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SALMON PURSE SEINER

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| OCTOBER 1954

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Vol. 16, No. 10

FISH and WILDLIFE SERVICE
United States Department of the Interior

Washington, 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.

The printing of this publicationhas been approved bythe Director of the Bureau of the Budget, Novem-
ber 5, 1952.

CONTENTS

COVER: Typical purse-seine vessel used extensively in the Puget Sound salmon fishery.
In 1952 purse seiners accounted for about 18.5 million pounds of the salmon landed in
the State of Washington. The total salmon catch by all types of gear in Washington a-
mounted to 49,0 million pounds in that year,

Page
Exploratory Shrimp Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, Summary Report for 1952-54, by Stewart Springer
and Harvey Ro Bullis) < 2is <:a, spate tel ola olafateves etaredeteney volo’ alsielatero si olelstelo Chale ccla/eleur elle, wyoete syopeyalenetevers ars 1
Observation of Japanese High-Seas Salmon Gill- ‘Net Fishery off Hokkaido, by C. 'E. "Atkinson WR OT ioe 17
eee eee
Page Page
RESEARCH IN SERVICE LABORATORIES: ........ 20 TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS (Contd.):
Freezing-Fish-At-Sea Operations of the Delaware Pacific Oceanic Fishery Investigations (Contd.):
(June 29 to August 24), by S. R, Pottinger ..... = 20 Annual Report, July 1, 1953, to June 30, 1954 .. 35
TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS: .........---- Sree ee States Get Over $4 Million for Fish Restoration . . 39
Additions to the Fleet of U.S. Fishing Vessels .... 22 U. S. Canned Packs of Selected Fishery Products,
Alaska: 1953:
Salmon Pack in 1954 Shows Increase ...... ave 22 Mackerel 2... were ere teen es wie te 40
California: U. S. Production of Selected Byproducts, 1953;
Reduction of Sardines Not Permitted ...... a at a8 Animal Food from Fishery Products ........ 41
Tuna Tagged by Commercial Vessel Mayflower Scrap and Meal ........ als alelena-e-eete ae as 42
(Cruise C-2-54) ......... a ahets 23 Oils) White a siagbatiaies sis susie orotate sare; 40
Census of Fish Populations off Coast “Continued by. Marine Pearl-Shell Buttons .........--+e0¢ 44
Yellowfin (Cruise 54-Y-6) ......ee0e-02-- Oyster-Shell Prodticts oer... Panis (< c.e1ce mtacieee 49
Various Trawl Mesh Sizes for Dover Sole Tested U. S, Foreign Trade:
by N. B. Scofield (Cruise 54-S-3) . aleretaieene 24 Edible Fishery Products, June 1954 ........ 46
eee ents for Fishery Products, January- Imports and Exports of Selected Fishery Products,
June L954. Ses eveveyerevars SSE CPCNOROCRCECAT BC Sie eso January-June 1954 .......cc.eeee peers 46
Federal Purchases of Fishery Products ........ 20 Virginia:
Great Lakes Fishery Investigations: Fisheries Research Program Expanded ..... : 47
Fishery and Limnological Survey of Southern Lake Wholesale Prices, August 1954 ..........000 48
Michigan (Giseo,Gruise V) ©... se « + «ele alennie! © 200) /MUROREIGNe Meisels alse ele = sc © cron ayels) aelaial =) fee mame
Gulf Exploratory Fishery Program: International:
More Yellowfin Tuna Caught in Gulf by Oregon British May Operate Japanese Vessels in West
(Griise 23sec wee cis © soe dereeisteinier: stem rce Pacis 25 /5:.)<sacecei eae eaieienarate stayenareneness: ot mmneee
Oregon Catches over Six Tons of Yellowfin Tuna Use of Fish Oils in Europe ...........-.- 50
int Gulf (Gruise:25)|, csctseiera.cisiavene vows eee ere. ead North Pacific Fisheries Commission:
Maryland: U.S, Congress Gives Effect to Convention ... 51
Blue Crabs Tagged in Chincoteague Bay ....... 28 U, S, Section Advisory Committee Appointed... 51
New England Bluefin Tuna Investigations: Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Commission:
West Coast Seiner Catches 55 Tons Bluefin Tuna Advisers’ Groups to Meet in December ..... 52
ORVNew England: <5 <sletesis cele biowcie sseuse 29 International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Com-
New York: mission:
New York City Crab Meat Regulations Amended ,, 30 1954 Catch of Fraser River Sockeye Salmon .. 53
Pacific Oceanic Fishery Investigations: Great Lakes Fisheries Convention:
Commercial Long Liners Catch Four Tons of United States and Canada Sign Convention . .. 53
Yellowfin Tuna in Line Islands Area (Oceanic and Food and Agriculture Organization:
Brothers 1st Concurrent Cruise) .......-.se. 30 Fish Flour Acceptability to Be Tested in Latin
New Tuna Gear Tested in Hawaiian Waters by John America ..<s<<5s< a easre see
R. Manning (Cruise 21) .....c0ecsesceeeee SL Second Latin-American Fisheries Training
Great Numbers of Skipjack Tuna Found in Hawaiian Center < ccrsicks Sa eetoerererensieyel 54
Waters by Charles H. Gilbert (Cruise 16) ..... 33

Contents Continued Page 95

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October 1954

Washington 25, D.C.

EXPLORATORY SHRIMP FISHING IN THE
GULF OF MEXICO, SUMMARY REPORT FOR 1952-54

By Stewart Springer and Harvey R. Bullis*

CONTENTS
PAGE PAGE
SUMMAIRYdittetaleletelolclolelelcloleteloielefoiclelslieloeleletelelelelalelele 1 RED SHRIMP IN DEEP WATER OF THE GULF
BACKEND coacacodosagcanon045000d0000000 2 (1,000 FEET OR MORE) ..... Gucdassoanes 5
BROWN-GROOVED SHRIMP IN THE WESTERN GULF 3 CHANGES IN CATCH COMPOSITION ..ccrceceerve a7;
PINK=GROOVED SHRIMP IN THE EASTERN GULF .. 4 FISHING LOG--1952-54 OREGON TRAWLING
SUAUICKES Googocodo Cocos erorescrceererore 8
SUMMARY

New shrimp resources have been found in the Gulf of Mexico by explorations for
commercially-valuable grounds made by the Branch of Commercial Fisheries of the

950

Fig. 1 - The exploratory fishing vessel Oregon operated by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Gulf of

Mexico since

Fishery Methods and Equipment Specialists, Branch of Commercial Fisheries, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Pascagoula,

Mississippi.

Vol. 16, No. 10

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

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“sSeIp @1OUI JO BuO Jo UOTIISOd MoYs Ss10q “FEgT auNf[ 01 ZEGT ‘UOB9IO ay2 Aq OOTxaW] JO JMH oy Ul SBeip [MPA] dutays AOeIOTdxa jo uoTNgrI4isiq - Z “BI

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October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 3

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. An extensive new fishing area for brown- grooved
shrimp revealed by these explorations was immediately utilized by the shrimp fish-
ing fleet. An extensive fishing area for deep-water red shrimp has also been dis-
covered, but this species of shrimp has
not been fished commercially as yet.

Explorations for brown-grooved
shrimp by the exploratory fishing ves-
sel Oregon through 1953 have been suf-
ficiently comprehensive to define all of
the major areas of possible production
along the Gulf Coast of the United States
and to point out that the only presently
unworked area of importance is the 35-
to 50-fathom depth range on the coasts
of Louisiana and Texas between the 91st
and 95th meridians.

Fig. 3 - Shrimp trawl reaching the surface after nighttime
drag. Explorations for pink-grooved

shrimp have produced good catches on, or quite near, the major pink-shrimp fishing
grounds off Dry Tortugas, Florida, and Campeche, Mexico, but in no other areas.
The eastern Campeche Bank and most of the grounds off Florida west coast, believed
to offer possibilities for production of pink-grooved shrimp, have bad trawling-bot-
tom areas and extensive trawling operations require development of new gear or
methods.

Red shrimp, a type of shrimp not yet fished commercially, was found in 150 to
375 fathoms between Dry Tortugas and Aransas Pass. Catches show production
possibilities if improvements in the methods
of handling shrimp trawls in deep water can
be worked out.

No evidence of stocks of white shrimp
other than those now known to the shrimp fish-
ery were found by the Oregon.

BACKGROUND

Shrimp production in the Gulf of Mexico
reached nearly 152 million pounds (heads on)
in 1950. From 1950 through 1953 landings
were Steady or slightly higher, but there were
some substantial declines and sharp increases
in certain parts of the Gulf. In 1950 the Dry
Tortugas fishery was being intensively worked
for the first time, and the newly-developed
shrimp fishing grounds of the Gulf of Cam-
peche were beginning to contribute heavily to
the landings at Gulf fishing ports. Also, the
brown-grooved shrimp was becoming an in- Fig. 4 - The bag full of fish is hoisted aboard.
creasingly important component of the total
catch, These conditions emphasized the importance of new fishing grounds for ex-
pansion of the fishery.

The ranges of the three important commercial species of shrimp overlap to
some extent, but each has its own habitat preference. This, in turn, presents a
distinct exploratory problem for each species. Rarely are the two species of grooved
shrimp taken in large numbers at the same time and place. The deep-water red

4 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 16, No. 10

shrimp does not, as far as is known, ever appear within the range of those species
landed in the Gulf at present.

The interdependence of exploratory fishing information, marketing conditions,
and the availability of fishermen, vessels, and gear, is clearly illustrated in the
expansion of the shrimp fishery. Exploratory information roughly outlining the
fishing grounds for pink shrimp in the Gulf of Campeche was obtained by Japanese
exploratory fishing vessels in 1936 and 1937 working under the auspices of the
Mexican Government. However, at that time the market for pink shrimp did not
exist and there were no fishing fleets capable of fishing these grounds, On the other
hand, the conveniently accessible Dry Tortugas grounds, discovered by fishermen
at a time when a strong market prevailed for shrimp, were heavily exploited at once.

The exploratory fishing vessel Oregon began explorations in the Gulf of Mexico
in April 1950 on a recommendation by the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission,
The Commission had requested that emphasis be placed on shrimp, with tuna and
red snapper explorations as secondary objectives. Preliminary discussions of the
exploratory methods to be followed brought out that priority should be given to the
location of accessible unused fishing areas offering good catches to shrimp fishing
vessels with standard equipment. This approach was carried out during 1950 and
1951 and a resume of the results (Springer and Bullis 1952) included a description
of exploratory shrimp fishing methods and types of gear used. Construction details
on the three basic trawl designs employed are described by Bullis (1951).

During 1952 and 1953 increased emphasis was placed on tuna explorations in the
Gulf. Shrimp trawling was continued through this period to complete preliminary
coverage whenever it was practical (fig. 2).

This report covers the Gulf-wide shrimp explorations made by the Oregon
through June 1954, Exploratory shrimp trawling in deep water is continuing at the
present time.

BROWN-GROOVED SHRIMP IN THE WESTERN GULF

The continental shelf area of the Gulf of Mexico is divided into two major bot-
tom-type zones, each fairly uniform in composition throughout its range. Zone
boundaries are somewhat arbitrary since there is a narrow transition area at each
end,

The western Gulf continental shelf zone ex-
tends from Pensacola westward and down the
Mexican coast to a point between Carmen and
Campeche, Mexico. Beyond the 10-fathom
curve the bottom is primarily terrigenous mud
or silt, but with mixtures of sand extending out
- to30 or more fathoms in some areas, Mud
- lumps and large coral-rock structures are com-
mon beyond the 50-fathom curve out to the edge
of the shelf.

The brown-grooved shrimp (Penaeus
aztecus) is the principal species found in catches
from the extensive mud bottoms of the continen-
tal shelf of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,
and Texas. White shrimp (P. setiferus) are
also present in the same region, but fishable
concentrations are generally restrictéd to the
Fig. 5 - Mixed shrimp and scrap fish are dumped shallower water inside the 20-fathom curve,

on deck. The brown-grooved shrimp (white shrimp are

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 5

not grooved) have a wider depth range. Although there are many instances, partic-
ularly at dawn and at dusk or in muddy water, when both species may be taken ina
single drag, brown-grooved shrimp are usually caught in night drags while white
shrimp are taken in the daytime. A few pink-grooved shrimp are found in the west-
ern Gulf of Mexico, and the range of the brown-grooved shrimp may extend into the
eastern Gulf, but the commercial importance of these out-of-range shrimp is not
known, perhaps because of the limited observations of fluctuating availability.

Brown- grooved shrimp have been taken in 85 percent of all exploratory drags
made by the Oregon in depths of 10 to 70 fathoms between Cape San Blas, Florida,
westward and southward on the con-
tinental shelf to Carmen, Mexico.
During 1950-51 the Oregon trawled
all major unfished potential brown-
grooved shrimp areas in the Gulf,
In 1952-53 repeat coverage was
carried out in the same areas at
different seasons. Coverage of
many areas during the December-
February period is incomplete due
to severely curtailed fishing opera-
tions caused by unfavorable weather,
although most of the good trawling
bottom has been worked in several
seasons.

The area that has repeatedly
yielded the highest catch rate of
brown-grooved shrimp lies in the
30- to 45-fathom depth range be-
tween 88° and 90° west longitude on Fig. 6 - Sorting the catch.
both sides of the Mississippi Delta.

These grounds were reported by Springer (1951) after initial explorations in the fall
of 1950 produced heavy catches at rates up to 315 pounds per hour. These high
catch rates were obtained on grounds not previously fished. Radiotelephone reports
to the nearby shrimp fleet on September 15 announcing that the Oregon had taken
2,700 pounds of 12- to 16-count shrimp (heads on) the preceding night resulted in
immediate exploitation of the grounds. By the end of 1951 the commercial fleets
were regularly fishing portions of the grounds in 30 to 45 fathoms on both sides of
the Mississippi Delta. However, some sections were only partly fished through
1951 because the soft mud bottom bogged trawling gear. In 1952, after the introduc-
tion of the ''mud rope,"' the entire area was being fished.

Eastward from 88° west longitude (east of Mobile) catch rates diminish rapidly.
No catches of brown-grooved shrimp were made east of Cape San Blas, Florida.
One area, in 45 to 65 fathoms off Pensacola, produced very large shrimp (3 to 6 per
pound heads on) but exploratory drags did not indicate commercial concentrations.
In the winter of 1952/53 a small fleet worked in this area but moved back to more
productive grounds in the spring.

Westward from the Delta, all grounds that seasonally have commercially valu-
able stocks are being worked by the Texas and Louisiana fleets. Beyond the present
depth range of this fishery, in 35 to 50 fathoms, there are extensive areas of good
trawling bottom. Catches of 20 to 50 pounds per hour were made by the Oregon
throughout this range, an average that is below the present minimum catch rate for
offshore shrimp vessels. The highest exploratory catch in this range off the Texas
coast was 150 pounds per hour. This area, due south of Galveston in 35 fathoms,is
now included seasonally in the fishery.

6 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 16, No. 10

Off the Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas coasts, the steep slope of
the continental shelf between 70 and 100 fathoms makes trawling difficult and im-
practical. The few drags successfully completed by the Oregon in this depth range
brought up no brown-grooved shrimp.

Beyond 50 fathoms out to the edge of the continental shelf, poor trawling bottom
was characteristic (see fig. 10). Of 29 exploratory drags made in the 50- to 60-
fathom depth range along the Texas-to-Alabama coasts, 11 resulted in complete
loss of trawling gear. Fifteen of the remaining 18 drags caught brown-grooved
shrimp at rates of 1 to 60 pounds per hour. Of 50 drags made inside of 10 fathoms
for comparative purposes, only 14 caught brown-grooved shrimp.

Most exploratory dragging was carried out with 40-foot flat shrimp trawls (con-
struction details are given in Fishery Leaflet 394, Bullis 1951). When good fishing
grounds were indicated by the 40-foot trawl catches, larger commercial-type gear
was used. These included 55-, 65-, and 100-foot flat trawls, and 74- and 125-foot
balloon trawls. Most production-type trawling was carried out with either the 74-
foot ballon trawl or the 100-foot flat trawl, depending upon bottom conditions,

Despite efforts to select good trawling bottom for exploratory work, gear loss
was severe. Twenty trawls were lost, including one or both trawl doors on nine
occasions. Twenty-nine other trawls were so severely damaged that they required
almost complete refabrication. The reason for many of these losses could not be
determined; however, the following breakdown based on estimated causes indicates
the types of hazards encountered,

Total loss of trawling gear (reason unknown) ............ 5
Hitwobstruction (imeasawireck, lump, ete.) cm sieleiercicie cer 6
Bogeing anys oftenaciererenctttetesierere ws aunverenaishoreherens REO OOOO
Morn up On Coral POttonay scien tele is lerelole cooDdDDOD BONaS aie 5
Overload of bottom trash (a, oe , sponge, HERS HAITI. we. ANN aiaite 3
Netting badly ripped or lost, lines cut (reason unknown) . 24

Motaly 3 “49

Gear damage occurred in spite of the fact that exploratory trawls are generally
made of heavier twine than normally used and that depth-recorder tracings have been
closely watched during the course of trawling.

At irregular intervals the fleets working on brown-grooved shrimp lose contact
with the concentrations, forcing a temporary suspension of fishing operations. On
three occasions along the Texas and Louisiana coasts, the Oregon has covered
areas under these conditions with a series of trawling transects from shallow water
out to the edge of the continental shelf, attempting to determine if this resultedfrom
a mass movement or a dispersal of the shrimp concentrations. Each time a similar
pattern of bottom temperatures was noted. This was characterized by little varia-
tion over wide depth ranges, usually less than 2° F., between 10 fathoms and the
edge of the shelf. The nature of the catches on the shelf indicated a general dis-
persal of the stock rather than any mass movement. Thinly scattered brownshrimp
of mixed sizes were found to be more or less evenly distributed over a wide depth
range, making commercial trawling unprofitable.

PINK-GROOVED SHRIMP IN THE EASTERN GULF

The eastern Gulf continental shelf zone extends from Pensacola south along the
Florida coast and includes the Campeche Bank down to Carmen, Mexico. These
two sections are characterized by sand, shell, and coral gravel; and by live coral
overlying white, gritty, calcareous mud.

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 7

Extensive areas along the west coast of Florida and on the Campeche Bank with-
in the depth range of pink-grooved shrimp (Penaeus duorarum) received scanty ex-
ploratory trawling prior to 1954, The possible development of confined limited pro-
duction areas was indicated by the occasional good catches by vessels in small iso-
lated gulleys of clear mud bottom; the presence of E ygune pink-grooved shrimp in
Boca Grande Harbor, Tampa
Bay, Cedar Keys, and off Apa-
lachicola; and scattered pink-
grooved shrimp caught in ex-
ploratory drags throughout the
10- to 25-fathom depth range
on bad bottom. However,
either clear bottom should be
located or gear developed to
overcome the natural trawling
hazards.

Commercial concentrations
of pink-grooved shrimp were
found to extend beyond the
heavily worked areas on both
the Dry Tortugas and Gulf of
Campeche grounds. In August
1951 the Oregon ran a series
Fig. 7 - After sorting, weights and counts are recorded for each species in Of drags away from the rela-

the catch. tively confined 14-fathom fish-
ing area off Campeche and demonstrated that equally high catches could be maintain-
ed out to 25 fathoms at distances of 20 to 25 miles away from the area of intensive
fishing.

In June 1950, January and February 1951, July and December 1952, and in
June 1953, exploratory soundings were made in 10 to 25 fathoms between Apalachee
Bay and the Dry Tortugas grounds in search of
level bottom sufficiently clear of coral and logger-
head sponge to permit trawling with conventional
type trawling gear. The few drags made in less
hazardous-appearing areas off Cedar Keys, Tam-
pa, and Boca Grande generally resulted in severe
gear damage.

Owing to the time-consuming nature of devel-
oping trawling gear suited to this type of bottom,
experiments were limited in favor of explorations
in areas suitable to existing gear. However, some
progress has been made in combating certain
trawling hazards. Several types of bottomless
trawls were used successfully in loggerhead-
sponge areas. They were designed to break the
sponge away from the bottom and permit it to
pass between stringers running from the tickler
chain back to the unweighted lead line. Subse-
quent comparison drags with standard commer-
cial trawls showed an average reduction of 75 per-
cent of trash and scrap fish and a reductionof the
shrimp catch by about 30 percent.

In 1953 an "'Echograph'' depth sounder was in-

stalled on the Oregon. The fine delineation of bot-
tom conditions obtained with this recorder (fig. 10)

Fig. 8 - The 40-foot bottomless trawl developed
for exploratory dragging on loggerhead-sponge
bottom,

8 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

was put to use for two cruises in 1954 to make a comprehensive trawling survey of
the bad bottom areas along the west coast of Florida between Cape San Blas and Dry
Tortugas with the primary objective of locating trawlable bottom in the pink-shrimp
depth range.

Two types of heavy- duty trawls were rigged for working this area. The first
was a 40-foot flat trawl of 23-inch mesh body, 42-thread cotton twine. The other
style used was a 40-foot 1-seam New England-style flat trawl of 42-thread cotton,

ee -inch mesh body. Both nets were
fang on 3/8-inch wire rope wrapped
with manila, and had 12-inch mesh,
42-thread cotton cod ends protected
with bullhide chafing gear.

During cruise 21 (March 2-23,
1954), 51 drags were made between
Cape San Blas and Tampa Bay (fig.
11). All of these drags were made
in restricted areas of fair-to-good
trawling bottom that were closely
limited by untrawlable zones of live
coral and coral rock. It seemscer-
tain that lighter gear would have sus-
tained severe damage even in these
selected areas since large pieces of
living coral were brought up inmany
of the hauls.

- No promising indications of
Fig. 9 - Overloading with loggerhead sponges is a major hazardto Shrimp concentrations were located

trawling in wide areas off southwest Florida. Catches of sponge on this cruise. Pink-grooved shrimp

are so heavy in some areas that nets cannot be hauled aboard, were taken in very small numbers
inside the 15-fathom curve, Drags in deeper water failed to catch a single pink-
grooved shrimp. Several recorder transects were made over the ''Middle Grounds;"
however, no bottom suitable for even a test drag was located. Drags on the periph-
ery of the ''Middle Grounds" failed to bring up a single specimen of commercially
valuable shrimp,

In general, catches were exceedingly small throughout this area and the amount
of scrap fish was the lowest for any Gulf area covered by the Oregon to date.

On cruise 22 (March 31-April 23, 1954), 62 drags were made from Tampa Bay
to the southern end of the Florida shelf between 3- and 375-fathom depths (fig. 11).
Most of these hauls were made inside the 25-fathom curve between Tampa Bay and
Cape Sable. Bottom conditions for most of this area were similar to those found on
the preceding cruise. Moderate-to-heavy concentrations of loggerhead sponges were
found to be generally distributed inside of the 35-fathom curve and four trawls were
severely damaged due to overloading. One catch of 6,000 pounds of loggerheads
was made ina half-hour drag. Drags between 5 and 15 fathoms generally showed
pink-grooved shrimp present, but catches all ran under 15 pounds per hour.

RED SHRIMP IN DEEP WATER OF THE GULF (1,000 FEET OR MORE)

Beyond the edges of the continental shelf there has been no commercial fishing
in the Gulf of Mexico. Snapper fishermen have extended the range of their fishing
from about 80 fathoms to about 150 fathoms within the past few years. This has
been possible because of new developments in fishing gear, such as power reels,
stainless steel wire lines, and electronic aids for finding position, depth, and good
fishing places. Deep-water fishing for snappers has not been better than fishing in

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 9

shallower water, but it has made it possible for snapper fishermen to move offshore
during periods of temporary poor fishing on the shallow banks. The net results has

not been larger daily catches but better trips and greater seasonal earnings for well-
equipped and well-managed vessels.

The discovery of red shrimp (Hymenopenaeus robustus) concentrations, through

explorations by the Oregon, appears now to be significant as a possible supplement
to inshore fishing.

7

Ll / Coral bottom nenrenn stations 1048 and 1049 on
Campeche Bank ridges and pinnacles covered . : a ,
with living coral, Cross section of sand ridges extending offshore in 10 to 20

fathoms between Cape San Blas and Pensacola.

b ae

g

Py ae ——— ———
reat Goral bottom onCampeche pute This generaltypeof | Sand bottom covered with low coral and sponge growth in the
delineation is characteristic of wide areas inside of 50fathoms | vicinity of station902. Trawlusedon this bottom had lead line
over mostofthebank, Exploratory drags madeonthis type of | hanging out andhadseveralsmall cuts and tears over the body.
bottom have invariably resulted in severe damage totrawls. ie

| a

ace sé ey EE Me,
i G r L r i A ; pee ee pa ge * aaa aera
af | ieee NY, Sand bottom covered with short ‘‘finger coral” at station 901,

| Hangings and the netting on the bottom body of trawl were cut.

Sand ridges off St. Petersburg, Fla.,in 12-15 fathoms, Abra- i
sive qualities of dead shell and coral debris, sand, and small
coral growths require very heavy hanging twine, chafing gear
(and cod ends) to reduce rapid wear, Catch at nearby station
indicates fish schools shown are composed of the pinfish (Lago
don rhomboides),

a
d K | Mud and shell bottom south of Dry Tortugas along the outer edge
de of the continental shelf at station 1055. Atthe point indicated by
the arrow, the trawl either boggedor hit an obstruction and was
lost.

L Loggerhead sponges on sand bottom between present fish- .
ing grounds atDry Tortugas and Fort , J
Myers. Except for occasional coral pinnacles which are
readily identifiable on records, the bottom is covered with,
dead shell and coral debris. Major hazard is overloading)

with sponge./

| Ea Pinnacle-
covered edge of continental : good trawl coverage
shelf alongnorth Gulf Coast. ' of wide areas in 50-
These lumps, favored areas of _ - iA 100 fathoms from
red snapper production, prevent ' Florida to Texas,

north of present pink-grooved shrimp fishing areas,

Fig, 10 - Representative areas of bad trawling bottom which

have impaired more extensive trawling coverage along the
outer edge of the continental shelf along the Florida west coast and on Campeche Bank, Vertical and horizontal lines under
each tracing indicate scale as follows: a-g, i, vertical = 1 fathom, horizontal = 1 nautical mile; h, vertical = 1 fathom, hori-
zontal =4 nautical mile; j, vertical = 5 fathoms, horizontal = 1 nautical mile.

)

10 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

Fig. 11 - Distribution of exploratory shrimp trawl drags in bad-bottom areas along the west coast of Florida during
cruises 21 and 22 (March and April 1954). Each dot represents one or more trawling stations,

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 11

In 1951 drags by the Oregon in depths between 190 and 240 fathoms brought to
light a stock of red shrimp which differed from other common large shrimp in that
it was confined to relatively deep water. These shrimp, although apparently mar-
ketable, have not yet been fished by the shrimp fleet.

Subsequent exploratory drags by the Oregon produced red shrimp from depths
of 150 fathoms to 375 fathoms, but the best catches were made eastward from the
Mississippi River Delta to the Pensacola meridian in 185 to 275 fathoms and south-
west of Dry Tortugas. One of the major trawling hazards in these depths is the
bogging in soft mud bottom. However, after the development of the Weems trawl
door (a door combining certain features of the standard Gulf trawl door and rocking
chair doors often employed
in the mud lump area off the
Mississippi Delta) and using
mud ropes, this hazard was
greatly reduced (fig. 13).
The drags made by the Ore-
gon in deep water have been
essentially exploratory and
have shown that the red
shrimp are present at appro-
priate depths along the entire
continental shelf.

In September 1952 the
M/V Antillas, owned by the
Gibbs Corporation of Jackson-
ville, Florida, in cooperation
with the Fish and Wildlife
Service, made a series of
drags for red shrimp in the
north Gulf. Some difficulty
= nat na ,was encountered at first due
Fig. 12 - Catches of loggerhead sponge like this are common in 6 to 35 fathoms to bogging, but after a mud

in the offing between Tampa and Cape Sable, rope was put on, drags pro-
dueed an average 70 pounds per hour in the area of best fishing. The best fishing
was found from the Mississippi Delta eastward along the 200-fathom curve for about
100 miles.

Red shrimp reach about the same size as the common commercial shrimp and
in catches by the Oregon the larger ones were taken in 190 or more fathoms. A
number of other kinds of shrimp were taken by the Oregon in deep water. Most of
these appear to be too small to be of commercial interest. However, a wine-red
shrimp (Plesiopenaeus edwardsianus) taken in from 300 to 400 fathoms, reaches the
size of the commercial species. It is not believed to be a bottom-dwelling shrimp,
and a few of these have been taken by the Oregon. Another species, similar in ap-
pearance to the red shrimp but smaller, was taken in considerable quantity mixed
with the larger red shrimp in Oregon catches made between 150 and 200 fathoms.
This shrimp (Renaeopsis megalops) tastes very good but the Oregon did not produce
them larger than 40 count (heads on).

Red shrimp handled on the vessel were beheaded and washed thoroughly as soon
as they were brought on deck. Heads are large, and beheading resulted in a weight
loss of 50 percent. They were then packed in 5-pound cartons and frozen. Under
these conditions they were found to make an attractive appearance and had fine fla-
vor and texture. No red shrimp have been handled on ice, but a trial of icing meth-
ods on the Oregon is planned for the fall of 1954,

12 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

CHANGES IN CATCH COMPOSITION

It is common knowledge that changes occur in the fishing grounds from year to
year and that these changes may bring either more valuable or less valuable catches.
Not only does the volume change, but the kinds of shrimp and fish caught on some
Gulf grounds appear to change from
time totime. There are many ex-
amples in the records of Oregon
catches indicating that change in
catch composition is a normal con-
dition.

We have previously reported
(Springer and Bullis 1952) the pres-
ence of pink-grooved shrimp off the
Alabama and Mississippi coasts
making up as much as 30 percent of
the grooved-shrimp catch of some
vessels in the late spring and sum-
mer of 1950. Very few pinks, not
more than one percent of the catch Fig. 13 - The Weems trawl door, designed to be used with large shrimp
of grooved shrimp, were noted in trawls on soft mud bottom,
the following three spring and sum-
mer seasons. Furthermore, there was substantial agreement among commercial
fishermen that few pink-grooved shrimp had been present in catches prior to 1950.
In January 1951 the Oregon made a series of 5 exploratory drags between Fort Myers
and Tampa Bay in depths of 6 to 18 fathoms. Three of these drags (of 15 to 30 min-
utes duration) resulted in such heavy catches of loggerhead sponges that the nets
were badly ripped while hoisting them aboard and most of the catch was lost. Al-
though pink- grooved shrimp were taken, there was no indication of commercial con-
centration from any of these catches. However, in the summer of 1953 commercial
fishing by a few vessels was carried on near Fort Myers in7-8 fathoms with moder-
ate success.

In August 1953 a few landings of shrimp in Louisiana for canning received spe-
cial attention because, although the shrimp were quite fresh, they were reddish. A
sample of the catches was examined and found to be made up of Trachypenaeus con-
strictus, about 30 count (heads on). This kind of shrimp is not ordinarily taken in
sufficient quantity to be of any commercial importance and those taken would norm-
ally pass unnoticed or be culled out of shrimp catches as too small.

Many of the changes are relatively obscure and affect shrimp or fish of little
commercial importance. Some of the changes occur over such a long period of time
that they pass unnoticed. For example, there are two species of white trout (Cyno-
scion arenarius and C. nothus) found along the north Gulf coast so-similar in appear-
ance that fishermen do not recognize them as different kinds. But the two can be
very easily distinguished once the differences are known. C. nothus was so rare in
Oregon catches from 1950 through 1952 that only three fish were recorded, but in
1953 this white trout was present in substantial numbers in all drags made inshore
in the north-central Gulf.

It is necessary to take the probability of some change in the fishing situation
into consideration in the evaluation of exploratory data.

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

13

Bisning Eat os Stations, M/V Oregon

ake GEAR | BOTTOM) TOTAL CATCH } SHRIMP CATCH IN LBS. (HEADS-ON COUNT)
LATITUDE | LONGITUDE PAKS 7] FONTS N P

ae
87-39.5
87-50.7
88-1323 35 (10)
89-30 1 (30)
89-30 -
89-29.5 20 (14)
89-40.6 64, 20 (11)
89-55.6 1 (9)
89-55.6 -
92-19.5 M 4.5 (9)
1 (9)

3.5 (10

92-33. 5
93-10.2
93-06

93-01.6
Flymls0 oly
Jhwh2. 6
Fhmbile. &
94-53
Sh-54,

27-3428
27-31.5
27-32

28-5504

gy-M.Sh.Co.
gyM.S.Sh.

petttewmetone

Gh-58.3
9h=59
Gh-59 oh,
95-22.8,
95-4301
95-5108
96-02.9
96-16.8
96-06.7
So-2

9 wn
of ee
ary

00 0-0 077047 0

5

29-335
29-3009
29-31.2

é

29-19.4,
29-3304,
29-12,.2

88-5204
87-58.3
87-49
87-59
88-05
88-20.6

prrrentrerantlearr rr tenrrttinroererne

ANI IVG or 22
SRurSsepaus oroe 8S

29-01 88-21, = =
22-27 89-59 Co.M. °
20-29 91-37 vh.MS. -
20-23 91-40 S.gy.Mo oO
20-23 91-53 s{t.gyoMe o
20-19 91-55 sft.gyeM.Speo =
20-12 91-53 sft.gy.MoS. -
23-2125 | 97-2925 bu.M, She | -
23-26.5 | 97-34 26-30 stk.bu.M. 03 5 2.5 (17)} = -
655 1o/i2\_ 23-38 91-33 27 stk.bu.M.Sh. 3 5 25 (16)) = -

Note: Table continued on following page.

