrigor Cod at Low Ionic Strength," by J. R. Dingle, D.E. Eagles, and J. M. Neelin; ''Economic Factors in Catch Fluctuations," by H. Scott Gordon; ''The Resistance to Salt Water Cor- rosion of Various Types of Metal Wire Used in the Tagging of Flatfish," by C. R. Forrester and K.S. Ketchen. iko Tsuchiya and Tadasi Nomura, 11 pp., illus., printed in English. (Reprinted from the Tohoku Journal of Agricultural Research, vol. 4, no. 1, October 1953) Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. Yasuhiko Tsuchiya and Yoshio Tatsukawa, 6 pp. illus., printed in English. (Reprinted from the Tohoku Journal of Agricultural Research, vol.4, no. 3-4, March 1954.) Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. "An Expanding Norwegian Industry (The Herring Meal and Herring Oil Industry)," article, Nor - vol, 29, no. 3 (July) 1954, pp. 1-4, printed in English. Norwegian Bankers Bureau of Statis- tics and Information, Oslo, Norway. Presents a brief historical sketch of the development of the Norwegian herring meal and oil industry. This article is a resume of a Norwegian-lan- uage book (En industri av verdensformat; Ut- viklingen av sildolje-og sildemelindustrien i Norge) which was recently published by A. Garnaes' Boktrykkeri, Bergen. Federal Aid in Fish and Wildlife Restoration (An- nual Reports of the Dingell-Johnson and Pitt- man-Robertson Programs for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1954), 108 pp., illus., printed. Published by the Wildlife Management Institute Wire Building, Washington 5, D.C., and the Sport Fishing Institute, Bond Building, Wash- ington 5, D.C. Fish Conservation Highlights of 1954, bulletin no. 38, 110 pp., illus., printed. Sport Fishing In- stitute, Bond Building, Washington 5, D.C., January 1955. Includes a discussion of the age-old problem, sports fishing vs. commercial fishing. Fish Processing and Associated Industries of Mgre og Romsdal County, by Lawrence M. Sommers, 26 pp., illus., printed. (Reprinted from Norsk Geografisk Tideskrift, vol. XIII, no. 3-8, 1951- 52, pp. 240-265.) Michigan State College, East Lansing, Michigan, 1953. The main body of this article concerns the importance of fish processing and associated industries to Norway's Mére og Romsdal County. A series of maps and explanations are presented of the distri- butional patterns of population, fishermen, and fishing vessels which are basic to the under- standing of the location and significance of fish- processing industries in Mgre og Romsdal. This article also discusses the fresh and frozen, salted, and smoked fish industries, the drying of klipfish, canning of fish, processing of her- ring oil and herring meal, and production of fish-liver oils, fish meal, guano, and glue. The Fisherman's Handbook-1955, 512 pp., illus., “printed, $1.25. Fisherman PressInc., Oxford, Ohio, 1955. This is a complete reference book for sport fishermen. It is well indexed for ready use which is an essential for a volume containing the mass of information found in this publication. Special sections are devoted to a complete treatment of boats, motors, reels, rods, lines, lures, description of fish, baits, methods of fishing, places, and charts. The handbook is very well illustrated and most fishermen will consider the glossary of terms areal find. There is alsoa description of the top-ranking fishing spots throughout the country, as well as information and charts on other fish- ing locations in each state. In summary, it is a book that will fit admirably into any sport fisherman's tackle box, and for the beginner it will give him something more to lean on than fisherman's luck. For the commercial fisher - man who is using any type of gear similar to the Angler's equipment, or who is interested in description of various species of fish, this book might well serve as a handy reference. SOG Ils Whiteleather The Fishes of the Tidewater Section of the Pamun- key River, Virginia, by Edward C. Raney and William H. Massmann (contribution no. 48 from the Virginia Fisheries Laboratory, Glou- cester Point, Va.) 9 pp., illus., printed. (Re- printed from Journal of the Washington Academ of Sciences, vol. 43, no. 12, December 1953.) "Fishing and Fish Culture in Brackish-Water La- goons,'' by Umberto D'Ancona, article, FAO Fisheries Bulletin, vol. VII, no. 4 (October- December 1954), pp. 147-72, illus., printed. