8 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED AT
BILLFISH SYMPOSIUM
Sixty fishery scientists and other billfish

to examine the catch of billfishes on the dock.

specialists participated in the first Interna-

Eighty-two blue marlin and 11 yellowfin tunational Billfish Symposium, August 9-12, inwere caught during the tournament.

Kona, Hawaii.

It was the first international

The Program

meeting sponsored by the National Marine
Fisheries Service since it became part of the

MFS Director Philip M. Roedel gave the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-

opening address.

tration (NOAA).

The symposium was highlighted by four

The symposium, open to the public, coin-scientific sessions covering species identi-

cided with the 14th Annual Hawaiian Interna-

fication' life history, distribution, and fish-tional Billfish Tournament.

eries.

Anglers from

Papers providing overviews of thethroughout the world competed. The tourna-

status of world fisheries for billfishes werement provided scientists with the unique op-

presented by Dr. Shoji Ueyanagi, Far Seas

portunity to meet sportsmen and exchange

Fisheries Research Laboratory,

ideas about research on billfishes, the fish-

Fishery Agency, who covered commercial

eries for these pelagic creatures and, finally,

fisheries--and by Donald .P.

Japanesede Sylva,

Fig. 1 - Philip M. Roedel, Director of NMFS, addresses opening session . In foreground are symposium co -chairmen: Richard S. Shomura, Director, NMFS Tiburon Fisheries Laboratory, and Dr. Francis Williams Institute ofMarine Resources. Scripps Institution of Oceanography .
(Photos: Robert Bonifacio .)
,

58

59

Fig. 2 - Mayor Shunichi Kimura, County of Hawaii, addresses
opening session .

Fig. 4 - Dr. Izumi Nakamura, Acting Director, Fisheries Research Station, Kyoto University , Japan: "On the systematics
and distribution of billfishes. "Fig. 3 - Dr. Francis Williams, Institute of Marine Resources, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, addresses opening
session.

60

Fig . 5 - From left: Dr . Shoji Ueyanagi , Far Seas Fisheries Research wboratol), Japan; Dr . V . Sokolo\i , FAO
Fisheries Project , Mexico, Dr . W. L. Klawe, inter-Arn"rican Tropical Tuna COrn'11lsS10n; Hiro}o Koarni , Institute of Sea Sphere, Japan; and Yoshigara Kato, Asuka industries , Japan, at Ma)or 's receptlon .

Fig . 6 - George Pa rker , a Ka ilua -Kona charter - boa t skippe r, describes "hook-less" fishing gear during sportsmen scientists session. A t l e ft, D udl ey Lew is, chairm an of panel session and captain of w inning team.

61

Institute of Marine and Atmospher i c Sciences,

scribed as a mop -like affair of synthetic fibe r,

University of Miami, who covered sport fish-

is attached tothe e nd of the fishing line. Theeries.

The sessions in cluded 40 papers

catch is made when the extended bill of thecovering aspe cts of the bi ology and life his-billfish becomes entangled with the mop gear.

tory of billfishes and the fisheries for them.

The question of whether this method wasconsidered "game fishing" was answered by

Mercury In Fisha representative of the International GameA special evening session on August 10
was devoted to m ercur y in fish.

The high-light was a presentation by Dr. Albert C.
Kolbye Jr., De puty Dir ector,

Fish Association.

He said it was not pres-ently considered legitimate for IFGA records.
The sportsmen-scientists meeting was

Bureau ofchaired by Dudle y C. Lewis, an IGF A vice-

Food s , Food and Dru g Administration, Wash-president . He alsowas captain of the tourna-

ington, D.C .,ment's winning team.

His talk was followed by alively question-and-answer period.

The

me et ing did not result in a change of views by'Gilbe rt' Tracks Mar lin

F DA or the sportsmen.
Prior to the s y m po s i u m, the

NMFS'Charles H. Gilbert' tracked 4 blue marlinSportsmen -Scientists P anelwith acoustic "beeper" tags for periods up to
A special sportsmen -scientists panel dis-

5i hours.

cussion of billfish biology and research was
About 130 sportsmen

Richard S. Shomura, Director of NMFS

and scientists exchanged ideas and views on

Tiburon Fisheries Laboratory in California,

how each group could help the other: theand Dr. Francis Williams, Institute of Ma-

sportsmen by providing

rine Resources,

held on the final day.

needed data,theScripps Ins tit uti 0 n ofscientists in working on problems of interest

Oceanography, were co-chairmen of sym-to sportsmen.

posium.

The use of a "hookless " fishing tackle tocatch billfishes was discussed. This gear, de-The proceedings will be published by
NMFS in early 1973.

62

FAO TO SET UP SKIPJACKTRAINING CENTER IN S. KOREAICELAND EXTENDS FISHING LIMITS
TO 50 MILES

FAO plans to set up a pole -and -line skipjack fishery training center at Pusan, South
Korea, around October 1 972 . This report
comes from Masayoshi Kato, technical assistance officer for F AO' s southeast Asia
development program.

On July 14,1972, Iceland advised the British
Embassy in Reykjavik that she had issued regulations extending her fishing limits to 50
miles , effective September 1, 1972 .

The center is part of FA O's assistanceprogram for underdeve lop e d fishing nations.
The plan calls for training 30 -40 fishermen
i n 12 y ears with about US$550,0 00. Japan
will send 3 technicians as instructors in fishing gear operation and live bait control. T hec enter will buy one 250-ton fishing ves s el fromJapan. It plans to have 7 -8 vessels built laterin S ou t h Korea. ('Minato Shimbun', J uly 29.)~<-.
FAO REPORTS ON MARKETINGFISH IN ME'DITERRANEAN AREAThe General Fisherie s Council for theMediterranean (GFCM), under F AO auspice s,
has published a report e ntitled Studies andReview s , 1971 ; Marketing of Fre sh and Froze n F ish in Me diterranean Countries (No .
50) .
Countries covered include: France,
Greec e , Israel, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt,
and Yugoslavia.
Each country is examined in detail: f actors of supply and demand; m e chanics of
distribution and marketing s y stem; cost a nd
price influe nces; trends in consumption; andregulations on distribution of fresh and fro zen fish

The regulations draw limits 50 nauticalmile s outside base -line s. All fishing acti vitie s
within the fishery limits by foreign vessels
are prohibited - - except to the extent the seactivities are compatible with agreements withother countries to which Iceland is, or may
become , a party .
Britain and W. Germany appealed to World
Court. On Aug. 17, 1 972, the court ruledprovisionally in the i r favor. The rulingwould allow c ontinued operation of foreign
vessels in Icelandic waters within 50 -milelimit, but not within 12 - mile limit. Court
asked Iceland not to interfere with vessels
within 12-to 50 -mile limit. Iceland said shewould enforce 50 -mile limit and rejected
court's jurisdiction.

U.S. & CANADIAN FIR MS SEEK
SEA-URCHIN ROE MARKETS
U.S . and Canadian businessmen are seeking
to export sea -urchin roe to Japan, France,
Italy , Chile , Hawaii, and other places, accordingtothe Japan External Trade Organization.
They are keeping an eye on the tremendous
abundance of sea -urchins in h a bit i n g the
Pacific coast ofthe United States and Canada.
At present, little urchin roe is being exported
to Japan. Tomost Americans and Canadians ,the urchins are apest ravaging the kelp beds.
Market Prices

The publication can be 0 b t a in e d f rom
UNIPUB , Inc. , 650 First Ave ., P. O. Box433, Ne w York , N. Y. 10016 .

