The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1949-04-01
The Tuna Industry

Visions of what the full fruit of development from the
present Jackson county port program at Pascagoula can
mean opened this week with conferences here between
visiting West Coast tuna interests and local and state of
ficials, including Governor Fielding L. Wright and ex-
Governor Hugh White, chairman of the State All board.
The establishment of a tuna industry here is as much
a part of the port development program as the dredging
of our ship channel and, like other steps taken in recent
years, is based on our natural resources and advantages.
Let's briefly sum up these advantages:
Pascasouls is i4oo miles closer to the Pacific fish
ing grounds. in the vicinity of Panama. than is the
nearest tuna canning center on the Pacific Coast. San
Diego. The latter is $500 miles from these fishing
grounds and Pascagoula is l400 miles. That means the
savings Of 2400 miles on a round trip to and from the
cannery location. 1t Is simple to realize what this means
in the matter of time and money saved in the opera
ton Of the tuna clippers.
Pascagoula enjoys a freight rate differental over the
Pacific Coast area that is material and a vital factor in the
reduction of distribution costs. The greatest area of con-
sumption of the tuna pack is along the Atlantic seaboard
and the heavily populated industrial areas of the mid West.
The difference in freight from the Pacific coast and Pas
cagoula to these areas gives us an advantage of up to 40
cents a 100 pounds on the canned goods. When it is real
lied that the tuna pack amounts to many millions of pounds
annually, the savings mounts into millions of dollars.
Then there is the matter of land for the location of
these plants. The industry is concentrated on the Pacific
Coast and land is at a premium. So much so that many of
the factories are two-storied in order to save land space
We not only have the area of reclaimed land on
the West bank of the Pascagoula river. a portion of
which is being allotted to this industry. but we have
enough land along the river adjacent to Pascasoula and
Moss Point to locate the entire West Coast canning in
dustrY.
We have an abundant labor supply. intelligent.
willing and able to learn.
We have a friendly state government and a friend
lY county and municipal government.
Now let's see what the tuna industry has to offer us:
In the first place, it offers industrialization along
natural lines of development in the use of natural advan-
tages and local resources for economic advantage.
On the front page of this issue we carry a story tell
ing what this industry means to one California city.
In San Diego the operation Of six plants and the
tuna clippers that supply them accounts for an an
nusl payroll of approximately S~l2.000.000. and fur
nishes direct employment to over 1000 people. on the
clippers and in the plants. That is only one city. The
industry is spread along the entire West Coast. Null
tiplY San Diego several times over and you realize just
how big this industry is.
There are other ways that the shift will tie in with our
natural resources and our Jackson county plan. Establish
ment of fish canneres will bring other canneries, among
them those processing tomatoes and other vegetables. We
can supply these plants from rural Jackson county and other
adjacent counties. 1t will mean cash income for our farm
efs, as well as employment for our rural people.
We want this industry and in the face of the advan-
tages offered here we use the words of Governor White:
If it's true land it isl what's left to be determined?
This industry, as we have pointed out, is vast, It won't
be just a P~ascagoula industry, but we hope and we believe
we will have our share. 1t will be a Gulf Coast industry
and it will spread over the entire area when the shift starts,
concentrated around the fish bowl of the world" the Gulf
of Mexico.
In the words of another man, w. B. Herring, spoken
at Wednesday nights banquet, it will take the work and
cooperation of all of us, from Tampa, Fla, to Brownsville,
Tex, to bring this shift TO its full potentialities.
There is plenty to go around. The shifting of this in
dustry can mean a terrific economic boost to the entire
Gulf area. The industry is interested. We have the natural
advantages. It's UP. to us to show the necessary co-opera-
ton and willingness to bring these possibilities to reality.