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. Green Meat of Swordfish, by Yasuhiko Tsuchiya and Yoshio Tatsukawa, 5 pp., illus., printed in.English. (Reprinted from the Tohoku Journal of Agricultural Research, vol. 4, no. 2, Feb- ruary 1954.) Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. International Commission for the Northwest tlantic Fisheries Annual Proceedings, vol. 4 for the year 1953-54,104 pp., illus., printed. International Commission for the Northwest March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 95 BE OBTAINED FROM THE ORGANIZATIONS ISSUING THEM, Atlantic Fisheries, Halifax, N. S., Canada, 1954. This bulletin presents the administrative report of the Commission for the year ending June 30, 1954, including financial statements; a report to the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Commission, June 14-18, 1954; summaries of research during 1953 broken down by country, and a compilation of research reports by subareas; scientific papers specially prepared for the June 1954 Annual Meeting; and a list of scientists and laboratories engaged in the various branches of the Commission's work, Marine Fishes in Fresh and Brackish Waters of Virginia Rivers, by Wiliam H.Massman __ {contribution no. 47 from the Virginia Fisheries Laboratory, Gloucester Point, Va.) 4 pp., illus., printed, (Reprinted from Ecology, vol. 35, no. 1, January 1954.) (Colony of Mauritius) Annual Report of the Fisher - ies Branch, 1953, No. 21 of To5t. $4 pp., and graphs and appendices, processed. Fisheries Branch, Supplies Control Department, Colony of Mauritius. Contains a brief summary of the fish- eries activities in Mauritius in 1953; tables show ing the total catch by species, average catch per day, catch by area, and catch by type of gear. The appendices include a daily log of the Silver- lord on Nazareth Bank during 1952/53, anda list of the fishes of Mauritius. A New Color Test for the Measurement of Fresh- ~ ness of Fish by Volatile Bases Estimation, by Yasuhuko Tsachiya and Mitsu Kayama, 10 pp., printed in English. (Reprinted from the Tokyo Journal of Agricultural Research, vol. 5, no. 1, September 1954.) Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. Norwegian American Commerce, vol. 18, no. 1, 00 pp., January 1955. The Norweyian Amer- ican Chamber of Commerce, Inc., 290 Madison Ave., New York 17, N. Y. This is a special issue titled ''Presenting. . Industries of Nor- way.'' Includes reviews of the important in- dustries of Norway. Articles on fisheries in- dustries cover: "Fisheries and Whaling," pp. 58-59, and ''The Herring and Whaling Industries," pp. 60-63. These articles review briefly the more important fishing industries and include some of the latest statistical data available; and "Canning Industry," p. 65, gives a brief summary of the Norwegian sardine canning in- dustry. Relative Abundance of Young Fishes in Virginia Estuaries, by William H. Massmann (Contribu- tion no. 46, Virginia Fisheries Laboratory, Gloucester Point, Va.),11pp., illus., printed. (Reprinted from Transactions of the Eighteenth North American Wildlife Conference, March 9, 10, and 11, 1953; published by the Wildlife Management Institute, Wire Building, Washing- ton 5, D.C.) Resources of South Carolina, Bulletin No. 22, 172 pp., illus., printed. State Development Board, Colum- bia, S.C., January 15, 1955. Discusses the resources of South Carolina, including its marine fisheries. The fisheries section of the report gives 1950 statistics in most cases and describes mullet, sea bass, shad, menhaden, oyster, clam, crab, and shrimp fisheries. Sport fishing also is discussed, Studies on the Production of Underwater Sound b arie Poland North Atlantic Coastal Fishes, by M Fish, Alton S. Kelsey, Jr., and William H. Mow- bray, Technical Report 1, Office of Naval Re- search Contract Four-396 (02), 24 pp., printed. (Reprinted from Sears Foundation Journal, Mar. Res.) Narragansett Marine Laboratory, Uni- versity of Rhode Island, Kingston, R.I., Dec. 1952. Previous studies suggest that at least 42 families of Pacific Ocean fishes are potential sources of underwater sound. The present in- vestigation has undertaken to ascertain experi- mentally which North Atlantic coastal species fit into that category and what stimuli are in- volved in sound production among fishes. Ap- paratus, test, and analysis procedures are described. Recorded for 26 species are ''bio- logical’ sound, the mechanism responsible for sound production, the frequency range, the prin- cipal frequency components, and a description of each sound. Relationship is noted between origin of sound and its frequency characteristics. The majority of species tested have principal frequencies between 75 and 300 cps; none ex- hibited sounds lower than 20 cps, and with 3 ex- ceptions, none produced sounds higher than 1600; stridulatory sounds of triggerfish, filefish, and burrfish reached the 2400-4800 cps octave. With the available filter system, nothing could be measured faithfully above that band. Noise of "mechanical" origin was recorded for 22 addi- tional species. No sound was observed during routine testing of 6 species. This paper is based on research conducted under contract with the Office of Naval Research. “Submarine Photography in Puget Sound," article, Science, vol. 120, no. 3119, October 8, 1954, pp. 579-580, illus., printed, single copy 25 cents. Science, 1515 Massachusetts Ave. N. W., Wash- ington 5, D.C. "Trout Rushed From 'Farm! to Freezer to Package in Top-Quality Fish Operation," by Philip D. Shea, article, Food Engineering, vol. 27, no. 1 (January 1955), pp. 80-81, illus., printed, single copy 35¢. Food Engineering, 330 W. 42nd St., New York 36, N. Y. Describes the operations of a rainbow trout producer and merchandiser in Buhl, Idaho. The company raises the rainbow trout, then grades, dresses, sharp freezes, and packages it in retail and institutional sizes. Whaling--Amendments to the Schedule to the Inter- national Whaling Convention Signed at Washing- fon December 2, 1946, Treaties and other Inter- HTational Act Series 2866, Department of State Publication 5318, 5 pp., printed, 5 cents. For sale by Superintendent of Documents, Washing- ton 25, D. C., 1954. Presents the amendments adopted at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission, London, Eng- land, June 1953, and which entered into force October 8, 1993. 96 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 Information, Oslo, Norway. This is a brief sum- mary of the results of the 1953/54 international Antarctic whaling season. Price trends in the whale-oil industry are discussed. "Whaling Season Short but Good," article, Norweg- ian Joint. Stock Banks Financial Review, vol. x no. 3 (July) 1954, pp. 4-5, printed in English. Norwegian Bankers Bureau of Statistics and 2 SHRIMP SPOILAGE POINT DETERMINED BY ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT It is possible to determine, by means of ultraviolet light, the point at which shrimp reach the spoiling stage. Thecore of a shrimp starts giving off a white fluorescence from 48 to 72 hours before it is possible to detect any other signs of spoilage. At this time, the shrimp are in good condition and perfectly safe to eat. The fluorescence begins with a small trace towards the headand increases as time passes. Spoiling can thus be determined far enough in advance to make it unnecessary for any packer to purchase shrimp that will spoil before processing. The equipment is said to cost less than $40. --Food Field Reporter, Dec. 14, 1953. en ee LUE Uys SS Editorial Assistant--Ruth V. Keefe Illustrator--Gustaf T. Sundstrom Compositors--Jean Zalevsky, Alma Greene, and Helen Joswick 2K ok ok OK 2k Photograph Credits: Page by page, the following list gives the source or pho- tographer for each photograph in this issue. Photographs on pages not mentioned were obtained from the Service's file and the photographers are unknown. Cover--Harvey