On August 19, sea-urchin roe prices at theTokyo wholesale fish market were: 500 -1,400
ye n (US$1 .67 -4.67) per large tray of "White"roe; 1,3 50 y en ($4.50) per large tray and
750-800 ye n ($2.50-2.67) per small tray of"red" roe . (Note: Japanese report does notindicate si ze of roe or weight per tray.) ('Shin
Suisan Shimbun Sokuho,' Aug. 18, 'Minato
Shimbun, ' Aug. 20 . )63

U.S. AND COLOMBIA SIGNCARIBBEAN FISHING TREATY
The U . S. and Colombia signed a t r eaty on
September 8 in Bogota in which the U . S . renounces all c laims of sovereignty to threegroups of small Caribbean reefs - - Quita Sueno
Bank, and the cays on Roncador and Serrana
Banks.
Colombia will guarantee to U.S. nationals
and vessels continuation of fishing in waters
adjacent to the cay s on Roncador and Serrana . This will be subject toreasonable conservationmeasures applied on a nondiscriminatory basis .
Quita Sueno is submerged at high tide.
So, in U . S. view, it is part of high seas andnot subject to any sover ignty claim. U .S.
and Colombian nationals and vessels willcontinue to exercise their rights to fish unmolested in the waters adjacent to Quita
Sueno Bank .
The Background
The three areas covered by the treaty are
380 to 460 miles from the Colombian mainland. All the cay s in the se are as are uninhabited . The largest one measures about
1,000 by 3, 000 yards (about one square mile).
The U .S. claimed them in the late 19th
century under the Guano Islands Act of 1856.
In 1890, Colombia protested U.S. extractionof guano from these cays. It claimed thatindependence from Spain had given it sovereignty over the cays. In 1928, the U.S . andColombia recognized the existence of eachother's claims and agreed to maintain thestatus quo. For many years the U.S . hasmaintained a lighthouse on Quita Sueno andnavigational beacons on Roncador and Serrana . Vessels of both countries have fishedin the area .
U.S. Cedes

avigational Aids

Now the U .S . agrees to grant to Colombia
permanent ownership of the lighthouse andnavigational aids . This will be done after
consultations between experts of both countries to assure their continued safe operationand maintenan ce for benefit of all
mariners.

THE BALTIC IS DYING
Marine life in the Baltic Sea seems to be
declining. Water probes at 70 meters revealed that only 34 varieties of living organisms
survived in the Baltic in 1971 . In 1970 there
were 250, more than seven times as many as
the following year. Oxygen is lacking atthat depth and the fauna are rapidly dying out .
The Baltic is considered to be one of the mostpolluted water bodies in the world.
Stockholm Conference
The Stockholm Conference on the Protection of Human Environment studied the possible protective measures that could be taken
to resc.ue the Baltic from contamination byindustnal wastes, sewage, pesticides, etc.

MAURITANIA CLAIMS 30-MILETERRITORIAL WATERS
Mauritania extended its claimed territorial waters from 12 to 30 miles in July
1972. There are reports that Mauritania iseffectively enforcing the claim by seizing
foreign fishing ve ssels.
The 30 -mile limit is measured from astraight base line between Cape Blanc andCape Timris, and from the low-water markelsewhere on the coast.

"..

........

~.'>~SOVIET RESEARCH
Marine Fish Can Be CultivatedVikenty Zaitsev
branch of Pacific Sea Fisheries Institute,under Vera Sarochan, in the South Sakhalinarea. When algae are cultivated, there isgreater accumulation of biological mass thanunder usual conditions.

What is needed today in the interests offuller utilization of the huge biological marine resources is that fish ing cease to be aform of hunting and that we embark on a new
path--the path of cultivating marine organisms in our seas and oceans. Se tting upsuch farming is linked with studies of thecoastal waters and continental she lf. The
USSR continental shelf is 2 . 6 million square
mile s, one quarte r of the world I s she If. Far
from all the continental-shelf waters are
suitable for fish farming . But if man took
full advantage of the favorable conditions offered by coastal waters for reproduction ofmany beneficial marine organisms, the potential reserves of protein food would be
augmented considerably . The productivity ofcultivated fish farming, compared to theordinary fisheries, would increase manytimes.

The first experiments in aquatic -crop
cultivation--the growing of anthelia--werecarried out in the Soviet Union in 1957 in thewaters of Busse Lagoon (Sakhalin Island).
Later, the cultivation area was steadily increased.
Marine Invert ebr ates
Marine invertebrates, like algae, are important future resources of our sea and ocean
wealth. Inverte brates grow rapidly and easily
replenish their reserves . Of the 69,000 species of inverte brates, we now use 800. The
principal commercial invertebrates of the
USSR are the bivalve mollusks - -mussels,
scallops, oysters; cephalopods- -squids ,octopi; crustaceans--crabs, prawns, lobsters, spiny lobsters; echinodermata-trepangs, sea cucumber, sea urchins. All
have great nutritive value. This is due totheir high protein content, important microe lements, vitamins, and the presence in theprotein of the greatly t rea sur e d aminoacids.

Soviet ResearchStudies relating to sc i entific fish farm ing
have been carried out by Soviet researchers
over different section of our continental she lf.
These have shown how much the setting up ofcontrolled fish farming depends on the cultivation of economically important a l gae, certain marine invertebrates, and fish species.
Marine flora is represented by more than
10,000 varieties of plants, but only a few ofthese have economic value . They are being
used to manufacture food and medicinal products' for fodder, and as raw material for thechemical industry . Inthefuture, after selection and hybridization of marine plants, we
can hope for the seas to yie ld food products
as valuable as those obtained today from theland. Major crops for cultivation on saltwater plantations are anthe lia, furcellaria,
laminaria, fucus, zoster, and phyllospadix.

First on the c ultivation list come oysters,
crabs , prawns, trepangs, mussels, and scallops. R esearch has shown that in ordinary
conditions a great part of mollusk larvae
perish for want of favorabte substrata forsettling, and the tiny mollusks are consumed
by predators (starfish ).
Scientific stu die s in the Bay of Pos let(Okhotsk Sea) point to the advisability ofcultivating scallops there. An experime ntal
marine farm being launched there is expected to yie ld 50 tons of commercial scallops this year. The farm will shortly beprovided with boats and deep diving and otheraquatic apparatus . A laboratory and otherbuildings will be built.

Research has revealed both the possibility
and advisability of cultivating economicallyimportant sea algae . The research was carried out by the Arkhangelsk Laboratory of
Sea Algae, under Ksenia Gemp, on the Solovets
Islands in the White Sea, and by the Sakhalin

Prof. Zattsev is a board member of USSR Fisheries Ministry and deputy chairman of Scientific and Te chnical Council.
From Novosti Press Agency .

64

BI'ceding Mussels
An experim ntal farm and collector syt;m were started in the Strait of Kerch( 'rim an P ninsula) for mussel breeding.
Exp riments in 10Gf) and 1070 make it cleal'that mussels grow much fast r when cultivated than in their natural habitat.
uch
farms can yield per acre approximately
10,000 tons of mussels of commercial siz >or 1,250 tons of flesh for food .

In marine pisciculture, studies and practical measures concerning certain species ofvaluable fish have been carried out in the
USSR .

\

waters.

Artificial Fertilization &Incubation of Flatfish
Artificial fertilization and incubation of
the spawn of the Black Sea commercial flatfish was carried out at Chernomorsk Bay.
After the larvae were 4 or 5 days old, they
were placed into special nursing ponds for
additional feeding and further breeding. But
to rear the small fry, these fishes must be
returned to their natural habitat in the bays
and estuaries, where they go on living until
th yare 2 or 2t months old. Fifty percentof the small fishes reared in this manner

salmon.