SBE Brerl sr Grr er SSSERURBSBSESS, SRS

SI88e8s5, 388s, 158.

a8
wn
an

1 BSS. 25n88

Se
WalLnoin

14 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

Fishing Log--1952-54 Trawling Stations, M/V Oregon (Continued)

DATE { NORTH [ WEST | DEPTH IN | GEAR | DRAGGING TIME | BOTTOM GEAR | BOTTOM] TOTAL CATCH4 SHRIMP CATCH IN LBS, (HEADS-ON COUNT) _|

aera SERS SS ae!
97-28 35 M

STATION

97-34 20 2 3
97-32 20-27 = 123
1 350
bu.bk.M. = 2.5
bu.bk.M. - 3
sft.bk.M. - 150
M - -
eft. bk.M. - 300
bu. bk.M. - 347
sft.gy.M. =

ret Sire Srafree

IS Oe Teo GeO oD Oo ne oo 0 eo

6
9
9
1
4 1
uy 70.9
30 68.4
17 The
5 70.2
50 64
89-18.8 40 67.1
88-18.5 50 66.9
88-53 40 68
88-53.6 30 69.8
88-55 25 69.8
88-50.5 2h 72.0
88-29 7 55.4
88-23.5 10 68.5
100 -
120 -
50 325
3

wn
A)
oO O~

BRESSEB

52
40
56
56 8
6 -
15 3
20 15
30 -
40 -
70 15
300-360 -
20 62 83
20 130 (17) 561
2 - -
R 180 (14) 492
Rr 24 (14) Tu,
R 223 (13) 612
R 137 (14) 612
R 173 (15) 4,08
2 152 (13.5) 1,08
23

RSE

87-49 230-300 4O'F | 1200 | 1235 - - - 64.5 - - - 23 (17.5) | 25.5)
87-55 490-600 4O'F | 1320 | 1520 - - - - - - - - -
88-00 830-930 4O'F | 0630 | 1045 - - - 1.5 - - - - 15)
88-10 9-10 4O'F | 1500 | 1530 | bu... - 67 28 - - - - 28
88-10 28 40'F | 2030 | 2100 | sft.m. - 80.6 1233 22 (16) - - - 97
88-45 33 4O'F | 0915 | 0945 | oft.M. - 82 128 2 (17 - - - 126
89-15 33 4O'F | U42 | 1573 | bu.M. - 80,2 3 3 te - - - 19
89-33 53 4O'F | 0955 | 1035 |bu.M.sft. | - 60.8 3 4 (10 - - - 89
89-33 36 40'F | 1310 | 1340 | bu.m, - 79.8 270 29 (18 - - - -
89-36 10 4O'F | 1535 | 1605 | bu.mM. - 80.2 Co) 1(2)y - - - 59
89-09 32 4O'F | 1350 | 1405 |eft.bu.m. | - 68 R 2(20, = = = -
89-09 32 40'F | 1450 | 1520 J aft.bu.mM. | - - 50 1 (7) - - - -

Note: Table continued on following page.

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 15

TH IN DRAGGING BOTTOM GEAR ae TOTAL CATCH | SHRIMP CATCH IN LBS, (HEADS-ON COUNT ae
FATHOMS | START FINISH] TYPE DAMAGE | TEMP. IN LBS. PINK WHITE [RED | SCRAP

0900

a = - = =
2h = - 2 =
30 - - - =
30 - - - =
30 2 - = =

505 - 62 - - -
505 - a. - - -
7.5 - 67. - 120
75 = ae - -

19-20 - 2 - =

19 - 63. -
- 6. 8.5

8h

124

PSEBho

PERE SSSPVSSSSRE SPE

MoO EF RPRIUORE BHHLBOER FFRaRRBOOU GEE BDURD

=
°

i)
2

6 q ny,

6 . 37

6 '. 21, - 05
6 5 337, = 337.5
So is 2 3 =

- . 167 - 16

- ° 6 - 6

Oo x 3 - 3

- 100 = 00

= = = 15 =

= 16 - -

= 6 - 6

6 16 - 16

6 0 - -

- 4 4

- 20

- 6

pioarirnt

Doe 0oC 0000 0 00
CG 0-0 0.00

4 = = = a
43 2 = = =
60 5 ea, (10) - - c
70 Lec. (5)]- - -
276 - = = =
212 = = = (15)

Note: Table continued on ‘Ollowing page.

16 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

Gear Used --Abbreviations:
40’ F - 40’ flat shrimptrawl. Cl, - Clay
40’B - 40’ Co. - Coral
70°B_ - 70’ Sballoon G. - Gravel
74’B - 74’) shrimp trawl, M, - Mud
80’B - 80’ Rk. - Rock
100’ F - 100’ flat shrimp trawl. S. - Sand
110’ B - 110’balloon shrimp trawl,

Bullis, Harvey R,

1951. Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Trawl Designs, Fishery Leaflet 394, U, S, Fish and Wildlife Service, September 1951.

Springer, Stewart

ESTEE, SB

FE

:

50
16
15
52.
50
76
76
76.
72
70.

Bottom Type--Abbreviations:

Sh. - Shells jGy.

Sp. - Sponge} Wh. - White

Bk. - Black | Hrd.- Hard
. - Brown| Rky.- Rocky

Bu, - Blue | Sft. - Soft

Gn, - Green |. Stk. - Sticky

LITERATURE CITED

EES okok Bos

Ola

ear Damage--Symbols:
1- Complete loss of gear.

2 - Complete loss of net only.
3 - Complete loss of webbing,

4 - Tail only saved,

5 - Partial loss of webbing, tail saved.

6 - Netting ripped.
7 - Net saved by lazy-line,

Vol. 16, No. 10

REERob ORO

ee
ww

1951. The Oregon's Fishery Explorations in the Gulf of Mexico, 1950 (A Preliminary Report), Commercial Fisheries
Review, vol, 13, no. 4 (April 1951), also Separate 277.

and Bullis, Harvey R.

1952, Exploratory Shrimp Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, 1950-51, Fishery Leaflet 406, U. S, Fish and Wildlife Service,

September 1952,

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 17

OBSERVATION OF JAPANESE HIGH-SEAS
SALMON GILL-NET FISHERY OFF HOKKAIDO

By C. E. Atkinson*

The salmon runs along the North American Pacific Coast have been exploited
for almost a century by the fishermen of Japan, Russia, Canada, and the United
States. Originally the fisheries were confined to the coastal waters and the rivers
through which the adult salmon must pass during spawning migration. But in re-
cent years, exploitation of the salmon resources on the high seas has been increas-
ing.

On the other hand, in Japan only a limited number of salmon ascend the streams
of Hokkaido and northern Honshu and for many years their industry depended upon
the lease of shore stations in Soviet Russia.

In 1936 Japanese interests found it difficult to obtain desirable fishing sites in
Kamchatka and the Kurile Islands and turned to the high seas in order to sustain
their salmon fisheries (Anonymous 1937). The salmon fisheries on the high seas
have been described in part by Fukuhara and others (1953), and observations re-
cently made off Hokkaido at the invitation of the Japanese Government provided ad-
ditional information on the high-seas salmon fishing method developed by the Japa-
nese, especially the importance of water temperatures.

Table 1 - Description of the The author on May 31 and June 1, 1954,
accompanied the research vessel Oyasio Maru,

Tonnage 36.4 gross tons | comparable in size to the commercial fishing
Length 64.0 feet boats now operating far offshore. The speci-
Width 14.1 feet fications of the Oyasio Maru are given in table
Draft 6.4 feet 1. Asa research boat the Oyasio Maru devotes
Engine (Diesel) | 120N. P. almost its entire effort to determining where
Maximum speed | 133 knots fish may be found in abundance and in perfect-

ing means of catching those fish most efficient-
ly. The fish caught are sold to the local mar-
kets to help defray the operating costs.

Crew 13

All fishing is done by gill nets made up of a number of single nets, each 80
meters (262.4 feet) long and 6 meters (19.5 feet) deep with a mesh size of 44 inches
stretched. The individual nets are fastened together to form a single gill net which
in this case totaled 94 units or about 42 miles in length. Only 10 nets were of ramie
(a Japanese grass similar in texture to linen) while 84 were of nylon. The nets
were hung in a manner similar to that described by Fukuhara,

Drawing on years of experience, the Japanese have concluded that salmon in
the ocean are most abundant in areas of rapid temperature change, and prefer tem-
peratures of from 7° to 80 C, (440 to 479 F.). The cruise of the Oyasio Maru dem-
onstrates well the importance of temperature to the fishing operation. Beginning
at the time of leaving Kushiro, surface water temperatures were taken every half
hour, indicating first the location of the cold northern current, then the warmer
waters of the ''Kuroshio"' (fig. 1).

A suitable surface water temperature was found at 4:30 p.m. about 120 miles
southeast of Kechiro. The main fishing area was reported by radio to be about 100
miles further offshore (as indicated in fig. 1) in waters of similar temperature con-
ditions.

* Chief, Pacific Salmon Investigations, Branch of Fishery Biology, U, S, Fish and Wildlife Service, Seattle, Wash,
Note: The author gratefully acknowledges the help of Mr. M. Ohto of the Japanese Fisheries Agency, Mr. T, Myata of the
Nippon Suisan Company, and Mr. M. Miyako, Captain of the Oyasio Maru, in arranging for this cruise.

18 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

SEA OF
OKHOTSK

Vol. 16, No. 10

Fisee
Ale | Ak
ee

140° 145°

LOCATION MAP

HOKKAIDO

ry
SAPPORO

HONSHU
1

SET AND DIRECTION
OF DRIFT OF GILLNET

'40° LONGITUDE EAST OF GREENWICH

Fig. 1 - Map of Hokkaido showing fishing site and relation to surface water temperature,

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 19

Vertical temperatures at the fishing site were determined b by reversing ther-
mometers. Relatively warm water--6. 2RtOl ToC. (43° to 45° F.)--was found in
the upper 15 meters, the temperature
becoming much colder--3, ING BBC.
(37° to 38° F. )--at the 25- and 50-meter
levels (fig. 2). From vertical plankton
hauls, food appeared to be more abun-
dant in the upper warmer layer.

The net, which had been carefully
stacked on the rear deck, was set by
passing over a roller at the stern while
the boat was under way. The net fished
from 6 p.m, to 1 a.m.

To lift, two men pulled the net in
over the port side of the forward deck
immediately below the wheelhouse, one
man took out the fish, and two men
straightened the net. The net was then
passed along the starboard side on ‘roll-
ers to the rear deck where it was care-
fully restacked. It was nearly 4 a.m.
before the operation was complete.

DEPTH IN METERS

A total of 76 chum salmon and 10
pink salmon were taken during the night's
fishing--a catch considered to be quite
A . rn 4 _J| satisfactory commercially,

2 3

TEMPERATURE (°C.)

Fig, 2 - Vertical water temperatures at salmon fishing site
off Kushiro.

LITERATURE CITED
ANONYMOUS
1937. Pacific Fisherman Yearbook, pp. 100-101, Seattle, Wash.

FUKUHARA, F. M. :
1953. Japanese 1952 North Pacific Salmon Fishery Expedition. Commercial Fisheries Review, vol. 15, no. 2 (Feb.

1953), pp. 1-17.

TRANSPARENT PLASTIC CAN

A new plastic transparentcan has been developed in Germany which
can be sealed hermetically. This can withstands heating up to 180° C.

(356° F.), and is expected to revolutionize the canning industry.

--World Fisheries Abstracts, March-April 1953

20 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

IN SERVICE LABORATORIES

Vt ttstie rartera.. —a oii

FREEZING-FISH-AT-SEA OPERATIONS OF
THE DELAWARE - (JUNE 29 TO AUGUST 24)

The Service's research trawler Delaware, operating out of East Boston, Mass.,
started its initial cruise of the season on June 29. This was its first trip since
completion of repairs and restoration of the galley and after crew's quarters neces-
sitated by the fire on the vessel last October. The purpose of the cruise was (a) to
brine freeze in-the-round and store in the frozen-fish hold all commercial varieties
of fish taken in the Georges Bank area; (b) to further test the operation of the freez-
ing equipment, particularly in relation to certain automatic control valves that had
been recently installed; and (c) to prepare sample lots of iced gutted fish of various
species for use in projects under way in the laboratory.

The vessel returned to the East
Boston laboratory on July 4. The
catch totaled 11,500 pounds of fish,
principally haddock, cod, and yel-
lowtails. Approximately 2,500
pounds of this total were frozen.

While fishing was being carried
out, mechanical equipment that was
replaced or overhauled during the
winter was tested under full oper-

Operating the brine freezer aboard the research trawler Delaware, ating loads. Asa result of these
7 sea trials, certain adjustments and
replacements were made in the equipment prior to making the second cruise.

The Delaware again went to sea on July 14. The purpose of this cruise was es-
sentially the same as that for the first one. The vessel returned to the laboratory
on July 27, after about 13 days. Fishing was done mostly in the Georges Bank area.
The catch totaled approximately 50,000 pounds of fish, made up largely of haddock
and scrod haddock, with the remainder being cod, whiting, ocean perch, and other
mixed fish. About 43,000 pounds of this total were brine frozen in-the-round, and
the remaining 7,000 pounds were gutted and iced.

The third test cruise began on August 9. It was made to obtain and freeze ocean
perch for evaluation and storage tests and to prepare certain special lots of other
varieties of fish. Some fishing was done in the Georges Bank area but because of a
scarcity of fish of the species desired for experimental purposes the vessel proceed-
ed to Browns Bank, off Nova Scotia. Fishing was continued in that area for the bal-
ance of the trip.

The vessel returned to Boston on August 24 after being at sea for a period of
about 15 days. The catch totaled approximately 32,000 pounds of fish made up largely
of ocean perch, haddock, and pollock. Cod, whiting, and mixed varieties made up
the remainder of the catch. Approximately 22,000 pounds of the total were frozenat

October 1994 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 21

sea and maintained in a frozen condition in the vessel's cold-storage hold until un-

loaded. Recently-installed automatic controls on the freezing plant aboard the ves-
sel operated quite satisfactorily, permitting the machinery to function with a mini-

mum of attention by the plant operator.

The vessel crew consisted of about a two-thirds complement; therefore, the
fishing operations were carried out only during the daylight hours. The proportion-
ate catches, however, were considered satisfactory.

When landed, all of the brine-frozen fish were in excellent condition, whereas
the iced fish, which were caught during the first part of each of the trips, were not
of the best quality.

The second and third cruises demonstrated the feasibility of holding the fish a-
board vessel in a frozen state for relatively long periods and landing the entire lot
in excellent condition. By holding the fish in a frozen state, the vessel moved from
areas of poor fishing to those in which fish were more plentiful, and still maintained
the high quality of the entire catch.

A technologist from the Army Quartermaster Corps Food and Container Insti-
tute, Chicago, Illinois, was aboard the vessel during the three cruises for the pur-
pose of preparing part of the catch of both iced and frozen fish for later use in the
preparation of frozen fillets, fish squares, and fish sticks for consumer acceptance
tests under the direction of the Institute. The laboratory staff assisted in handling
the fish upon the arrival of the vessel at East Boston and in the processing of the
fish into the desired types of samples.

On the first two cruises, lobsters were caught incidental to the trawling opera-
tions about 200 miles at sea and were placed in a tank of circulating sea water.
Thirty-five lobsters, weighing up to 12 pounds each, were brought in alive. They
were delivered to the Division of Marine Fisheries, Massachusetts Department of
Natural Resources, Boston, Massachusetts, for tagging and.releasing in inshore
waters for studies on migratory habits and survival rates.

--S. R. Pottinger, Fishery Products Technologist,
Fishery Technological Laboratory,
Branch of Commercial Fisheries,
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
East Boston, Mass.

GRO

KEEPING QUALITY OF FRESH SHRIMP

Fresh shrimp willhave lost their characteristic sweet flavor
after storage in icefor 7 days. During the next 9 days the progress
of spoilage continues without development of marked off-flavors.

Measurement of amino-nitrogen gives at this stage anindication of
the extent of decline in quality of the shrimp.

--The Refrigeration Research Foundation
~—Tnformation Bulletin, May 15, 1953.

22 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

Digs

a OPMENTS 228

Additions to the Fleet of U. S. Fishing Vessels

A total of 76 vessels of 5 net tons and over received their first documents as
fishing craft during July, 87 in June, and 94 in May 1954, In 1953 the totals were
July 72, June 107, and May 76 craft, Louisiana led with 14 vessels in July and with
16 vessels in June, while Texas was the leader in May with 17 vessels.

Vessels Obtaining Their First Documents as Fishing Craft, May-July 1954and
Comparisons

Seven months end-
ing with Jul

Section

wee eee eee eee sce eee eee VANMITIVELS «ee ee eee eee eee eee

ew England..........
Middle Atlantic .......
Chesapeakemricrerste rire
SouthrAtlanticn ace
(Grebe Soo Seca ago KdoGdC

Great Takesis ..4 to. =<
Alaska en. th suse osrteies! sf
EV Wialdiaaiencseteiel 3) chan srauehet eke
LOfallaaVoN el oom goon one Oe
le Ayo EE rey Autres leone

Note: Vessels have been assigned to the various sections on the basis of their home port.

During the first 7 months of this year, 529 vessels received their first docu-
ments as fishing craft, compared with 442 during the same period in 1953, The
gain in documentation during the first 7 months of 1954 took place mostly in the Gulf
States where 255 vessels were added to the fleet as compared with 136 in the same
period in 1953,

Alaska

SALMON PACK IN 1954 SHOWS INCREASE: In an address delivered to the
American Fisheries Society convening in Seattle, Director John L. Farley of the
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, revealed on September 15 that this year's Alaska
salmon pack, as of August 21, totaled 2,845, 307 standard cases (48 1-lb. cans) as
compared with 2, 603,101 cases on the same date last year. While a small addition-
al pack will be forthcoming from the limited fall fishing seasons, this figure repre-
sents, for all practical purposes, the pack for 1954,

Despite the increase over last year's pack, 1954 falls far below normal and is
728, 693 cases short of the 1952 pack of 3,574,000 cases. The comparatively mea-
ger pack was expected, however, due toa vigorous Service program aimed at pre-
serving Alaska salmon runs in certain areas for brood stock to rehabilitate the fish-
ery. This conservation program was necessitated by overexploitation of the fishery.

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 23

The program has the backing of the fishermen and canners, as well as that of the
Department of the Interior.

The 1954 pack in southeastern Alaska came to 1, 124,715 cases as compared
with a pack of 977, 682 cases last year. The central Alaska pack was 1, 330, 620
cases as against 1, 350,589 casesin1953.
In western Alaska the pack was 389,972
cases as compared to 533, 996 cases last
year.

Bristol Bay had good runs of red
salmon this year in two districts, and
poor to fair runs in the other two, as an-
ticipated. In the latter case, a greater
proportion of the runs was permitted to
escape. This should result in larger re-
turns in the next cycle.

In central Alaska, runs were about
normal with good packs and escapements
of pinks and chums at Kodiak. Redsalm-
on runs, however, were only fair, with
poor runs at Chignik reported. The Copper River red salmon pack, though, was
the largest on record.

Lowering sockeye salmon to hold of buyer.

The complete closure of Prince William Sound resulted in near optimum escape-
ments of pink salmon, If survival is good, this fishery should be normal in 1956,

Restrictions in southeastern Alaska, whereby large bays were closed to seining,
and trap potential was cut by 50 percent, resulted in generally good early escape-
ments of pinks, The later pink runs, however, were small and 4 to 7 days addition-
al closures had to be applied. This is expected to result in considerably better es-
capements than in the parent year of 1952,

California

REDUCTION OF SARDINES NOT PERMITTED: Sardine reduction applications
of 40 fish processors were turned down by the California Fish and Game Commis-
sion at its last meeting, a June news release from that Agency points out.

This is the second straight year that all applications to reduce California sar-
dines into commercial oils and meal have been refused by the State. Reduction of
whole fish is the only phase of the State's fishing industry over which the Commis-
sion has regulatory control.

OK OK KOK

TUNA TAGGED BY COMMERCIAL VESSEL '"MAYFLOWER" (Cruise C-2-54):
A total of 1, 822 tuna--713 yellowfin, 1,069 skipjack, and 22 big-eyed--were tagged
by the commercial vessel Mayflower on a four-months' cruise off Central and South
America for the California Department of Fish and Game (see table). The vessel
sailed from San Diego February 13 and cruised off the coasts of Nicaragua, Costa
Rica, Malpelo Island, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands, re-
turning to San Diego June 6,

24 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

A total of 831 type ''F"' and 991 type 'G" tags were used. The efficiency of the
type ''G'' tags was increased by reducing the length of the outer jacket to six inches,
This permitted the tags to fit the fish better and yet allow adequate room for increase
in growth,

Pecos of Tuna Ed by Mayflower,
une 6, 1954

Tyellow? in Shipiack Big-eyed
Tuna Tuna Tuna__|Tota

M/V Mayflower
tuna-tagging
446 cise 54-C-2,

Extensive night-light collections were made during the cruise and among the
specimens taken were several post-larval yellowfin tuna and skipjack. These spec-
imens were to be processed, Several hundred other specimens were also collected
for processing.

ok KK Ok

CENSUS OF FISH POPULATIONS OFF COAST CONTINUED BY "YELLOWFIN"
(Cruise 54-Y-6): A census of fish populations along the coast of Central and South-
ern California, with particular emphasis on anchovies, Pacific herring, jack mack-
erel, and California sardine, was conducted by the California Department of Fish
and Game''s research vessel Yellowfin. The blanket net was used by the vessel in
the 18-days cruise from Bodega Bay to Pt. Mugu. The cruise ended at Los Angeles
on June ll.

A total of 39 light stations were occupied at which sets were made with the
blanket net. Most of the fish collected were taken within two miles of the coast,
The Yellowfin traveled approximately 330 miles while scouting for fish. Twelve
schools were observed; 11 of these were believed to be squid and one was anchovy.
Several hundred very small spots of from 10 to 100 individuals were seen in Monterey
Bay and were believed to be squid.

% OK OK KK

VARIOUS TRAWL MESH SIZES FOR DOVER SOLE TESTED BY "N. B. SCO-
FIELD" (Cruise 54-S-3): The escapement of Dover sole from trawl nets of various
mesh sizes and kinds were tested by the California Department of Fish and Game's
research vessel N. B. Scofield in cooperation with the States of Washington and
Oregon, The vessel sailed from Los Angeles on May 7 and cruised the California
coast between Los Angeles and Trinidad Head, and returned to Los Angeles on June
ils

Exploratory trawling with beam trawls was conducted off Santa Monica and
Gaviota. Otter trawls were used at Avila and Point Reyes. Most of the cruise was
spent working otter trawls in the 100- to 150-fathom area between Humboldt Bay
and Trinidad Head. Under ideal conditions, four one-hour drags per day could be
made, Unusually windy weather cut down the number of operational days. Forty-
eight drags were made, Over 14,000 Dover sole (Microstomus pacificus) were
measured, The remaining fish were sorted and measured by volume,

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 25

Results on the comparison of various mesh sizes will be presented to the Pa-
cific Marine Fisheries Commission. The Commission will use this information in
making their recommendations to the Legislatures of their respective states if they
believe any net law changes are necessary.

Cans--Shipments for Fishery Products, January-June 1954

Total shipments of metal cans for fish and sea food during Janu-
ary-June 1954 amounted to 43,387 short tons of steel (based on the a-
mount of steel consumed in the manufacture of cans), compared to
33,257 short tons for the same period last year. A substantial increase
in the West Coast pack of canned tuna accounts for some of the increase.

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
PURCHASES OF FRESH AND FROZEN FISH BY DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY,

JULY 1954; For the military feeding of the U. S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and
Air Force, the Army Quartermaster Corps in July 1954 purchased fresh and frozen
fishery products amounting to 1,869,757 pounds, valued at $661,893 (see table).

This was 37.0 percent lower in volume and 44.5 percent less in value than June pur-

chases,

Purchases of Fresh and Frozen Fishery Products by Department of the Army
(July and the First Seven Months of 1954)

QUANTITY

January-July _
1954 1953

Lbs. i : $ ‘ $_
1,869,757| 2,465,620] 13,907,439|16,065,538 661,893 838,801 5,750,214 6,844 252

Army Quartermaster Corps purchases of fresh and frozen fish during the first
seven months in 1953 totaled 13,907,439 pounds (valued at $5,750,214), 13.4 percent
lower in quantity and 16.0 percent less in value as compared with the similar period
a year earlier,

Prices paid for fresh and frozen fishery products by the Quartermaster Corps
in July averaged 35.4 cents per pound as compared with 40,2 cents in June and 34,0
cents per pound in July 1953, indicating that the Corps is purchasing fish at lower
prices in July than in June.

Great Lakes Fishery Investigations

FISHERY AND LIMNOLOGICAL SURVEY OF SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN
("'Cisco™ Cruise V): The fishery and limnological survey of southern Lake Michigan
was continued by the Service's research vessel Cisco. The vessel departed Grand
Haven, Michigan, July 27 and stopped at points in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illi-
nois--the cruise was completed at Grand Haven, Michigan, on August 8.

26 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

Hydrographic transects were made across Lake Michigan from Grand Haven to
Milwaukee, from Racine to Holland, and from South Haven to Waukegan, Three
hydrographic stations were visited along each transect. A total of 680 numbered
drift cards were distributed along the Grand Haven-Milwaukee and South Haven-
Waukegan transects. One-half of these were packaged in plastic envelopes and the
remainder were placed in glass bottles fitted with drags. Ten of each kind were
dropped at 5-mile intervals along the transects. Experimental gill nets were set
on the bottom at two different depths off both Grand Haven and Racine. An oblique
gill-net set was made off Holland, Trawling was done off Grand Haven and Waukegan
and in the areas between Milwaukee and Racine and between Holland and South Haven,
Bathythermograph casts were made at 5-mile intervals along the transects and at
all stations, An 8-hour intensive limnological study was made off Grand Haven.

The largest chub catches of the season were made off both Grand Haven and
Racine, An especially good catch of larger chubs was made in the shallower gill-
net set off Racine.

Except for the last few days of the cruise, the surface water temperatures of
southern Lake Michigan were generally in the low 70's, Water temperatures near
shore were slightly lower than those in midlake. Following high winds near the end
of the cruise, the surface water near Grand Haven became much colder (as low as
55° F,), although there was only slight cooling a few miles out.

Drift-bottle recoveries made reveal the presence of somewhat irregular shore
currents. No recoveries have been made of drift bottles and cards released in the
middle of the lake. Apparently there is present at this time of year a large central
eddy which has little or no free surface exchange with shore currents. Secci disc
readings were very high during the cruise due to a decrease in plankton in upper
waters.

Gulf Exploratory Fishery Program
MORE YELLOWFIN TUNA CAUGHT IN GULF BY "OREGON" (Cruise 24): A

pounds each, were caught in the “Gulf of Mexico by the Service's exploratory fishing

vessel Oregon, The fish were captured on a two-week exploratory tuna long-lining

trip in the northeastern Gulf outside of the 500-fathom curve. The Oregon returned
to Pascagoula on July 27.

During the cruise there was a very important correlation between wave action
and catch rate. During the first 10 fishing days the sea was flat calm and the catch
rate was 0.7 fish per 100 hooks (43 yellowfin tuna caught). The last 4 fishing days
had moderate-to-heavy seas and the catch rate jumped to 3.3 fish per 100 hooks (69
yellowfin caught).

The most serious problem was loss of fish due to the breaking of gangions and
leaders, Ninty-five gangions were lost. An additional 65 gangions were replaced
when defects could be found, It is estimated that approximately 90 percent of these
losses were due to yellowfin tuna. Broken gangions were usually found adjacent to
a caught tuna, On several occasions tuna were observed breaking gangions while
the gear was being brought aboard.

Of the total 112 large yellowfin tuna caught, 24 were mutliated by shark bites,
The 87 whole large yellowfin landed weighed 8,634 pounds and were stored ina
Pascagoula freezer, In addition, 7 small yellowfin averaging 9 to 10 pounds each
were captured on the long lines as well as 17 blackfin tuna, 10 white skipjack, 26

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 27

marlin, 1 sailfish, 69 sharks, and a number of other species. Length frequencies
of the yellowfin tuna captured show several well-defined size groups present in the
Gulf at the time of the cruise.

Thirty-five baskets (9 hooks per basket) of Japanese-type long-line gear were
used on the first 7 sets. Five experimental baskets of hemp main line were then
removed due to the excessive twisting of the main line which wrapped gangion and
leader along the main line. An additional gangion was added to the remaining 30
baskets and two 30-basket (300 hooks) sets were made each day for the remainder
of the trip. The gear was set as one continuous line with 10 baskets set with 20-
fathom float-to-main line droppers,
10 baskets with 10-fathom drop-
pers, and 10 baskets with the floats
attached to the main line. Mullet,
squid, and cigarfish (Decapterus
punctatus) were used as bait. The
cigarfish were in poor condition

feces: | but were by far the most effective
APPROX, POSITION OF LONG-LINE SETS: i bait
+ JULY 1954 eo i
© aucusT 1954

PASCAGOULAT ata

4 FLORIDA
.

td

Damage to fish by sharks was
considerable and over 20 percent
eae of the fish caught were mutilated to
qsee> |G some extent. Fifty-six sharks
04g 00 were chummed up and shot while
5° +4 ae : on fishing stations. Sixty-nine

ch aciresas! were taken on the long lines.

Observations of surfacing tuna
+2 \ paralleled those made in preceding
‘ 4 SS years during the summer months.
& ea Schools of blackfin, yellowfin, and
ite iS ap ~..] white skipjack, sometimes mixed
4 together, were seen every day dur-
ze + a ing the trip.
Q hy +

‘ The Oregon was scheduled to
° wy leave Pascagoula on August 10 on

fo ahh pee Cruise 25, returning August 31.

oil Seal | The work outlined for this cruise
90° is long-line tuna fishing in the
central Gulf of Mexico. No spe-

This chart shows the distribution of exploratory long-line fishing cific area was de signated but all

oe in the Gulf by the Service’s vessel Oregon on cruises 24 fishing HAS GO INS clone beyond nine

500-fathom curve. One of the ob-

jectives is to test several types of
nylon, cotton, and hemp gangions and main line in an attempt to reduce breakage of
gear which was excessive on the two previous cruises, Another objective for the
cruise is to try to find the most productive depth of fishing and to determine the best
time of day for sets to be made.

XK OK OK

"OREGON" CATCHES OVER SIX TONS OF YELLOWFIN TUNA IN GULF
(Cruise 25): A total of 127 yellowfin tuna (13,042 pounds) were landed at Pascagoula,
Mississippi, on September 1 by the Service's exploratory fishing vessel Oregon.
These fish were caught in the northeast Gulf of Mexico on a three-week cruise com-
mencing August 10.

28 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

Twenty-one sets were made mostly in the morning (see chart) with 7,160 baited
hooks, Yellowfin tuna were taken on all except four sets. Of these four, the shal-
lowest set made was in depths from 100 to 170 fathoms; one set was made at night;
and one set was put out in the late afternoon, All morning sets over depths of 500
fathoms or more, with the exception of one, produced large yellowfin tuna. A single
yellowfin tuna was taken on a set made with hooks fishing at a depth of approximately
85 fathoms but all other sets were with hooks fishing at depths from 15 to 25fathoms.

In addition to the large tuna landed, 19 were damaged by sharks, The average
catch rate was 2 yellowfin tuna per 100 hooks. The best set produced 25 yellowfin
at a rate of 5.1 fish per 100 hooks, Shark damage was reduced proportionately on
this cruise by several measures. No bait was thrown overboard near the sets--the
Oregon was moved a few miles just prior to making a set--and one man carried on
a shark-catching and shark-shooting operation at the stern while fishing was in
progress. Fins and livers from 104 large sharks were landed. Also 2 large blue
marlin and 26 white marlin were landed,

The Oregon went into port at Pensacola on August 20 to pick up additional gear,
The original Japanese gear used since the beginning of the vessel's long-line fish-
ing in 1954 had been previously used in other localities and was becoming too weak
to be satisfactory. The new gear was effective in greatly reducing losses from
breakage of the gangions and main lines,

A series of the young of severalspecies of tunas were obtained by dip nets un-
der night lights while drifting.

Maryland
BLUE CRABS TAGGED IN CHINCOTEAGUE BAY: Blue-crab studies in Chin-

coteague Bay began last year on a broad scale as a basic part of the over-all Chin-
coteague Bay project started in

1952. One of the important prob-

lems recognized early in the sur- Va
vey was the clear definition of the fry
population characteristics of crabs 2g SSS Ty
from that area. A migration ae F = PP
study of crabs in the area was in- Z
itiated in which mature female
crabs were tagged because of the
certainty of using a crab which
would not lose the plastic strip by
shedding. It was believed thatthe
study might define the spawning
area on the basis of knowledge of
the movements of these crabs,
according to the August 1954issue
of the Maryland Tidewater News of
the Maryland Department of Re-
search and Education,

Removing crabs from a crabebait line with a dip net.

The crabs, procured from the local fishermen who have been very cooperative,
were tagged by attaching a red plastic strip across the back shell by means of a
stainless steel wire wound around the lateral spines. This method is simple and
lends itself to handling large numbers of individuals, and this procedure is not
harmful to the crabs. After tagging, they were released in or near the areas

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 29

where they were caught. A reward of $1 is paid for the return of each tag and the
following information: (a) exact place of capture; (b) date; (c) name of collector;
and (d) remarks about gear and habitat.