Bullis; pp. 13, 14, and 15--Roy Stevens; pp. 39, 40 and 41--Stacey Denham; pp. 57 and 58--FOA Mutual Security Mis- sion to China; p. 59--Protectorat de la Republique Francaise au Maroc; p. 73--Office of Fish Studies, Estoril, Portugal; pp. 74 and 75--Service d'Information et de Presse Residence Generale de France a Tunis. March 1955 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW CONTENTS, CONTINUED TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS (Contd,): Utah: Fish-Meal Plant Possibility Studied......... Wholesale Prices, January 1955 EACOESES KG NSB a voitatrolig’s 97 cite cnet International: Yugoslavia and Italy to Settle Fishing Dispute . . Latin America; Cooperative Marine Biological Research Planned ater stele Peta peitshieva evens ce Pacific Science Association: Use of Meteorological Observation Systems to Foresee Fishery Fluctuations in Pacific Ocean Territorial Waters: British Protest Peruvian 200-Mile Claims, . Trade Agreements: Italian-Iranian Agreement Includes Fishery TECTHSI. ele) «ls United Nations: Experts Meet to Arrange International Fisheries Conservation ..... Whaling: Iceland and Japan Object to Ban on Blue Whale . Algeria: Fish and Shellfish Supply and Consumption, 1953 Australia: Dynamite Ineffective in Repelling Sharks Benelux Countries: Fishery Products Supply and Consumption, 1953/54 Brazil: Fishery Products Supply and Trends, 1954 .... Canada: Great Slave Lake Catch Should Continue Large. . Ceylon: Japanese Long-Line Vessel Makes Good Tuna and Cod Catch off Ceylon .. Chile: Five Fishing Vessels Bought from Spain ...... Colombia: Fishery Products Supply and Consumption, HOB S= 54 se etbiele s ehaterale Costa Rica: Status of the Fisheries .......... aiciepaverate Denmark; Fishery Products Supply and Consumption, 1953/54 Egypt: Sponge Fishery Production, 1954 Finland: Fishery Products Supply and Utilization, 1953/54 Formosa (Taiwan): Review of the Fisheries, 1954 Fisheries Outlook ..... France: Fishery Products Supply andConsumption, 1953/54 French Morocco: Sardine Fishery Trends, October-December 1954 German Federal Republic: White Fish Landings by Icelandic’ Vessels Planned to Stabilize; Market) < o2.s.00.6.6ac0cece ees Marketing Plan to Control Fish andImports ... Greece: Fishery Products Production andSupply, 1954/55 Iceland; Fisheries Fund Act Revision ed see ee ee aile\re, eleiu ufvlle « =|» .<)\s, 0)e/e,6) 60 oe ee CC ee ry eee eee ee ween Se Page 47 48 49 51 55 55 59 97 Page FOREIGN (Contd,): India: Status of Fisheries Development ......... 64 Fisheries Developments in West Bengal ..... 65 Japan: British Navy to Protect Japanese Vessels Fishing under British Flag in Western Pacific...... 67 New Fishing Grounds to be Explored ....... 68 North Pacific Salmon and Crab Expeditions, 1955 68 Pearl-Shell Fishing Expedition Returns from Arafura Sa’ 154s cetera eleieue oda tm arecre 68 Agar-Agar Export Trade Declines avahslissetetetenes, 909 Mexico: Export Duties on Shrimp and Fillets ....... 69 Netherlands: New-Style Trawler ........ Sac ens. ae 70 Norway: Winter Herring Fisheries Hampered by Bad Weather 70 Risheries|Production; 1954 2 i ciclere, sie sist ehe s 70 Peru: Fisheries Facilities by Ports ........ce00s 71 Fishery Products Supply andConsumption, 1953-55 72 Portugal: Fishery Products Supply and Disposition .... 73 Spain: Review of the Fisheries, 1953 ........... 73 Vigo Fish-Canning Trends, October 1954 .... 74 Tunisia: Fishery Products Exports to UnitedStates, 1954 74 United Kingdom: Problems of Fishing Trawlers ........... 75 Family Expenditures for Fishery Products, LOB SQ es eyaccn ssa. Aiee oceys tera eenctciole ete Sc lel Trawler Owners ExpandCod AdvertisingProgram 78 Venezuela: Several Sardine Canneries Close Down ...... 79 Foreign-Flag Fishing in Gulf of Venezuela 79 Prices for 1955 Pearl Crop........... ares 80 PEDERALWAGTIONS 2625 cis 3 aveveteiotevele PO coer 81 Department of Commerce: Bureau of the Census: Export Commodity Classification for Fish SfiCKsfanGiSOlen evs reusvswele sec) sie vehe) ence Astor, pe Department of Defense; Sardines Exempted from ‘‘Buy American Act”’ . 