66

USSR
TESTS NEW 'SUPERTRAWV
Soviet stern factory trawlers of 'Natalia
Kovshova' class (8,500 GRT) have been testing
successfully a new, giant, 183-meter-Iongtrawl(does not include cod end). It has a mouth
perimeter of 550 meters and a mesh size of
1 meter. The Soviets call it "supertrawl". It
was designed by specialists of the Sevastopol
administration of the main Azov-Black Sea
Fisheries Administration.
Test results in the Atlantic have encouraged
the Soviets. Despite its size, the new trawl canbe towed by the vessel at the conventional speedof 4.5 knots. The eddies formed during towing
prevent the fish from escaping through thelarge meshes.
Natalia Kovshova -class stern trawlers
built for the Soviet Government by a French
shipyard are among the world's largest.

* * ~(PROTOTYPE OF IMPROVED'ATLANTIK' TESTED
Sea tests were conducted recently with theprototype of an improved' Atlantik'. It has alar ger refrigerated hold capacity (1,800 cubic
meters), a faster towing speed (4.5 -6 knots),
more powerful engine s (3 ,880 hp), and asmaller crew (50 men) .
The vessel is equipped with an alternatedtrawling system (called "double" by Soviets).
With this, a second trawl is lowered into thewater as soon as cod end of ot her has beenhauled out. This will increase fishing efficiency by 10 -30%.

WORLD'S LARGEST FISHERY VESSELThe rvostok', world's largest fishery vessel(43,400 tons displacement) returned to herhome port, Il'ichevsk on the Black Sea, after
completing her first trip in the equatorial
Atlantic, off Africa. She carries piggy-back
14 catcher vessels of 65 tons each, which can
trawl and purse seine. Soviet sources reported that she put out her "first million cans offishery products II on this experimentalcruiqe .

Her capacity is 150,000 fish cans daily. Modifications will be made on her equipment
before she sails again.

***
CAN STURGEON BE
ACCLIMA TIZED TG BALTIC?
Four sturgeons tagged by the Baltic Scientific Research Institute of Fisheries in Riga
were caught off Sweden, according to Novosti
Press Agency. They are part of Soviet res earch in acclimatizing European and Siberian sturgeon to the Baltic, where they havenever before been found.
Soviet scientists are also doing work on
artificial reproduction of migratory fish,andthe settlement of valuable commercial species in newly created reservoirs. They havedeveloped a unique method for breeding fry
using a new feed called KRT. In experimentswith salmon, KRT has made it possible to increase the average weight of the brood, reduce
development time, and increase resistance.
;~**

FISHERIES PRODUCTION
Soviet fishermen caught 4.3 million metrictons during the first six months of 1972. Ifthey repeat this achievement in the second
half of the yea:sthey will exceed the 1972 catch
plan of 8.5 million metric tons. They havepledged to II overfulfill" the plan by 50,000 tons,
or 0.6 percent of the target amount. The
sales target for fishery products for JanuaryJune 1972hasalsobeenexceeded but the production target for edible fishery products has
not been met. Even though two of the 5 main
Fisheries Administrations did not fulfill the
6 -month catch plan) Soviet sources say thisyear's 6-monthresults are better than thosein 1971.

***
FISH BREEDING EXPERIMENTUSSR is est a b lis h i n g an expe rimental
fish breeding station in the Arctic, at the tidal
electric power plant of Kislaia Guba, on Kola
Peninsula, in the Barents Sea . It will include
incubation facilitie s, aquaria, and a fish farm.
If successful, the Soviets will build a whole
series of such stations.

67
USSR (Contd.):

SPINY LOBSTER FISHERY I
INDIAN OCEAN"NEW BREED" OF AMPHIBIAN
Specialists at the L e ningrad Institute of
Mechanization of the Fishing Industry d e si gned an amphibian vehicle capable of t r awlin gon lakes and rivers, then, like a truck , t rave ling on the highway to take its catch t o m a r ke t
in its refrigerated holds. The truck - t r aw ler,called Amfibiia in Russian, is bui lt by the
Moscow automobile factor y ZIL w hich bu ild spassenger cars and trucks. Tests have b ee nsuccessful, and serial production is to b eginlater this y ear. The "Amfibiia" c arrie s acrew of 5.

***

In September 1971 five Soviet trawlers began a s uccessful spiny lobster fishery .n th>
Indian Ocean. They determined this fisheryc ould be conducted year round, except til ths pawni ng season (May -July). Utilizing thee nt ir e animal was a goal they accomplished,
p re sumably freezing tails and working- heads
into fish meal.
Soviet attempts at a spiny lobster fIsheryin th e Indian Ocean go back to 1965. The uez
Can a l closure interrupted that until last year.
T h e USSR does not, however, consume spmylobs t er domestically. The entire catch goesfor export and is an excellent hard currency
earner.

FISH MINCE & FPC
PRODUCTION INCREASEDUNITED KINGDOMSovi e ts have alway s us e d m os t t ras h fi s h
for meal, fodder and fe rtili ze rs. Now theSoviet Fede ral R e s e arch Institute of F is heries and Oceanography (VNIRO) is promot i ng
their use for incr e ased produ ction of e dible
fish mince and fish protein conc e ntrate .
Seve ral y ears a go a VNIR O L aboratory
worked out a fine -tasting fish mince or p astethat could be prepared in about 20 d iffere nt
ways . Topromote the ne w product , F ishe r ie s
Minister Ishkov, his de putie s, and a g r oup ofjournalists had a we ll publici zed lu nc heon offish mince delicacies. Since the n fi sh m ince
seems to have become a popular pr oduct.
FPC Not So Usable
Fish protein c oncentrate (F P C ) i s not as
popular. It can be us e d only as an a dditiv e
to basic foods like bread. According to Soviet
test data, it de teriorates mor e rapidly. But
the Soviets plan to increase the p r oduc tion of
FPC from trash fish.
For these products a like ly spec ie s forlarge -scale exploitation is Alask a p oll ock .
The Soviet catch has incr e ased fr om 11 0,000
metric tons in 1960 t o a lmos t 7 00,000 tons in
1970. B y 1975 the Soviets plan to h ave fivePos 'et class 29,000 -ton factor y s hips c apableofprocessing750 t ons of fish daily . The p ro totype was launched at t he e nd of 19 7 1.

TURBOT CAN BE FARMED PRO! ITt\BL't
A British White Fish Authority's report
say s recent results suggest farming newly
hatched t urbot may be nearing commercial
viab i l ity. Provided problems of feeding andweaning newly hatched turbot can be overcome) it could be a reality in a year or tvvo
This species seems to take well to farming.
It is tolerant of wide range of conditions ane.
grows fast. Three-year-olds weigh, on average, more than 4.5 kg (10 Ib).
Although it may be profitable to cultivate
a single highly prized species, the economics
of mixed cultures may be more attractive.
Some experience has been gained in the cultivation of oysters and clams in the sametanks as fish. Plaice and sole are still themain experimental species, but saithe, <.;odand grey mullet have also been reared.
Disease Control
Whatever species are Clttempted, greater
skill in fish husbandry has led to more efficient and comprehensive cover of the lllciaence and c ontr 01 of bacte rial and parasltIc
dise a ses. There is also a better, though no·
yet adequate, understanding of nutritional
requirements.
Development of feeds with improved nutritional and mechanical propertles has r sulted in much improved food converl:Slonratios.

68
UNITED KINGDOM (C ontd.):R e sultsinthe last ye ar indicat e a producti on of 50 k g of fis h eve r y two y ears fromone cubic m e t er of e nclosur e . ('The Irish
Sk i pper,' Augu s t 1972.)* ;" *CAN AQUAC ULTURE BOLSTERF ISH SUPPLY?
"Fish," says Sir Char Ie s Hardie, c hairmanof the British White Fish Aut h 0 r i t y, "isreaching its econ omic value in t he market s ."But, whi le fishing indust r y e a rni ng s ar e u p,
the catch remains abou t the same, with indi cations that future y i eld s may d ecline. Sm a ller catches will mean higher price s . Consum ers may then turn to cheap er food s.