During July, August, and September of 1953 a total of 395 crabs were tagged
and released in the Isle of Wight--Chincoteague area. To date 116 returns have
been received. Discounting the offshore tagging, these returns amount to nearly 40
percent of the total number tagged. Fifteen of the 116 returns were of little biolog-
ical value, most of them being found in picking houses, although one was returned
by the proprietor of a restaurant in Chicago. In addition to those tagged in the
Chincoteague area, 26 crabs were tagged in the Atlantic Ocean 3 to 8 miles off
Ocean City, Maryland. No returns have been received from this tagging. So we
have about 34 percent of the total releases which are of sound biological value.

The returns, not yet complete or analyzed, suggest a number of possible pat-
terns. It was supposed that crabs, if they did travel in a southerly direction in the
bays, would not bypass a direct passage to the ocean, such as the inlet at Ocean
City. The pattern, based on a preliminary look at tagging returns, appears to indi-
cate that a movement ina southerly direction did occur. Many of the crabs were
recaptured a short time after release. These, of course, did not have the oppor-
tunity to move any great distance. Most of the crabs releasedinChincoteague and
Sinepuxent Bays were retaken near or below the Maryland-Virginia line. One crab,
released at Fenwick Island Light in Little Assawoman Bay, bypassed the western
entrance to Ocean City inlet and was recaptured near Chincoteague, Virginia, more
than seven months later.

From this preliminary analysis it appears that the Chincoteague crab probably
follows a pattern similar to that of the Chesapeake population. Larval sampling has
already been initiated and will shed further light on the spawning areas of these
seaside bays. A more detailed report on this study will be issued later by the Ches-
apeake Biological Laboratory.

New England Bluefin Tuna Investigations
WEST COAST SEINER CATCHES 55 TONS BLUEFIN TUNA OFF NEW ENG-

LAND: A total of 55 tons of bluefin tuna was landed at Gloucester, Massachusetts,
by the West Coast purse seiner Western Pride on August 27, The tuna were caught
on a 6-day trip in an area roughly 50 miles southeast of Cape Cod. The individual

fish averaged approximately 50 pounds--very good canning size.

AU. S. Fish and Wildlife Service observer aboard the Western Pride reported
that a large number of tuna schools were sighted along the northern edge of Georges
Bank, The crew, most of whom are experienced California tuna fishermen, esti-
mated that many of the tuna schools contained 200 to 300 tons of tuna. The large
schools present certain problems in seining.

It is understood that the catch of tuna was purchased by a New England canner.
The Western Pride was scheduled to resume fishing on or about August 30.

30 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Volep 16; No. LO

New York

will go into effect on January 1, 1955:

s 163a, CRAB MEAT REGULATED: 1. No crab meat, 2. Notwithstanding that the plant of a packer is under per-
other than crabmeat which is packed inahermetically sealed mit or approval of a federal or state inspection service as
container and which has been sterilized in the container after | provided in subdivision 1 of this section, the department of
sealing, shall be held, kept, offered for sale or sold for hu- health is empowered to exclude such packer from shipping
man food in the city of New York unless the said crab meat crab meat produced at such plant into the city of New York,
has been prepared, processed and packed in a plant that is if such crab meat is suspected of containing pathogenic or-
under permit or approval of a federal or state inspection ganisms or contains bacteria in excess of the following stand-

service approved by the board of health of the city of New York} ards: More than 100 per gram of hemolytic staphylococcus
and the container thereof bears the certificate number issued | aureus, or more than 100 per gram of coliform organisms,
to such plant by the approved inspection service or the name | or more than 1,000 per gram of enterococci, or more than
and address of the packer or other means of identificationof | 100,000 colonies per gram in the total bacteria plate count,”’
the packer approved by the department of health,

| Pacific Oceanic Fishery Investigations
COMMERCIAL LONG LINERS CATCH FOUR TONS OF YELLOWFIN TUNA IN

LINE ISLANDS AREA (“Oceanic™ and "Brothers," Ist Concurrent Cruise): The
commercial Alaska halibut vessels, Oceanic and Brothers, using steel long-line
gear, unloaded at Honolulu on June 23 about 8 tons of yellowfin tuna caught in the
vicinity of the Line Islands. The vessels are 48 and 49 feet in length, respectively,

and carry a crew of 3 men each,

The vessels fished a total of 10 days each, 7 days at Fanning Island and 3 days
at Christmas Island, The Oceanic unloaded approximately 3,206 pounds of yellow-
fin tuna while the Brothers unloaded an estimated 4,863 pounds. Besides the yellow-
fin tuna, 3 big-eyed tuna and 7 marlin were also unloaded. The Oceanic fished an
average of 425 hooks per day while the Brothers averaged 320 hooks per day.

This commercial trial produced very poor yellowfin tuna catches. Two reasons
seem possible: (1) excessive losses to sharks probably caused by fishing too close
to the islands; and (2) with an entirely new type of gear, apparently one of the boats
was not reaching the proper depth. The boats plan on returning to the equator later
in company with the Commonwealth, a larger boat.

The stainless steel cable main line was made up into reels of 1,600 fathoms
each, As set, the main line was suspended by a buoy every 14 hooks (every 1,350
feet). All the fishing was done within 15 miles of the islands.

Both vessels fished in the same general area every day, but the Brothers ex-
perienced a catch rate of approximately 4.0 yellowfin tuna per 100 hooks while the
Oceanic's fishing resulted in a catch rate of 1.4 yellowfin tuna per 100 hooks. The
only difference in the makeup of the gear was that the Brothers used 25-fathom float
lines throughout while the Oceanic used 10- and 25-fathom float lines in the ratio of
approximately 3 to 1, respectively.

The yellowfin tuna catch was comprised of approximately 3 sizes of fish. One
size at 45 pounds, another at 75 pounds, and the third at 125 pounds. The average
weight of the yellowfin tuna was 86 pounds,

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 31

A surprisingly high percentage of the long line-caught yellowfin tuna were
shark-eaten, The Oceanic lost 44 percent and the Brothers 50 percent to the sharks.
Sharks were caught in great numbers,

OR OK KK

NEW TUNA GEAR TESTED IN HAWAIIAN WATERS BY "JOHN R. MANNING"
(Cruise lise 21): Sea tests of a new type of steel long-line gear for catching tuna were
carried out on a 15-day cruise of the Service's Pacific Oceanic Fisheries Investiga-
tions research vessel John R. Manning. The cruise ended at Honolulu on July 29.
The gear was developed by technicians of the Service's Honolulu laboratory.

These experiments mark the latest step in a program to adapt a fishing technique
of Japanese origin to fit in with the economics of the United States tuna fishery. The
tuna long line is the only fishing gear that has been consistently successful in cap-
turing yellowfin tuna in the rich equatorial fishing grounds of the central Pacific
region, However, as developed and used by the Japanese, the long line requires an
inordinate amount of manpower and thus cannot be economically employed in its
present form by United States fishermen,

The work aboard the John R. Manning was designed to test fishing methods by
which a few men can easily and speedily set and haul many miles of tuna long line
and many hundreds of hooks. Instead of the usual cotton line made up into a large
number of separate units, called "baskets, '' which must be taken apart and put to-

gether by hand, the new POFI gear has continuous stainless steel main lines. This
steel cable is wound up on reels mounted on a modified halibut fishing winch. The
branch lines, which carry the hooks, are detached from the main line as it is hauled
in and are stowed away on racks, instead of being coiled down with the main line as
in the conventional commercial gear. A method has even been tested for automat-
ically snapping the branch lines on the main line at the proper spacing as the line is
being run out.

After preliminary tests indicat-
ed that the experimental gear could
be fished satisfactorily, five days
of fishing was done in a current
eddy northwest of the island of Ha-
waii, an area which earlier recon-
naissance had indicated might be a
productive fishing ground. The big
tuna (ahi) were scarce, however,
and the catches were light. Thus,
although the gear is technically suc-
cessful, it still has not had a fair
opportunity to show that it cancatch
fish as well as the generally used
cotton long lines.

CORKSCREW

Suan Ueiae ALTERED STRAPHANGER

Three types of dropper con-
nectors had been designed as sub-
stitutes for the AK snap used on
standard gear. These were desig-

nated as "keyhole, '' "corkscrew, "

" n :
New types of dropper connectors used by John R. Manning in and "straphanger" gear. (See fig-
tuna long-lining in Hawaiian waters. ure 1),

"Keyhole" and ''corkscrew'' gear performed less efficiently than standard gear.
"Straphanger'' gear was set both mechanically and by hand, but setting times were
very slow. However, the behavior of the gear in the water was superior to that of

32 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Viole 1165 Nos 10

standard gear and recovery time was rapid, with little tangling. The vessel was
returned to port and attempts were made to eliminate setting defects. All 29 bas-
kets of steel gear were changed over to an altered ''straphanger" design, This mod-
ified gear was fished on five stations of the cruise. Initial performance of the gear
was poor. One-third of the droppers on the first station were missed in setting due
to mechanical difficulties with the setting device but adjustment of the setter lower-
ed this figure to less than 10 percent on an average station. Average setting time
was 2 minutes and 54 seconds per basket, Recovery time was slow, averaging a-
bout 5 minutes and 45 seconds per basket. Much of this time loss was due to the
necessity of stopping the winch while ''straphanger'" fittings were faired on the winch
drum, Behavior of the gear in the water was excellent and little tangling was noted.

Sounding tubes were calibrated by lashing paired tubes to a 900-ft. BT and mak-
ing lowerings down to 70 fathoms. Tube depths exceeded BT depth by about 7 per-
cent. Readings of paired tubes agreed to within 2 fathoms,

Tubes used on the first part of the cruise were over five years old and some
tube linings had deteriorated so that readings were questionable. New tubes used
on the second part of the cruise gave much better results.

New tubes were attached to each dropper of 2 baskets of a 5-basket set of steel
"straphanger" gear. Plotted profiles were corrected by measuring distances be-
tween buoys by a stretched line,

Twenty-three baskets of a 29-basket set of steel gear had tubes attached to
middle droppers. Average depth was 82 fathoms with end baskets reaching to 120
fathoms. On 2 stations attempts were made to check tube depth by picking up the
main line on the Bendix echo sounder. No traces could be obtained.

The sounding tubes calibrated well. While taking depth readings on the long
line, occasionally the sounding tubes recorded greater depths than the actuallength
of the line laid; so it cannot be said until an explanation arises through further ex-
periments that the readings recorded by these depth-recording instruments are
good values for long line in the open seas,

John R. Manning" (Cruise 21)

Catch

Big-eyed
Tuna

Table 1 - Summary of Tuna Long-Line Catch

No. of [|Total Hooks
Baskets Fished

Yellowfin

nana Sharks} Other

Marlin

7/23/54

Lon

29 steel
30 cotton

7/25/54

29 steel
30 cotton

7/26/54

20 steel
30 cotton

29 steel

OOF Oo! we

29 steel

Total Catch/100 Hooks

136 steel
90 cotton

Steel Gear
Cotton Gear

—a—) FRB RIOlO Ol wWlo oO

oo \ywoo)yslro|joojro

Total Tuna Catch/ 100 Hooks

Steel Gear
Cotton Gear

oqgoo jun &

Five long-line stations were fished in the lee of Lanai and Hawaii (table 1).
Twenty-nine baskets of steel and 30 baskets of cotton gear, both containing 11 hooks

per basket, were fished on the first 2 fishing stations (stations 1 and 3).

Due to

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 33

winch trouble on the latter of the 2 stations, only 20 baskets of steel and 30 baskets
of cotton gear were fished at station 5. During the hauling operation on station 5,
the Japanese line hauler broke down and the last 9 baskets of cotton gear were re-
trieved with the Rowe winch, At the remaining 2 fishing stations, only the steel
gear was used,

The catch for the 5 fishing stations, a total of 136 baskets or 1,196 hooks (ex-
cluding missed droppers), on the steel gear was 2 yellowfin tuna, 4 big-eyed tuna,
4 sharks, and 3 Alepisaurus, or 0.50/100 hooks for all tuna.

The catch for the 90 baskets or 977 hooks-on cotton gear was 2 yellowfin tuna,
1 big-eyed tuna, 2 black marlin, 7 sharks, and 3 Alepisaurus, or a catch rate of
0.31/100 hooks for all tuna. Obviously the steel gear fished more efficiently than
the cotton gear although neither gear caught many tuna.

Contrary to the original plans, more time than expected was spent in testing
the steel gear. Hence, practically no fishing was conducted in the areas that were
being fished by the local commercial fleet. Nevertheless, catch reports from the
local fish market showed an extremely poor tuna fishery during this period.

Conversation overheard over the radio between 2 long-line vessels indicated
catches of only one or two tuna per day--a catch rate only slightly better than the
John R. Manning.

Four schools of skipjack and five unknown schools were sighted in eight days of
scouting. In all cases bird flocks accompanied the fish schools. While drifting off
Lanai, two large fish schools accompanied by large flocks of birds were sighted.
Two live-bait vessels, the Sailfish and Buccaneer were notified of the location of
the schools by radio,

Standard surface trolling for tuna was attempted on all daylight runs. Eleven
fishing hours produced no catch,

OK KK OK

GREAT NUMBERS OF SKIPJACK TUNA ley = - = see
FOUND IN HAWAIIAN WATERSBY CHARLES
H. GILBERT" (Cruise 16): Skipjack tuna (aku)
schools were reported present in great num-
bers offshore south of Maui and Oahu and
westward to about 100 miles west of Niihau. oF
This was the observation of the biologist in
charge of the scientific work on the skipjack
tuna scouting cruise by the Service's re-
search vessel Charles H. Gilbert. The
cruise was completed at Honolulu on August a
26,

An exceptionally large concentration of
schools of big fish was found about 20 miles
north of Kalaupapa, Molokai, This was one
of the cruises planned to provide informa-
tion on the seasonal changes in the abun-
dance of tuna schools around the islands, es-
pecially in those areas that are beyond the
range of the present commercial fishery.

_ { ae 156° ist se" eo
In 25 days of scouting, a total of 241 Cruise 16 (Part 1) of the Charles H, Gilbert, July 25-
bird flocks and fish schools were sighted. 31, 1954,

34 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Viol 65 No: 10

Of these, 45 were identified as skipjack, 8 as dolphin (mahimahi), 1 as yellowfin,
and 187 were unidentified. Three dolphin schools not accompanied by birds were
located by surface trolling. Schools were generally plentiful in the leeward waters
of the Hawaiian Islands and scarce to the north. No schools were sighted beyond
100 miles of land to the north of the Islands,

1" The eddy system west of the island of
Hawaii was found to be flowing clockwise,

opposite to the flow which has usually been
; found in this area. A counterclockwise

~~"! eddy was found southwest of Oahu andthere
appeared to be more schools between the
two systems. There were no marked eddy
systems west of Kauai.

| Fourteen schools were chummed with
ce i a ne live nehu (Hawaiian anchovy) and fish were
Cruise 16 (Part Il) of theCharles H, Gilbert, Aug. 4-13,1954, taken from eight of these. A total of 156

ry skipjack were tagged with the California-
type plastic tube tags and released, Seventy-seven of the tagged fish were large
(around 20 pounds) while the remaining 79 were small fish of around 5 pounds. Tag-
ging of the small fish was accomplished without any difficulty and almost every fish
swam away from the vessel in apparently good condition. On August 6, two small
fish were tagged and released. One of _
these tagged fish was seen swimming a- Py =| |
longside the Gilbert for about 43 hours Vaz lee
after tagging in company with the remain-| |
der of the school which kept following the
vessel. The white tag was seen stream- |*
ing very nicely on its back. The diffi-
culty experienced for a while in tagging
the violently active large fish was over-

8

come by using a pair of electrodes to i

shock the fish into momentary paralysis t

while tagging was accomplished. There aA

were some evidences of these fish recov- Le.

ering from the treatment. al nae =e ere 4.

To study the possible causes of “hon- Cruise 16 (Part Il) of the Charles H, Gilbert, Aug. 16-25,
eycombing, '' an.abnormal condition in =
skipjack flesh wherein the cooked meat has a cellular appearance like a honeycomb,
two experiments were carried out. In one, 40 fish were stored in crushed ice after
being left on deck for about 24 hours after capture and another 40 were placed in the
freezer within an hour of capture. In another experiment, 40 fish were placed in
circulating sea water for 15 hours before being transferred to the freezer while an-
other 40 fish taken from the same school were immediately dry-frozen. Inspection
at the cannery after cooking indicated no significant difference in the occurence of
honeycombing between frozen and iced fish; however, there was a highly significant
difference between frozen fish and those kept in sea water, Among those kept in
sea water for 15 hours without refrigeration, 90 percent were found to be honey-
combed when processed at the cannery; of those refrigerated immediately after cap-
ture, 2 percent were honeycombed. Thus, honeycombing was produced by improp-
er refrigeration,

OK OK OK

October 1954

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

35

ANNUAL REPORT, JULY 1, 1953, to JUNE 30, 1954: Research by the Serv-
ice's Pacific Oceanic Fishery Investigations on the four major projects continued

during the past fiscal year with changes in emphasis.

The initial phase of locating

and describing the yellowfin tuna stocks near the equator ended and commercial fish-

ing on a limited scale began.
studies are being published,

Results of the equatorial and commercial fishing

Increased effort was expended on sea work and laboratory study of the Hawaiian
skipjack tuna problem. Concurrent research on the reaction of tuna to artificial

stimuli both in ponds and at sea continued.

The phase of the study dealing with the

reaction of tuna to chemical stimuli was completed and the study of visual stimuli
was begun with observations being made primarily at sea.

A hydrographical and biological reconnaissance of the region north of Hawaii
was carried out in cooperation with the State of California; two POFI vessels ex-
plored the region north of Hawaii while California vessels covered the area interven-

ing between the POFI and the mainland coast.

This survey will be the basis of a

program of study designed to locate and describe albacore tuna fishing grounds in
the subtropical Pacific now being planned as a cooperative research project by var-
ious Pacific Coast fisheries agencies and POFI.

Sea work during the year included 5 cruises in equatorial waters, 1 of which
passed through the Marquesas, Tuamotu, and Society Islands; 6 cruises were made
in Hawaiian waters to study the features of ocean circulation affecting the distribu-
tion of tuna schools and to delineate the distribution from inshore island waters to
about 1,000 miles offshore; 2 survey cruises were made in the potential albacore
waters north of Hawaii; and 1 local cruise tested new designs in fishing gear and

oceanographic equipment.

Tuna Abunbance in Central Pacific: The
abundance of tunain central Pacific equa-
torial watershas beenestimated, the lim-
its of the yellowfin tuna resource located
near the equator south of Hawaii have been
defined, and the relationships between tuna
andthe oceancurrents have been more ac-
curately described. The pastyear's
cruises have substantiated earlier find-
ings that the region between 0° and 5° N,
latitude and about 140° and165° W. lon-
gitude consistently yields the highest catch
rate of tunaonexperimental gear, Theall-
time average catch rate within this zone of
best fishingis 6.8 yellowfin per 100 hooks,
witha range of averagesfrom 3.4to 11.7
yellowfin tuna per 100 hooks for the best

4° of latitude oneach of 11 fishing sections
crossing the equator, Onecruise of the
Charles H. Gilbert this past year along
110° W. longitude increased the knowledge
of the easterly extent of the band of yellow-
fintunaat the equator. Althoughthe catch
rate on 110° at the 5best stations was only
2.6 yellowfin per 100hooks, this cruise,
with previously collecteddataon120 W.
longitude, provedthat yellowfin tuna ex-
tend continuously along the equator from
180° easttothe Americancontinent, Jap-

anese commercial fishing west of 1 80°
shows that they also extend continously to
Asia,

Because POFlI cruises to the equator are
intermittent, seasonal differences have
been difficult toassess. During 1953, 4
cruises at different times of the year show-
ed catch rates as follows:

Jan, - July-

Feb, May Aug. Dec.
Number of fish-

ing stations .. 4 4 5 5
Avg. yellowfin

tuna catch/100

INOS Gooodac BoGs B58) ee io @

These dataindicate more clearly than
previous years! records that the best
catches occur during late summer,

The effects ofislands upon the distri-
bution of yellowfin tuna near the equator
was studied this past year. Cruises de-
signed to test this feature produced
catching rates 1. 8 times better around
the islands than in the openocean, The
catch rate of the medium andlarger fish
was about the same onboth types of lo-

36

cations. The increase was attributable

to the presence of the small surface-
schooling yellowfin tuna around the is-
lands in addition to the ever-present
adults found at middepths, regardless of
nearness to islands.

The data from all equatorial oceano-
graphic cruises are being assembled to
determine the geographic and seasonal
distribution of physical and chemical
properties in the mid-Pacific equatorial
region, Data from oceanographic cruises
by other activities (such as the research
vessels Shellback, Carnegie, Albatross,
and Galathea) are being included in or-
der to supplement POFI data and to ex-
tend the geographical coverage.

Preliminary examination suggests that
along the equator from 110° W. (the east-
ern limit of available data) to about 1550-
160° W. there is a gradual deepening of
the thermocline from near the surface to
400-500 feet, but from 1559-160° W. to
1650 E. there is little change in thermo-
cline depth. All properties studied thus
far demonstrate that the region between
155° W. to 160° W. is a transition zone
between the eastern and western areas
of the sector under study. Several bio-
logical indices support the idea that the
ecological conditions in the eastern half
may differ from those in the western
half of the section.

With the cooperation of the U. S.
Weather Bureau, a field station with me-
teorological instruments and two sea
temperature thermographs was set upon
Christmas Island. The recording ther-
mometers have been difficult to keep in
operation but have functioned over long
enough periods to give records of sur-
face water temperature variation, ~The
accompanying weather data is expected
to show the causes of the variation.

Tuna Biology Studies: Studies of the bi-
ology of tunas have continued, The big-
eyedtuna (P, sibi) spawns in the equator-
ial Pacific Oceanat a minimum size of
about 20pounds, Maturing females were
found during most months of the year ine-
quatorial waters, but none of the fish taken
in Hawaiian waters were as advanced as
the equatorial big- eyed tunain spawning
condition, From 2,9 to 6,3 millioneggs
are estimated to be released during one

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

Vol. 16, No. 10

spawning, andthereis evidence that these
tuna spawn more than once per season.

A detailed description of the various
tuna larvae found in central Pacific wa-
ters has been completed and a report of
this work is in. preparation. The distri-
bution of the tuna larvae in equatorial
waters closely parallels that of zooplank-
ton, with both skipjack tuna and yellowfin
tuna larvae, the predominant tuna species
in the plankton, being found in greatest
abundance in the central Pacific from 5°
S. to about 8° N. latitude and from 120°
W. longitude to 180°, The larvae seem
to be equally abundant from about 140° W.
longitude to 180°, a distance of about
2,500 miles. Despite the fact that exper-
imental fishing in equatorial waters pro-
duces preponderantly adult yellowfin tuna,
over three times as many skipjack tuna
larvae as yellowfin tuna larvae are taken
in the quantitative plankton tows. It is
obvious that the sampling methods are
not accurately measuring the skipjack
tuna populations, either in scouting or
long-line fishing. Large stocks of skip-
jack tuna must spawn near the equator,
and at this time it is only conjectural
whether or not these spawning stocks con-
tribute to existing commercial skipjack
tuna fisheries elsewhere.

Analyses of both yellowfin tuna and
big-eyed tuna length- and weight-fre-
quency data for evidences of age and
growth are being completed. Big-eyed
tuna weight data from the commercial
"ahi'' fishery of the Hawaiian Islands in-
dicate that they apparently do not spawn
every year. An annual alternation of
size groups occurs, the same modal size
appearing in the Hawaiian fishery every
other year. Growth, measured from the
progression of the frequency modes, ap-
pears to average about 40 pounds each
year, with good evidence that 7-year-old
fish are about the oldest distinct age
group to occur in the Hawaiian Islands,

Yellowfin tuna length frequencies from
equatorial waters show two distinct modes
which occur in about the same position in
samples collected throughout the year,
This consistency in modal sizes has pre-
vailed more or less regularly through the
three years since experimental long-line
fishing in central Pacific equatorial wa-
ters began in earnest. No progression

October 1954

of modes can be found during succeeding
seasons of the year. One explanationfor
this lack of progression might be thatin-
gress and egress of the two size groups
of yellowfin tuna in the middepths sam-
pled by the long lines are relatively con-
stant. Where the fish come from and
where they go after leaving this environ-
ment is highly speculative, but it is not
difficult to imagine that the equatorial
belt of favorable environment is only a
temporary stopover in some, as yet un-
known migratory pattern.

Commercial Fishing Trips To Equa-
torial Waters: Two commercial fish-
ing trials to equatorial waters were
completed and a third began during
the past year. Two West Coast fishing
vessels, Alrita and North American, un-
der contract with POFI, completed two
long-line fishing trips to the Line Islands
region south of Hawaii between late Feb-
ruary and mid-May, fishing a total of
121 boat-fishing days and catching 210
tons of yellowfin tuna, averaging 4.75
yellowfin per 100 hooks, The cruise may
be considered a successful commercial
trial, despite some difficulty in market-
ing the "offcolor" fish and continuous
trouble with broken fishing gear. The
line used for the hook droppers by these
boats proved too light for continuous use
and many fish were lost.

An equatorial fishing trip in April by
a local sampan, Taihei Maru, was not
successful owing to mechanical difficul-
ties and inadequate refrigeration. Forty
baskets of long-line gear were fished for
5 days in the vicinity of Palmyra and
caught only 23 tons of yellowfin. The
gear was retrieved by hand without bene-
fit of a power winch because of mechan-
ical failures.

This past year a most significant
move in the commercial development of
the equatorial fishing grounds south of
Hawaii has occurred, A Pacific North-
west fishing company is undertaking de-
velopment of Palmyra Island as a fishing
outport for tuna long-line boats. Three
vessels from the West Coast are now
fishing near Christmas Island with steel
long lines. Early reports indicate dis-
couragingly low catch rates, which may
be due to their use of the new and asyet
unproven steel fishing gear.

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

37

Another Honolulu-based fishing boat,
Sea Hawk, is now making ready for a
long-lining trip to the Line Islands region,
This vessel will use the conventional
cotton gear and have experienced Hawaii-
an long-line fishermen aboard.

Steel Long-Line Gear: Realizing the
importance of improving the long-line
gear for efficient use aboard United States
vessels, POFI personnel are experiment-
ing with steel cable for the main line,
with the gear wound on metal spools and
set and retrieved with a modified Rowe
halibut winch. Several devices for me-
chanically attaching the hook-droppers
have been tried and one, a so-called
"straphanger' attachment, shows much
promise. The function of the ''straphanger"
is to attach the baited hook-droppers
automatically as the steel main line is
being set, eliminating the delay caused
by stopping the winch to attach the drop-
pers by hand. As yet a speedy and effi-
cient way of setting and hauling this gear
which would reduce the time required be-
low that of the presently-used cotton

long lines has not been devised.

Plankton Abundance Analyzed: Analyses
of plankton abundance in the equatorial
region continued. Although there are
slight changes only in weather from one
time of the year to another, there is con-
siderable seasonal variation in plank-
ton abundance, The period from Janu-
ary through March ranked low in stand-
ing crop of plankton for most longitudes
sampled, while July, August, and Sep-
tember, almost without exception, mark-
ed the period of greatest production.
Considering the east-west variation, data
show a gradient of increasing plankton
abundance from west to east, with atend-
ency toward a leveling-off east of 140°9W.
As in past analyses, zooplankton was
found most abundant between the equator
and 49 N. Samples taken at three depths--
the surface, the level of the 70° isotherm
(within the thermocline), and 200 meters--
indicated a significant increase in plank-
ton in the surface layers during the night.
But the greatest concentrations of plank-
ton occurred in the surface layers during
both the day and night. Thus, there was
no evidence of a concentrated layer of
plankton at the level of the thermocline

at the equator. Copepods were by far
the most abundant group present in the

38

samples, followed by foraminifers, in-
vertebrate eggs, tunicates, gastropods,
chaetognaths, radiolarians, crustacean
larvae, ostracods, euphausiids, sipho-
nophores, and amphipods, respectively.

Live-Bait Survey: A live bait survey
was made of the Marquesas and Tuamotu
Islands by the Charles H. Gilbert. Live
bait was quite plentiful in the small bays
and along the rocky shores of the Mar-
quesas Islands. A total of about 3,000
buckets of bait, primarily a sardine-like
fish, was located and 365 buckets were
taken in 2 days of scouting. In the atolls
of the Tuamotus, however, there was
little evidence of worthwhile concentra-
tions of tuna bait at the four atolls sur-
veyed.

Skipjack Tuna Distribution: Studies of
the distribution of Hawauuab skipjack
tuna and environmental factors affect-
ing their movements continued. Six
scouting cruises were carried out in 1953
in conjunction with six scouting flights
in U. S. Navy PBY amphibian planes,
Airplane scouting found far fewer fish
schools per unit of distance covered than
did vessel scouting. The principal rea-
sons for this are the prevailing choppi-
ness of Hawaiian waters and the difficul-
ty of seeing dark-colored birds--which
make up the bulk of the school-accom-
panying bird flocks--against the deep
blue water. The Hawaiian skipjack tuna
fleet obtains three-fourths of its catch
within 20 miles of land, but tuna schools
were seen on our scouting cruises in
equal numbers per unit area several
hundred miles from the islands.

Hydrographic studies in Hawaiian wa-

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

ters revealed a semipermanent eddy sys- |

tem in the lee waters of the archipelago,
These eddies exhibit seasonal fluctua-
tions, being well developed during peri-
ods of strong, continuously blowing trade
winds, The circulation features in the
windward offshore waters are compli-
cated and as yet little understood. Scout-
ing revealed noteworthy concentrations
of skipjack tuna schools around the peri-

Vol, 16, No. 10

phery of the eddies, about 100 miles off-
shore and outside the range of the local
fishery. Tagging of skipjack tuna com-
menced with the plastic tube tag devel-
oped in California, and thus far 22 have
been released, primarily outside the
range of the local fishery. The migra-
tions of the fish around the islands willbe
traced by this means,

Artificial Tuna Bait: The search for
an artificial tuna bait continued with
both pond studies as well as sea tests
with research vessels, Further tests of
chemical attractants in the ponds contin-
ued to show a pronounced feeding reaction
of the tuna to the colorless tuna extracts,
However, sea tests failed to produce a
noticeable reaction in skipjack tuna
schools from these attractants. Subse-
quent visual tests have proved that an
artificial bait must be attractive in ap-
pearance and exhibit motion before tuna
schools will show a marked and contin-
uous positive reaction. Studies are now
being carried on to develop a self-pro-
pelled lure which will be attractive inap-
pearance and contain a chemical attract-
ant as well,

Albacore Tuna Reconnaissance Cruises:
A reconnaissance by two research ves-
sels last winter give encouraging evi-
dence of a rich biota and a possible con-
centration of albacore tuna north of the
Hawaiian Islands. Preliminary plots
of vertical temperature sections and
of horizontal distribution of temperature
and inorganic phosphate reveal that the
northern edge of the North Equatorial
Current was near 359 N,. latitude. Be-
tween 30° and 35° N. there was a region
of considerable mixing, while north of
35° N. lay the colder waters of the east-
erly flowing North Pacific Drift. Within
the region of mixing, near its northern
edge, the John R. Manning took 42 large
albacore tuna in one day's long-line set.
Small numbers of albacore tuna were
taken at two other locations during the
cruise, but a severe storm prevented
completion of the planned fishing survey.

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 39

States Get Over $4 Million for Fish Restoration

The popularity of new types of sport-fishing equipment sold during fiscal year
1954 resulted in the sum of $4,422, 800 in Federal Aid funds being made available to
the 48 states for sport fishery restoration projects during fiscal year 1955, Acting
Secretary of the Interior Tudor announced August 20. This is an increase of
$122,884, compared to last year's apportionment of $4,299,916.

These Federal funds become available to the States under the terms of the Fed-
eral Aid in Fish Restoration Act of August 9, 1950, probably better known as the
"Dingell-Johnson Act.'' This program, now in its fourth year of operation, is en-
abling the States to create new public fishing lakes, restore many unproductive wa-
ters, and put research findings to better use.

The revenue for the Federal share of the program comes from the 10-percent
excise tax on fishing rods, creels, reels, and artificial lures, baits, and flies,
paid by the manufacturers. Collections from this source during the year ended June
30, 1954, totaled $4,625,338. From this total is taken the annual apportionments of
$75,000 to Alaska, $25,000 to Hawaii, $10,000 to the Virgin Islands, and the cost of
administering the act by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

To provide a fair distribution of Federal funds, each
State's share is based on the relation of the number of its
paid fishing license holders to the total in all States, and
the ratio of each State's area (including coastal and Great
Lakes waters) to the area of the entire country.

The Act also states ''that no State can receive less
than one percent nor more than five percent of the total
apportioned to all States."' This provision allows the small
States enough working capital to finance comparatively big
projects, while the large States will be able to receive on-
ly the maximum amount. On this basis California, Mich-
igan, and Minnesota are given the maximum apportion-
ment this year of $221,140 each, while Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Mary-
land, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and
West Virginia will receive the minimum of $44,228 each.

To obtain the benefits of the Federal grants, the States submit project proposals
to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Acting for the Secretary of the Interior, the Serv-
ice reviews these proposals to learn whether they are substantial in character and
design within the meaning of the Act. When a project is approved, the State game.
and fish departments proceed to carry out the plans, spending their own funds. The
States then submit reimbursement claims for 75 percent of the costs of the project,
either periodically or at the completion of the work. The remaining 25 percent of
project expenditures is financed out of regular state funds. All equipment, lands,
and structures become the property of the States. All project workers are hired by
the States and are State employees.