81 Department of Health, Education, and Welfare: Public Health Service; Shellfish CertificationLimitations Proposed . . 81 White House; Uniform Standards Setfor Bids under ‘*Buy IATHENICARVACE’™ lstegenetsie. ate mie renaichetetereie 82 Eighty-Fourth Congress (FirstSession), Feb, 1955 83 FISHERY INDICATORS: ....... cee meee eee oe 86 Chart 1 - Fishery Landings for Selected States, . 86 Chart 2 - Landings for Selected Fisheries ... 87 Chart 3 - Cold-Storage Holdings and Freezings of USHER. Products me rsianmieterelecoterelstelatelalteters 88 Chart 4 - Receipts and Cold-Storage Holdings of Fishery Products at Principal DistributionCenters 89 Chart 5 - Fish Meal and Oil Production - U.S, AIG VATASK Am mre emevcnpter stn cals sy olelscalat cis iter st ait 89 Chart 6 - Canned Packs of SelectedFishery Products 90 Chart 7 - U.S, Fishery Products Imports .... 91 RECENT FISHERY PUBLICATIONS: .......... 92 Fish and Wildlife Service Publications ....... 92 Miscellaneous Publications .........e.02- - 92 INT.—DUP. SEC., WASH., D.C. a) CU UNITEDSTATES FOREIGN TRADEIN EDIBLE FISHERY PRODUCTS, 1949-53 An analysis of the United States foreign trade in edible fishery products from 1949 through 1953 is presented in the Fishery Leaflet 421, United States Foreign Trade in Edible Fishery Products, 1949-53, Included are tables and charts showing the quantity, types of products, value, and origin or destina- tion of the principal fishery products inthe foreign trade of the United States. Definite changes are shown in the pattern of United States foreign trade in edible fishery products during the postwar period, 1949-53. Since 1949 the volume of imports has in- Quantity of Imports and Exports of creased rapidly, reaching Edible Fishery Products record levels in 1953, Ex- 1934-38 Average and 1939 to 1953 ports which were at a rela- tively high level in1949, dropped to a record low in 1953, substantially below the levels of thedepression years 1932 and 1933. Imports of edible fishery products in 1953 were more than double the quantity of the annualaverage of such im- ports during the prewar per- iod 1934-38. Amongthe ma- jor items showing substantial pesseas 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 increases over the prewar average were fresh and fro- zen tuna, canned tuna and tunalike fish, and freshand frozenfillets. Exports of edible fishery products in 1953 were 29 percent below their prewar average in quantity. Canned salm- on and sardine exports were the principal items accounting for this decline. United States imports of edible fishery products during 1953 totaled $195 million, foreign value, or almost 7 times the value of the 1934-38 average. The value of exports of edible fishery products in 1953 was 28.6 percent a- bove the prewar average. The importance of United States foreign trade in fishery products to the domestic fishery economy can perhaps be more readily grasped by a compar- ison with the domestic catch. The United States and Alaska fisheries pro- ducedin1953acatchof about 2.6 billion pounds, round weight, of fish for ed- ible purposes. Imports of fishery products in 1953, when convertedto a round weight equivalent, represented a catch of more than 1; billion pounds, or equiv- alent to 49 percent of the domestic catchused for eit purposes. Stated in yet another way, the 1953 imports represent about one-third of total United States consumption of edible fishery products. Foreign markets for United States fishery products have provided impor- tant outlets. Export markets have required up to 14 percent of the domestic catch of fish used for edible purposes. In 1953 about 5 percent of the United States catch used for edible purposes was exported or went into the manufac- ture of edible fishery products ultimately sold abroad. The major competitors for the United States domestic trade in fishery products are Canada, Norway, Iceland, Mexico, Japan, Portugal, Peru, and the Union of South Africa. Fishery Leaflet 421 may be obtained free from the Division of Informa- tion, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington 25, D. C.