UK HAD GOOD YEAR IN 1971,
OECD REPORTS"The United Kingdom fishing industry en joy ed another good y ear in 1971." So statesthe "Review of Fisheries in OECD Member
Countries 1971."
The rising trend in price s evide nt in 1970
was maintained. Most classes of vessels
increased their gross e arnings significantly.
Costs, too, increased substantially.
The
OECD report say s that indications for theimmediate future suggest the firm market
will remain that way . However, prospects
for several distant-water grounds suggestthat catch rates may decline somewhat; also,
costs may c ontinue to rise markedly.
Highlights

Aquaculture May Solve the Pr oblem
The ultimate yield of k n own speci e s to
known methods of h a rve s tin g i s still f a raway. The r efore, m any countr ies have i nitiated very s eriou s aquac u lture programs.
Fish farming is a m ulti -dis c ipline pr oject
involving the expertis e of mar i ne b iologis t,
chemist, nutritionist, ve t erina rian, engine e r
and economist, and pe rhaps ultimate ly t h emost important of a ll - - t he geneticis t .
Dr. Alan Jones of the Marine L a bor atory
in Lowestoft, England, s ays, " ge ne tics may
provide the key which wi ll unl ock a p otentiallyhuge new larder of high quality prote in food .
A necessary requisite for a dome s tic ate dfarm fish is that it can not only b e rear edin captivity, but also be brou?,ht t o matur ity
and s u c c e s s fu 1 spawning.' He su ggest s
the most promising species are turb ot , Dove rsole, hake and halibut.
Genetic Engineering
Another Lowestoft scie ntist, D r . Colin
Purdom, is working on a direct m e thod ofgenetic engineering that will p r odu ce a lar ge
number of highly inbred fi s h wit h de sired
characteristics, within one ge ne ration.
Modern genetic techniques for improving
aquaculture, scientists fee l , are w orthy of theclose attention of everyone conc e rned withfish production and re l ated supply and demand.

Governme nt policy towards the fishingindustry rem a i ned unchanged . Financial
support c ontinued on the same basis--capitalg r a nts and operating subsidies.
Investme nt for vessel construction, relatively small in recent years, began to show
an increase. However, the trend in recent
ye ars of a decline in deep-sea vessels andinc rease in larger inshore ones continued.
In 1 971 , overall supplies were slightly
below 1 970 .
There were no striking changes in "industrial structure, fish utilization or marketing ."1 971 Landings
Landings in 1 971 were estimated to be atabout 1 970 level, but the total value of mostlandings increased. Cod landings declined,
mainly at ports from distant-water grounds.
This decline was offset partly by larger
landings of other demersal fish, especiallyhaddock and whiting. Landings of pelagic
fish, mainly sprats, increased. Scottish landings of herring rose; English landings fell.
Shellfish landings were about at 1970 level.

i;~
'~-

.V---~'-ITALIAN TUNA-PACKING INDUSTRY PROGRESSESThe Italian tuna - packing indust r y i s mak-fish a nd 1 . 0 ppm fo r c anned t una, according

ing remarkable progr e s s, a ccording to theto JETRO.

Japan External Trade Or ganiz ati on (JE TRO) ,visionally adopte d by Italy , is effective u ntil

a semigovernment

De c . 31, 1 972 .

0 r g ani z at ion.

Major

The m e r c u ry regulations, pro-

Italian pac ke rs have i n cre as ed t heir output
In early 1 971 , si z a b le shipments of large

sharply and are like ly to m ode rni ze a nd exE ve n t h os e canneries

tuna fr om t he U.S. ran i nto trouble at Italianthat had to suspe nd t una p ackin g in 1971 be -ports, whe r e inc om i ng fish are checked forcause of the fur or ove r m e r c u ry h ave re-mer c ury by t he Mini st ry of W lfare. This

sumed operations at about one-t hi rd of n ormal

de velopme!.1t slowe d U.S . ship ments .

c apa c iti e s .

of the year- rounddur i ng second-half 1 971 , pu rse -se ine-caught

availability of raw tuna supply , the packers

tuna from France and Spai n began arriving inare incre asing pur c has e s fr om abroad .

large qua n tit i e s.

pand their fa c ilities .

Bec aus epackers lik dthem.

Othe r than Japan, su c h m aj or t u na suppliersas Taiwan, South K or ea, the U.S ., France,

In 1 972 , F r a nce

Spain, and Cuba have i nc r eas ed the ir sales

already has exported

around 6, 000 tons to Italy at $700-710 a

to It a ly appr e ciably . Italy is the second larg-m e tri c ton (presu mably c . & f. prices at port

e st tuna importer, aft e r the U.S .

of de stinati on) for

Import 93% of Tunarou nd yellowfin .

Con-v e rte d t o gille d-an d -gutted fi sh, the price is$800 a t on, or $20 l e s s than shipments from

The packers imp ort about 93 0/0 of the tunathey p roce ss.

It a lian

But,

Japan.

Ab out 70% of the tuna pur-c has e d is y ellowfin, 2 8% bige y e , and 2% skipThe J a p anese -supplied tun a to [talian

jac k . This pe rc e nt age i s not like ly to change,
partic ularly for skipjack,packer s a re declining in each year . This IS

because Italianb ecaus e most Atlantic tuna catches by Japa-

pac ke rs do not c onside r ble nding species forc anning.

ne s e ves s e ls ar e taken home; of the remam-

The d e mand for bigeye, however,de r, m e dium size s are exported to the U

has bee n rising in r ece nt year s because ofand mixe d s ize s are sold to Italian packers.

the high c ost of ye llowfin ( over US$820 a

Als o, t he fis h sol d by Japanese trading firms

m e tric ton f or J a pane s e gi lled -and - guttedfish).

f or f oreign vesse l s are poor quality because
m ost of t h os e vessels are old and manned b

Me rcury

ine xp e rie nc ed c r ews . ( ' Suisan KeIzaJ. ShImbun' , July 26 .)In Italy, the m e r c u ry - t olerance level forfish is 0.7 part p e r m i lli on (ppm ) for frozen

69

JAPAN
Malta Is H adquarters

UNIQUE UNDERSEA CRAFT
TO BE TESTED

Headquarters of the still-unnamed jointcompany will be in Malta. Initially, the catch
will be stored and sold in Malta and Libya;
if catch is sufficient, a cannery may be constructed on Malta. (U.S. Embassy , Valletta,
Malta, Aug. 18.)

A model undersea craft propelled by electromagnetically created jets of water will betested in September. The 1-meter-long model
te st craft weighs 90 kilograms. It was built
by the Electro-technical Laboratory of theJapan Agency of Industrial Science and Technology.

NMFS COMME T: Although information
is not available on fish sought by the Japanese,
herringlike species are an important resource 10 the Libya-Tunisia offshore waters.
The Japanese are fishing groundfish, squid,octopus, and cut t 1 e f ish off nor t h w est
Africa.

If it works, the new craft should makeundersea operations much safer and easier
because it would eliminate the hazards of propeller -driven submarines. At great depths,
heavy water pressure makes it difficult tomaintain the air tightness of the propeller
shaft's bearing section. Also, steering isdifficult due to heavy propeller vibrations.

***
GOOD SAURY FISHI)l'G OFF ALEUTIA 'S

Mercury Basic Moving Liquid
The 'Hoyo l\Iaru' (499 gross tons), chartered by the semi-government l\Ianne FisheryResource Development Center, returned toJapan after a 2 -month saury surve y cruiseto theorth Pacific. The vessel operated
between 35 0 -48 0 latitudes and 155 0 -180 0 E
longitudes off southern tip of the Aleutian
chain . It caught 32 tons of saury.