Apportionments to the 48 states for fiscal year 1955 are as follows:

Aiabamias oes sacs Sols (85)||Georsial.. . clelce « $88,062] Maine ......... $47,697
Arizona ........ 73,701 |Idaho ....... .;-. (7,356) Maryland ...... 44,228
Arkansas ..... do 85,718 |Illinois ..... ..-.. 154,490] Massachusetts . 44,228
California ...... 221,140|Indiana ...... ... 101,448) Michigan ...... 221,140
Colorado ..... «. 108,340 |Towa.......-....- 81,305] Minnesota ..... 221,140
Connecticut ..... 44,228|Kansas ..... .-.- 983,060] Mississippi.... 50,402
Delaware ....... 44,228|Kentucky........ 87,426] Missouri..... .- 130,340

jallorenicle, 660000000 81,052 | Louisiana ....... 44,228| Montana ....... 105,883

40 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No, 10

Nebraska . .jcj0. 0+ $110,309) ||OHION. cece vice) PL4L, 300 (MeXaAS sieelele PLa2,000
INIGNEGE: Ga5556 sooo GeO Oma ooooa6 C)7saltal Niet Saooacaos 63,168
New Hampshire .. 44,228) Oregon......... 94963) \iViermont ers 44,228
New Jersey ..... 44,228| Pennsylvania ... 137,715) Virginia ...... 71,186
New Mexico..... 77,373| Rhode Island ... 44,228) Washington ... 105,139
New York........ 148,157] South Carolina... 56,952 | West Virginia . 44,228
North Carolina... 177,894] South Dakota.... 57,487 | Wisconsin .... 190,591
North Dakota..... 46,663|Tennessee...... 134,700!Wyoming...... 76,730

EE

U. S. Canned Packs of Selected Fishery Products, 1953

MACKEREL: The United States canned mackerel pack (including jack mackerel)
in 1953 amounted to 596,321 standard cases, valued at $5,038,512 to the packers
(table 1), This was a decrease of 61 percent in quantity and 56 percent in value as
compared with 1952, In 1953 mackerel was canned by 26 plants in California and 2
in Massachusetts.

Table 1 - U. S. Canned Mackerel Pack, by States and Style of

Pack, 19531/

ry Canners!' Avg
=" Style of Pack and State Quantity ee Price Per
iia Std. Case3/
if Std. Cases9 $ $

Natural, California and
Massachusetts. .cstercts es 550,927

1/Includes the pack of jack mackerel in California,
2/Includes a small pack in special sauce,
Bi Gases or various sizes converted to the equivalent of 48 1-pound cans tothe case, each can contain-

The bulk (98 percent) of the mackerel canned was put up in 15-ounce cans and
packed 48 cans to the case (table 2).

Table 2 - U. S. Canned Mackerel Pack, by Size of Container, 19534

Canners' Avg.
Can and Case Size Quantity Gaus PriceyPer
Std. Case

Actual Cases
588,938
12,204

4,909,509
116,495

15 ounces net (48 cans) ........
7= ounces net (48 cans) .........
Other sizes (converted to

Standardicases))aicihereielerereielerere

12,508

1/Preliminary,

The 1953 production of 596,321 standard cases was the smallest pack that has
been reported since 1932 when the pack was 94,723 standard cases (table 3). The
largest production on record was in 1947 when 1,754,950 standard cases were
packed, valued at $15,018,633. The last previous pack of mackerel to fall below one
million cases was in 1946, The decline in production in 1953 was attributed to a
failure of both Pacific and jack mackerel to appear in normal quantities.

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 41

Table 3 - U. S. Canned Mackerel Pack, 1943-53
California Atlantic Coast Total

Canners' Avg. Canners' Avg. Canners' Avg.
Quantity Waluchto Price Per Quantity Value to Price Per Quantity a ) Price Per
Std. Casel/ anners! std. Case1/ anners | std. Case1/
Std. Cases 5 § $ Std. Cases $ $
~27596,321_ | 2/5,038,512 5 T / 2/ 596,32 5,038,512 8.45
915035233) | |\p ‘ 2, 252,421 11.41 1,525,353 11,362,697 7.45
1,032,581 y 193,213 12.12 1,048,518 6,259,224 5.97
1,393,492 i és 4 532,200 8.37 1,457,048 7,491,816 5.14

6,848,930 6.52

916,810 . b 1,082,515 8.13 1,049,927
9,850,834 7.69

1,018,973 5 . 2,308,903 8.81 1,281,192

1,477,198 x 5 2,447,574 8.81 1,754,950 | 15,018,633 8.56
723,688 : ; 1,975,397 8.28 962,150 7,575,291 7.87
638,191 é 456,077 8.36 692,748 4,046,691 5.84
992,280 096, 5 1,937,248 8.32 1,225,060 7,033,997 5.74
831,660 379, £ a 891,207 8.44 937,251 5,271,203 5.62

1/ Cases of various sizes converted to the equivalent of 48 1-pound cans to the case, each can containing 15 ounces.
B/A small production of the Atlantic Coast has been included with that of California.

The canners' average price for 1953 was $8.45--substantially higher than for
any year since 1947 when the average price was $8.56 per standard case. The price
in 1953 was the second highest on record.

Aa SAng ote

U. S. Production of Selected Byproducts, 1953

ANIMAL FOOD FROM FISHERY PRODUCTS: The 1953 pack of canned animal
food from fishery products in the United States amounted to 3,881,245 standard
cases, valued at $17,348,052, or an average price of $4.47 per standard case tothe
canner (table 1). This is the largest pack in the history of the industry--11 percent

Table 1 - U. S. Pack of Canned Animal Food From Fishery Products
by States, 19531/

Canners' Avg.

Quantity eee Price Per

5 Std. Case2/
Std, Cases2/ $ $
Maine and Massachusetts ......e.000 1,936,964 7,489,824 3.87

New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl-

vania, Illinois, and Tennessee .... 258,387 1,016,858 3.94
Maryland, Virginia, and Mississippi. 559,629 2,928,740 5.23
WASiiNSKoIN Godood000D000UG0000000 34,400 133,300 3.88
Calltionimia “abooocoogo0s000DDdDDD0O 1,091,815 5,778,955 5.29
MARIE, oclocobg0d0D000G0D0000000000 50. | 375 7.50
WOKE Sooo ooo ObgDO DODO DDDDO0ND 3,881,245 17,348,052 4,47

1/Preliminary.
3/Cases of various sizes converted to the equivalent of 48 cans, each can containing 16 ounces.

greater in quantity and value than in 1952, California produced 28 percent of the
pack, Maine and Massachusetts 50 percent, and other states 22 percent. Animal

Table 2- U.S. Pack of Canned Animal Food Le rsaiea Fishery Products by Size
of Can and Case, 19531/

Canners' Avg.
Price Per
Case
Actual Cases $
6-ounces net (48 cans) ......... 28,321 61,753
8-ounces net (48 cans) .....cccccee 2,307,437 6,005,027

16-ounces net (48 cans) ........00.% 2,707,730 11,232,558
Other sizes (converted to standard
CASES) icc hace be So A OOO Oat Cue

1/Preliminary.

42 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No, 10

food from fishery products was canned in 14 plants in California, 7in Massachusetts,
3 in Washington, 2 plants each in Maine and Mississippi, and 1 plant each in New
York, New Jersey, Penn-
sylvania, Illinois, Tennes-
see, Maryland, Virginia,
and Alaska,

Table 3 - U. S. Pack of Canned Animal Food

From Fishery Products, 1948-1953

Canners' Avg.
Price Per
Std. Case2/

Value to
Canners

Quantity
About 46 percent of the

1953 pack of animal food Std. Cases2 $

from fishery products was 3,881,245 | 17,348,052
packed in the 8-ounce can, 3,497,733 15,667,809
over 53 percent in the 16- 2,341,871 11,675,950
ounce can, and less than 1 Quotes O8 13,870,870
percent in containers of HO SMe or 8,663,442

other sizes (table 2), 1,323,808 6,971,003

1/Preliminary,
2/Cases of various sizes converted to the equivalent of 48 cans, each can con-

The canning of animal
taining 16 ounces, J

food from fishery products
has showed a steady in-
crease since 1948, while the average price per standard case has fluctuated only
slightly from year to year (table 3),

HK KF OK

SCRAP AND MEAL: Production of marine-animal
scrap and meal in the United States and Alaska in 1953 a-

a mounted to 238,851 short tons, valued at $29,559,653 to
Li > Ze the manufacturers (table 1). This represents an increase

“ of 8 percent in volume and 9 percent in value as compared
with the previous year. Atlantic and Gulf Coast plants produced 87 percent of the
scrap and meal due to a record production of menhaden scrap and meal,

Atlantic and Gulf Coasts | Atlantic and Gulf Coasts 2/ | Pacific Coast and Alaska
Value to ee aeameeen Price Per Valueto |Avg. Price Per
Product Quantity Mfgrs. Short Ton Quantity | Mfgrs. Short Ton

Short Tons: Short Tons

eal and dried scrap:

Anchovy - -
Crab, blue 8,436 502,187
Crab, Dungeness =
Fur seal

Groundfish (white fish)

inc. ocean perch
Herring
Menhaden
Pilchard
Salmon
Shrimp
Tuna and mackerel
Miscellaneous

Total 206,730 {25,402,912 4,156,741 238,851 |29,559,653

1/ Preliminary.
2/ Includes a small production of miscellaneous meal produced in Minnesota,

Menhaden scrap and meal accounted for 73 percent of
the production, The yield of pilchard meal, which for
many years was the principal meal produced, amounted
to only 144 tons. The record yield of pilchard meal oc-
curred in 1936 when 121,739 short tons were produced,

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 43

The 1953 yield of scrap and meal was slightly below the 1936 record production
of 243,778 tons and the 239,924 tons produced in 1950 (table 2).

Table 2 - U.S. and Alaska Marine-Animal Scrap and Meal Production, 1943-53

' Valueto |Avg. Price Per Value to | Avg. Price Per Value to
Quantity ; Mfgrs. Short Tons Quantity Mfgrs. Short Ton Quantity

Mfegrs.

Short Tons $ Short Tons $
1953 2/ 238,851 29,559,653 238,851 29,559,653
1952 1/221,403 1/27,161,654 221,403 27,161,654
1951 1/209,756 |1/25,373,897 209,756 25,373,897
1950 1/239,924 '1/29,252,355 239,924 29,252,355
1949 1/237,180 1/35,652,142 237,180 35,652,142
1948 1/199,519 |1/23,086,734 199,519 23,086,734
1947 185,808 |” 22,353,488 26,863 186,440 22,380,351
1946 197,599 20,360 ,943 78,475 199,621 20,439,418
1945 199,118 14,343,138 62,200 200,675 14,405,338
1944 210 ,225 15,131,918 111,104 213,147 15,243,022
1943 188,848 13,570,331 58,821 190,403 13,629,152

1/ A small production of acidulated menhaden scrap has been included with dry scrap and meal for 1948-1952.
2/ Preliminary,

% KK

OILS: The 1953 production of marine-animal oils in the United States and Alas-
ka amounted to 20,294,118 gallons, valued at $11,481,906 to the manufacturers--an

Table 1 - U. S, and Alaska Production of Marine-Animal Oils, 1953 1/

Atlantic and Gulf Coasts 2/ Pacific Coast and Alaska Total
Value to | Avg, Price Value to |Avg. Price Value to
Product Quantity Mfgrs, | Per Gallon Quantity Mfgrs. |Per Gallon } Quantity Mfers.
$ $ $ $ Gallons $
Body Oil:

Anchovy 81,922 35,062
Fur seal = - 46,800 23,292
Herring 191,787 89,947 718,632 360,533
Menhaden 17,824,477 8,806,317 17,824,477) 8,806,317
Pilchard 2 2 13,128 6,402
Salmon 3/ 217,196 165,506
Tuna and mackerel 659,176} 314,586
Miscellaneous 528,456] 333, 58

Total

(Liver and viscera oil:
Cod

Shark

Tuna
Miscellaneous

Total

/ Preliminary.
Includes production of burbot-liver oil in Minnesota,

Includes edible and industrial salmon oil.

Includes ocean perch and unclassified body oils.

Includes unclassified body oils.

Combined with Pacific Coast production.

Includes burbot, flounder, hake, halibut, pollock, swordfish, whale, mixed, and unclassified liver oils.
Includes halibut, sablefish, swordfish, and mixed liver oils, and viscera oil.

44 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 16; ,No. 20

increase of 26 percent in volume and 22 percent in value as com-
pared with the previous year (table 1), The Atlantic and Gulf
Coast states produced 91 percent of the total oils, the Pacific
Coast and Alaska the remainder, Menhaden oil accounted for 88
percent of the total quantity produced. The production of men-
haden oil was the largest ever, while the value of liver oils de-
clined sharply.

Body oils obtained from whole fish and fish waste accounted
R for 99 percent of the quantity and 87 percent of the value, and
the remainder of the production consisted of liver and viscera
oils.

The marine-animal oil produced in the United States and
Alaska during 1953 was 26—percent more in quantity and 22 percent higher in value
than in 1952 (table 2).

Table 2 - U.S. and Alaska Production of Marine-Animal Oils, 1944-53

Body Oils Liver Oils Total
Year
Value to | Avg. Price Value to Avg. Price Value to
Quantity Mfgrs, Per Gallon |Quantity| Mfgrs. Per Gallon | Quantity Mfgrs.

Gallons $ Gadlons
19531/ 20,089,787 | 10,045,279 5 1, ée, 627 A 11, sa, 906
1952 15,817,800 | 7,316,354 4 $ 2,075,014 4 409 9,391,368
1951 17,872,723 | 14,044,296 2,579,347 K 18,172,308 | 16,623,643
1950 21,432,592 | 14,041,619 A 3,431,090 21,763,849 | 17,472,709
1949 16,860,530 | 7,519,542 % ° 9,845,455 17,694,887 | 17,364,977
1948 16,323,061 | 18,449,870 4 12,411,652 : 17,045,390 | 30,861,522
1947 15,900,382 | 20,107,194 & 11,643,468 Ob 16,732,892 | 31,750,662
1946 19,135,051 | 21,223,098 a 13,618,549 i 20,030,935 | 34,841,647
1945 23,697,564 | 16,033,515 d ; 11,202,207 J 24,501,852 | 27,235,722
1944 27,324,173 | 17,771,346 d 998,802 | 13,237,435 ij 28,322,975 | 31,008,781

1/ Preliminary.

Prices received for body oils were slightly higher, but the prices for liver oils
were lower than the previous year. There has been a particularly sharp decline in
recent years in the price of liver oils--the $7.03 per gallon average received by the
manufacturers in 1953 was 59 percent lower than the $17.18 per gallon in 1948,

OK OK OK OK

MARINE PEARL-SHELL BUTTONS: United States production of marine pearl-
shell buttons in 1953 amounted to 4,612,153 gross, valued at $7,403,894 to the man-

Table 1 - U. S. Production of Marine Pearl-Shell Buttons by States, 1953+
Avg. Price
Per Gross

Quantity

Gross
1,043,341

ING WE MOIR, cis: cr ctenavellet atte ovetcraitonteneverene 1,840,418

ING WHIEIIS Cit erclelisietetelsterclelejeletelepekelaieletetsie 1,017,599 1,957,554 1.92
Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and
IVieray lar yeverereieiielolelstsisieleveielelerolelclelersiersis 3,536,436 anil

2,507,519
43,694 69,486

7,403, 894

NOWIEY Ga oooocdcdoonCdo ODDO ODDO OOUOOS

|e LO Lica NS VatratretleWal allel NotletiaWelatsallvaVolloioNeVeNalter
1/Produced principally from imported shells. Preliminary.

ufacturers (table 1), This was an increase of 3 percent in quantity and 7 percent in
value as compared with 1952. Manufacturers received an average of $1.60 per

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 45

gross for their 1953 production, compared with an average of $1.54 in 1952 and
$1.29 in 1943.

Marine pearl-shell buttons were manufactured during 1953 in 21 plants--3 each
in New York and Iowa; 11 in New Jersey; 2 in Pennsylvania; and 1 each in Connect-
icut and Maryland,

Table 2 - U. S. Production of Marine Pearl-Shell Buttons, 1943-53

Value to |Avg. Price Value to |Avg. Price
Mfgr. |Per Gross Mfer. Per Gross

Year Quantity

Quantity

1947 | 5,087,000] 7,902,000
1946 | 3,461,559] 5,635,904

7,403,894 1.55
1.63
1945 | 2,398,020] 3,286,245 180
1,28
1.29

6,905,104
7,714,846
9,239,018
6,782,281
8,587,011

1944 | 2,035,320] 2,601,626
1943 | 2,949,978] 3,792,059

1/Preliminary.

* oe OK OK

OYSTER-SHELL PRODUCTS: The United States produc-
tion of grit and agricultural lime from oyster-shell products in
1953 totaled 466,732 tons, valued at $3,830,276 to the manufac-
turers (table 1). This was an increase of 9 percent in quantity
and 14 percent in value as compared with 1952. No clam shells
were used in 1953.

Crushed-shell products were prepared in 27 plants--4each
in Pennsylvania and Washington; 3 each in New Jersey, Virgin-
ia, and California; 2 each in Maryland, North Carolina, and
Texas; and 1 plant each in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Feeding fish meal to poultry.
Oregon,

Table 1 - U.S, Production of Oyster-Shell Products by States, 19531

Crushed Shells Unburned Burned Total
for Poultry Feed Shell Lime Shell Lime ota
: ue

New Jersey and Virginia

Pennsylvania and Alabama

Maryland, North Carolina, and Florida
Louisiana and Texas

Washington

Oregon and California

Total

|1/Preliminary,

The average price per ton received by the manufacturers for the crushed shell
for poultry feed in 1953 was $8.95--a record price (table 2). Prices paid for agri-
cultural lime from marine shells in 1953 averaged $5.28 per ton, a decrease of 8
percent as compared with the 1952 price, and 25 percent below the record price of
$7.00 per ton in 1949,

46 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Viole GS Now eO

Table 2 - U. S. Production of Oyster and Marine Clam-Shell Products, 1942-1953

Crushed Shelts for Poultry Feed Burned and aie Shell Lime Total =
< Value to. Avg. Price . Value to Avg. Price é ; Value to
nenty Mfgr. Poe Ton REE Gy Mfgr. Per Ton QEnUNyy Mfgr.
Short Tons Short Tons Short Tons
372,753 3,334,281 8.95 ~~ 93,979 495,995 5.28 5 3,830,276
356,431 2,939,718 8.25 72,917 419,306 Dede 429,348 3,359,024
377,791 3,157,129 8.36 75,528 411,616 5.45 453,319 3,568,745
344,300 2,625,896 7.63 55,075 320,557 5.82 399,375 2,946,453
323,662 2,393,794 7.40 38,366 268,458 7.00 362,028 2,662,252
296,570 2,140,705 1.22 48,505 333,787 6.88 345,075 2,474,492
438,629 2,860,175 6.52 62,764 402,983 6.42 501,393 _3,263,158
329,717 1,913,584 5.80 60,716 357,269 5.88 390,433 2,270,853
369,064 2,001,318 5.42 138,032 572,399 4.15 507,096 2,573,717
458,080 2,684,306 5.86 124,135 450,390 3.63 582,215 3,134,696
398,852 2,299,053 5.76 110,433 521,933 4.73 509,285 2,820,986
345,032 2,028,170 5.88 121,005 554,091 4.58 466,037 2,582,261

1/The entire production was from oyster shells.

a
U. S. Foreign Trade

EDIBLE FISHERY PRODUCTS, JUNE 1954: United States imports of fresh,
frozen, and processed edible fish and shellfish in June 1954 amounted to 70.7 mil-
lion pounds (valued at $20.1 million), according to a Department of Commerce sum-
mary tabulation (see table), This was an increase of 2 percent in quantity and 10
percent in value as compared with May imports of 69.4 million pounds (valued at
$18.2 million). Compared with a year earlier, June imports were up 14 percent in
quantity and 11 percent in value.

United States Foreign Trade in Edible Fishery Products, June 1954 and Comparisons

June 1954 June 1953 Year 1953

1,000 Lbs.} Million $ |1,000 Lbs.| Million $ | 1,000 Lbs.} Million $
IMPORTS: a
Fish & shellfish: Fresh, frozen & processed 1/ ; 724,656

EXPORTS:
Fish & shellfish; Processed1/ only (excluding
fresh and frozen)

rau Includes pastes, sauces, clam chowder and juice, and other specialties.
Source: United States Foreign Trade (Trade by Commodity), Summary Report FT 930, June 1954, U. S. Department
of Commerce.

Exports of processed edible fish and shellfish (excluding fresh and frozen) in
June 1954 totaled 2.1 million pounds (valued at $0.7)--a drop of 31 percent in quan-
tity but unchanged in value as compared with May exports of 3.1 million pounds
(valued at $0.7 million), June exports were down considerably from a year ago--
70 percent in quantity and 65 percent in value.

* KOK K

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF SELECTED FISHERY PRODUCTS, JANUARY-
JUNE 1954: United States imports of principal fishery products during the first six
months of 1954 were substantially higher than in the same period of 1953, accord-
ing to preliminary information compiled by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service from

data collected by the Bureau of Census.

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 47

Imports of fresh and frozen tuna totaled 63.3 million pounds for the first half of
1954--20.5 million pounds more than a year ago. Tuna-canned-in-brine imports of
16.9 million pounds were up 5.7 million pounds.
; But imports of tuna canned in oil for January-
June 1954 of less than 1 million pounds were

y A g 2.4 million pounds below those for the first

J YS half of last year. On the other hand, bonito-
/,, Vy 2 canned-in-oil imports amounted to 9.9 million
MU CWS pounds, a gain of almost 3 million pounds over
January-June 1953.

Canned salmon imports in the first six
months of 1954 amounted to 10.7 million pounds
as compared with 8.3 million pounds in the
similar period of 1953. Canned sardines not
. in oil totaled 8.8 million pounds, a gain of 2.7
million pounds over the same period a year ago.

: Ni

lets and fish blocks of 59.7 million pounds for the first six months of 1954 were up
16.9 million pounds over the like period of 1953.

Imports of groundfish and ocean perch fil-

Fish-meal imports of 92,722 short tons during January-June 1954 were 16,468
tons larger than in the same period a year ago,

Imported in volume about equal to a year ago were fresh and frozen salmon,
canned sardines in oil, shrimp, lobsters, crab meat, and fillets other than ground-
fish and ocean perch,

Although exports of fish oils declined heavily during June 1954, exports for the
first six months of 1954 amounted to 66.7 million pounds as compared with 45.5
million pounds for the similar 1953 period.

Virginia
FISHERIES RESEARCH PROGRAM EXPANDED: As a result of the recommen-
dations of the Tri-State Committee on Migratory Finfish, the Virginia General
Assembly at its 1954 session increased substantially the research appropriation of
the Virginia Fisheries Laboratory. Most of the new funds are earmarked for an
intensified study of the croaker and the gray sea trout, once the leading food fishes
in Virginia.

Two biologists have been added to the staff of the Virginia Fisheries Laboratory,
and one or two others will be employed by next spring. Work under way at present
is mainly exploratory in nature, to determine the best methods for obtaining ade-
quate samples of the commercial and sport catch, and to set up a system for col-
lecting biological catch records.

Funds also have been made available to the Virginia Laboratory for a new re-
search vessel. It is expected that construction will begin in the fall of 1954 so that
the new boat will be ready for the 1955 fishing season,

48 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

Wholesale Prices, August 1954

In spite of continued liberal production, a good demand again caused an over-all
upward movement in August wholesale prices for fishery products. The August
1954 over-all edible fish and shellfish (fresh,
frozen, and canned) wholesale index was 111.1
percent of the 1947-49 average (see table)--7.3
percent more than the July index and 3.1 percent
above a year earlier.

Because of the tie-up of Boston's offshore
fishing fleet, August ex-vessel prices for off-
shore drawn large haddock at Boston rose 35.3
percent above July and 11.8 percent above Au-
gust 1953. Except for lower prices on fresh hal-
ibut and yellow pike at New York City, all other
items under the drawn, dressed, or whole finfish
subgroup were priced higher in August than in Ju-
ly. The index for the subgroup as a whole went up
12.6 percent from July to August and was 10.9 percent higher than in August 1953.

Fresh haddock fillets and shucked oyster prices rose substantially from July to
August. The increase of 52.4 percent in the prices for fresh haddock fillets at Bos-

Table 1 - Wholesale Average Prices and Indexes for Edible Fish and Shellfish, August 1954 and Comparisons

Point of j Avg. Prices1/ Indexes
Group, Subgroup, and Item Specification Pricing Unit (3) (1947-49=100)

jAug. | July Aug. | July
| 1954 | 1954 1954 1954

ALE MISH cSHELUEISH (Eresh; Frozen, ié|Canned)) as (ss. cen sues aeceitn c nunenne 111.1} 103.5
eSllia liver Z ENERO 5 oo pod OA oe oD oOo bub ae OOS
DrawnjiDEressedMOrsWholet bint sh: say areas ae ie ee ae mae
Haddock, Ige., offshore, drawn, fresh. . . . [Boston

New York
New York
Chicago
New York
Chicago
New York

Halibut, West., 20/80 lbs., drsd., fresh or froz.
Salmon, king, lge. & med., drsd., fresh or froz,
Whitefish, L, Superior, drawn, fresh . ...
Whitefish, L. Erie pound or gill net,rnd., fres
Lake trout, domestic, No, 1, drawn, fresh. .
Yellow pike, L, Michigan& Huron, rnd.,fresh .

Processed wr reshi((EushtaShelltish) 6 syrsmteytei tas ot ate < tease meee eae
Fillets, haddock, sml., skins on, 20-Ib. tins é A 114.0 74.8 ;
Shrimp, lge. (26-30 count), headless, fresh. . -00 09 85.9 93.3 94.81 109.1

114.4 117.5

Oysters, shucked, standards ........ 9.20 4,50 129.9 111.3
Processed, Frozen (Fish & Shellfish): B00 ro, ea ole 6 oo bc e566 5 3 4 97.6 | 100.8
Fillets: Flounder (yellowtail), skinless, 1-1b.
DuGio pact) sea! tek be) ete ee cel Boston 100.8 100.8} 108.7
Haddock, sml.,skins on, 1-1b. pkg. . .|Boston b 3 a I 100.4 100.4} 89.3
Ocean perch, skins on, 1-lb. pkg. . . |Boston i 4 4 116.8} 95.1
Shrimp, lge. (26-30 count), 5-lb. pkg. . . . .|Chicago h 2 3 84.1] 106.5

Salmon, pink, No, 1 tall (16 0z.), 48 cans/cs.. .

Tuna, lt, meat, chunk, No, 1/2 tuna (6-1/2 02z.),
48icans/CSs ca wits on 8 ise: eae aioe ineee bene

Sardines, Maine, keyless oil, No. 1/4 drawn
(821/407) 00 icans/icsa en ae ae

case]19.70 | 18.70
case |13.25 | 13,05
case} 6,70 6.50

1/Represent average prices for one day (Monday or Tuesday) during the week in which the 15th of the month occurs, These
prices are published as indicators of movement and not necessarily absolute level, Daily Market News Service ‘‘Fisher
Products Reports’’ should be referred to for actual prices.

2/Revised.

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 49

ton was attributed to the tie-up of Boston's offshore fishing fleet, but prices for this
product were still 2.9 percent lower than a year earlier. These increases were off-
set slightly by a drop of 7.9 percent in the price of fresh shrimp at New York City
due principally to a liberal production. Fresh shrimp prices this August were 21.3
percent lower than in the same month of 1953. The subgroup index for fresh proc-
essed fish and shellfish in August was 8.5 percent above the previous month and
down 5.6 percent from August 1953,

Liberal stocks of shrimp, haddock fillets, and halibut caused frozen processed
fish and shellfish prices to drop 3.8 percent from July to August. The August sub-
group index for these commodities was down 6.8 percent below the same month of
1953. Although August prices for frozen haddock and ocean perch fillets were lower
than in the previous month, they were still substantially higher than in August 1953.
On the other hand, shrimp prices this August were down 24.7 percent below August
1953.

Indications of a salmon pack only equal to that of 1953 and a Maine sardine pack
somewhat smaller than a year ago boosted prices for these commodities in August.
In spite of a liberal pack of tuna, prices went up slightly in August because the de-
mand continued good. The canned fishery products subgroup index for August was
3.7 percent higher than the previous month and 1.9 percent above the same month
a year ago.

RESTAURANT OPERATORS ADVISED ON FISH SUPPLIES

Fresh and frozen fish and shellfish and canned Maine sardines received
nation-wide publicity in the September issue of Food Outlook for September,
the monthly newsletter of the National Restaurant Association, The extent and
importance of this trade news can be best appreciated by the fact that roughly
one-half of the restaurant business in the country is done by the restaurants

belonging to this association,

Because of the present large and potentially even greater volume market
represented by the restaurant groups, the Service has maintained close coop-
eration with the national and many of the regional associations. The Service
regularly sponsors a fishery display at the National Restaurant Association
convention in Washington, D. C. Fishery trade groups can avail themselves
of an excellent marketing opportunity by working closely with the state restau-
rant associations in their particular area,

50 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol 65 Now L0

- FOREIGN —

International
BRITISH MAY OPERATE JAPANESE VESSELS IN WEST PACIFIC

A plan is being studied by British and Japanese interests whereby a Britishcon-
cessionaire may operate Japanese fishing vessels in the Western Pacific, a recent
dispatch from the U. S. Embassy at London states. The London Daily Telegraph
reported as follows on the plan:

"Business interests in London and Tokyo are studying a Soviet proposal that a
British concessionaire, operating Japanese vessels under a British house flag,
should take over the operation of the valuable West Pacific fishing grounds.

"The Kurile, Kamchatka, Okhotsk, and Bering Sea salmon and crab fishing
grounds were lost by Japan at the end of the war. Official Japanese requests for the
restoration of fishing rights in these areas are understood to have been rejected on
the grounds that Russia is still at war with Japan.

"The new suggestion was made by Mr. Dominitsky, Russian unofficial trade
representative in Tokyo. The proposal points the way to a compromise very much
to the taste of trade-hungry Japan, even if fear of American opposition has prevent-
ed any official sanctioning of the project.

"Discussions on the Russian proposals are likely to be taken up in Moscow by
Mr. Kazutomi Fukunaga, formerly chairman of the Fisheries Committee of the
Lower House of the Diet, who is now in Stockholm on his way to the Soviet capital.
It is understood that a representative ofthe British groupis awaiting an answer tohis
visa application in London before flying to join in the talks,"'

USE OF FISH OILS IN EUROPE

In Norway polymerized fish oil is now being used only for edible purposes. The
processing is carried only far enough to stabilize the fish oil and prevent it from re-
verting to the original fish flavor. For industrial or technical use, as practiced
elsewhere, fish oils are polymerized to a much more modified state, according to
information relayed by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture.

About 85 percent of the fish oil used in Europe is for edible purposes. The res-
idue from refining of this fish oil amounts to about 10 percent of the total and is
used either as soap stock in various low grades of soap or is distilled and used as
fatty acids for various industrial purposes. The balance of 5 percent is used as a
drying oil principally in paints, varnishes, printing inks, etc. Considerable research
is under way on new uses for fish oils, but the unfavorable price relationship with
competing fats has retarded commercial applications.

Some grades of fish oils from foreign sources are criticized by European users
as being "loaded'' with added fish-oil stearines. They would prefer the whole oils
as rendered from the fish since the stearine portions do not ''keep" as well after
hardening by hydrogenation as does a ''whole" oil.

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 51

NORTH PACIFIC FISHERIES COMMISSION

U. 5. CONGRESS GIVES EFFECT TO CONVENTION: The President on August
12, 1954, signed S. 3713 (P. L. 579), a bill to give effect to the International Con-
vention for the High Seas Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean (United States, Can-
ada, and Japan), which came into force June 12, 1953. The new law provides addi-
tional legislative authority for the operations of the International North Pacific Fish-
eries Commission which was established under the terms of the Convention, an Au-
gust 13 release from the U. S. Department of State points out.

The United States Section of the Commission, as appointed by the President,
has the following members:

Edward W. Allen, Attorney, Seattle, Washington;

Milton E. Brooding, Director of Industry Relations, California Packing Cor-
poration, San Francisco, California;

John L. Farley, Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Inter-
ior; and

B. Frank Heintzleman, Governor of Alaska.

The North Pacific Fisheries Commission held its first meeting in Washington
beginning February 1, 1954, at which time it completed its organization. Two per-
manent Standing Committees were established; the United States Section members
selected are:

Committee on Biology and Research:
Edward W. Allen, Chairman;
W. F. Thompson, Director, Fisheries Research Institute, Seattle, Washington;

Lionel A. Walford, Chief, Branch of Fishery Biology, Fish and Wildlife Serv-
ice, Department of the Interior.

Committee on Finance and Administration:

John L. Farley, Chairman;

Montgomery Phister, Vice President, Van Camp Sea Food Company, Terminal
Island, California.

UNITED STATES SECTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE APPOINTED: In accord-

Committee composed of persons from the various groups participating in the fish-
eries covered by the Convention and from the fishery agencies of the States or Ter-
ritories the representatives of which maintain a substantial fishery in the Conven-
tion Area. Members of the Advisory Committee are:

C. L. Anderson, Director, Alaska Department of Fisheries

W. C. Arnold, Managing Director, Alaska Salmon Industry, Inc., Seattle,
Washington

Vernon E. Brock, Director, Division of Fish and Game, Territory of Hawaii

52 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

Harold F. Cary, General Manager, American Tunaboat Association, San Diego,
California

Richard §. Croker, Chief, Marine Fisheries Branch, State of California De-
partment of Fish and Game

Larry Fitzpatrick, boat owner, Juneau, Alaska
Miller Freeman, President, Miller Freeman Publications, Seattle, Washington
M. T. Hoy, Oregon State Fisheries Director, Fish Commission of Oregon

George Johansen, Secretary-Treasurer, Alaska Fisherman's Union, Seattle,
Washington :

Robert C. Kallenberg, Fisherman, Dillingham, Alaska

Donald P. Loker, Vice President, Star-Kist Foods, Inc., Terminal Island,
California

Harold E. Lokken, Manager, Fishing Vessel Owners Association, Seattle,
Washington

T. F. Sandoz, President, Columbia River Packers Association Inc., Astoria,
Oregon

Robert J. Schoettler, Director, State of Washington, Department of Fisheries

Lowell Wakefield, President, Wakefield's Deep Sea Trawlers Inc., Seattle,
Washington

James Waugh, President, Cannery Workers Union of the Pacific, Terminal
Island, California.

NORTHWEST ATLANTIC FISHERIES COMMISSION

ADVISERS' GROUPS TO MEET IN DECEMBER: In accordance with decisions
taken at the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Commission Annual Meeting held in June
1954, meetings of the groups of advisers to Panels 3, 4,
and 5 are called for the week of December 6, 1954. The
meetings will take place at the Atlantic Biological Station,
St. Andrews, N. B., Canada. It is planned to start the
meetings on December 6, at which time the group of ad-
visers to Panel 5 will meet. The meetings of the two other
groups will follow in the coming days of that week. It is
expected that the advisers to any special group will also
attend the meetings of the other groups.

Special agendas for these meetings have not been pre-
pared. However, the main subjects that will be dealt with
will be the following: (1) Results of research in connection
with the mesh regulation of haddock fishery in Subarea 5
and planning of adequate further research. (2) Assessment of the need for mesh
regulations in Subarea 4. (3) Consideration of research program and of the collect-
ion of statistics in Subarea 3, with special reference to a study of optimum age of
first capture of cod and haddock.

Also in accordance with decisions of the June Annual Meeting, meetings of the
same groups of advisers (3, 4, and 5) are planned to take place at the Newfoundland

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 53

Research Station, St. John's, Newfoundland, during the week of March 15, 1955.
The subjects to be treated at these meetings will be nearly the same as those of the
St. Andrews meetings.

INTERNATIONAL PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES COMMISSION

1954 CATCH OF FRASER RIVER SOCKEYE SALMON: The 1954 catch of Fraser

started to taper off, a September 10 news release from the International Salmon
Fisheries Commission points out.

In an official announcement, the Chairman of the International Pacific Salmon
Fisheries Commission stated that the season's catch in Canada is expected to equal
that of the United States and may well exceed the United States total. The chairman
added indications were that there were sufficient fish left in the Gulf of Georgia to
provide an adequate escapement of first-quality spawners but no justification could
be found for relinquishing the rigid controls in effect until after 1 to 1.5 million fish
passed the fishing deadline. After the required escapement passes through the fish-
ing areas, control regulations by the Commission will end for this season.

The Chairman stated that the status of the fishery is under continuous review by
the Commission and that the regulations would be altered if the facts warrant.

GREAT LAKES FISHERIES CONVENTION

UNITED STATES AND CANADA SIGN CONVENTION: A convention on Great
tives of the United States and Canada. Negotiations between the two Governments
commenced on September 8.

The Convention provides for joint action by the United States and Canada in the
field of fishery research and elimination of the predatory sea lamprey in the Great
Lakes. To carry out this task, both Governments agree to establish a Great Lakes
Fishery Commission of three appointees from each country.

The duties of the Commission include the formulation of research programs for
the Great Lakes fisheries and the formulation and implementation of comprehensive
programs for the destruction of the predatory sea lamprey. The sea lamprey has
been playing havoc with some fisheries, especially whitefish and lake trout. The
Commission may recommend to the Governments, on the basis of research findings,
measures to make possible the maximum sustained yield of Great Lake fisheries.
The Commission will have, however, no regulatory powers.

In the performance of its functions the Commission will, wherever feasible,
make use of the existing state, provincial, and federal agencies in each country.

The Convention, with an initial duration cf ten years, will become effective upon
ratification by both countries.

The Acting Secretary of State, Walter Bedell Smith, and the Special Assistant
for Fisheries to the Under Secretary of State, William C. Herrington, signed on be-
half of the United States. The Canadian Ambassador in Washington, Arnold Heeney,
and the Canadian Deputy Minister of Fisheries, Stewart Bates, signed on behalf of
Canada. The United States delegates to the negotiations were:

Department of State: Wm. C. Herrington, Chairman; Warren F, Looney, Ad-
visor; Sylvia E. Nilsen, Advisor.

54 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 16, No. 10

Department of the Interior: Arnie J. Suomela, Assistant Director, Fish and
Wildlife Service, Vice Chairman; William M. Terry, Foreign Affairs Specialist,
Fish and Wildlife Service, Advisor; Dr. James W. Moffett, Director, Great Lakes
Fishery Investigations, Advisor.

Non-Government: Dr. Charles A. Dambach, Chief, Ohio Division of Wildlife,
Columbus, Ohio, Advisor; Mr. Claude Ver Duin, Mayor of Grand Haven, Michigan,
Advisor.

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION

FISH FLOUR ACCEPTABILITY TO BE TESTED IN
of flavorless fish flour as a protein supplement in child
feeding will be conducted in four Latin American countries
in the near future, the Executive Director of the United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported on August 30.

The tests, which will involve more than 400 persons
in each country, will be conducted in Chile, Ecuador,
Mexico, and Peru with the aid of UNICEF and the Food
and Agriculture Organization, The experiment in Chile
will be an extension of trials already undertaken with other
types of fish flour and different food combinations.

If the tests show that fish flour is acceptable as a food supplement in these coun-
tries, the UNICEF administration may recommend an allocation of funds to estab-
lish a fish flour production plant in Latin America, which can utilize the area's a-
bundant fish resources. At present very little fish flour is produced commercially
for human consumption,

In most countries, the note observes, there is a preference for flavorless fish
flour which can be included in certain dishes or foods without altering their tlavor.
However, in some countries, chiefly in Africa and Southeast Asia, fish flour with a
flavor known and liked may be preferable.

Tests based mainly on flavored fish flour are under consideration in certain
parts of Africa. No plans for large-scale acceptability tests have been developed
yet for countries in the Eastern Mediterranean area and Asia.

% OK OK OK OK

SECOND LATIN-AMERICAN FISHERIES TRAINING CENTER: At the invitation
of the Mexican Government, the Second Latin-American Fisheries Training Center
was scheduled to be held in Mexico City from October 4-December 10, the Foodand
Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced recently.

The objectives are to give fishery administrators, technologists, biologists, and
economists working in the region a general preparation and introduction to fishery
science in all its fields, with special reference to the problems specific to thearea.
It is believed that the training offered in appraisal of resources, economic and re-
search planning, and in technology will be useful to fishery officers who are con-
cerned with development policy and planning, in accelerating the development of the
fishery resources in their own countries, and in increasing the consumption of fish
throughout the region.

This Second Center is intended to serve as a geographic complement to the first
one held in Valparaiso, Chile, in 1952, by covering the area not so fully served by
the Valparaiso Center, i.e. the northern Latin-American region and Caribbeanarea.

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 55

TRADE AGREEMENTS

JAPANESE-MEXICAN BARTER AGREEMENT INCLUDES FISHING VESSELS:
change for US$5 million worth of sugar industry byproducts has been completed by
two Mexican banks. The vessels will be sold to "legitimate'' Mexican fishermen
rather than fleet owners and payments will be made out of profits from the catches,
a July 30 U. S. Embassy dispatch from Mexico City points out.

3 OR OR OK ok

VENEZUELAN-NICARAGUAN AGREEMENT INCLUDES CANNED SARDINES:
Negotiations have been started whereby Venezuelan corn and canned sardines willbe
used as partial payment for the purchase of Nicaraguan rice, the Managing Director
of the Banco Agricola y Pecuario announced. The bank director had returned from a
visit to Nicaragua to dispose of some of Venezuela's surplus corn and canned fish,

reports an August 2U. S. Embassy dispatch from Caracas,

vi

Argentina

FISH OIL PRODUCTION, 1953: Argentine fish oil production in 1953 is unoffi-
cially estimated at about 1,000 metric tons, compared with 800 tons in 1953 and
1,100 tons in 1951. This product is consumed almost entirely by the local soap in-
dustry, an April 28 U. S. Embassy dispatch from Buenos Aires reports.

=
‘ES

Australia

EXPLORATORY TUNA FISHING: The tuna fishing resources off the Queens-
land eastern coast of Australia are being explored by two Australian tuna vessels
under the direction of the Commonwealth Director of Fisheries. The operations are
expected to last two months, and Queensland fishermen are to be given an opportunity
to gain experience in tuna fishing. The tests are taking place at the request of
Queensland commercial fishing interests and the Australian Professional Fisher-
men's Federation, reports the August 6 issue of The Fishing News, a British fish-
ery periodical.

Canada

LARGE-MESH OTTER TRAWLS TESTED IN NORTH ATLANTIC HADDOCK

pers dead, This interferes with fishing operations by creating unnecessary workon
deck, and the destruction of small, fast-growing fish reduces future landings. It
is accordingly of immediate concern to fishermen and of long-term concern to the
fishing industry to reduce catches of baby scrod, reports the June 1954 Trade News,
a Canadian Government publication,

For more than 50 years fisheries scientists have studied this problem by test-
ing methods of releasing small fish from otter trawls, The methods tested have in-

56 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

Vol. 16, No. 10

cluded square meshes, 'windows"' of large meshes, supports in the cod end, spe-
cially designed cod ends, and large meshes in various parts of the trawl. It has

PRESENT
Small-Mesh Net

PROPOSED
Large-Wesh Net

Lengthening Piece

'
>| 6 r9) No chafing gear
on top

Cod end

Chafing gear
on topl

Fig. 1 - Present and proposed otter trawl nets in the Northwest
Atlantic haddock fishery.

been clearly shown that use of
large-mesh trawls is the best way
to let small fish go and still keep
the large marketable fish.

British workers have provided
the most convincing demonstrations
of the value of large-mesh codends,
In the 1930's they used covers over
the cod ends which could be throt-
tled off before hauling the net, and
during recent years they have pro-
duced underwater films of trawls

in operation, to show that small
fish escape through the wide open meshes while the net is fishing on the bottom.
Studies of escapement through various parts of the trawl have shown that most fish
are released through the top half of the cod end.

Canadian mesh trials have shown that small fish escape even when the catches
are large. Three experimental trips on the otter trawlers Cape North and Cape
LeHave during 1953 tested cod ends and lengthening pieces of different mesh sizes,
from 6 to 7 inches between knot centers as purchased. Even when small fish were
very numerous, as on St. Pierre Bank, large numbers of baby scrod escaped, The
largest meshes used released many fish below scrod size, a few scrod, and negli-
gible numbers of large haddock. The sizes of cod released were comparable with
those of haddock. Chafing gear was not used over the top half of the cod end and the
cod ends did not show serious signs of wear.

Results of Haddock Catch on Average Trip of 50,000 Pounds (20,000 Fish)
During May to December, 1953

Baby haddock (discarded)

Many baby scrod
saved

Scrod haddock

Large haddock ..

A careful study of the Georges Bank haddock fishery since 1931 has shown that
the use of large-mesh cod ends in otter trawls may be expected to increase annual
landings. The International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries ac-
cordingly recommended that governments prohibit the taking of haddock from the
Georges Bank area with atrawl net which has a mesh size of less than 45 inches (as
measured with a flat gauge inserted into the mesh when the trawl is used and wet).
On the basis of this action, United States trawlers are now required by regulation
to use large meshes throughout the trawl with belly meshes not less than five inches
single twine and with lengthening piece and cod-end meshes of about six inches
double twine,

The new Georges Bank mesh regulation states that no device may be used to ob-
struct or diminish the mesh size, except on the underside of the cod end. The use
of such chafing gear cuts down the selective action of the open meshes and reduces
the efficiency of the net. Although United States trawlers have not used chafing gear
on the top half of the cod end for many years, Canadian trawlers continue to do so

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 57

in order to protect the bag as it is hauled in over the side of the vessel. This chaf-
ing gear should not be used on the top half of the cod end if the industry is to take
full advantage of the use of large meshes to release small fish.

In several fisheries it has been demonstrated that large meshes catch more
marketable fish than small meshes. This is probably the result of elimination of
small, unmarketable trash with increased flow of water and speed of gear. During
the first 6 months of the Georges Bank mesh regulation, New England trawlers in-
creased their landings by about 10 percent. This improvement, based on a com-
parison with a group of trawlers licensed to use the old small-mesh nets, is calcu-
lated to be worth US$1 million per year to New England trawler fishermen,

The 13 Icelandic trawl commonly used by Canadian trawlers has a belly of
single | twine which decreases from about 6-inch mesh where it joins the square to
3 or 35 inches at the lengthening piece. The lengthening piece and cod-end meshes
are about 4inches doubletwine. It is proposed that the belly meshes should not de-
crease to less than 5 inches single twine and the lengthening piece and cod-end
meshes should have 6-inch mesh, double twine manilla, as purchased (fig. 1). The
best mesh size is believed to be still larger, but adoption of 6-inch mesh is a step
in the right direction which would put Canadian meshes in line with those used by
other countries fishing on the same fishing grounds. It is a safe step in that nothing
will be lost and there is much to gain,

By using a 6-inch cod end baby scrod will be saved to be caught later; work on
deck will be reduced; nets will be less costly to make and repair; and more market-
able fish in catches will increase landings and earnings. The table above, based
on results of actual use of large-mesh nets by New England trawlers during 1953,
compares a typical catch by a standard 4-inch mesh net with that of a 6-inch mesh
cod end without chafing gear on top.

This information has been released as a circular letter to the Canadian otter-
trawling industry from the Atlantic Biological Station of the Fisheries Research
Board of Canada, St. Andrews, N. B. Copies of the circular are available from
the Station upon request.

%* OK FF OK

fishing vessels operating in the Atlantic just outside the Canadian three-mile terri-
torial limit is increasing, the annual meeting of the Fisheries Council of Canada
was told. A resolution was passed asking the Federal Government to amend the
present laws to permit Canadian fishing trawlers to fish within three miles of the
coastline, reports the July 30 issue of The Fishing News, a British fishery maga-
zine.

Canadian trawlers are prohibited from fishing within 12 miles of the coastline
under a Federal law passed more than 20 years ago. At that time inshore fisher-
men complained that the trawler's nets destroyed their gear and took too many fish,
Smaller trawlers, called draggers, are now permitted to the three-mile limit, but

. medium-sized draggers and otter trawlers have to stay outside the 12-mile limit.

The Canadian fishing industry wants the 12-mile limit observed by all countries
but there are no signs yet of international agreement on the matter.

OK OK Ok

HERRING FISHERY DEVELOPMENT IN GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE PLANNED:
An agreement with a newly-formed foreign- 1-backed company has been signed by the
Nova Scotia Department of Trade and Industry, ' ‘opening the way for the develop-
ment of a new million dollar fishing industry in the Province, '' according to an Au-

98 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vols 6s No, 10

gust 12 U. S. consular dispatch from Halifax. The new operation is designed to
carry out for the first time on a commercial scale drifting and trawling for herring
in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and other waters off the Nova Scotia coast. The objec-
tive is to boost the output of herring and herring products for local, United States,
and world consumption. Operations are expected to commence this fall with tem-
porary shore stations at Pictou and possibly Cheticamp. When volume and areas
showing production have been established, more permanent shore installations will
be built.

The company was initially cap-
italized at C$250,000. This initial
capital is ''considered as nominal
and the company hopes to build up
to a multi-million dollar structure
within a relatively short time."

Some of the capital cost and
all of the working capital will be
provided by private United States
and British sources. Most ofthe
capital cost, however, will be
supplied by the Nova Scotia Gov-
ernment in the form of a loan a-
mounting to C$367,700 which will
be secured against five vessels
that have been or will be acquired
by the firm. These vessels in-
clude one 154-foot refrigerated
trawler, one 96-foot drift trawler, and three Yarmouth drifters (each presumed to
be less than 50 feet in length).

The loan to be made by the Nova Scotia Government is among the largest ever
made to a private company. The terms of the loan are not known.

The company will start by producing herring salt-packed in barrels and its
principal markets will be Israel, Germany, the Mediterranean, and the United
Kingdom,

The company's vessels will not arrive in Nova Scotia waters until after the
herring season is over. Reports indicate that pressure undoubtedly will be brought
to permit the two larger vessels to trawl for groundfish. The three Yarmouth
drifters are permitted to catch any types of fish, but the refrigerated trawler and
the drift trawler are licensed only for herring and mackerel fishing.

Commenting on the venture, the Director of the Fisheries Research Station of
the Fisheries Research Board of Canada mentioned that experiments had shown that
"ber unit of gear and per unit of time, the herring catch is better in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence than in the North Sea."' He also said the firm ''... will certainly catch
codfish in their nets and can't be expected to throw them away."

The Fisheries Research Board of the Canadian Department of Fisheries has
conducted scientific exploration of the herring population in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
for the past three years. The reports showed that a gread deal had been learned
about the herring populations and the Research Board boats also demonstrated that
fat herring could be caught in quantity by drift netting or otter trawling over a four-
months' summer season,

The agreement with the new company climaxed many months of work and co-
operation between Federal and Provincial governments and interested parties. The

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 59

Department of Fisheries provided the reports and results of the latest Fisheries
Research Board work and agreed to license the drifter trawler. The Department of
Transport and the Maritime Commission agreed to permit the import of four ves-
sels of a special type suitable for this fishery. The Provincial Department of Trade
and Industry provided the coordinating effort to have all interests work together and
the inducement of an industrial loan to round out the capital requirements. The
sources for the balance of the capital cost, and all of the working capital, are
British and American.

The Fisheries Research Board will continue their work by having observers on
the vessels operated by the newly-formed company to collect and record additional
data concerning area and volume of catch and any other information that willfurther
the investigation and study of this resource. The boats and experimental fishing
work of the Fisheries Research Board will be used in other places off the Nova
Scotia coast to attempt to determine further areas where herring may be taken in
commercial quantities for an extended season.

% OK OK OK

duced on Canada's west coast by a British Columbia firm and the product is to be
marketed in the near future in Vancouver, according to the July Trade News of the
Canadian Department of Fisheries. Frozen fish blocks are cut by bandsaw into
small pieces $x2x32 inches. These pieces of fish, still frozen, are then dipped in-
to a prepared batter, doused in a meal preparation, placed on wire trays, immersed
in a deep-well cooker, and cooked for approximately 15 minutes. After packaging,
the cooked fish sticks are stacked on trays, frozen, and then placed in coldstorage.

% OK RK

IMPROVED FISH INSPECTION PLANNED: More effective fish inspection
through cooperation between Canadian Federal and provincial governments was dis-
cussed at a meeting in Ottawa late in June. The Deputy Minister of Fisheries de-
scribed the meeting as "a significant step forward, '' according to the July 1954
Trade News, a Canadian Department of Fisheries publication.

The Director of the Inspection and Consumer Service of the Federal Department
of Fisheries outlined to representatives of the 10 provinces the Department's pro-
posals for the quality control of fresh and frozen fish, construction, equipment,
sanitation, and operation of plants producing these products.

In cooperation with the fishing industry, the Department early this year com-
pleted a coast-to-coast survey of more than 500 plants which handle fresh, frozen,
salted, and pickled fish for interprovincial or international trade. As a result of
this survey the Department held discussions in March to draft minimum standards
so that it will be possible to maintain peak quality from the time fish are caught
until they reach the consumer. The June meeting was called so that the fullest con-
sultation could be held with the provinces on the proposals set forth by the Depart-
ment.

The provincial representatives signified the interest of their respective pro-
vinces in such measures. They will report to their governments and subsequent
discussions will be held regarding the possibility of introducing provincial legisla-
tion which would complement similar regulations proposed by the Federal Depart-
ment of Fisheries.

OR OK KK

60 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

BRITISH COLUMBIA FISHERMEN NEED FISHING LICENSES: Members of the
quired to have a fishing license, according to the July Trade News, a Canadian De-
partment of Fisheries publication. An amendment to British Columbia's special
fishery regulations states that all persons engaged on a boat used in halibut, black
cod, or tuna fishing are required to obtain a license. Fishermen shipping ascrew-
men on trawlers also come under this category. Licenses will cost C$1.

%* OR Kk

MAGDALEN ISLANDS' FISHERIES REVIEW, 1953: The economy of the Mag-
dalen Islands, Quebec, is based on fishery products, with lobster as the most valu-
able, states a July 30 U. S. consular dispatch from Quebec.

Fishery products production in 1953 amounted to C$1,821,777 and the lobster
catch represented C$887,183 or nearly 50 percent of the total value. Following in
order of value were herring C$432,853, cod C$219,589, and mackerel C$192,240.
Usually the cod catch brings the least returns to the Islands, but in 1953 the mack-
erel catch was poor.

Prices paid to the fishermen in 1953 were: lobster 25 to 35 Canadian cents per
pound; herring 70 cents per case; mackerel 5 cents and cod 2 cents per pound.
The lobster fishermen are the most prosperous--although limited by law to 300
traps, one fishermen earned nearly C$10,000 in 1953 which represented a catch of
about 40,000 pounds of lobsters.

There are 1,269 Magdalen Islands fishermen--686 fish for cod, 477 for herring,
630 for lobster, and 810 fish for mackerel. Most men fish for 2 or 3 species dur-
ing the season. There is a drier for cod belonging to the Provincial Government
which has a capacity of 2 million pounds annually. There are 5 refrigeration plants
having a capacity for 950,000 pounds. There are 9 smokehouses for herring--3
belonging to cooperatives and 6 privately owned. Their capacity exceeds 100,000

cases.

Iceland
NORDIC COUNCIL REPORTS ON ICELAND'S TERRITORIAL WATERS REGU-

national dispute resulting from Icelandic territorial waters regulations, aU. S.
Embassy dispatch (August 20) from Oslo states. Ina carefully phrased resolution
the Council recognized that it is a matter of interest to all countries engaged in
fishing off the Icelandic coast that fish conservation measures be enforced. Since
the legality of the measures adopted by Iceland is a matter of international dispute,
the Council concluded that the subject should be referred to the International Court
at The Hague and should not be discussed in either the Nordic Council or the Council
for Europe.

The Icelandic proposal to the Nordic Council for support on the fisheries bound-
ary dispute was referred to the Economic Committee of the Council for considera-
tion. After limited discussion, the Swedish members of the Committee drew up a
draft resolution. Only minor changes were made by the committee as a whole prior
to reporting out the draft. At the plenary session on August 17 the committee's
recommendations were unanimously approved by the Council. The text of the re-
solution follows:

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 61

"Phe Nordic Council recognizes that it is of interest to all countries engagedin
fishing outside the Icelandic coast and of vital interest to Iceland that precautions
be taken to protect the fish population in these waters.

"To the extent the legality of precautions already adopted is the object of dis-
pute between Iceland and another country the Nordic Council is not qualified to make
any statement. The right forum for an international law interpretation of the dis-
pute is The Hague Court, not the Nordic Council or Council for Europe."

Oe Ok OK

HERRING PRODUCTION, 1954: The total catch of the Icelandic herring fish-
eries off the north coast during the 1954 summer season was 51,000 barrels of salted
herring, about one-fourth of the quantity
sold under the various trade agreements
concluded this spring. This is the ninth .
summer in succession that Iceland has had
a poor herring catch, the August 27 issue
of the International Financial News Survey
reports.

The Norwegian fishermen, who were
also taking part in the herring fisheries off
the Icelandic coast, are reported to have
made a total catch of nearly 200,000 barrels,
which is about the same as last year. Since
sales by Norwegian exporters before the

Ts season started were equal to the catch,
Icelandic Fishing Vessel Brailing Herring there will be little for Norwegian domestic
consumption.

r=)
India

NORWAY SUPPLIES FISHING BOATS: Three specially designed fishing boats,
built near the west Norway port of Bergen, were scheduled to sail for India in Sep-
tember, the Norwegian Information Service announced on September 9. Equipped
with 5-hp. auxiliary motors, the 22-foot flat-bottomed open craft have been contract-
ed by the 24-million-kroner (US$3.4 million) Norwegian India Aid Fund. The ves-
sels will be manned by Norwegian fishermen who have volunteered to instruct Indian
fishermen in modern techniques. In cooperation with Indian authorities, the Fund
is aiding the development of a community comprising some 12,000 fishermen in
Travancore-Cochin,

The Norwegian organization recently built an up-to-date boatyard in Travancore-
Cochin, Here the first of a series of motorized fishing vessels, adapted to local
conditions, is well under way. An adjoining mechanical workshop will take care of
maintenance and repairs. It will also serve as training school for apprentice me-
chanics.

Working under supervision of Norwegian specialists, local fishermen have for
the past year been experimenting with various types of fishing gear, including the
purse seine. In another experiment, the perishable nets traditionally used by the
Indian fishermen are being tanned and impregnated to stand longer immersion. In
both cases, the objective is to increase the catch,

62 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol, 16; No. 10

The Travancore-Cochin project plans also call for introduction of better fish-
curing methods; building breakwaters and ice plants; furnishing insulated vans and
motorcraft for fish transportation; aiding the development of fishermen's coopera-
tives; supplying safe drinking water; and establishment of a maternity and health
center. A major part of the work is far advanced.

Note: See Commercial Fisheries Review, March 1954, p, 45; February 1954, p, 42.

Iran

CAVIAR EXPORTS, 1953: Iranian caviar exports amounted to 102.7 metric
tons for the first 11 months of the Iranian year beginning March 21, 1953, accord-
ing to preliminary figures. During the first 8 months only 28.3 tons were exported;
therefore, the greatest quantity (74.4 tons) was exported during the three-months'
period November 21, 1953-February 19, 1954.

The U.S.S.R. received 81 tons, or 78.9 percent of the total exports. France
who is the next largest buyer received only 17 tons, or 17 percent. Except for ship-
ments to Germany (2 tons) and the United States (1 ton), those to other countries
were mostly of a token nature. Russia took delivery by boat at Bandar Pahlavi on
the Caspian Sea, an April 16 U. S. Embassy dispatch from Tehran states. Shipments
to all other countries were effected by air.

Since the exportation of Iranian caviar has been a Russian monopoly for some
thirty years, it will be necessary for Iran to develop its own markets and outlets.
During the first year under Iranian control, little has been done in that respect.

The Iranian National Fisheries last year simply offered various lots of caviar at
auction, These were purchased by local merchant-exporters, who in turn, soldthe
caviar to foreign buyers. There have been reports that some of the European buyers
were dissatisfied with the quality and packaging of the Iranian product. Obviously,
these shortcomings will have to be remedied and a distribution system developed
before Iran can expect to market its caviar abroad in any sizable quantities.

Caviar production is probably not much greater than the exports because do-
mestic consumption is very limited. The price of caviar on the Tehran market be-
fore the fisheries reverted to Iranian control was around 450 rials per kilogram
(US$26 per pound); the price has since been raised to around 1600 rials per kilogram
(US$81 per pound),

CASPIAN FISHERIES: Recent newspaper reports stated that the Iranian indebt-
edness to the U.S.S.R. had been liquidated. This indebtedness resulted from the
return to Iran of the Caspian Fisheries at the expiration of the Russian concession
on January 31, 1953. Latest estimates are that Iran may still owe Russia the equiv-
alent of some US$45,000-46,000 on that account.

The Caspian fisheries reverted to Iran when the concession granted some 30
years ago to the U.S.S.R. was allowed to expire on January 31, 1953. Iran thenac-
quired, under the terms of the concession agreement, the Russian interest therein
(50 percent). The value of the Russian share in the fisheries was to be paid in fish-
ery products, including caviar.

Certain areas in the Caspian Sea are reserved for fishing only by the Iranian
National Fisheries Company. Other areas are unrestricted and independent fisher-
men are free to fish there. In consequence, the Tehran market is supplied by the
two competing sources of supply. The Government installation at Pahlavi has freez-
ing facilities and is, therefore, able to supply the Tehran and other markets so long
as frozen fish do not spoil under truck transport conditions. The market for the in-

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 63

dependent fishermen, who deal only in fresh fish, is limited to the winter months
and since the highways over the Elborz Mountains between the Caspian and Tehran
are ofttimes blocked with snow, deliveries are difficult and uncertain. Some ofthe
private fishing activities on the Eastern Caspian are not too far removed from the
railroad but this means of transportation cannot be depended upon as there are few
railway refrigerator cars. All domestic and foreign shipments out of Pahlavi, the
principal fishing center, except to the U.S.S.R., must be made by truck and there
are no refrigerator trucks. Hence fish transport up to the present is confined to the
winter months. The two American concerns which made the experimental shipments
of sturgeon to New York last winter and which are interested in developing the cav-
iar business as well, foresaw the necessity of supplying refrigerator trucks to make
the long haul to the seaport of Khorramshahr, if the business were ever to be de-
veloped, and are planning to do so.

The third report of the National Fisheries Company covering the period August
21, 1953 to November 21, 1953, and published on December 6, 1953, gives the fol-
lowing prices for various fisheries products:

Fresh

Smoked
le Noneseale fish: |i lmns
Sturgeon .....

1,076.50

2. Scale fish

329.40

eececo

S00 00 414,80

eecoe oe ee

The Iranian National Fisheries Company has set the following prices (net
weight) for these various grades of caviar, according to quantities, as follows:

Up to Up to Up to 1,000kilos
100 kilos} 500 kilos | 999 iilos | and over
0000000 U. S. dollars per kilo).......

Grain caviar, Osietre and Blouga, 18.00 plus
Qe, (Chrecle In noon ocoo dn oodooand 20.50 19.00 18.50 25 Rials

Grain caviar, Osietre and Blouga, eo ee 9.00 plus
Grace jive seas co0noud noooon boop 0000 10.30 9.30 25 Rials
oe 12.60plus
Grain caviar Sevroga, Gradel ..... 14.30 13.30 13.00 25 Rials
te eae ee 135 Hials

Grain caviar Sevroga, Grade Il..... 7,20

25 Rials

10 | 6.60 |
Other varieties of caviar:
Pressed Sevroga, GradelI ........ 7.21 -
Pressed Sevroga, Grade Il........ 5.40 -
MAMUS eS alech))) meperelcielelelelslelelelelelelele 1.40 -

Japan

reports an August 20 American Embassy dispatch from Tokyo. The total catch

64 COMMERCIAL

FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

this season was 17,611,088 fish as compared to 7,700,176 fish for the 1953 season
when only three fleets operated. The fleets this year consisted of 160 catchers and

34 survey vessels.

No information is available as to
the respective quantities which were
canned, salted, and frozen.

1954 Catch of North Pacific Salmon

Fleets by Species
i Number of Fish

waters east of the Kuriles closed
their season on August 5 and report-
ed a catch of 25,420,000 pounds of
fish as compared to 20,920,000 pounds in 1953.

697,781

Sockeye eee ; 3,542,301
In addition, the coastal fleets Ghumeiss. BAO eh rie 8,780,355
based at Nemuro and operating inthe Eratralcarete oretetetaretererensire S008 4,590,651

OK OK OK

Eekce TUNA CATCHES IN Twas SEA OFF AUSTRALIA: Japanese tuna-

man Sea midway between Australia
and New Zealand. This was told by
a visiting executive of a United
States canning company.

3 7 \ GILBERT IS..

i ee Gy

uy 2.
&4 = te
Ps 4
ve
+

oO
7
id
=z

TASMAN
SEA
ND

NEW ZEALA

7°
>
a &
na

=

°

fe eek The visitor identified from

photographs the Japanese vessels
recently sighted off northwest Aus-
tralia. He said they were modern
long liners capable of up to 18 knots,
according to the June 1954 Fisheries
Newsletter, an Australian trade
magazine.

AUSTRALIA

40°
TASMAN

iat)

Within the past year the Japa-
nese have extended their tuna fish-

100 °20° 140° 160°

180°
ing in the Pacific east to the Gilbert Islands, south to the Tasman Sea, and west a-

round northern Australia into the Indian Ocean. Long lining is the method used
mainly. The Japanese work their boats in pairs, using one to haul and the other to
bait. They relay the lines about every 10 to 12 hours, and work 24 hours a day.

* OK OK KK

mounted to 59,850 cases of crab meat from a catch of 1,060,109 crabs, a ee 30
U.S. Embassy dispatch from Tokyo reports. In 1953 the expedition caught
1,276,360 crabs and produced 58,240 cases of crab meat. The 1953 expedition did
not reach its production goal until August 15.

In numbers of crabs the 1954 catch was down 17 percent, but the production of
canned crab meat was up 3 percent, indicating that larger crabs were caught in 1954.

%* KK KK

FISH AND WHALE OIL PRODUCTION OUTLOOK: The Japanese production of

metric tons, compared with a production of about 17,000 tons in the fiscal year 1953

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 65

and 19,829 tons in 1952, according to preliminary estimates of the Japanese Minis-
try of International Trade and Industry.