The laboratory has applied the principle ofmovements of any liquid in a magnetic field
in a right angle to the field when an electric
current is applied. It is using mercur) as thebasic moving liquid because it is far more
conductive (earlier test with seawater failed)
and will allow for miniaturization.

Fish size ranged from 15-35 cm (5.9-13.8
inches). The catch was quick frozen in 10-kg
boxes. It brought prices ranging from 700 to
5,400 )en (US$2.33-18.00, based on Y300 US$l) 'and averaging 1,300 yen ($4.33).

The power system involves a "U-shaped"
container of mercury surrounded by a magnet.
It is connected to storage cells and a squareshaped input/ output piping system extending
from the motor's core . Alternating currents
will cause the mercury to move in different
ways. This will cause seawater inside themotor to move. This movement will be regulated by a system of valves propelling thevessel in desired direction. (' Japan Economic
Journal', Aug. 1.)'Hoyo l\Iaru' used the traditional "bokeami" (stick -held dip net) and gill net. Fairly
good catches were made with the gill net.
('Suisan Keizai Shimbun', Aug. 9.)

***

***

12 VESSELS LICE SED FOR
DISTANT-WATER SAURY FISHI GJOINT VENTURE WITH MALT A &LIBY A PLANNEDIn late July 1972, the Japanese Fisheries
Agency licensed 7 vessels for the 1972 eastern
Pacific saury survey and was expected to license 5 more. In 1971,48 vessels were licensed, although only 19 vessels actually fished.

Taiyo Gyogyo's research vessel 'Hoyo
Maru' left Malta August 18 on a 6 -month
cruise to survey Libyan waters. Later it willconduct a similar survey around Malta. The
cruise will cost US$500,000. Taiyo will pay
for it from the catch. If results prove positive,
Maltese and Libyans will have an opportunity
to share with Taiyo in equal capital participation.

Since 1969, owners have sent expeditions
tothe eastern Pacific seeking new grounds off
the U.S, West Coast, but their attempts havebeen unsuccessful. Maj or fishery firms, such70

71

JAPAN (Contd.):
as Nihon Suisan, Hoko Suisan, and Nichiro,
have given up hopes of developing new grounds
in the eastern Pacific. (' Shin Suisan Shimbun
Sokuho', July 18, 29.)

GOOD SEASON FORECAST
FOR COASTAL SAURY FISHERY
In early August 1972, Japan issued its firs tforecast for this year's coastal saury fisher y
be ginning in late August .
It predicted a
200,000 -ton catch.
The coastal saury catch reached an all-timehigh of 575,000 tons in 1 958. Then it be gan
to decline steadily y ear after y ear. In 1 96 9
it dipped to a record low of 52,000 tons. In
1970, the landings rose somewhat to 86 , 000
tons. In 1971,itjumpedto178,000 t ons. This
indicates that saury off Japan has b e gun torecover, although catches in recent y ears
have been mostly small-size fish.
('Nih onSuisan Shimbun', Aug. 9; 'Suisan Keizai
Shimbun', Aug . l.)in Ibaraki P refecture . Each will be 10m t rs
long, 6 m e t ers wide, and 1.5 meters deep--a
total ar e a of 720 s quare meters.
The Ass ociation plans to build 34 sucn
ponds t otaling 2,040 square meters by March
197 3 . It h opes to begin commercial cultur
by 197 5 . Expected cost : about 882,800; of
this , the government is expected to contribute$6 50,00 0forconstructionand operation of thplant , t he e lectric power industr} the remainder. Supe r vi s or of the work is Dr. Ryoji
Tanak a , T ok a i R egional Fisheries Researcn
Laboratory.
The P onds
To m a intain a constant temperature ofo
20 C n e c e ss ary for successful culture off ish and she llfish, the ponds will be provided
with 18 m e t r i c tons of sea water per minuteand an e qu a l amount of heated thermal discharge fr om the atomic energy plant.
Alr e ady , 20,000 seabream fry have beenr e le as e d in t he s e ponds.
The AssociatlOns c he dule d release of an additional 110,000s e abream, 4 0,000 11 Kuruma" shrimp and3, 600 kil ograms of albalone in July-August
1 972. ( ' Suisan Keizai', July 11)

SURVEY SOUTH AMERICAN FISHERIESOn July 22, NIKKATSUREN sent a tw oman team to South America on a 38 -day t rip
to survey the fisher y situation in Argentina,
Peru, and Ecuador. NIKKATSUREN is t he
National Federation of Japan Tuna F ishe rie s
Cooperative Associations.
The experts will study the fe asib ility of
establishing cooperative ventures. They will
confer with government and industry l ead e rs
at Buenos Aires and Mar de Plata (Ar ge ntina) ,Lima (Peru) , and Guay aquil (Ecuad or) . They
will survey f ish demands and marketing
structures . The information obtaine d willaffect the measures developed t o securefishing grounds for the Japanese fishing industry. ('Katsuo-maguro Tsushin', July 24.)~<**

20% M ORE VESSEL-CONSTRUCTIO:\'
LICENSE S ISSUED IN 1971
In fi s cal year (FY) 1971 (April 1, 1971Mar ch 31, 1972), the Japan Fishery Ag nc}
auth orized construction of 937 fishll1g vess e ls over 15 meters long totaling 143,468
gros s tons. They included 683 steel vess Is(1 37,086 tons), 66 fiberglass-re.nforced
plastic vessels (1,826 tons) and 188 wooden
vessels (4,556 tons) . This was a 20 lI1creas
over licenses issued in FY 1970. ('Suisar
Keizai ', Ju ly 4.)

T UNA - F L EET REORGANIZATIO.
PLA NNE D

T

WATER FROM ATOMIC PLANT TO BE
USED IN F ISH- CULTURE EXPERIMENTS

The Japan Tun a Federation ( TIKK TSUR EN) ha s announced a 5-year plan (FY
19 72 -7 6 ) for reorganizatlon of the Japaneset una fi s hing industry.

On Dec. 7, 1971, the Japan Fisheries R e Sources Conservation Association began c onstruction of 12 ponds next tothe Japan Atomi c
Energy Research Laboratory at Tokai -mura,

The plan provides for converSIon 0
6tuna longl ine vessels to skipjack pole -and- 11n
ve ssels and installation of automatIc fls mg

72JAPAN (Contd.):
machines aboard 403 skipjack fishing vessels.
The Agriculture and Forestry Minister was
expected to a p pro v e plan in mid - August.
After that, a special loan with an interest rateof 6.5% per annum will become available alongwith a special tax benefit for participating
fishermen. ('Suisan Tsushin', July 19.)~,**

TUNA FLEET DECREASES IN 1971
On March 31, 1972 (the end of FY 1971),
there were 2,806 Japanese vessels licensed
to fish tuna and skipjack. This is 64 vessels
below the FY 1970 figure of 2,870. The
greatest decrease came in off-shore tuna
vessels (1,520 vessels in FY 1971 versus
1,561 vessels in FY 1970). There was a decrease in tuna "motherships" (vessels carrying skiffs on board): 13 versus 21 (and 28
skiffs versus 41). The number of seasonal tuna
vessels dropped from 116 to 114. The number of high-seas tuna fleet remained unchanged, but there were significant increases
in 270-300 GRT class and in 360-420 GRT
class. ('Suisan Tsushin', June 27.)