The production of whale oil is also expected to increase in fiscal year 1954.
Current estimates are for a production of 58,000 tons of fin and sperm oils, com-
pared with a production of 53,238 tons for the fiscal year 1953 and 42,900 tons for
1952,

ON504

- Japanese Antarctic Whaling Mothership

It is anticipated by the Japanese Government that about one-half of the 1954
fiscal year's production of fish oil and about 24,300 metric tons of the whale oil will
be exported. Europe was the principal export market for these oils last year, ac-
cording to a recent Bulletin from the U. S. Department of Agriculture.

JAPANESE GOVERNMENT

i

Mexico

SHRIMP EXPORT DUTY CUT: The Mexican export duty on frozen shrimp
(Mexican tariff classification 11-15) was cut to 0.30 peso for 100 net kilograms and
5 percent ad valorem by a decree effective August 2. The former duty was 0.30
peso per 100 net kilograms and 10 percent ad valorem.

the 1954 season (January 1 to May 1), according to a spokesman for the Norwegian
herring industry. This entire production was reported to have been sold for do-
mestic consumption, exported, or reserved for export by the middle of May. The
total value of 1954 herring meal and oil is estimated at 350 million kroner (US$49
million), of which 240 million kroner (US$34 million) is represented by foreign ex-
change from exports.

About 30 percent of the herring meal produced in Norway is sold for domestic
use, and the rest is exported. Small quantities of raw herring oil are exported
directly. Most of the herring oil is refined in Norway; small quantities are then
used in the canning of sardines and the manufacture of fats, but most of the refined
oil is exported.

66 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

Between January 1 and June 12, according to the Norwegian Central Bureau of
Statistics, 103,969 metric tons of herring meal were exported, about 30 percent to
the United States. During the same period, 5,323 tons of raw herring oil were ex-
ported, a U. S. Embassy dispatch (July 16) reports.

eK KK

FIRM BUYS FISH-MEAL FACTORYSHIP FROM ICELAND: A Norwegian con-

factoryship, which processes herring into oil and meal, can move to the waters
where herring are caught, thus minimizing transportation costs. Norway is oper-
ating several floating herring factories.

The floating herring factoryship was bought by Iceland in 1947 and financed
partly by U. S. aid under the ECA program. It was intended to process the winter
herring catch in the south of Iceland. However, owing to the failure of the herring
catch, the plant has been in operation during only one season--1950, Since thenthe
ship has been idle.

OK Ke ke Ok

LARGE TUNA CATCHES: The tuna fishing season in Norway was off to a good
start, the Norwegian Information Service reports in an August 12 bulletin. The
season normally lasts until the end of October. The fisheries began a week earlier
than usual, and the first fortnight some 3,000 metric tons were landed, compared
with 6,700 for the entire 1953 season. Averaging 360 pounds each, the tuna are es-
pecially plentiful on the banks off Helgeland in North Norway. Catches off the west-
ern district of Hordaland, however, have been rather disappointing sofar. These
waters usually offer good tuna fishing.

Most of the fish is shipped to Italy, where importers have contracted for 4,300
metric tons of frozen tuna. Up to July 26 a total of 74 refrigerated carloads of tuna
had left Bergen bound for various destinations in Europe. Some of the fish was
shipped fresh from the North Norway port of Mosjoen.

Virtually all of the tuna is caught in specially designed nets, costing between
Kr. 30,000-40,000 (US$4,200 to 5,600) each. Formerly the large fish were hooked
with hand line or shot, but such methods proved to be very uneconomical and yielded
much smaller catches. Using tuna nets, North Norway fishermen recently landed
about 8,000 tuna weighing 1,500 to 2,000 metric tons in one day.

OR KK OK

fishing season, the most successful on record.

Dried Salted Cod: Norwegian exports of dried salted cod (klipfish) for the first
seven months of 1954 were over 20,000 metric tons. This is only 2,500 tons more
than the poor export total for the corresponding period of last year. The total 1954
exports of dried salted cod are not expected to exceed 37,000 tons, or about 18,000
tons below normal, and little more than half the 1954 National Budget estimate of
67,000 tons,

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 67

The relatively low exports of dried salted cod is the direct result of the disap-
pointing spring Lofoten cod catch, the poorest on record. There was a bright out-
look however, from the report by the Norwegian Minister to Argentina, who de-
clared that Argentina is interested in taking more Norwegian dried salted cod under
the proposed new trade agreement next year. Increased exports, however, would
depend on larger catches in the future.

OK OK OK

SALMON LADDER: Work on a 1,575-foot salmon ladder, believed to be the
longest in the world, will be started in the fall of 1954 in the Rana River, North
Z Norway, according to a bulletin
(August 19) from the Norwegian In-
formation Service. Running through
a 7-foot diameter tunnel to be
ar blasted out of solid rock, the lad-
der will enable the salmon to reach
i ees the 37-mile stretch of the Rana
ce River above the 90-foot high Ran-
Ns g fossen waterfall. Sponsors hope
that the ambitious scheme will increase the salmon stock by 75-80 metric tons.

Atlantic Salmon

Light and ventilation shafts in the 1,100-foot tunnel will be used as observation
posts, where tourists may watch the salmon climb the ladder. The tunnel-ladder
will also be equipped with a photo-electric counting device to check the upriver
flow of salmon,

Total cost of the project is estimated at 316,000 kroner (US$44,000), of which
180,000 kroner (US$25,000) will be paid by the State. Assuming that the salmon
actually will go on up to the upper reaches of the Rana River, it is estimated that
the increased yield should pay off the cost in a few years.

Republic of the Philippines

DELEGATION FOR U.S.-PHILIPPINE TRADE AGREEMENT TALKS LEAVES
FOR UNITED STATES: Senator Jose P. Laurel, who has been appointed by Philip-
pine President Raymon Magsaysay to head the Philippine Delegation to consult with
an American Delegation concerning revision of the Philippine-United States Trade
Agreement, was expected to arrive in San Francisco on September 9 and in Wash-
ington about September 13.

Accompanying Senator Laurel will be three other members of the Philippine
Delegation, Senator Gil J. Puyat, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Gov-
ernor M. Cuaderno, Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines, and Congress-
man Diosdado Macapagal, together with members of the Delegation's technical staff,
a September 8 U. S. Department of State news release points out.

The Philippine Government last year requested reexamination and readjustment
of the 1946 Agreement on trade and related matters. President Eisenhower replied
that the United States was ready to give sympathetic consideration to any specific
proposals for revision which the Philippine Government might advance. On July 6
the White House announced the designation by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles
of James M. Langley, New Hampshire publisher, as Chairman of the United States
Delegation which will meet with the Philippine Delegation to consider possible mod-
ification of the Trade Agreement.

% oe ok oe

68 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

CANNED FISH PRICE CONTROLS REINSTITUTED: Price controls for a num-
ber of commodities, including canned fish (sardines, squid, mackerel, herring,
and salmon), were reinstituted in the Philippines on June 18 by Republic Act No.
1168, Previous controls expired on December 31, 1953, according to the August 2
Foreign Commerce Weekly, aU. S. Department of Commerce publication.

The maximum prices of these commodities may not exceed ceilings in effect
on December 31, 1953, and are to remain in effect until February 15, 1955, the
terminal date of the new law.

wo
Portugal
SARDINE INDUSTRY AIDED BY BRITISH LIFTING IMPORT RESTRICTIONS:

British sardine import trade from
government controls had the effect
of cleaning out the accumulated
stocks held by Portuguese canners.
Notwithstanding this, the export
price for sardines has been even
lower than a year ago, averaging
15.80 escudos per kilo (24.8 U. S.
cents per pound) against 16.00es- . 3
cudos per kilo (25.1 U. S. cents net i
per pound). The total Portuguese FIOUERA DA FOZ/~" eH
sardine exports in the first six
months of 1954 amounted to 16,968
metric tons as compared with
12,989 metric tons during the first
six months of 1953,

MATTOZINHOS 507
a

SPENICHE eel

S
OfLISBON}, 3

Sardines had been somewhat
more abundant during the latter
part of the last fishing season but
are again scarce. There have
been reports in the press of com-
plaints by fishermen that catches
have recently been limited to undersized sardines which must by law be returned to
the sea even if dead, Prices for fresh fish have averaged 78.00 escudos (US$2.72)
per basket, the highest price since 1949. As a consequence, high prices for
raw material, plus poor export prices, make hard sledding for sardine canners, a
July 28 U. S. Embassy dispatch from Lisbon states.

Spain
OUTLOOK FOR CANNED FISH EXPORTS: The depressed Spanish fishing in-

dustry hopes to improve its position by increasing exports, but certain problems
have to be faced first. A recent article in a well-known Spanish trade journal dis-

cusses these problems and possible solutions,

Spanish exports of tuna to most markets have gradually diminished. However,
there are opportunities for expanding sales of the white-meat variety to the United

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 69

States market, provided Spanish prices can be brought closer in line with those of
Japan and Peru, the principal foreign suppliers to the United States.

The anchovy catch is an important source of revenue for Spanish fishermen,
particularly in Galicia, where the best-quality anchovies are packed for export.
The United States is the only market capable of absorbing the Galician production
and Galician exports of anchovies to the United States have increased from 430 met-
ric tons in 1950 to 960 metric tons in 1952. Anchovies caught in the Cantabrian
region are saltedand packed inbulk inbarrels or tins, and 70 to 80 percent of the pro-
duction is exported, The principal market is Italy, where the fish are filleted and
reexported to compete in some measure with the Galician anchovies. Portugal is
Spain's keenest competitor in the anchovy export markets, even though Portuguese
prices are similar or a little higher.

Sardines have been scarce along Spain's northern coasts during the past few
years, and this has meant the loss of the United States market to Portuguese and
French Moroccan producers. Spanish exporters are now quoting $14 to $15 percase
of 100 tins; comparative French Moroccan and Portuguese prices are $9.25 and
$9.10 per case, respectively. Good catches of sardines are still being brought in
along Spain's southern coasts.

Unfortunately, Spanish sardine canning plants are situated along the north
coasts and it is necessary to transport the sardines by truck nearly 1,000 miles.
This results in Spanish canners paying more than twice as much for their sardines
as the Portuguese canners and the quality deteriorates during the long trip. Before
1936 exports of sardines averaged 14,000 metric tons a year, but in recent years
have averaged no more than 5,400 tons. This points up the decline in Spain's sar-
dine canning industry, reports the August 21 Foreign Trade, a Canadian Govern-
ment publication,

OK KK

VIGO FISH CANNING TRENDS, JULY 1954: Fish canneries in the Vigo areaof
Spain purchased 2.3 million pounds of fish, mainly albacore, in July as compared
with 548,000 pounds in June and 2.0 million pounds in July 1953. The increased
catch in July was due to the seasonal albacore runs along the coast. Sardines con-
tinued to be scarce.

Canners revealed that although the industry was active practically all during
July, the future is still gloomy as the Government has not as yet taken any steps to
liberalize existing export rates. The canners feel that with reduced production,
raw material shortages, and increased labor costs, competition in foreign markets
is impossible. The industry's major problem continues to be shortage of liquid
capital to finance operations, an August 14 U. S. consular dispatch from Vigo
points out.

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

REPORT ON THE FISHERIES: Some of the past year's developments in the
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands were presented by Frank E., Midkiff, High
Commissioner of the Trust Territory, in the U. N. Trusteeship Council on July 7
(Midkiff was special U. S. representative to the Council). That part of the state-
ment that pertains to fisheries follows:

During the past fiscal year (July 1, 1953-June 30, 1954) commercial fisheries in Micronesia along lines that will in-
the trust territory has explored possibilities for developing sure maximum participation of, and accrual of direct bene-
fits to, the Micronesians,

70 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

Much first-rate advice was obtained through consultation
with members of the Tuna Industry Advisory Committee
(advisory to the Director, U. S, Fish and Wildlife Service),
which met at Honolulu in February of this year. Partly as
a result of such counsel, and also on the strength of advice
received at frequent intervals from officials of the Pacific
Oceanic Fishery Investigations (another activity of the Fish
and Wildlife Service), first attention is being given to en-
couragement of local fisheries in the districts, for the pur-
poses of increasing the supplies of fish protein needed for
local consumption, as well as to enable exports to neighbor-
ing districts and to Guam, Efforts are being put forth further
to develop the program instituted at Ponape in early 1952
whereby Kapingamarangi and Moki men residing there mar-
ket the fish catches obtained off the main channel entrance,
Since inception of the plan, surpluses have been shipped
regularly to Truk for use there in the hospital and central
dining room, with some going on to Guam,

A plan to store and raise fish in fish pens for export sale
has been broached at Ponape but has been discounted as a
likely commercial venture by fisheries experts, The fish
pens, however, long successfully used on Mokil Atoll, may
have future value in connection with local subsistence fish-
ing activities elsewhere.

The government of the trust territory is observing closely
the new--and for American fishing interests, radical--ex-
perimental expeditions to the central Pacific area by the
United States fishing groups, Activities and participation
by Micronesians are objectives in all such planning.

Conversations are proceeding with Hawaiian and West
Coast (United States) commercial firms toward the develop-
ment of improved fishing facilities for the Micronesians, It

Vol. 16, No. 10

is not planned to set up canneries or byproducts plants, but
it is anticipated that the islanders will be taught ways to im-
prove their fishing intake,

The Japanese military, in order to further their security
program, destroyed all but 80 of the Micronesians’ 1,500
canoes, This literally wiped out the native subsistence fish-
ing on many islands except for reef wading and fishing, Since
each canoe requires a mature breadfruit tree to manufact-
ure, and since there are no surplus breadfruit trees on most
islands, it will take a considerable time to replace the
canoes, The Micronesians are now occupied in remodeling
and repairing surplus whaleboats and motor launches to
meet the need, In a few instances, they are constructing
cabin launches which use an outboard motor or engine, per-
mitting wider cruising range,

The trochus industry yielded $18,439 to the Micronesians
in 1953, At present we are spreading the trochus beds and
extending the period of the harvest season annually, thus in-
creasing this source of income,

In another statement to the Council on July 13, the High
Commissioner states: ‘‘I share the hope expressed by sev-
eral members that it will be possible to open a fishing pro-
gram in the Territory, Commercial fishing is as yet a rel-
atively undeveloped activity in the Territory, The reasons
for this are the lack of both the capital and the specialized
knowledge required for the operation, It is my hope that we
shall be able to make an arrangement which will bring in to
the Territory the capital and knowledge and which will also
provide training and participation by the Micronesians, We
are working with the Federal Pacific Ocean Fisheries In-
vestigation Organization on this problem,”

Union of South Africa
U. S. FIRM INVESTS IN CANNED PILCHARDS AND JACK MACKEREL FISH-

ERIES: The biggest single purchasing arrangement in the history of the South Af-
rican fishing industry is embodied in a deal between a group of South African fish

canners and a California fish canner,

In terms of this association the United States company is marketing under its
own labels in dollar areas the canned pilchards and canned jack mackerel (maas-
bankers) produced by the South African group of companies,

The agreement, which has been operating since January 1, 1954, and which has
already resulted in the export to the United States of nearly 200,000 cases of jack
mackerel (maasbanker) produced by the group, is in process of being given legal

form to make this joining of hands permanent.

The agreement envisages the United

States company taking a minority interest in the South African Corporation--this
will be the first entry of United States capital into the South African fishing industry.

The United States company began purchasing operations in the Union in 1953,

buying about 220,000 cases of canned pilchards from a number of sources.
however, of a visit by the company's president and sales manager,

result,

Asa
it was

decided to form the association with the group of companies,

One remarkable result of this United States interest in the South African fish
canning industry is that the maasbanker, which has not hitherto been canned on any-

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 71

thing like the scale of the pilchard, is bringing in the United States a substantially
higher price than the canned pilchard.

In 1953 the South African group packed only 60,000 cases of maasbanker. Inthe
first five months of 1954 the group packed about 205,000 cases (48 1-Ib. cans) of
this fish--practically the whole pack was exported to the United States.

Following the successful maasbanker season of the first months of this year,
the South African industry is now engaged in pilchard fishing, but no accurate
indication is available of what the season will bring. The South African group,
however, hopes to pack at least several hundred thousand cases of pilchards, not
only to meet its United States commitments but also to maintain its sales in the
sterling area, as well as in the Union itself.

The California firm looked to South Africa because it was apparent that the
Union was the only country in the world with sufficient resources of pilchards and
jack mackerel to sustain a substantial export trade. The decision followed the vir-
tually complete collapse of the Californian pilchard industry, which, starting in
1914, grew so rapidly that by the 1936-37 season no less than 791,000 tons of pil-
chards were harvested for the canning and reduction plants. This rate of catching
was apparently far too great for after that peak season the catch fell off rapidly,
so much so that the 1953/54 season ended with 2,620 tons caught, 63,384 cases
packed.

It is this great vacuum inthe United States market which the South African in-
dustry now has the opportunity of at least partially filling. The South African Gov-
ernment has taken early and drastic powers to prevent overfishing.

Last year United States importers bought about 400,000 cases of canned fish
from the Union and South-West Africa. This year the figure may well be trebled,
with the group providing the biggest single contribution, reports the July South Af-

rican Shipping News and Fishing Industry Review.

OK OK OK OK

CANNED FISH PRODUCTION AND STOCKS, 1952/53: The total production of
canned fish in the Union of South Africa and South-West Africa during the period No-
vember 1, 1952, to October 31, 1953, amounted to 86.8 million pounds, according
to an August 20 U. S. consular dispatch from Cape Town (see table 1), Pilchards

Table 1 - South-West Africa and Union of South Africa Canned

Fish Production, 1952/53

Nova Ob 2ito. Nov. -Dec.
Species Octasielgs53 1953

Lbs. Lbs.

INNDRCORS sooo0c0000900000 00000 Ege tapadaceenialenetazers 97,905 102,696

Maasbankers (jack mackerel)........0.20- Sie 23,251,700 9,072
INFACKSR ees alec aucleiclolecielelorerelons GOOD OOD eecsans 800,392 -

Pilchards ($-lb. pack) .........- Sete ahah 8,284,101 280,296

Pilchards (1-lb, pack) ........ Be BER ewe a 54,034,002 472,032
bo DOOD DODONUbOODDDOOOODODDOGOUDOOO ONO 358,464 -
B06000 Picticiciciclelokercnoreveneholcnens 16,512 -

Se Re ee ee viscsess | 86,843,076 | 864,096 _|

(62.3 million pounds) comprised the bulk of the pack, followed by maasbankers or
jack mackerel (23.3 million pounds). Canned fish production during November-De-
cember 1953 totaled .9 million pounds, mostly pilchards and maasbankers or jack
mackerel.

72 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10
Canned fish inventories on December 31, 1953, totaled 21.6 million pounds, al-
most entirely pilchards and maasbankers or jack mackerel,

Table 2 - South-West Africa and Union of South Africa Canned Fish Inventories,
Nov. 1, 1953 and Dec. 31, 1953

gueciad Nov. 1, 1953 Dece Si Ml953
P Quantit

Lbs. Lbs.
IAIIbaACOnen rice aiciie ne eee aoe Soto ~ 25,929 102,312
Maasbankers (jack mackerel) sucnetelre noodcoodac 8,356,062 3,613,636
IMaACKe rel. cy.lelierelete sales ailotohatolelenenatoteleneletelelokatels 56,574 1,698
Pilchards (4-lb pack) . Elcthe ve Peete heton eee ioNS Sas 2,661,381 1,595,484
Pilchards) (qloypack)maac ae caer: nite 21,198,818 16,189,872
SINOXES 15 Ging oi OO OO OC ODIO OU DU OURO OOO DO OUOH.GO 166,188

eoeeroce oe eee oe ee ose oo we eo ee eo Oe

oleVetolloheliellelolelelielatelisevel sdellolelsleliel lelelolelstalete 32,504,552

Practically all of the production of pilchards and maasbankers recorded for the
last two months of 1954 was during November in South-West Africa. For pilchards
and maasbankers the Union of South Africa had a closed season during November-
December, while in South-West Africa the closed season began on November 15.
There was no closed season for albacore,

Pilchards and maasbankers are not quite so plentiful this year in the Union of
South Africa and the industry is approximately 40,000 metric tons short of the max-
imum of 250,000 tons which may be caught. Representations have been made to the
Division of Fisheries that fishing be stopped immediately and the season closed un-
til October 31 at which time fishing would again be permitted. This has beenagreed
to. This year the season closed on August 13 and will reopen again on November 1
for one month during which time any amount of fish may be caught. It is felt that
there will be more fish available during this month, and the industry will take the
full quota, Fish are quite scarce now and little chance existed of the quota being
filled before the season was to close on September 1.

It should be noted that this does not apply to South-West Africa where fishing
has been good and the closed season begins on November 15,

“SS

United Kingdom

FACTORY TRAWLER ''FAIRTRY" LANDS FIRST CATCH FROM GRAND
BANKS: The British freezing-at-sea factory trawler Fairtry landed at Immingham
on July 28 with a catch of 400-500 tons of fish, 86 tons of fish meal, and about 4,200
gallons of liver oils. The Fairtry was on her maiden voyage and fished on the
Grand Banks of Newfoundland and off Greenland, the trip lasting three months.
Most of the fish consisted of frozen fillets of cod and haddock, according to the July
31 Fish Trades Gazette, a British fishery magazine.

All of the fish landed from the Fairtry went into cold storage at Grimsby for
eventual domestic and export trade.

One of the vessel's owners commented, ''Everything has gone more or less ac-
cording to plan and we are very satisfied. It will take more than one voyage before
the success of the venture from the economic point of view can be ascertained,"'

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 73

...'|For a maiden voyage she has run very well indeed and I think we have
proved to our own satisfaction that we can produce a good quality quick-frozen arti-
cle at sea. We had to prove that it could be done at sea. The question is whether
we can produce sufficient fish at the right price to make the ship a thoroughly pay-
ing proposition; time alone will show that. We shall continue to run her and with
reasonable confidence. I think it has been a satisfactory maiden voyage and] am
not disappointed, though I should have liked to have seen a bigger catch,"

The Captain of the Fairtry said: ''She is a wonderful fishing ship and has
caught a lot of fish. We averaged 400 kits of fish a day for 60 days' fishing off
Greenland and the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. We had very fine weather, with
calm seas, but a lot of fog."

The Captain said 30 of his crew of
80 had never been to sea before. They
were filleters and were not used to it;
they suffered a bit at first but gradually
settled down and improved until they were
doing quite well by the end of the trip.

The Captain also said it was his first
experience of a stern trawl. There were
certain good things about it and certain
drawbacks, but on the whole he thought it

' Y was avery good thing. He did not, how-
Stern view of Fairtry. Note chute for trawl net and unusual ever. think that it would prove satisfac-
athwartship gallows. SL Arata a

tory infishing vessels of the conventional
type. The stern trawl meant a winch and a fish room astern as well.

In his view, ships of the type of the Fairtry cannot make a living at Iceland,
Bear Island, or the White Sea fishing grounds. ''To make a ship like this a paying
proposition, we have to catch a lot of fish, '' he said. ''We have to have big quanti-
ties to -keep the filleters going, and that means we have to go to distant grounds like
Greenland and Newfoundland.’ He did not think that a ship of the Fairtry type would
supersede conventional trawlers. In his opinion there would always be a place for
the normal type of ship, with factoryships proving an addition to the normal fishing
fleet.

The Fairtry was due to sail from Immingham about mid-August. Most of the
crew remained with the ship, and the owners received a number of applications for
berths on this novel type of vessel.

The only mechanical trouble suffered on the maiden voyage was with the gearing
of the electric winch but this was soon put right in St: John's, Newfoundland.

Asked if the owners intended to build more ships like the Fairtry, a represent-
ative of the owners said they were first going to make the Fairtry a thorough success.

KK Ke

IMPORT CONTROLS ON CANNED SALMON AND CRAB MEAT LIFTED: Canned
salmon and crab meat will be freed from controls in Great Britain on October 1,
when private imports will be resumed, the Ministry of Food announced on June 16.
The remaining stocks held by the Ministry are expected to be distributed to the
trade in September.

Arrangements have been made for limited imports of canned salmon from
North America, Japan, and Soviet Russia, under specific license, starting October

74 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

1, 1954. Also from the same date, canned crab meat can be imported without re-
striction from Western Europe, and certain Commonwealth and other countries, a
July 23 U. S. Embassy dispatch from London reports.

* eR kK

CANNED SALMON IMPORTS EXPECTED TO INCREASE: When trade incanned

(US$14.8 million). Canada and the United States are expected to ship canned salmon
valued at £.2.5 million (US$7 million); Japan, 2.0 million (US$5.6 million); and
Russia, L0.8 million (US$2.2 million).

During last year when the Ministry of Food was the sole importer of canned
salmon, purchases totaled 12,1 million pounds, valued at 2.0 million (US$5.6
million). During the first half of this year imports also totaled 12.1 million pounds,
but were valued at 2.2 (US$6.2 million), according to the August 6 issue of The
Fishing News, a British fishery periodical.

Import licensing for canned salmon and other canned fish in New Zealand is to
be abolished immediately, a report from Wellington states.

ae oe OK ke

FILLET SKINNING MACHINE: A new fillet skinning machine has been patented
in the United Kingdom, according to the June Trade News, a Canadian Government
publication. The machine operates by drawing the fillet past the knife. The knife
is first moved to cut perpendicularly through the meat close to the skin and is then
intruded to cut between the skin and the meat. The end of the fillet is cut between
a small and large roller, and the knife maintained at a constant distance from the
larger roller. The fillet is drawn between the rollers. The method is said to be
applicable to skinning flatfish, such as plaice, before filleting.

oe Ok KK

CASUAL FILLET CUTTERS REFUSE NEW WAGE TERMS: Casual fillet cutters

hours actually worked in all circumstances,

The casual filleters had been receiving as much as E2 (US$5.60) per day, ir-
respective of the starting time, which often was as late as10a.m. The normal
finishing time is 5:00 p.m., after which overtime was claimed. The new rate for
casual labor was the equivalent of E.8 (US$22.40) for a 5-day week, which was con-
sidered to be a fair one in the trade.

a oe oe KO

produced by the Scottish Home Office is now available on loan or sale from the
British Information Service. This film shows the underwater action of a Danish
seine which is similar to the otter trawl, and also how the fish react when over-
taken by the net. The photography was done by "frogmen'" with special underwater
cameras. For further information, write to the British Information Service, 30
Rockefeller Plaza, New York 20, N. Y.

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has three prints of this film and has shown
them in many fishing communities, especially where trawling is carried on,

OK KK

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 75

TRAWLER ON TV: Late in July a television cameraman took moving pictures
of a British trawler to be shown on a Children's Hour program, reports the July
30 issue of The Fishing News, a British fishery magazine.

The program will tell the story of the adoption of the trawler, the 21st to be
adopted by a school, and show how the fish is landed and placed on rail for trans-
portation inland, Other shots will show the arrival of the fish in Oxford and its
journey to the dinner table.

* OK KOK

INCREASED SUBSIDIES FOR FISHING VESSELS SOUGHT: Increases in sub-
sidy payments to whitefish vessels (between 70 feet and 140 feet in length) fishing
inshore, near, and middle waters were laid before Parliament in July by the Minis-
ter of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Secretary for Scotland. If confirmed by
Parliament, they would come into operation on August 1 and last until July 31, 1955.

The new subsidy will amount to b1 (US$2.80) per day for the smaller vessels,
and more for the larger vessels.

The changes proposed are: increases in the maximum subsidy payable for
motor and steam vessels of 100 feet to 140 feet, and increases in the maximum
gross proceeds up to which subsidy is payable for these vessels; increases in the
maximum gross proceeds up to which subsidy is payable for steam vessels of 70
feet to 99 feet.

The scheme also provides that if any structural alterations are made to a ves-
sel to increase its length with the result that it moves into a higher subsidy class,
grants may nevertheless continue to be paid at the rate appropriate to the vessel's
length before the change unless the appropriate Minister has agreed in writing to
pay at a higher rate.

—=e

=

ALUMINUM FRESH FISH CONTAINERS IN GRIMSBY

A new method of transporting fresh fish in lightweight containers is
being usedin Grimsby, England. The containers are made of Duralumin
and lined with another special anticorrosive aluminum alloy, The con-
tainers are stated to be unaffected by brine, are easily cleaned, and do

not become impregnated with the smell of fish. Drainage channels are
formed in the aluminum alloy bottom. The containers measure 13 ft. 10
in, x 6 ft. 10 in. x 5 ft. 9 in.

--World Fish Trade, July 1953,

76

fp Se
“

Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SHELL-
FISH SANITATION: Almost 100 repre-
sentatives of Federal, State, and Cana-
dian health and fisheries agencies andof
the shellfish industry attended the first
national conference on shellfish sanita-
tion in almost 30 years. It was held
September 9 and 10, in Washington, D.C.
The conference was called by the Sur-
geon General of the Public Health Serv-
ice, Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare, to discuss problems ofboth
domestic and international significance.

On the domestic side, it was unani-
mously agreed that the voluntary, coop-
erative Federal-State-Industry sanitation
control program be continued, with cer-
tain technical changes, but essentially in
its present form. Under this system,
the states assume primary responsibility
for sanitation of shellfish production and
processing. The Public Health Service
will continue to develop uniform stand-
ards, evaluate and endorse the state
programs which meet its standards, and
issue periodic lists of state-certified
dealers.

Speaking for the producing states, Dr.
Mack I. Shanholtz, Virginia State Health
Officer, pointed out that shellfish-regu-
latory agencies are expending large a-
mounts of time and money to insure that
shellfish are not harvested from sewage-
polluted areas, Action may range from
simple closure of such an area to the
construction of sewage-treatment facil-
ities.

"Virginia is the largest shellfish-pro-
ducing State, but these problems face all
other producing States as well," Dr.
‘Shanholtz said. In the face of our ever-
increasing population, "it is a constant

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

ath, ACTIONS

Vol. 16, No. 10

race to keep sewage-treatment facilities
adequate to the expanding pollution prob-
lem, '' he observed.

"Sanitary control is the foundation up-
on which the industry is built, '' it was
asserted by David H. Wallace, director
of the Oyster Institute of North America,
who spoke also for the Pacific Coast Oys-
ter Growers Association, Because of
the shellfish industry's interest in pro-
ducing a safe product, he said, the in-
dustry wants the cooperative program to
continue,

The need for all states to check on the
sources and marketing of shellfish sold
within their borders was stressed by Dr.
Grady F. Mathews, Oklahoma State
Health Officer, who compared the shell-
fish industry to the milk industry with
respect to the need for sanitary controls,
He urged all interior states to take steps
to insure that only certified shellfish be
sold. The interior states are becoming
more important in shellfish marketing,
he pointed out, with the development of
new methods of freezing, changes inmer-
chandizing methods, and advances in ex-
press rates on small shipments leading
to the location of repacking and breading
and freezing plants in interior states.

The same advances in freezing tech-
niques give rise to the international prob-
lems, according to experts who addressed
the conference, H. Gerald Smith, of the
State Department, noted that dollar-short
countries with a surplus of shellfish are
eager to take advantage of these develop-
ments in order to help stabilize their e-
conomies. He recognized, however, that
"the many sanitation and administrative
problems involved in the shipment of
shellfish from distant countries to the
United States will have to be solved" be-
fore they would be able to market appre-
ciable quantities here.

October 1954

John Harvey, Associate Commission-
er of Food and Drug Administration, and
Richard S. Green, chief of the Public
Health Service's Shellfish Branch, a-
greed that ''many difficult problems
must be solved before the Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare and
other Federal agencies concerned can
work out satisfactory methods for deal-
ing with shipments." The industry's
point of view, as expressed by J. R.
Nelson, of Madison, Connecticut, pres-
ident of the Oyster Institute of North A-
merica, was that ''the same rigid con-
trols which have been placed over do-
mestic producers should be applied to
foreign producers,"

The Department of State, the Food and
Drug Administration and the Public
Health Service of the Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare, andthe
Fish and Wildlife Service of the Depart-
ment of Interior will cooperate in a
study of these problems, at the request
of the state and industry representatives
at the conference.

This is the resolution passed at the
Conference:

"During 1924 and 1925, outbreaks of
typhoid fever occurred in New York,
Washington, Chicago and several other
cities. Epidemiological investigation
indicated sewage-polluted oysters to be
the cause of this illness. The resulting
publicity nearly ruined the shellfish in-
dustry. To reestablish public confidence
in the use of raw fresh shellfish as food,
the industry and certain governmental
agencies appealed to health authorities
for assistance. A meeting of all inter-
ested persons was held in Washington,
D. C., on February 19, 1925, with the
Surgeon General of the U. S. Public
Health Service presiding, to formulatea
plan for sanitary control of the shellfish
industry.

"As a result of this meeting, a sys-
tem of shellfish-sanitation control was
developed which placed the primary re-
sponsibility for the maintenance of sani-
tary control upon the state agencies.
The function of the U. S. Public Health
Service was to assist in development of
uniform standards, review state pro-
grams, and advise receiving states of the

.

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 77

effectiveness of the shellfish-sanitation
programs in the producing states. Now,
therefore,

"WHEREAS, to safeguard public
health, there is a continuing need for a
program for sanitary control of shellfish
processing and distribution in receiving
areas, and

"WHEREAS, the establishment of ad-
equate control measures in both produc-
ing areas and receiving areas will assist
the shellfish industry and provide pro-
tection for the ultimate consumer, there-
fore, be it

"RESOLVED,

"1, That the present policy of Feder-
al-state and Industry cooperative rela-
tionship be continued including the listing
of certified shellfish dealers by theU. S.
Public Health Service based on its en-
dorsement of the various State programs.