The experiment is being conducted by the
Fisheries Agency, Takai University and the
Shizuoka Fishery Experiment Station. ('Suisan Keizai Shimbun,' Aug. 23,1972.)* * ~cVALUE OF FISHERY EXPORTS
ROSE 4.2"/0 IN 1971
Fishery exports during January-December 1971 totaled 146,661.6 million yen(US$407.4 million, based on Y360=US$1), reports the Japanese Fisheries Agency. Thisis a 4.2%increase in value over 1970 exports
worth 140,720 million yen ($390 .9 million).
However, the ratio of fishery exports toJapan's total value of exports declined to
1.7% from 2% in 1970 and was the lowest in
post-World War II period. The highest was
6.8% in 1959.
U.S . Leading Buyer
The United States was the leading buyer
of Japanese fishery products: 125,122 metric tons worth $111.4 million, 27.3% of total
value of fishery exports. However, sales tothe U .S declined from 1970's 145,4 99 tons
worth $116.5 million, 29.8"/0 of total value of
shipments. This was attributed to the effectsof dollar devaluations in 1971.

SKIPJACK TUNA HATCHING
Other Major Buyers
Skipjack tuna eggs have been fertilized andhatched in Japan. This is the first successful
experiment of its kind known to history. Although twice in the past the Japanese havecultivated yellowfin tuna, the Fisheries Agency scientists and other researchers are viewing the recent development as an important
breakthrough in tuna culture.
Capture Tuna
The experiment started when a charteredtuna vessel captured 11 mature (male andfemale) skipjack about 35 miles south of Izu
P eninsula. Biologists aboard immediatelybegan collecting the eggs . Within two hours
they had fertilized about 110,000 granules.
Next day the eggs were sent to three culture
laboratories, where they began hatching. The
larvae, measuring about 2.7 mm in length,were placed in a water tank with temperaturesof 27 0 -28 0 C. By 10 AM the following day
they had grown to 3.7 mm and were being
reared in a Chlorella-laden tank.

Great Britain received the second largest
share of fishery exports: 32,247 tons worth$43.8 million. Thiswasl0.7%(12%in 1970) of
total value of shipments in 1971.
Other major purchasers were Netherlands:
17,620 tons and $19.4 million, 4.8% of total;
West Germany: 14,769 tons and $19.2 million, 4.7 %. Exports to West Germany declined
sharply from 1970 shipments worth $25.2
million. ('Suisan Tsushin', July 10.)**:;1:::

JAPANESE VISIT CHINA FOR
BUSINESS TALKS
On August 4, Taiyo Fishery Company sent
4 vessel experts to China to negotiate thesale of fishing vessels . The men were theadvance party of a 9 - man team slated tovisit at the invitation of China' s Impor t Export Corporation.

JAPAN (Contd.):
The negotiation involves constructi on andsale by Taiyo of one 2,000-gross-ton refrigerated shrimp-processing vessel and five
400 -500 -ton refrigerated carrier.
This will be Taiyo's sec ond t rip to China
this year. In June, it sent a team at the invitation of the Edible Food and Oil ImportExport Corporation.
Nichiro Too
Another major fishery firm, Nichiro
Gyogyo, sent a team on July 10 on a 3-weektour to discuss mutual cooperation and ex change of technology. The team was headedby Nichiro's President Hirano. Members
discussed extension b y the Japanese of technical assistance to refrigerate vessels andcold storages. Nichiro plans to send another team in late October to discuss frozen
foods distribution system . ('Suisan Keizai
Shimbun', Aug. 4; 'Minato Shimbun', Aug. 3.)
Only com pan i e s designated "friendly "toward China are permitted to do businessthere. ('Mainichi', July 22 .)SIGNS PROTOCOL WITH AUSTRALIA ON
NEW GUINEA F ISHERY DEVELOPMENT
The Japanese and Australian governments
signed the protocol of the February conference held in Tokyo regarding the cooperative
establishment of a fish processing industry
in Papua New Guinea. The proposed fisher ypromotion is based on the Japan -Australia
Agreement concluded in November 1968 . Australian interests and three Japanese fisher yfirms are participating in the project . Gistof the protocol, signed in Tokyo, is:
1. Australia, with Japanese cooperation,
will endeavor to establish as k i p j a c k tunaprocessing plant in Madang.
2. Japan will cooperate in protecting theskipjack tuna resource in Papua New Guinean
waters.
3. Japan and Australia will cooperatively
investigate the skipjack resource in Papua
New Guinean waters.

4. Japanes e pole-and-lme vessels \\111 bepermitted to en t e r Rabaul, 1\1 a dan g andCavieng until the end of 1973. Australia willconsider extending this period, depending on
progress made in establishing a skipjack fisbery in Papua New Guinea and extent of Japanese cooperation in conserving the skipjack
resource . ('Minato Shimbun,' Aug. 19,1972.)

EXPORTS OF GREENLAND TURBOTINCREASING
Japanese-Greenland turbot exports to theUnited States and European countries hav
beenincreasinginre centyears. In 1972 the,are likely to reach 20,000 metric tons .

Prices More Than Double
Growing demand for turbot as export has
more than doubled price s in Japan. At fishingports in northeastern Japan, the ex-vess 1
prices in early August 1972 were reported
as 1,300 -1,500 yen/ 10 kilograms (US$3 93 -454
a short ton) compared with 610-658 yen/l0 kg($184-1 99ashortton)ayearago. Asa result,some trawlers previously fishing in the Nortr
Pacific for Alaska pollock, Pacific ocean
perch, sablefish and other bottomfish, arenow concentrating on Greenland turbot.
('Minato Shimbun', Aug. 18, 1972.)

WITHDRAWAL OF SALMON VESSELSSUBSIDIZED BY GOVERNMENT
As a result of fleet reduction carried out
this year,the Japanese Government decided tosubsidi ze the withdrawal of salmon vessels
from the fishery. The reduction of 372 vessels or more than 10% of the salmon fleet(mothership- supported and land -based), wasnecessitated by the reduced salmon catch
quota adopted at the annual Japan- .S.S.H.
fishery negotiation in Moscow.
Subsidy in One Lump Sum
The subsidy, totaling 1,907 million yen(approx. US$6.4 million) will be granted to
the remaining salmon fishery operator ..

74

SU H.L 1\ I -JI\ P l\l· Jol 1!1:. H.I1',
C•• Ol{' ,/\ l' IZI:.. D

J AP AN (Contd.):
They, in turn, have agreed to pay compensation tothe owners of the withdrawn v 55 Is
for the loss of their salmon fishing rights.
The amount of subsidy is bas d on the 10-y at"government loans to be granted til fish r)
operators who must pay the compensation.
At the rate of 50;0 of th 8 5% annual int r'stof these loans, the Gove rrunent will pa thequivalent of the 10 years' int I'est ill on>
lump sum.
Herring Fishermen Rec iv d 1\1 0 1'
The vessel owners had sought to t' c IV
treatment similar to that accord d h hernng
fishermen who withdrew from the fish 1'y ttl
1 971 because of the Sovi t ban ll1 th
khotskSea The Government had paid h rring fish rmen half the value of their hshing I'ights,
4,190 million y en ($11.6 mil~lon.) (':::>Ulsan
Tsu shin,' Aug . 3, 1972 and other sourc s . )***SHRIMP IMPORTS CO~TIXUE
RECORD TRENDIn July 1972 , the Japanese imported 7,157
metr i c tons of fro zen shrimp valued at$22 , 6 07,000 (roughly 1.43/lb), well over the
July 1 971 figure of 7,022 tons \\orth 15.5
million.
Q,.wnt it yss 1 L1cens s

d on h nUlnber ofw vess I he nses th Japanese I lsher eue for th
hrimp fi her a f
th GU1anas.
ven Japanes ftrm are op rting 70 snnmpers 10 that reg1on. The) ars ek1ng hc ns s to op rate an addttlonal ftveor mar . Th
hav already ordered new
shnmp trawl rs from a . ~ . shipyard . L1 applications have b en rec Ived b)thg ncy for mar than 200 ves els . Ind ' ~ations ar tha it .... ill probabl perm't onl
about 70 add1ttOnai shr mp rs to enter thIS
f1sher off the Guianas. (' 11nato h mbun, I~ pt. 5) and. . Embass ,Tok 0 translat' onof' uisan K 1zai hlmbun, lug . H . )***BRr TOL Bi\Y T . T. TER CRAB
PRODUCTIO. DO\\

o

"E!.,

\

..,0

10

-;::