"2. That the Public Health Service
shall develop specific minimum require-
ments for endorsing state shellfish pro-
grams which shall take into account vary-
ing geographic and other conditions and
the various species of shellfish grown
therein,

"3. That the certification of shellfish
packers and repackers, with endorse-
ment of satisfactory state programs by
the U. S. Public Health Service, be de-
veloped in all receiving states.

"4, That all states be encouraged to
require that only shellfish from certified
dealers be permitted to be sold.

"5, That the program for sanitary
control of the shellfish industry shall be
maintained throughout the year in both
producing and receiving states.

"6, That the Public Health Service
shall maintain a staff to carry out itsre-
sponsibility in this program, including
the necessary research and consultation
service.

78

Department of the Interior
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

EXPANDED FISHERY RESEARCH PRO-
GRAM APPROVED BY SECRETARY
MCKAY: Approval of a greatly expanded
research program designed to strength-
en the United States commercial fishing
industry was announced September 10

by Secretary of the Interior Douglas
McKay.

The research program will be car-
ried out by the Fish and Wildlife Service
under the terms of the Saltonstall-Ken-
nedy Bill (Public Law 466, 83rd Con-
gress). This legislation provides that
an amount equal to 30 percent of duties
collected under the customs laws on
fishery products be transferred annually
for three years from the Department of
Agriculture to the Department of the In-
terior, The basic purpose of the legis-
lation is to ''promote the free flow of
domestically produced fishery products
in commerce,"' Expenditures for any
one year may not exceed $3,000,000.

Projects initially approved by Secre-
tary McKay call for the expenditure of
approximately $1,800,000. The balance
of the allocation will await the consider-
ation of an advisory committee which
will be appointed in the near future. This
committee will comprise representatives
of all segments of the fishing industry
and will be invited to propose and review
research projects and to recommend
priorities for activities by types and
areas,

The $3,000,000 research fund allo-
cated under the Saltonstall-Kennedy bill
supplements $3,593,000 appropriated to
the Fish and Wildlife Service to carryon
authorized research programs. These
programs include $2,485,000 for fishand
fisheries and $1,108,000 for exploration
and utilization of fish and fish products.
Included in the first of these programs
is the extensive work now being carried
on by the Service on the Great Lakes sea
lamprey and the Florida red tide scourge.
In addition, $50,000 has been appropri-
ated for research on escapement of fish
in connection with the construction of
multiple-purpose dams,

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

Vol. 16, No. 10

The majority of the projects approved
under Public Law 466 funds are recog-
nized by the industry as requiring im-
mediate attention. Secretary McKay
pointed out that in most instances they
parallel programs either under way or
which have been postponed previously be-
cause of the lack of funds.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is authorized to conduct an
expanded fishery educational service, as well as technologi-
cal, biological, and related research programs, The trans-
ferred funds will also be available for the ‘‘purchase or other
acquisition, construction, equipment, operation, and mainten-
ance of vessels or other facilities necessary for conducting
the required research,”*

The projects now approved provide for increased activities
at many points in the United States and in Alaska, A statement
listing the types of projects and the localities in which they
will be carried on follows:

BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND INVESTIGATIONS

MAINE HERRING INVESTIGATION ($74,000). A study of
New England herring populations will be undertaken to dis-
cover reasons for the fluctuations in abundance and to de-
velop means of predicting the catch, This will be a coop-
erative investigation conducted with the Exploratory and
Gear Development unit. Headquarters for the activity will
be at a point on the Maine Coast,

NORTH ATLANTIC FISHERIES ($205,000), A study of
flounder, sea scallop, whiting, and ocean perch fisheries

will be undertaken to determine the condition of these fish-
eries in order to devise methods of conserving the fisheries
and to obtain information for the use of the industry concern-
ing supplies of fish and shellfish, and trends of the fisheries,
These activities will be carried on from the Service’s Woods
Hole, Mass,, laboratory.

OYSTER INVESTIGATIONS ($75,000). Studies of the oyster
fisheries of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts will be conducted
to learn more about seed-oyster production, control of drill
damage, and other possibilities for improved cultivation of
these shellfish, These activities will be conducted from
Milford, Conn,; Annapolis, Md.; Pensacola, Fla,

GULF OF MEXICO SHRIMP INVESTIGATIONS ($80,000),
The shrimp populations of the Gulf will be studied'to de-
termine the effects of environmental changes on shrimp
production, in order to provide information necessary to
maintain‘the production of these shellfish, Headquarters
for this activity will be at Galveston, Texas,

RED TIDE INVESTIGATIONS ($20,000), This amount will
supplement and strengthen studies being conducted to de-
termine the combination of environmental factors which
“‘trigger-off*’ blooms of Gymnodinium brevis, the organism
which causes extensive fish kills in west coast Florida wa-
ters, Headquarters for these investigations are at Fort
Meyers, Fla,

PACIFIC SARDINE, ANCHOVY, AND MACKEREL INVES-
TIONS ($125,000), Cooperative research will be con-
ducted to determine reasons for the recent decline in the
sardine fishery and to learn the distribution, abundance,
and reasons for fluctuations in the numbers of sardine-like
fish in Pacific Coast waters, Studies of the anchovy and

October 1954

mackerels will be carried on concurrently, Headquarters
for the staff in this research will be at La Jolla, Calif,

NORTH PACIFIC ALBACORE INVESTIGATIONS ($234,000).
Biological, oceanographic, and fishing studies will be con-
ducted to locate and determine abundance of albacore tuna
in waters north and west of Hawaii. The project will be
conducted from the Service’s laboratory at Honolulu, T. H.,
and will be coordinated through the Pacific States Marine
Fisheries Commission.

EXPLORATORY FISHING, STATISTICAL, TECHNOLOGICAL,
EDUCATIONAL, MARKET DEVELOPMENT, AND ECONOMIC
RESEARCH AND SERVICES

Exploratory Fishing and Gear Development:

MAINE HERRING EXPLORATION ($76,000). An exploratory
fishing and gear research program will be undertaken for the
purpose of increasing herring production in cooperation with

a biological research program, This activity will be based at
a suitable point on the coast of Maine.

NORTH ATLANTIC EXPLORATIONS ($160,000). A program
will be carried on to find new fishing grounds off the New
England Coast, and to develop improved fishing methods,
This activity will be based at Boston, Mass., and will utilize
the Service’s technological research vessel Delaware.

Commercial Fishery Statistics:

The collection and dissemination of commercial fishery
statistics will be expanded and expedited in many parts of
the country, The monthly and annual economic and biological
statistical surveys of the domestic fisheries will be issued
more promptly; coverage will be strengthened in areas where
the collection of data has been weak; and a program will be
established for the collection of detailed statistics on the
shrimp industry in the South Atlantic and Gulf States. Super-
vision of the surveys, publication of the data collected, and
contracts for special field surveys will be handled from
Washington, D, C,, at a cost of $53,000. Personnel assigned
to conduct the statistical surveys will be stationed in the
following localities:.

ATLANTIC COAST ($33,000).
Gloucester, Mass,
Providence, R, I,

GULF COAST ($60,000):
Key West, Fla.
Fort Meyers, Fla,

Solomons, Md. Tampa, Fla,
Beaufort, N. C, Pascagoula, Miss,
Beaufort, S, C. Biloxi, Miss.
Brunswick, Ga, New Orleans, La,
Coral Gables, Fla. Houma, La,

Morgan City, La.
Galveston, Texas
Aransas Pass, Texas
Brownsville, Texas

MID-WEST ($13,000):

Ann Arbor, Mich,

LaCrosse, Wis.

New Orleans, La, (head-
quarters employee will
survey lower Mississippi
River)

PACIFIC COAST ($6,000):
Astoria, Ore.
San Pedro, Calif,

Technological Studies:

GULF ANDSOUTH ATLANTIC OYSTER RESEARCH ($40,000):
A program to develop the most suitable methods for handling,
freezing, and packaging Southern oysters in the Gulf and South
Atlantic producing areas. The research will be conducted
under contract by qualified laboratories and at the Service’s
College Park, Maryland, laboratory.

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

79

Economic Research ($143,000):

Consumption of fishery products will be studied in public
eating places, institutions, etc., which serve 60 million people
daily, in order to obtain information useful in increasing mar-
kets for fish and shellfish,

Comprehensive economic surveys, similar to that prepared
on the domestic tuna industry, will be made for other im-
portant fisheries, such as shrimp, scallops, Maine sardines,
etc,, to indicate trends and strengthen their competitive po-
sition. These studies and surveys will be supervised from
Washington, D, C., and include a very large amount of con-
tract research with qualified research organizations in the
economic field,

Fishery Education and Market Development:

There will be an expansion of the school lunch, locker,
and special marketing activities, and inauguration of a
program for the development of foreign markets for fish-
ery products, These funds are in addition to the $175,000
that the Service received as a result of legislation now
superseded by P, L, 466. This brings the total for this
activity to $300,000. Employees to be assigned to these
new activities will be stationed in the following localities:

ATLANTIC COAST ($101,500): PACIFIC COAST ($16,000):

College Park, Md, Seattle, Wash,

Washington, D, C. San Pedro, Calif.

Atlanta, Ga,

Coral Gables, Fla, (contract
with University of Miami)

GULF COAST ($7,500):
New Orleans, La.

ADMINISTRATION

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ($91,500). Inauguration

of the expanded research program authorized by P. L.
466 will require additional employment and expenditures
in the Service’s Division of Administration in Washington,
D, C., and in the various regional offices for increased
fiscal, personnel, and similar administrative activities.

CONSTRUCTION SURVEYS AND ENGINEERING STUDIES
($43,000), Surveys and engineering studies will be made
to develop plans for the construction of fishery labora-
tories at Woods Hole, and Boston, Mass.; Pascagoula,
Miss.; and Seattle, Wash,

OK OK OK

JOINT AGREEMENT FOR SOUND WILD-

PROJECTS: An interagency agreement
between the Corps of Engineers, Depart-
ment of the Army, and the Fish and
Wildlife Service of the Department of the
Interior to promote sound planning of fish
and wildlife facilities on river basin
projects was announced August 31,

The agreement signed by Acting Sec-
retary of the Interior Ralph A. Tudor and
Secretary of the Army Robert T. Stevens
represents a forward step in the pro-
gram of cooperation between the Corps

80

and the Fish and Wildlife Service and is
designed to provide for the preservation
of fish and wildlife resources in the de-
velopment of irrigation, navigation,
flood control, and power multipurpose
projects.

Uniform procedures are set forth in
the agreement for the incorporation of
recommendations of the Fish and Wild-
life Service, as well as the State Fish
and Game Departments, in project re-
ports submitted to Congress by the Corps
of Engineers. General plans will be de-
veloped jointly by the two Federal agen-
cies and the appropriate State agency
where either the Federal or State wild-
life agencies desires to make use of the
resources of completed projects. Max-
imum practicable public benefits for
wildlife conservation will be sought ona
local, regional, and national scale,

The agreement provides, among
other things, that both gains and losses
to wildlife will be considered, and that
the recommendations of the Fish and
Wildlife Service will be as specific as
possible as to purpose, costs, results
expected, and related matters, The a-
greement also provides that, as a gen-
eral policy, leases of project lands by
the Corps of Engineers for agricultural
purposes shall specify that the lands
shall be open for public hunting and fish-
ing. Reports of the Corps of Engineers
on projects where effects on fish and
wildlife resources are significant shall
include fish and wildlife conservation as
one of the project purposes.

This agreement establishes definite
guidance for personnel of both agencies
in the preparation of project proposals
within the framework of the Coordination
Act of 1946,

% OK OK OK

TERHUNE APPOINTED ASSISTANT
REGIONAL DIRECTOR: Hugh W. Ter-
hune has been appointed Assistant Re-
gional Director ofthe Fish and Wildlife
Service's regional office in Atlanta,
Georgia, the Department of the Interior
announced August 23. He succeeds
Walter A. Gresh who became Regional
Director after the retirement of James

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

Vol. 16, No. 10

Silver. Terhune reported for duty in
Atlanta about September 10.

Terhune has been assistant chief of
the Branch of Alaska Fisheries at the
central office in Washington since 1950,

As administrator of the Service's
Philippine Fisheries Rehabilitation Pro-
gram in the 1940's, Terhune directed
the work of revitalizing the Philippine
Republic's commercial fisheries.

He was also executive officer of the
Alaska Game Commission, manager of
the White River National Wildlife Refuge
in Arkansas, chief of the division of con-
struction and CCC operations, and area
coordinator of fisheries for the State of
California.

State Department
HEARINGS ON REVIEW OF GATT: Pub-

lic hearings concerning possible changes
in the general provisions of the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade were
held by the State Department in Washing-
ton, D. C., September 13-17. Thehear-
ing was conducted under the direction of
the Chairman of the United States Dele-
gation for the review and renegotiation
of the General Agreement which willtake
place in Geneva beginning November 8,
These hearings relate to the general pro-
visions of the General Agreement and
not to individual commodities or tariff

Major matters which are listed for
possible consideration at the review in
Geneva are:

1, Organizational provisions of GATT.

2. Special treatment for underdevel-
oped countries.

3. Agricultural quotas and export
subsidies (covered in present Agreement
primarily by GATT Articles XI and XVI).

4, Import restrictions for balance-
of-payments reasons (covered in present
Agreement primarily by GATT Articles
XII through XV).

October 1954

Provisions relating to duration of tar-
iff concessions (Article XXVIII).

% OK OK K

PUBLIC VIEWS REQUESTED ON THE
FIRM LIFE OF INDIVIDUAL TARIFF
CONCESSIONS IN GATT: Public views
were requested by the U. S. State De-
partment on September 21 regarding the
status of tariff concessions granted in
the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade in view of the possibility of mod-
ification of Article XXVIII of the Agree-
ment, a State Department release points
out.

Article XXVIII, as it stands at pres-
ent, provides that on or after July 1
1955, any country may withdraw tariff
commitments with regard to any partic-
ular product. However, a country wish-
ing to withdraw a concession first must
try to reach some basis of agreement
with other interested contracting parties
concerning such withdrawal. Apossible
basis for agreement would be the grant-
ing of new concessions as compensation
for the withdrawn concession, If such
efforts to arrive at agreement fail, the
country can nevertheless proceed with
its intended action and the other inter-
ested country then becomes free to with-
draw equivalent concessions in order to
restore balance in the Agreement.

Because of concernthat extensive use
of the unilateral procedure might lead to
a rather rapid increase in world tariffs,
the date at which this procedure might be-
come available, which originally was Jan-
uary 1, 1951, has twice been postponed.
Proposals to modify the application of
Article XXVIII are expected to be made
at the Ninth Session of the General Agree-
ment which opened on October 28.

Interested persons were invitedto ex-
press views with regard to any aspect of
this matter, including the general ques-
tionof modificationof the Article as well
as possible changes in individual conces-
sions which the United States has received
or granted. Such views willbe carefully

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

81

Delegation to the ReviewSession, These
views were made available to the trade
agreements organization for considera-
tion along with information and views
presented at the October hearings.

Written views were to be submitted
to the Committee for Reciprocity Informa-
tion, the interdepartmental organization
which receives views withregard totrade
agreement matters, byOctober 18. Pub-
lic hearings were also held by the Com-
mittee beginning October 18.

Article XXVIII now provides, in ef-
fect:
1. Onorafter July 1, 19552! any con-
tracting party may, by negotiation and
agreement with any other contracting party
with which suchtreatment was initially
negotiated, and subject to consultation
with such other contracting parties as the
CONTRACTING PARTIES determine to
have a substantial interest in such treat-
ment, modify, or cease toapply, the treat-
ment whichithas agreed toaccord under
Article II toany product described in the
appropriate Schedule annexed to this A-
greement. In suchnegotiations and agree-
ment, which may include provision for
compensatory adjustment with respect to
other products, the contracting parties con-
cerned shall endeavour to maintain a gen-
eral level of reciprocaland mutually ad-
vantageous concessions not less favour -
able totrade thanthat provided for in the
present Agreement,

2. (a) If agreement between the con-
tracting parties primarily concerned
cannot be reached, the contracting party
which proposes to modify or cease to
apply such treatment shall, nevertheless,
be free to do so, and if such action is
taken the contracting party with which
such treatment was initially negotiated,
and the other contracting parties deter-
mined under paragraph 1 of this Article
to have a substantial interest, shallthen
be free, not later than six months after
such action is taken, to withdraw, upon
the expiration of thirty days from the

day on which written notice of such with-
drawal is received by the CONTRACTING

considered before a final decision is reach-| PARTIES, substantially equivalent con-

edas to the United States position, Cer-
tain views on this subject were presented
at the hearings on the GATT review of
September 13 through17, held by theU. Ss.

cessions initially negotiated with the con-
tracting party taking such action.

1/The applicable date in paragraph 1, in the case of Brazil,
is January 1, 1954.

82 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

(b) If agreement between the con-
tracting parties primarily concerned is
reached but any other contracting party
determined under paragraph 1 of this
Article to have a substantial interest is
not satisfied, such other contracting
party shall be free, not later than six
months after action under such agree-
ment is taken, to withdraw, upon the ex-
piration of thirty days from the day on
which written notice of such withdrawal
is received by the CONTRACTING PAR-
TIES, substantially equivalent conces-
sions initially negotiated with a contract-
ing party taking action under such agree-
ment,

In a statement at the opening of re-
view hearings on the general agreement
on tariffs and trade, Assistant Secretary
of State Samuel C, Waugh pointed out
that in a message to Congress on March
30, 1954, the President stated his in-
tention to renegotiate the organizational
provisions of the GATT and to submit
the results of this renegotiation to the
Congress for its approval, The Presi-
dent stated further that the United States
will ''suggest to other Contracting Par-
ties revisions of the substantive provi-
sions of the Agreement to provide a
simpler, stronger instrument contribut-
ing more effectively to the development
of a workable system of world trade,"

As directed by the President, the
United States Delegation, which included
representatives of the appropriate agen-
cies of the Executive Branch, discussed
the merits of a review of the Agreement
with other GATT adherents. There was
general agreement that a review of the
Agreement in the light of experience
since it was first put into effect in 1948
is now appropriate, and the review is
scheduled to open in Geneva on Novem-

ber, 8.
SY

Tariff Commission
SUGGESTIONS ON IMPLEMENTATION

OF CUSTOMS SIMPLIFICATION ACT OF

1954 INVITED: Title I of the Customs
Simplification Act of 1954, approved Sep-

Vol. 16, No. 10

tember 1, 1954, directs the Tariff Com-
mission to make a comprehensive study
of the laws of the United States prescrib-
ing the tariff status of imported articles
and to submit to the President and tothe
Chairmen of the Ways & Means Commit -
tee of the House of Representatives and
the Finance Committee of the Senate,
within two years, a revision and con-
solidation of these laws, which in the
judgement of the Commission, will to
the extent practicable--

(1) Establish schedules of tariff
classifications which will be logical in
arrangement and terminology and adapt-
ed to the changes which have occurred
since 1930 on the character and impor-
tance of articles produced in and import-
ed into the United States and in the mar-
kets in which they are sold,

(2) Eliminate anomalies and illogical
results in the classification of articles.

(3) Simplify the determination and
application of tariff classifications,

The Tariff Commission has initiated
the study, and at this stage thereof the
Commission invites importers, domes-
tic producers, customs brokers, and
other interested parties to submit any
suggestions they may have to offer which
in their opinion will accomplish the pur-
poses above indicated. Suggestions
should be in quintuplicate and should be
addressed to the General Counsel, Unit-
ed States Tariff Commission, Washington
26, D. C.

No hearings will be held in connection
with this study until after the Commis-
sion has completed its review of the tar-
iff cldssification laws and has prepared
a draft of revised tariff schedules. Hear-
ings will then be scheduled for the pur-
pose of affording interested parties op-
portunity to be heard with regard to the
proposed revised tariff schedules, par-
ticularly with respect to the probable ef-
fect upon domestic industry of any inci-
dental changes in duties which may be
involved in the proposed revision.

4

October 1954

Eighty-Third Congress
(Second Session)

AUGUST 1954

Listed below are public bills andres-
olutions introduced and referredto com-
mittees or passed by the Highty-Third
Congress (Second Session) and signed by
the President that directly or indirectly
affect thefisheries and allied industries.
Public bills and resolutions are shownin
this section only when introducedand, if
passed, when signed by the President;
but also shown are the more pertinent
reports, hearings, or chamber actions
on some of the bills shown inthis sec-
tion from month to month.

CUSTOMS SIMPLIFICATION ACT: On September 1 the
President signed H, R, 10009, a billto simplify customs pro-
cedures, (P. L, 768). The Act authorizes the Tariff Com-
mission to review customs tariff schedules, and transfers
from the Treasury Department to the Tariff Commission
the task of deciding whether dumping of goods by foreign
countries in the United States market has resulted in injury
to domestic producers, The Act requires the Tariff Com-
mission to report to Congress by March 18, 1955, indica-
ting the significant problems that have developed and sug-
gesting standards and methods which might be adopted for
simplification of existing tariff schedules without significant
changes in tariff levels.

One section of the Law which may be of considerable im-
portance in the future reads:

“Sec, 401.**** Sec, 301. Insular Possessions,

“There shall be levied, collected, and paid upon all arti-
cles coming into the United States from any of its insular
possessions, except Puerto Rico, the rates of duty which
are required to be levied, collected, and paid upon like arti-
cles imported from foreign countries; except that all articles
the growth or product of any such possession, or manufactur-
ed or produced in any such possession from materials the
growth, product, or manufacture of any such possession or
of the United States, or of both, which do not contain foreign
materials to the value of more than 50 per centum of their
total value, coming into the United States directly from any
such possession, and all articles previously imported into
the United States with payment of all applicable duties and
taxes imposed upon or by reason of importation which are
shipped from the United States, without remission, refund, or
drawback of such duties or taxes, directly to the possession,
from which it is being returned by direct shipment, shall be
admitted free of duty upon compliance with such regulations
as to proof of origin as may be prescribed by the Secretary
of the Treasury. In determining whether an article produced
or manufactured in any such insular possession contains for-
eign materials to the value of more than 50 per centum, no
material shall be considered foreign which, at the time such
article is entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, in the Unit-
ed States for consumption, may be imported into the United
States from a foreign country, other than Cuba or the Philip-
pine Republic, free of duty.

of the Virgin Islands, approved July 22, 1954, is amendedto

read as follows:

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 83

“(d) All articles coming into the United States from the
Virgin Islands shall be subject to or exempt from duty as
provided for in section 301 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and
subject to internal-revenue taxes as provided for in section
7652 (b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954,

“(b) Section 27 of the Act of August 1, 1950 (64 Stat. 392;
U.S.C., 1952 edition, title 48, sec. 1421e), is amended to
read as follows:

“Sec, 27, All articles coming into the United States from
Guam shall be subject to or exempt from duty as provided
for in section 301 of the Tariff Act of 1930.”

The Senate Finance Committee’s report on these sections
is as follows:

“Section 401

““Section 401 of the bill would add a new section to title II
of the Tariff Act of 1930 to provide for the duty status of im-
portations from the insular possessions of the United States.
The new section would provide that all articles imported
from an insular possession of the United States, except
Puerto Rico, shall be dutiable at the same rates as are im-
portations from foreign countries, except those which (1) are
entirely of native origin or (2) are manufactured in suchpos-
session and do not contain over 50 percent of foreign materi-
als or (3) are articles previously imported into the United
States with full payment of duties and taxes which have been
shipped from the United States directly to the possession
without remission, refund, or drawback of such duties or
taxes, This proposal would result in equal treatment for all
the insular possessions of the United States, except Puerto
Ricowhich is withinthe customs territory of the United States,

“Section 402

“Section 402 of the bill would amend present law to make
it clear that Guam and the Virgin Islands come within the
general provision for importations from insular possessions
added by section 401, Under existing law all products of
Guam are duty free, whereas products of the Virgin Islands
are subject to duty if they contain over 50 percent of foreign
material,’”

DUTY ON FISH STICKS: The President on August 28 sign-
ed H, R, 8628, a bill containing an amendment to provide a
20 percent ad-valorem duty on breaded uncooked and 30 per-
cent on cooked fish sticks and similar products of any size
or shape, fillets, or other portions of fish (P. L. 689).

The Lawshall enter into effect as soon as practicable on a
date to be specified by the President in a notice to the Sec-
retary of Treasury following such negotiations as may be
necessary to effect a modification or a termination of the
international obligations of the United States with which the
amendment would be in conflict, The Law reads:

H. R. 8628

AN ACT
All 68 Stat, 696,
To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to Insure that crude asllicon carbide imported
{nto the United States will continue to be exempt from duty, and with respect
to the duties applicable to certain prepared fish.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of Americain Congress assembled, That paragraph Silioan carbide,
1672 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, is amended by inserting 46 Stat. 677,
“crude silicon carbide,” after “corundum ore,”. 9 USC 1201,
Sec. 2. (a) Paragraph 720 of title I of the Tariff Act of 1930 par. 1672.
(U.S. C., 1952 edition, title 19, sec. 1001, par. 720), is amended by 46 Stat. 633.
adding at the end thereof the following subparagraph :
“(d) Fish sticks and similar products of any size or shape, fillets, Fish sticks,
or other portions of fish, if breaded, coated with batter, or similarly
p reparedy but nut packed in oil or in oil and other substances, whether
in bulk or in containers of any size or kind, and whether or not
described or provided for Rlsenbers in this Act, if uncooked, 20 per
centum ad valorem; cooked in any degree, 30 per centum ad valorem.”
(b) The foregoing amendment shall enter into effect as soon as Effeotivi ty.
practicable on n date to be specified by the President in a Notice to the
Secretary of the Treasury following such negotiations as may be
necessary to effect a modification or a termination of the international
obligations of the United States with which the amendment would be
in conflict.
Approved August 28, 1954.

84

LABELING OF FOREIGN-PRODUCED TROUT: The Presi-
dent on September 2 vetoed S. 2033, relating to the labeling
of packages containing foreign-produced trout sold in the
U. S., and requiring certain information to appear on apla-
card in public eating places serving such trout. In vetoing
the measure, designed to protect domestic trout growers,
the President stated that the present Tariff Act and the Food,
Drug and Cosmetic Law provide sufficient safeguards if
thoroughly enforced,

PROTECTION OF U. S. VESSELS ON HIGH SEAS: The
President on August 27 signed H. R. 9584, a bill to protect
the rights of vessels of the United States on the high seas
and in territorial waters of foreign countries. (P. L. 680).
The law reads:

H. R. 9584

AN ACT
—__. ___,Al] 68 Stat. 883.
To protect the rights of vessels of the United States on the high seas and in
territorial waters of foreign countries.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, ‘that for the purposes Seizure of U. S,
of this Act the term “vessel of the United States” shall mean any vessels on high
rivate vessel documented or certificated under the laws of the United %¢2#» eto.
tates.
Sec. 2, In any case where—
(a) a vessel of the United States is seized by a foreign count
on the basis of rights or claims in territorial waters or the high
seas which are not recognized by the United States; and
(b) there is no dispute of material facts with respect to the
location or activity of such vessel at the time of such seizure,
the Secretary of State shall as soon as practicable take such action as Aotion yy Seo-
he deems appropriate to attend to the welfare of such vessel and its retary of State.
crew while it is held by such country and to secure the release of such
vessel and crew.
Sec. 3. In any case where a vessel of the United States is seized by a
foreign country under the conditions of section 2 and a fine must be
paid in order to secure the prompt release of the vessel and "rew, the

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

Vol. 16, No. 10

owners of the vessel shall be reimbursed by the Secretary of the Treas-
ury in the amount certified to him by the Secretary of State as being
the amount of the fine actually paid.

Sec. 4. The provisions of this Act shall not apply with respect to Nonapplice-
a seizure made by a country at war with the United States or a seizure bility.
made in accordance with the provisions of any fishery convention or
treaty to which the United States is a party.

Sec. 5. The Secretary of State shall take such action as he may deem
appropriate to make and colli on claims against a foreign count
for amounts expended by the L ited States under the provisions of this
Act because of the seizure of a United States vessel by such country.

Sec. 6. There are authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may Appropriation,
be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

Approved August 27, 1954.

SOCIAL SECURITY FOR FISHERMEN: H, R, 9366, pro-
viding for expanded coverage and an improved old-age and
survivors insurance program, was signed by the President
on September 1 (P. L. 761). The bill includes all persons,
except minors employed by parents, engaged in the fishing
industry. Affected are not only fishermen on boats or ves-
sels, but also fishermen who operate drop nets and haul
seines, clam diggers, and employees of commercial trout
and other fish farms, The following detailed provisions are
of interest to those affected by the new Law,

The new coverage is effective January 1, 1955. The em-
ployee’s social security tax will be two percent of his wages
up to a maximum of $4200 a year and the employer will con-
tribute a like amount,

The employer is responsible under the law for withholding
the employee’s tax and reporting wages every three months,
Reports are made on Form 941, U. S, Treasury Department,
Internal Revenue Services. The report covering the calendar
quarter January-March should be made before the end of
April,

Editorial Assistants--Ruth V. Keefe; Miss S. Boediningsih, Indonesiantrainee, also
assisted in the preparation of this issue as part of her training inthe United States.

Illustrator--Gustaf T. Sundstrom
Compositors--Jean Zalevsky, Betty Coakley, Kathlyn Brophy, & Alma E, Greene
* OK KOK OK

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,

Pages 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, and 12--Exploratory Fishing and Gear
Development Section, Pascagoula, Miss.

October 1954

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

85

FISHERY

INDICATORS _

CHART I - FISHERY LANDINGS for SELECTED STATES

In Millions of Pounds

CUMULATIVE DATA

7 Qs. 1954 - 154.7)
7 1953 - 121.7
12 1953 - 241.6

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

CUMULATIVE DATA

6 MQS. 1954 - 78.0
6 |, 1953 - 106.3
12 1953 - 175.6)

NEW JERSEY

CUMULATIVE DATA

+ 1954 - 257.8
he 1953 - 215.1
1953 - 433.3

J —

OTAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

CALIFORNIA2/

CUMULATIVE DATA

B Mgs. 1954 - 354.8)
8 |, 1953 - 402.8)

2/ONLY PARTIAL--!NCLUDING PRODUCTION OF MAJOR FISHERIES AND MARKET FISH
LANDINGS AT PRINCIPAL PORTS.

MASSACHUSETTS

CUMULATIVE DATA

7 MQS. 1954 - 296.0
7, 1953 - 273.3
12 1953 - 449.3

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

CUMULATIVE DATA

8 MQS. 1954 - 42.7
8 , 1953 - 42.5

12 1953 _- 67.0

CUMULATIVE DATA
8 MS. 1954 - 138.2

8 1953 - 86.5

oy

12 1953 - 138.7

CUMULATIVE DATA
. 1954 = 22.4

1953 - 15.8
1953 - 38.0

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

86

Ve

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No. 10

CHART 2 - LANDINGS for SELECTED FISHERIES

In Millions of Pounds

: HADDOCK OCEAN PERCH
(Maine and Massachusetts) (Maine and Massachusetts)

CUMULATIVE DATA
.» 1954 - 1954 - 104.4
1953 - mgs

1953 - 98.1
1953 - 153.9

CUMULATIVE DATA

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

1 SHRIMP WHITING
(Gulf States=/ including Florida West Coast) (Maine and Massachusetts)
‘CUMULATIVE DATA

CUMULATIVE DATA
. 1954 - 67.9 7 MQS « 1954 - 34.4
1953 = 66.1

Tae 1953 - 34.8
1953 - 177.4 / 12 1953 - 63.4

= ——
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
A. & ALA, DATA BASED ON LANDINGS AT PRINCIPAL PORTS AND ARE NOT

ee In Thousands of

MENHADEN PACIFIC AND JACK MACKEREL
(East and Gulf Coasts (California)

CUMULATIVE DATA

8 mgs. 1954 - sag.) } 8 MgS. 1954 - 10.8
8 |, 1953 - 541.8

8 | 1953 - 23.3
12 1953 - 807.7 12 1953 - 29.9

CUMULATIVE DATA

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
In Thousands of

PILCHARD TUNA AND TUNA-LIKE FISH
(California) (California)
(CUMULATIVE DATA

1953/54 SEASON, TOTAL - 2.6 8 MGS. 1954 - 145.1
1952/53 SEASON, TOTAL - 3.6 8 1953 - 133.3)
1951/52 SEASON, TOTAL - 126.5 "4953 - 183.1

CUMULATIVE DATA

Legend:
1954/55
—— 1953/54

AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 87

| CHART 3 - COLD-STORAGE HOLDINGS and FREEZINGS
of FISHERY PRODUCTS +

In Millions of Pounds

U. S. & ALASKA HOLDINGS U.S, & ALASKA FREEZINGS

CUMULATIVE DATA

QS. 1954 - 206.6
1953 - 188.2
1953 - 275.4

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

NEW ENGLAND HOLDINGS!/ MIDDLE & SOUTH ATLANTIC HOLDINGS2/

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
T/MAINE, MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE |SLAND, AND CONNECTICUT. 2/ALL EAST COAST STATES FROM N.Y. SOUTH.

MIDDLE WEST HOLDINGS3/ GULF & SOUTH CENTRAL HOLDINGS4/

eT,

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

B/OH10, IND., ILL., MICH., WIS., MINN., IOWA, MO., N. DAK., NEBR., & KANS.

WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND ALASKA HOLDINGS CALIFORNIA HOLDINGS

56

48

40

32

24 §

16

8

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

*Excludes salted, cured, and smoked products.

88 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 16, No.10

CHART 4 - RECEIPTS and COLD-STORAGE HOLDINGS of FISHERY
PRODUCTS at PRINCIPAL DISTRIBUTION CENTERS

In Millions of Pound

RECEIPTS!/ AT WHOLESALE SALT-WATER MARKET COLD-STORAGE HOLDINGS2
(FRESH AND FROZEN) NEW YORK ,, =

CUMULATIVE DATA

: 29.8
1953 - 170,1

o JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

1/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

(FRESH AND FROZEN) CHICAGO
CUMULATIVE DATA
9 MQS. 1954 - 88.4

9 , 1953 - 62.3
12 1953 -

COLD-STORAGE HOLDINGS

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

SEATTLE BOSTON

WHOLESALE MARKET RECEIPf#’S, LANDINGS, COLD-STORAGE HOLDINGS
y ZEN)

J
y JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

FISH MEAL FISH OIL
(In Thousands of Tons) (In Millions of Gallons)

= = — a =
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

October 1954

TUNA AND TUNA-LIKE FISH - CALIFORNIA

CUMULATIVE DATA

. 1954 - 6,61
We 953 - 61
1953 - 8)38

1.2
4.8
8.2

v JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

ANCHOVIES - CALIFORNIA

CUMULATIVE DATA

480]| 8 Qs. 1954 - 468.6
8 , 1953 - 1,233.8
1953 - 1537.2

e JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

SARDINES (ESTIMATED) - MAINE

CUMULATIVE DATA

. 1954 = 1,724.6
1953 - "988.8
1953 - 2,451.9

SARDINES - CALIFORNIA

CUMULATIVE DATA

1953/54 SEASON, TOTAL -
1952/53 SEASON, TOTAL - :
1951/52 SEASON, TOTAL - 2,367.

AUG SEPT OCT. NOV. DEC ' JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

Legend:

ie CHART 6- CANNED PACKS of SELECTED FISHERY PRODUCTS

In Thousands of Standard Cases

MACKEREL1!/ - CALIFORNIA

CUMULATIVE DATA

480]| 8 mgs. 1954 - 211.1
8 1953 - 459.1
1953 - 593.3

SALMON - ALASKA
CUMULATIVE DATA
« 1954 - 2,934.9

1953 - 2,740.0
1953 - 2)882.1

0 =
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

STANDARD CASES

Variety No. Cans Can Designation Net Wet.

SARDINES ....... 100 4 drawn 3} oz.

SHRIMP.......... 48 oo oz.

UN Avsicteictefoteielelere 48 No. } tuna oz.

PILCHARDS ..... 48 No. 1 oval oz.

SALMON ........ 48 1-pound tall oz.

ANCHOVIES ..... 48 + 1b. oz.

SHRIMP - GULF STATES

1954/55

—— 1953/54 CUMULATIVE DATA

1954/55 SEASON,
AUG .-SEPT.
1953/54 SEASON,
AUG .-SEPT.
1953/54 SEASON,
TOTAL AUG.-JULY - 955.8

- 250.1
- 257.8

AUG SEPT OCT _NOV_DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY.

89

]

90 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

CHART 7- U.S. FISHERY PRODUCTS IMPORTS

GROUNDFISH (INCLUDING OCEAN PERCH) FILLETS,
FRESH & FROZEN
CUMULATIVE DATA

» 1954 - 90,4
1953 - 60.6
1953 - 91.4

g JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

SHRIMP, FRESH & FROZEN, FROM MEXICO

CUMULATIVE DATA

. 1954 - 19.3
1953 - 17.9
1953 - 36.8

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

TUNA, FRESH & FROZEN

CUMULATIVE DATA

» 1954 - 75.9
1953 - 64.3
1953 - 95.1

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

CANNED TUNA AND TUNA-LIKE FISH (IN OIL)

CUMULATIVE DATA

7 -MQS. 1954 - 11.2
7 , 1953 - 11.2
12 1953 - 15.0

0
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

Vol. 16, No.10

FILLETS & STEAKS OTHER THAN GROUNDFISH,
FRESH & FROZEN
CUMULATIVE DATA

IQS. 1954 - 26.7
1953 - 27.8
1953 - 51.3

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

LOBSTER & SPINY LOBSTER, FRESH & FROZEN

CUMULATIVE DATA

7 « 1954 - 27.7
a) “8 1953 - 28.7

"1953

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

SEA HERRING, FRESH, THROUGH MAINE PORTS

CUMULATIVE DATA

» 1954 - 15.2
ee 1953 - 9,3
1953 - 23.2

hee = b
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

CANNED SARDINES
(IN OIL AND NOT IN OIL)

CUMULATIVE DATA

7 . 1954 - 23.0
pie 1953 - 21.4

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC

October 1954

fo ba fae

FIS

Re
. LETS ie Pe

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.
FL = FISHERY LEAFLETS.
SL = STATISTICAL SECTION LISTS OF DEALERS IN AND PRO-
DUCERS OF FISHERY PRODUCTS AND BYPRODUCTS.
SSR.-FISH - SPECIAL SCJENTIF]C REPORTS--FISHERIES

(LIMITED DISTRIBUTION).
“WILD = SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC REPORTS--WILOLIFE
(LIMITED DISTRIBUTION).
SEP.- SEPARATES (REPRINTS) FROM COMMERCIAL FISHERIES
REVIEW.

SSR.

Number Title

CFS- 863 - Packaged Fish, 1952 Annual Summary
(revised), 4 pp.,

- Middle Atlantic Fisheries, Annual
Summary 1952, 7 pp.

CFS-1009 - Massachusetts Landings, May 1954,

8 pp.
CFS-1010 - New Jersey Landings, May 1954, 2 pp.

CFS-1006

CFS-1012 - Florida Landings, April 1954, 6 pp.

CFS-1021 - South Atlantic Fisheries, 1952 Annual
Summary, 9 pp.

CFS-1023 - Frozen Fish Report, June 1954, 8 pp.

CFS-1024 - New York Landings, May 1954, 5 pp.

CFS-1025 - Texas Landings, June 1954, 3 pp.

CFS-1026 - Pacific Coast Fisheries, 1952 Annual
Summary, 7 pp.

CFS-1028 - Frozen Fish Report, July 1954, 8 pp.

CFS-1029 - Maryland Landings, 1953 Annual Sum-
mary, 4 pp.

CFS-1030 - Fish Meal and Oil, June 1954, 2 pp.

CFS-1033 - Mississippi Landings, June 1954, 2pp.

CFS-1034 - Maine Landings, June 1954, 4 pp.

CFS-1035 - New Jersey Landings, June 1954, 2 pp.

CFS-1036 - New York Landings, June 1954, 4 pp.

CFS-1037 - Alabama Landings, June 1954, 2 pp.

FL - 14 - Pacific Salmons (revised March 1954),
8 pp., processed,

FL - 69 - Markets and Recipes for Fresh-water
Turtles (revised), 4 pp.

FL - 168 - Commercial Fishery Laws and Regu-
lations (revised), 8 pp.

FL - 176 - Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar), revised
March 1954, 6 pp., processed.

FL - 400 - List of Fishery Leaflets 301-400, 5

pp., processed,

WHOLESALE DEALERS IN FISHERY PRODUCTS:

SL - 3 - Massachusetts, 1954, 9 pp.

SL - 4 - Rhode Island, 1954 (revised), 2 pp.
SL - 5 - Connecticut, 1954 (revised), 1 p.

SL - 13 - North Carolina, 1954 (revised), 6 pp.

SL 20 - Texas, 1954, 4 pp.

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

HERY PUBLICATIONS

ple wee? C2 Seed BOSS AG, a! 0 2 pewama Seas ot OSE KGL PSE

91

~

By:

¢ <

1 Sep. No. 376 - Analysis of the Hawaiian Long-Line

Fishery, 1948-52.

Sep. No. 377 - Cold-Storage Life of Fresh-Water
Fish--No. 1.

Sep. No. 378 - Tech. Note No. 30 - Proposed
Method for Estimating Amount of
Solubles Added to Whole Fish Meal.

Sep. No. 379 - The Development of Federal Spec-
ifications.

SSR-Fish. No. 116 - Progress in Pacific Oceanic
Fishery Investigations, 1950-53, by O.,E. Sette
and the Staff of POFI, 76 pp., illus., processed,
February 1954. Summarizes briefly and pic-
torially the findings of the Service's Pacific O-
ceanic Fishery Investigations as follows: (1)
equatorial hydrographic cruises; (2) 1953 con-
cept of equatorial circulation; (3) surface tem-
perature and phosphate; (4) zooplankton abun-
dance by latitude; (5) zooplankton abundance by
longitude and season; (6) food of yellowfin tuna;
(7) equatorial long-line fishing cruises; (8) yel-
lowfin tuna catch/100 hooks (July-November);
(9) yellowfin tuna catch/100 hooks (January-
June); (10) relative abundance of yellowfin tuna
in the western equatorial Pacific; (11) seasonal
fluctuations in the long-line catch rate in the
western Pacific; (12) comparison of catch rates
from Japanese commercial and POFI experi-
mental fishing; (13) abundance of yellowfin at
150° W. longitude on successive cruises; (14)
tuna spawning near the equator; (15) distribution
of tuna larvae in central Pacific; (16) index to
racial difference of yellowfin between sample
localities; (17) equatorial commercial fishing;
(18) acceptance of Cavalieri long-line tuna for
canning; (19) variation in size of yellowfin along
the Equator; (20) known trans-Pacific distribu-
tion of yellowfin tuna; (21) bait resources in the
central Pacific; (22) mid-winter sampan fishing
in Line Islands; (23) search for bait substitutes;
(24) distribution of skipjack catch around the
Hawaiian Islands; (25) Hawaiian skipjack landings
1949-1952; (26) survey plan for Hawaiian hydro-
graphy; (27) winter sightings of skipjack; (28)
the Hawaiian long-line fishery; and (29) the age
and growth of yellowfin. To avoid the distrac-
tion of interspersing references to sources, a
summary of the kind and quantity of data under-
lying the several charts, graphs, and statements
is appended, together with a list of publications.

SSR-Fish. No. 120 - Creel Census and Expenditure
Study, North Fork Sun River, Montana, 1951,
42 pp., illus., processed, May 1954. .

SSR-Fish. No. 124 - Tests of Hatchery Foods for
Salmon, 1952, by H. William Newman, David
D. Palmer, and Roger E. Burrows, 13 pp.,
processed, April 1954.

92

SSR-Fish. No, 127 - Selected Bibliography on Ap-
plications of Electricity in Fishery Science, by
Vernon C, Applegate, Paul T. Macy, and Virgil
E. Harris, 57 pp., processed, April 1954. It
is the purpose of this publication to present a
selected list of technical, semi-popular, and
popular reports, both published and unpublished,
which may prove useful to those who are at-
tempting to apply electricity to a specific fishery
problem. This bibliography includes reports ap-
pearing through the calendar year 1953 which
are directly or indirectly related to the applica-
tion of electric current in or to the water for
the purpose of influencing or controlling fish
movement or for capturing fishes or other aqua-
tic organisms. Similar uses of light and sound
are not included. Coverage of the literature on
fundamental researches of the reactions of fishes|
to electrical stimuliis comprehensive. A selec-
tion of references in the general field of elec-
trophysiology and on the reactions of organisms
other than fishes to electrical stimulation is in-
cluded, Coverage of technical and popular ac-
counts of specific applications of electricity in
fishery science is likewise comprehensive; both
engineering and biological considerations are
contained in some of these reports. Further se-
lected reports have been included which may be
of aid in instrumentation or which describe use-
ful test instruments. A few papers are cited
which discuss the general subject of electrosta-
tic fields; others describe the characteristics
of electrical fields in fluid media. Articles
dealing specifically with the characteristics of
electrical fields in natural waters and the modi-
fying effects of varying natural conditions on
these fields appear non-existent. Some infor-
mation may be gleaned, however, from several
of the reports cited which are concerned pri-
marily with other topics. A separate list is
presented of patents granted by the United States
Patent Office which are pertinent to the subject
of this report.

SSR-Fish. No. 129 - Destruction of Undersized
Haddock on Georges Bank, 1952, by Ernest D.
Premetz, Robert L. Cory, James W. McKee,
and Craig Slater, 39 pp., illus., processed,
June 1954. This report on the analysis of had-
dock discarded at sea on Georges Bank during
the 1952 haddock year continues a series of an-
nual reports, During 1952 the destruction of
undersized haddock on Georges Bank by the Bos-
ton and New Bedford fishing fleets (based on
skippers' estimates as reported to port inter-
viewers) was about 4.9 million pounds (4. 4 mil-
lion fish), Of this total, about 4.2 million pounds
(3.8 million fish), or over 86 percent, was re-
ported by the Boston fleet. The 1952 discard by
the Boston fleet approximates the average an-
nual destruction reported during the period 1947-
1951, During the 1952 haddock year observers
went to sea on 17 commercial trips to the
Georges Bank area to analyze the catch. Skip-
pers! estimates of pounds discarded were found
to be within 63 percent of estimates made by the
Service observers at sea. In 1951 skippers’ es-
timates were within 123 percent of estimates
made by observers at sea. Most of the destruc-
tion was reported during the summer months as
in past years. At this time of the year two-
year-old fish are attaining a size at which they
are caught in quantity but are still not of mar-

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

Vol. 16, No. 10

ketable size. In 1952 the fishery was dominated
by two-year-olds (1950 year class). Usually
there is a heavy destruction of scrod when a
dominant year class enters the fishery during
its third year of life (two-year-olds are in their
third year of life). In 1952, however, the de-
struction was not exceptionally large in spite of
the fact that the two-year-olds were very abun-
dant. Older fish were unusually scarce in

1952; the two-year-olds constituted over 62 per-
cent of the total catch. For this reason fisher-
men tended to save most of them so that the 50-
percent point on the cull curve was somewhat
lower than in 1951 when the three-year-olds
dominated the fishery.

SSR-Fish. No. 132 - Zooplankton Volumes off the
Pacific Coast, 1953, 40 pp., processed, June
1954.

SSR-Wild. No. 12 - A Population Study of the Alas-
ka Fur-Seal Herd, by Karl W. Kenyon, Victor
B. Scheffer, and Douglas G. Chapman, 82 pp.,
illus., processed, June 1954.

Selected List of Fish and Wildlife Materials for

THE FOLLOWING SERVICE PUBLICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE ONLY
FROM THE SPECIFIC OFFICE MENT|ONED:

Receipts of Fishery Products at New York City,
1952, by Henry M. Bearse, 17 pp., processed.

(Available free from the Market News Service,
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 155 John Street,
New York 38, N. Y.) Contains an analysis of
fishery products receipts for 1952 and market-
ing trends at New York City. The author dis-
cusses in the first part of this report the salt-
water market receipts; marketing trends; re-
ceipts by shipping areas; receipts by species;
trends in method of transportation; imports of
fresh and frozen fishery products through the
New York customs district; and fresh-water
market receipts. The tables present data for
receipts in the salt-water section of Fulton Mar-
ket by months, species, and points of origin.

THE FOLLOWING SERVICE PUBLICATIONS ARE FOR SALE AND

ARE AVAILABLE ONLY FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS,
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.

"The Alewife in Fresh Water," by Joseph J.
Graham, article, The Progressive Fish-Cul-
turist, vol. 16, no. 3 (July 1954), pp. 128-130,
processed (annual subscription $1.25 domestic,
US$1.65 foreign).

MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS

THESE PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FROM THE FISH
AND WILOLIFE SERVICE, BUT USUALLY MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE
ORGANIZATION JSSUING THEM. CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING PUB-
LICATIONS THAT FOLLOW SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE RESPEC-
TIVE ORGANIZATION OR PUBLISHER MENTIONED. DATA ON PRICES,
IF READILY AVAILABLE, ARE SHOWN,

The Bay Clams of Oregon--Their Economic Im-
ortance, Relative Abundance, and General
Distribution, by Lowell D. Marriage, Contribu-
tion No. 20, 47 pp., illus., printed. FishCom-
mission of Oregon, Portland, Oregon, May
1954. The purpose of this paper is to present

October 1954

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 93

THESE PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FROM THE FISH AND WILOLIFE SERV CE, BUT USUALLY MAY

BE OBTAINED FROM THE ORGANIZATIONS ISSUING THEM.

data on distribution, approximate abundance,
and habitat of the common bay clams of Oregon
with general observations of their life histories.
The commercial harvest of bay clams is com-
posed of the gaper, cockle, and soft-shell
clams. The recreational, or noncommercial,
harvest of bay clams is composed mainly of the
gaper, cockle, soft-shell, butter, and littleneck
clams, and occasionally the bent-nose, sand,
geoduck, and bodega tellen clams. A descrip-
tion of the bay clam-producing areas in the Ne-
halem, Tillamook, Netarts, Nestucca, Salmon,
Siletz, Yaquina, Alsea, Siuslaw, Umpqua, Coos,
and Coquille Bays is presented. The condition
of the stocks of the gaper, cockle, and softshell
clams is discussed,

(Canada) Journal of the Fisheries Research Board

da, Ottawa, Canada. Contains, among others,
the following articles: ''On the Relation of A-
dult Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) Re-
turns to Known Smolt Seaward Migrations,'' by
R. E. Foerster; ''Preparation of Cod Liver Res-
idues and Vitamin B,2 Concentrates, "' by
Beryl Truscott, D. G. Gage, and P. L. Hoog-
land; ''Stream Studies on Planted Atlantic Salm-
on,'' by H. R. McCrimmon; and "Effect of Ol-
factory Occlusion on Migrating Silver Salmon
(OQ. kisutch),'"' by Warren J. Wisby, and Arthur
D. Hasler.

(Ceylon) Administration Report of the Acting Di-

rector of Fisheries for 1953 (Part IV--Educa-
tion, Science and Art), by E. R. A. de Zylva,
40 pp., illus., printed. Government Publica-
tions Bureau, Colombo, Ceylon, June 1954,
Progress reports for the year 1953 are present-
ed by the Department of Fisheries' Administra-
tion Division, Socio-Economic Division, Devel-
opment Division, and Research Division. A-
mong the subjects covered are: enforcement of
fisheries regulations; improvement of harbor
facilities; cooperative development of the fish-
eries; loans granted to individual fishermen,
unregistered fishing groups, and registeredco-
operative fishing societies; rescue services and
relief to fishermen in distress; mechanization
of local fishing industry; brackish and fresh-
water fisheries; fish marketing; curing of fish-
ery products; manufacture of fishery byprod-
ucts; and refrigeration and transportation facil-
ities. Statistical data are also included on the
production of fresh and cured fish, and imports
and exports of fishery products and byproducts.

Channels for Trading Abroad, 30 pp., printed, 25

cents. Bureau of Foreign Commerce, U. S.
Department of Commerce, Washington 25, D.C.
(For sale by Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington 25,

D. C.) This booklet is designed particularly for
businessmen who are planning to enter the field
of exporting or importing for the first time or
to expand their trade abroad. It gives a quick
picture of the principal channels through which
successful foreign traders export or import
their goods. It suggests methods of selecting
these representatives and gives sources of in-

Foods and Food Processin

formation about them. And it outlines services
in this field which are available from the Bureau
of Foreign Commerce and Department of Com-
merce Field Offices throughout the United States.

Cooking Frozen Meats, Poultry, Game, and Fish,

by Faith Fenton, Cornell Extension Bulletin
906, 16 pp., illus., printed. New York State
College of Home Economics at Cornell Univer-
sity, Ithaca, New York, February 1954. This
bulletin attempts to answer some of the ques-
tions homemakers most frequently ask about
frozen foods. It explains clearly several ways
of handling and cooking frozen meats, poultry,
game, and fish and shellfish,

Fish-Culture in Indonesia, edited by A. E. Hofstede,

R. O. Ardiwinata, and F. Botke, Indo-Pacific
Fisheries Council Special Publications No. 2,
146 pp., illus., printed. Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy,
1953. Contains papers of the seminar on brack-
ish-water fish-culture held in Indonesia from
April 11 to May 23, 1951, under the auspices of
the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council. It is divided
into three sections. The first section gives an
account of the seminar itself and shows the gen-
eral program of the instruction given by labora-
tory work, field trips, and lectures. Section
two gives an account of the field work of the
seminar. This section gives a clear idea of the
different types of fish-culture operations in In-
donesia. The third section presents the main
papers which were given during the seminar,
each of which deals with some special aspect of
the subject. The first paper in this series gives
a brief general account of the inland fisheries
of Indonesia, and the next three papers deal with
special aspects of brackish-water fish culture.
Two other papers. deal with special aspects of
fresh-water fish culture and, finally, there isa
paper on special problems raised by foreign
participants.

(Selected Industrial
Films), SIF-No. 6, 21 pp., processed, 50cents.
U. S. Department of Commerce, Washington 25,
D. C., April 1954. A list and description of
films (including certain fishery films) available
to business from industrial, commercial, and
government sources,

(FOA) Monthly Operations Report (Data as of April

30, 1954), 93 pp., illus., processed. Division
of Statistics and Reports, Foreign Operations
Administration, Washington 25, D. C. In addi-
tion to the usual tables and data, describes the
FOA program in Korea.

Informaciones Estadisticas sobre Pesca, 1952,

96 pp., illus., printed. Departamento Tecnico-
Economico, Direccion General de Pesca y Caza,
Valparaiso, Chile, 1954. Presents data on the
fisheries of Chile for 1952 by species, areas,
and months. Some historical tables and data on
utilization, number of fishermen, number of
boats, consumption, products produced, whaling
statistics, etc. are also included.

94

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

Vol. 16, No. 10

THESE PUBLICATIONS ARE NOT AVAJLABLE FROM THE FISH AND WILDL FE SERV{CE, BUT USUALLY MAY

BE OBTAINED FROM THE ORGANIZAT|ONS |SSUING THEM.

illus., printed. International Pacific Salmon
Fisheries Commission, New Westminster, B. C.,
Canada, 1954.

Memoirs of the Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima

University, vol. 3, no. 1, 290 pp., illus.,
printed in Japanese with summaries in English,
The Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima Univer-
sity, Kagoshima, Japan, November 1953. Con-
tains among others the following articles: "An
Experiment on the Tuna Fishery by Long-Line
in the Sea off Mangole and Timor Islands;"" "A
Study on the Characteristics of the Tuna Long-
Line of Kanebian (Vinylon) Twine;"" "Study on
the Electric Fishing-net--X. About the Fish-
Screen by the Three-Phase Electric Shocks;"
"Variation in Free-Tyrosine Content of Fish
Meat in the Course of Decrease of its Fresh-
ness;'' ''Development of the Principle of Free-
dom of Fisheries in the High Seas;'' and "On
the Problems of Continental Shelf Theory in
Connection with Fisheries in the High Seas."

"Observations of Pelagic Fishes of the Tropical At-

lantic, '' by Frank J. Mather III and C. Godfrey
Day, article, Copeia, No. 3, July 29, 1954,
pp. 179-188, illus., printed. The American
Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists,
Mt. Royal and Guilford Aves., Baltimore 2, Md.

"The Relation of Total Rainfall of the State and

Catch of the Marine Shrimp (Penaeus setiferus)
in Texas Waters, '' by Gordon Gunter and Henry

June 1954, pp. 95-103, printed. University of
Miami Press, Coral Gables, Florida. Accord-
ing to the authors, the catch of white shrimp,
Penaeus setiferus, along the Texas Coast from
1927 to 1952, inclusive, shows a strong statis-
tical correlation with the total rainfall of the
State. The young shrimp grow up in low salin-
ity, estuarine areas and there are some indica-
tions that the correlation depends upon salinity
per se rather than other factors, such as nutri-
ent salts brought in from land. There is a lag
effect in the shrimp catch-rainfall correlation
in that the catch is correlated with rainfall of the
previous year and the year before that. There
are some indications that this may be due in
part to a lag in the rise and fall of salinity of
bay and offshore waters following wet and dry
spells; it may also be due in part to the life his-
tory of the shrimp, for part of the population
lives over from one year to the next. General
inspection indicates that other possible factors
influencing the shrimp catch, such as technolog-
ical improvements, the shrimp price, general
price index and economic cycles, are not corre-
lated with the white shrimp catch during this
period, whether or not trends are removed,
These matters were not statistically analyzed.

"Shad in the Hudson," by G. B. Talbot, article,

The New York State Conservationist, April-May
1954, pp. 17-19, illus., printed, single copy
25 cents. New York State Conservation Depart-

ment, Albany, N. Y. This article describes the
different types of gear used in the shad fishery
in the Hudson River. Modern mechanization

has not influenced this fishery--the shad fisher-
men are still using gill nets with hickory poles
which are driven into the river bottom, stake
nets, drift gill nets, and some haul seines. The
author also describes the various research proj-
ects which have been conducted to aid the shad
fishery. A research project, sponsored by the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission,
was begun in 1950 on the Hudson River by the

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation
with the New Jersey and New York Departments
of Conservation to determine methods of increas-
ing and stabilizing the catch. In 1951, with the
help of the New York Health Department, a wa-
ter-quality study was undertaken of the river be-
tween Troy dam and the mouth of the river. Co-
incidentally the New York State Water Pollution
Control Board has completed an intensive pollu-
tion study of the Hudson River. The author
states that ''with the aid of scientific research,
proper regulation, and conservation measures,
it would appear that this old and picturesque
fishery can continue to compete with modern
civilization and will continue to produce for
countless years to come,"

The Sponges of the West-Central Pacific, byM. W.

de Laubenfels, Studies in Zoology No. 7, 332
pp., illus., printed, $4.00. Oregon State Col-
lege, Corvallis, Oregon, 1954. An intensive
study of the sponges of the West-Central Pacif-
ic. The area covered extends from 130° to 180°
east longitude and from the equator to 20° north
latitude, including four large groups of islands--
the Marianas, the Palaus, the (eastern) Caro-
lines, and the Marshalls. Only shallow-water
sponges are treated here. A few of the speci-
mens were dredged from Bikini and Eniwetok,
but not from very deep water. The discussion
is divided into two parts. The first is a de-
scription of the Porifera which were studied.
The second describes the regions, and the eco-
logical relationships of the sponges. The col-
lections which are discussed aggregate some
183 species. For each species a camera lucida
drawing is included as a text figure to provide
maximum assistance to nonspecialists. In ad-
dition, some 25 species are illustrated by
photographs,

"The Surface Current Field in the Western Part of

the North Atlantic, '' by Ilmo Hela, reprint,

272, illus., printed. Marine Laboratory, Uni-
versity of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla. By means
of the equation of continuity, in the area chosen
for this study, the divergence at each quadruple
of square degree of latitude and longitude has
been computed from the average surface cur-
rents, separately for all the four seasons and
also for the whole year, On the right-hand side
of the axis of the Gulf Stream there seems tobe
a rather continuous area of divergence. This
is shown to be consistent with the vorticity e-
quation,

json

October 1954 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW

CONTENTS, CONTINUED

FOREIGN (Contd,):
International (Contd.):
Trade Agreements:
Japanese-Mexican Barter Agreement Includes
HishingiViesselsirercyarcntepersielateielencrenerere ete
Venezuelan-Nicaraguan Agreement Includes
Canned Sardines ..........2-.0.

Argentina:

Fish Oil Production, 1953 ....... ooaad oa
Australia:

Exploratory Tuna Fishing ............ .«
Canada:

Large-Mesh Otter Trawls Tested in North At-
lantic Haddock Fishery .............0.%
Fishermen Seek to Amend Territorial Limits .
Herring Fishery Development in Gulf of St.
Lawrence Planned .........-e.0ese0ee
Fish Sticks Introduced on West Coast ......
Improved Fish Inspection Planned ........
British Columbia Fishermen Need Fishing
INGHISES Goaaboasosun oo gDDDOdOOAN
Magdalen Islands’ Fisheries Review, 1953 ...
Iceland:
Nordic Council Reports on Iceland’s Territorial
Waters Regulations ........e.-0.%
Herring Production, 1954 ..........
India:
Norway Supplies Fishing Boats ..........:
Iran;
GaviarsEXportsy 15a eeieretelersisialeieiehe’ sieleieliens
Gaspianehisheriesrwemictalelehelsiensichsiolelialeraliclers
Japan:
1954 Catch of North Pacific Salmon Fleets ....
Large Tuna Catches in Tasman Sea off Australia
Bristol Bay Crab Meat Production, 1954 .....
Fish and Whale Oil Production Outlook ......
Mexico:
Shrimp Export Duty Cut .....22.0+-+ee-ee
Norway:
Herring Meal and Oil Production, 1954 ......
Firm Buys Fish-Meal Factoryship from Iceland
Large Tuna Catches .......2+ecee eeees
Sardines and Salted Cod Exports ....... «+
Salmon Ladder .... ...cccercccecscsce
Republic of the Philippines:
Delegation for U. S.-Philippine Trade Agreement
Talks Leaves for United States ....--+2---
Canned Fish Price Controls Reinstituted .....
Portugal:
Sardine Industry Aided by British Lifting Im-
port Restrictions ....c.c-eeccceesssece cee
Spain:
Outlook for Canned Fish Export .........--
Vigo Fish Canning Trends, July 1954 ........

Page

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55
55
55
55
57
57
59
59
60
60
60
61
61

62
62

RRRS

NE

GC

95
Page
FOREIGN (Contd.):
International (Contd.):
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands:
Report on the Fisheries ........+--ee20- = 69
Union of South Africa:
U, S, Firm Invests in Canned Pilchards and Jack
Mackerel Fisheries ......-+eeeeeeeee- 10
Canned Fish Production and Stocks, 1952/53... 71
United Kingdom:
Factory Trawler Fairtry Lands First Catch from
GrandiBanksprewmpelciotetenehalelelellichel slelaaialie 72
Import Controls on Canned Salmon and Crab Meat
Mepaleiited ia cu vereytouswalcyeliciar eerenseheroveleensrem MELO
Canned Salmon Imports Expected to Increase. . 74
Fillet Skinning Machine ........-2-ece+eees 14
Casual Fillet Cutters Refuse New Wage Terms, 74
Seine Net Film Available ......... ooc0oo-C 74
Trawleriony Tate) alelchellaleleiel@\crek-hejielale 15
Increased Subsidies for Fishing Vessels Sought . 15
BEDERATLAGTIONS 22 baiciaiata ovale ai ctelolieielioncleisieterenne lO
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare:
National Conference on Shellfish Sanitation ..... 76
Department of Interior:
Fish and Wildlife Service:
Expanded Fishery Research Program Approved
bysSecretary, McKayiie-rereetstaiatcieisieratenele clei nce
Joint Agreement for Sound Wildlife Planning on
River Basin Projects ....csecesecsceeee 19
Terhune Appointed Assistant Regional Director , 80
Department of State:
Hearings on Review of GATT .......--2-2++2- 80
Public Views Requested on the Firm Life of In-
dividual Tariff Concessions inGATT ........ 81
Tariff Commission:
Suggestions on Implementation of Customs Simpli-
fication Act of 1954 Invited .........+2e. 82
Eighty-Third Congress (Second Session), Aug. 1954 83
HISHERYVGINDIGAT. ORS: iiajcieleley leveheiel sialisvelevelele) sien a
Chart 1 - Fishery Landings for Selected States ... 85
Chart 2 - Landings for Selected Fisheries ...... 86
Chart 3 - Cold-Storage Holdings and Freezings of
Perey WEES gg6acooc0dn0cgccucdoco Fil
Chart 4 - Receipts and Cold-Storage Holdings of
Fishery Products at Principal Distribution Centers 88
Chart 5 - Fish Meal and Oil Production - U. S.
and Alaska .....-.-.. SpadeleLehetus ener MOS
Chart 6 - Canned Packs of Selected Fishery
PINES Soicaddocoacadooddanccdoodds (bY
Chart 7- U.S. Fishery Products Imports ...... 90
RECENT FISHERY PUBLICATIONS: ........--. 91
Fish'and Wildlife Service Publications ........ 91
Miscellaneous Publications .....-2c2eececees 92

aa Oy B

INT.-DUP. SEC., WASH., D.C. 69299

“Win nc

3 9088 01018 1691

FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES AND ALASKA, 1952

No. 1050, is a bulletin containing statistics by regions of the number of fisher-
men, craft, and gear employed in the fisheries of each area; and the catch by
species (including fish and shellfish).

Lbs.
4,418, 442, 000
4,414, 045, 000
4,884, 909, 000
4,796, 000, 000
4,575, 000,000
4,344, 000, 000
4,456, 000, 000
4,575, 500, 000
4,500, 000, 000
4, 202, 000, 000
3, 876, 524, 000
4,900, 000, 000
4,059, 524, 000

sents Ou
360, 996, 000
343, 876, 000
339, 000, 000
367, 000, 000
307, 600, 000
310, 000, 000
269, 900, 000
213,000, 000
204, 000, 000
170, 338, 000
129, 000, 000
98, 957, 000

Surveys cover-
ing the 1952 catch of
fish and shellfish
were made inallare-
as of the United States
and Alaska except the
Mississippi River
and its tributaries.
Data on the operat-
ing units were also
collected in each of
the areas canvassed,
except in the Lake
States. The most re-
cent operating unit
and catch statistics
are shown for each
section of the coun-

try in the tables appearing in the bulletin.

The catch of fishery products in all sections of the United States and Alaska
during 1952 totaledapproximately 4, 418, 442,000 pounds, valued at $360, 135, 000
ex-vessel (see table). This represented an increase of less than 1 percent in
quantity and a decrease of less than 1 percentin value as compared with the land-
ings of the previous year.

Free copies of this publication (C.F.S. No. 1050) are available from the Di-
vision of Information, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington 25, D. C.