'1 h. South Am l'iean Mann> Dev lr)p men'ompany (form<>d by J apanes p shl'lmp trawle r
owners ) and Surinam In t r 5 s hav ps a lish d a JOlnt venturi. [ 1S a cold. toragand shrimp pI'OC ssing plant 1n urttlam . Th_n w company, Sunnam-Japan 11Sh r1ea
( J A I'» \'as rgamz d 1n P aramar1bo nth acapital of
330,000.' h .Japan 5e 1nv 6t d
85 010, Sunnam th r m Imng 15 . Th _ company vill 1mm. diat ly b glll construction ofa cold t rage' plant (500-ton 6t rag and 20tonI ay flel....zing capac1t , 10-ton day 1C mak1ngcapacity). It 1S 6 h dul
for campI tion hy summer 1 73.

T

5

oo

0-

•.

-' u-;-rr::-rrTJ;. 'rrtT)-;-;'-':;-A
1971)

I' .'

J }, ;) 6 II ~o ~,j1972

Ja pan, frozen shrimp imports, by month , 197 1-72 .

japan' s January - July 1972 s hrimp i mport s
now total 48,055 tons, a 16 perce nt increaseover the s ame - p e riod in 197 1. They we revalued at $160,5 42 ,000 , 66 perce nt hi gher thanfor the fir s t 7 month s of 197 1.
In J uly, bec a u s e of the heavily stockpileds hr i mp market, Japane s e shrimp importers
we re forced to l owe r t he ir wholesale prices
in order to move supplie s.

***

T

The Japanese 'Keiko l\Iaru' (7, 536 grosstons) and 'Ko)ol\Iaru' (7, 4 80 gross tons) crab
factoryship fleets Lave been fishing in B ri s tol
Bay since I\Iarch . They report sharply reduced production 0: tanner crabs . Their cat ch
to date is at lea s t 30% behind the 197 1 figu r e
for the same pe r iod . T he\ a r e not certai nwhether the lag III landings i s due to change
in oceanogr a p hic cond it ions or diminis h ing
r es ou rce s. In r e ce nt ye ars c atches have beenabundant. fhe king c rab catch rate, on t he
ot her hand, i s better th an i n 1 971 . R e duce dk ing cr a b quotas imp osed by Japan-U . S. Crab
Agreem e nt m a k efishing for that specie ssecondarytotanner c rabs. ( ' Suisan Tsus hin,'
Sept . 2.)***

JAPAN (Contd.):

macke r e l w r sttll allv
lr
ha tch ing and had grm n • 0 12-1

FROZEN FOOD INDUSTRY
BOOMED IN 1971
In 1971, Japanese production of fro z en
foods totaled 183,953 metric tons worth
US$143 million--an increase of 30 % in quantity and 40% in value over 1970. This w asreported by Japan Frozen Food Assoc.
Precooked foods (fried meats, hambur ge r ,gratin) remained the leader. In second place
were marine products accounting for 38 , 6 30
metric tons, 22% over 1970, and valued at
US$37 million.
Quantity

Value

Metric tons

US$l million

Precooked foods
Marine Products
Vegetables
Chicken
Fruit
Meat
Other

101,300
38,63023,2378,047
6,451
3 , 0623,226

7 9 .03 7. 0
8.6
10.6
2 .3
3. 3
1. 9

Total

183 ,95 3

14 3. 2

Institutional use of frozen f oods totaled
120,489 tons (65.5 % of market) versus 63,464
tons (34.4 %) for family use. ('Suisan Tsushin', Aug . 17.)
NMFS COMMENT: In 1967, the Japanes efrozen-food industry produced $23.8 million
worth of foodstuffs . Roughly 79 % was usedby institutional consumers, 21 % b y family
members .
In March 1972, Suisan Tsushin reported
that annual sales of frozen foods b y Nippon
Reizo, Nihon Suisan, Nichiro Gyogyo, Taiy o
Gyogyo and Ky okuyo totaled $14 9 million in1971. This was $6 million more than amountreported by the Association.
These five
firms reportedly control 80 % of f rozen-foodmarket in Japan . The same article projected 1972 earnings of $196 million.
;'I:

:;'(

F ISHERY AGENCY BUDGE$30 0 MILLION

On Au g. 29, 1872, th Japan s i t
Age ncy (J F A) released th ~ proposp I I I I
f or F is cal Year UJ73 (\pnl 1 7 -.1 r
1 974). T he budget totals U, 2Q2 lmILl )Jl
3 7. 30/0 ove r FY - 1972 budget.
The pr opos ed budget ~s about 8$3 , 99 1 milli on allotted to :\Tlnistr
culture and For est r y . (Au g . 31 .)NM F S C OMi\I ENT: The J
Lud
increas ed substantiall:J aurtng -h !J
ye ar s :FY 197 ~ - L
FY 1972 FY 197 1 FY 19 7 0 FY 1969 FY 1968 FY1967FY 1966 -WILL F LY TU1TA TO J*

CULTURE FRIGATE MACKERELIn 1971, young mackerel c ultured by fis h ery scientists survived only ten days afte r
hatching. This year, however, young f rig ate~:1 .. \Ru s tralia.

*

2l:12 mtllt

211
110
112
94
7~

74
67

P '\

"

1

76

JAPAN (Contd.):
NEW POLLOCK FISHING GROUNDSIn July 1972, 6 Japanese II surimi" (mincedfish meat) fleets fi shing Alaska pollock in the
North Pacific found a new pollack fishing area
between Anadyr Bay and Cape Navarin off theSoviet Union. This should help reduce fishingpressure on grounds previously exploited.
('Suisan Tsushin', Aug . 28.)TRAWLERS GATHER OFF
NEW ENGLAND
Since June, the 'Nagasaki Maru' of Taiyo
Gyogyo, the' Akebono Maru No. 71' of Nichiro
Gyogyo, and the 'ShiraneMaru' of NihonSuisan
havebeen fishing squid ('matsu -ika") off New
York. Nihon Suisan planned to send 5 more
trawlers, all 2,500 GRT, in mid -September
to fish mature herring.
The Japanese ICNAF quota for mature
herring is 2,450 tons (1,200 tons off Georges
Bank, 250 tons in Gulf of Maine, and 1,000
tons off Nova Scotia). The season for butterfish (" shizu" or Poronotus triacanthus) begins
in mid-October. Squid fishing ("yari-ika")
will resume in Novembe r . (' Minato Shimbun ' ,Sept. 2.)I

SOUTH KOREA
S. KOREA TO DISPOSE OF ITSFISHERY CORPORAT ION
South Korea plans to transfer to private
owne rship ~he Korean Marine Industrial De velopment Corporation (KMIDC), a
100 %gover'1ment-owned fishing company . KMIDC
is ca)italized at 10 billion won (approx. US$25.3 million). It owns a fleet of 90 vessels(including 75 tuna longliners and a 10,000gross -ton salmon vessel). Because of management problems, it long has been operating
at a deficit . The government is asking 15
bl:lion won (approx. $38 million) .
In early August, three firms were seeking
to buy it. Hanjim Group (non-fishery firm);
Jedong In d us try, and W ongyang Fishing
Company. Ki\lIDC also is planning to enter

into a joint skipjack - fishing venture with a
U.S. tuna packer. ('Katsua-maguro Tsushin',Aug. 8.)KOREA-INDIA IN JOINTFISHING VENTURE
In response to the investment proposal
made by the Indian Government, The Republicof Korea (ROK) reportedly is planning a joint
fishing venture. Details are not yet known but
indications are that shrimo and tuna are in cluded in the plan. Based ~n a previous feasibility study, the ROK Government is hopefulthat fishery resources of India will expand
Korean high -seas fishing operations. Further
discussions of the proposed venture arescheduled. (' Suisan Keizai Shimbun,' Sept. 7. )***EXPORTS ON TARGETAt e nd of July) Korean fisher y exports
totaled $79.4 million, 59 .7 % of the $133
million target for this y ear. ('O-Op Shinbo, 'Aug. 14 .)Value
US$l , OOO

ItemLive fish
Frozen fish
Squid
Salted fish
CannedAgar-agar
Se aweed (all types)
Laver
Tuna
OthersFishing net
10tal

13,977
5,420
6,291
2,399
3,174
1,463
1,334
800
36,9352,555
5,113
79,461***
WITHDRAW FROM POLLOCK F ISHERY
Twenty -one trawlers fishing Alaska pol lock in the North Pacific have moved to the
Atlantic Ocean. More trawlers are expected
to leave soon. The reason for this move isattributed to the low price for pollock. In
July , Koreanmarket price for Alaska pollock
was US$0.04/lb. , 300/0 lower than the price inJune. ('O-Op Shinbo,' Aug . 14 . )LATIN AMER! CA
MEXICOOAS FISHERIES EXPERTS MEETIN LIMASONORA F ISHERMEN REAP
RECORD C ATCHES

T he fir s t meeting of the OAS Ad Hoc Groupof Gove rnmental Experts on Fishenes was
he ld i n L ima, Peru, in September.

In spite of a strike that idled many Sonoranfishing boats, the produ c ti on of shrimp, s ardines and fishm e al from this M exi can st ate
reached new highs by the e nd of t he first h alfof the y ear.

It provi ded an opportunity for representat ives of 19 countries to discuss common
prob lems, exchange ideas, and recommend
possible solutions. The problem areas w reide ntified as : (a ) training, (b) applied research, (c) financing, and (d) infrastructure.

The Sonoran shrimp cat c h for t h e period
September 1971-June 1972 (shrimpingends inJuly ) amount e d to 5,141 tons comp a re d withthe 1970-71 t otal of 4 ,5 64 tons .

Cooperative Plans

This year is also going to be a good one forSonora's sardine fishe rmen.
B y m i d - year
they had already c au g ht 38,4 31 t ons of s ar d ines
(compa r e d with a total of 2 5,436t ons in 19 701971).

T he consensus was that, because of widely
d iffering fishery conditions, solutions to prob1ems wou ld necessarily differ among countries. Among the cooperative steps decided
upon was consideration of establishing an
Inter - American Program of Fishery Development, the study of training matters, identification and evaluation of Latin American
institutions able to offer fisheries training,and encouraging fishery research under OAS
techni cal assistance program.

F ishme al production has als o regi stereda sizable gain thus far, with 8,334 ton s be i ng
produce d throu g h J une (7,2 33 t on s were produce d last y ear).

***
INDUSTRIAL PARK F OR
FISHING INDUSTRIESOther recommendations include upgrading
fisheries in government organizations, asking
for higher financial priorities, improving
exchange of fisheries informati on, and charging Inter - American Center wit h stu d Y offishery export problems. The y suggested anannual meeting of Government Fisheries Experts and eventually an Inter - American Advisory Committee for Fisheries Resource
Development.

l

Guay mas prop osed i ndustri a l park forfishing i ndustr ie s r e c e ived a bi g financial
b oost whe n the Naci onal F ina nc i era agreed
t o provide a US $4 milli on cre dit for the installation of faciliti e s.
The ne w park will b e 100 hectares of land
located 4 miles from the city of Gu aymas.
All existing fishing industries (shr i m p , sardine, fishm e al and boat c onstruction) will
move to t he new site whe n comple t e d .

Support Existing Institutions
Rather than set up any new institution,center, or other agency involving additional
expense and bureaucracy, it was decided emphasis should be placed on strengthening andsupporting existing institutions and activities.

The park will help develop the fish -proc e ssing industry b y e liminating t he need totransport fish else wher e . It is be lieved the
project will require 2 mor e ye ars befor ecomple tion.

77

SOUTH PACIFIC
AUSTRALIA.]FLY FISH TO J PINEW POLYSTYRENE BOXESP'I';SI'; UYS·ll·;H. 1\ [>PI'; \ltS

Ii f'1';W Z I';

L')'nill now tll[ only sp 'cl ·s (f ' '1 assostp a'
1 l'W Zf aJand was ttl'
nr;1'thl"rn rock
UjS 1'1'.
It
hI' Int rttual arf as f
1 orthlalld
StlI'ruc ·s.

The Austral1an xport firm Tober of Dov r
insouthernTasmaniahasb gtlnrcgular' shipments of live abalon to Japan. The abnlollP
is packed in lightweight. poly sty rc nf' bOXt'S elf signed to hold about 18 kilngl'ams. :W() ktlc grams are normall sent in pach shipnv nt.
The abalone sells for about LlS$2.fl7 Pl'!' iulogram, which covel'S t.11
c st o' q lllg thl
abalone from Tasmania to Japan.

kll()WII to

The Boxes
The polystyrene air-foam boxes an' ~.ght
weight , do not bend or collaps 10 hea\'y ralnor humid conditions, and have thick foam walls
and a double-llpseal that prO\idp good .nsu
lation and retain t 'mpera UI'(>
1 he box swere developed by Haniml'x Pty Ltd at th II'
Brookvale plant in New South \\ al s
The firm also has s nt a trial shipmentof live lobsters pached in wood shavll1gs.
(tYomiurit , July 8.)~ urpris(

Australia also airships fresh cl illfrozen tuna (blue fin) to Japanoy~t r::. In
tht" Important
The n are t \ 11ustraha, 1200
mIles (1 00 km) across th
Tasmana.
C onsldcnng thiS oistanc and the nOt'mal lar\al hf
f 2-3 \\eeks; the f w specimens
found off 1 'ol'thland ar unlikel) to be IlP result of larval migratIon. It 1S much more
likely th i\lahurang1 sp cimens originatedby accid ntal, passive dispersal.

NEW ZEALANDFISHING CADET COURSE IXITI1\ TED
Otago Polytechnic School of 1 autical Studies has an 18 months training course designed
to benefit the fishing industry. Cadets are
given rigorous sea training, actually working
on fishing vessels. They ar '~ also taught basic~'undamentals in classroom studi ~s of navigation' gear, engineering and pracLcal fishll1g.
Sponsorship of cadets comes from nembersof the fishing industry who are interested indeveloping a new source of qu 3.lified fishingexpertise.

Possible Explanations
Japanese 0) sters on ShlpSt bottoms may
have spawned in Northland waters at the higher summer temperatures; larvae in ballast
water may have been discharged by ships off
orthland; adult 0 y s t e r s discarded trom
visiting ships may have survived and spawned.
Crassostrea gigas seems to have been distributed to several
orthland oyster farms
along with rock oyster seed from the same
Marine Department batch. Scientists will bewatching with interest the possible reproduction by this existing small stock.

The first class has begun witn 7 students,
one a girl who assists her lobster fisherman father.

***

pp al an ( tn.' \\ Z alanda ct78