Denmark

FISH MEAL PRODUCTION UP 17 PERCENT IN 1957: During 1957 the available Danish supplies of fish meal totaled 66,000 metric tons, or practically the same quantity as during the preceding year. The domestic production increased from 47,000 tons in 1956 to 55,000 tons in 1957. This increase was, however, offset by a drop in imports of 8,000 tons.

The larger Danish output of fish meal was a result of increased catches of herring and launce or sand eel. Launce has been subject to intensive fishing during recent years as it has proved valuable in the production of fish meal and oil because it is found in rather ample quantities in the North Sea.

The exports of fish meal increased from 40,000 tons in 1956 to 42,000 tons in 1957, while the domestic consumption remained unchanged at 21,000 tons.

The major export outlets for Danish fish meal were the United Kingdom (22,700 tons) and Holland (14,200 tons). Compared to 1957, the exports to those two countries increased by 12,000 tons and declined by 5,800 tons, respectively. (United States Embassy, Copenhagen, dispatch dated May 14.)

MARINE OIL PRODUCTION AND IMPORTS DECREASED IN 1957: During 1957 the available Danish supplies of marine oils (fish-liver oil, fish oil, whale and seal blubber oil, whale oil, and seal oil) totaled 37,334 metric tons, or approximately 2,200 tons less than in 1956 (see table 1). This was the net result of reduced imports and less domestic production.

The reduced imports were due primarily to smaller purchases of whale oil. The lower domestic production of marine oils was due to a smaller production of fish oil. This may seem a little unusual considering that production of fish meal increased notably. The explanation is, however, that certain types of fish used for reduction possess a lower oil content than those previously constituting the bulk of the industrial fish landings.

The principal marine oil imported during 1957 was whale oil, practically all (10,263 tons) of which came from Norway.

The exports of marine oils increased only a trifle during 1957 (9,028 tons) and were made up almost entirely of herring oil. The principal buyers were Sweden (5,263 tons), Norway (1,555 tons), and West Germany (1,484 tons).

The domestic consumption of marine oils declined by approximately 4,200 tons to 18,261 tons.

Total production of marine oils in 1957 amounted to 14,400 tons, of which 13,200 tons were fish oil (including herring oil). In 1956 the production was 15,772 tons, of which 14,048 tons were fish oil. All of the fish and whale oil in Denmark is used in edible products. (United States Embassy report from Copenhagen dated May 14, 1958.)

FAROESE GOVERNMENT INVITED TO DISCUSS TERRITORIAL WATERS FISHING LIMITS: The Danish Government has sent an invitation to the local Faroese Government to discuss the problem of international territorial waters fishing limits. Børsen (financial) states that it is the Danish Government's intention to continue to work for an expansion of the fishing limits around the Faroe Islands. This is in keeping with the Government's declaration at the Geneva conference that populations which are to a high degree dependent on the sea because of their geographic position as, for example Iceland, the Faroes, and Greenland, should be able to fix their fishing limits up to 12 nautical miles.

H
Haiti

JAPANESE FISHERY COMPANY PLANS TO BASE TUNA FISHING OPERATIONS IN HAITI: The Haitian legislature has been asked to ratify a contract signed on April 30, 1958, by the Government of Haiti and a large Japanese fishery company. If the contract is ratified, the company will use Haiti as a base for deep-sea tuna fishing operations and establish a 600-ton freezing plant in Port-au-Prince.

The Japanese firm will probably establish a large fishing operation out of Haiti and will export tuna and possibly other fish to the United States. It is doubted that the firm will engage in any type of processing other than simple freezing, according to a United States Embassy dispatch from Portau-Prince, dated May 26, 1958.

The firm has been exploring the Central and South Atlantic for fishery resources for some time, has located large quantities of tuna between Haiti and the Ascension Islands, and now has vessels operating in that area. The company has been looking for a base in the Caribbean from which to carry on Atlantic Ocean operations and Haiti seemed to offer satisfactory conditions for this.

The contract provides for the company to operate deepsea fishing fleets out of any Haitian ports. Furthermore, the company will have exclusive rights for 25 years to export fish taken on the high seas by vessels based in Haiti. The firm has agreed to make fish available to the Haitian market, prior to offering it for export, and also has agreed to assist in every way in developing the coastal fishing within Haitian waters. Upon ratification of the contract, the firm will bring into Port-au-Prince Bay a freezing ship, which will receive and handle fish caught by the vessels now operating in the Atlantic.

Within four months after the ratification of the contract, the company expects to start building a 600-ton freezing plant, probably in Port-au-Prince. The firm also plans to bring in shipwrights and other necessary skilled personnel to start constructing coastal fishing vessels in Haiti for use by Haitian fishermen, as well as for its own use.

The company plans to concentrate its high-seas operations on tuna, using long-line gear on large vessels.

The contract provides that all vessels operated within coastal waters will use at least 40 percent Haitian crews the first year, increasing this to as high as 90 percent or more before the 25 years of the contract are completed.

Haiti will receive no tax on the fish exported out of Haiti, but will benefit by the development of her coastal vessels and by the supplying of fish to the Haitian market without the loss of foreign exchange. Haitian waters are not being fished at this time, and therefore any development which is brought about will be a net gain for Haiti; however, the contract as now written will eliminate any other firms from using Haitian ports for high-seas fisheries, unless they want to sell their entire catch into the Haitian market.

The contract calls for the company to observe all fishing ordinances and maritime regulations imposed by the Haitian Government, but since the company's chief interest is high-seas fisheries, the Haitian Government would have no control over these fisheries past the territorial waters limit.

Honduras

SHRIMP FISHERY AND FREEZING PLANT LOCATED ON ISLAND OF GUANAJA: During the early part of 1958, a United States shrimp fishing company moved to the

Island of Guanaja (Bonacca) with five shrimp vessels. The Guanaja Island is one of a group of islands (Islas de la Bahia) which lie about 10-40 miles off the north coast of Honduras. This island, easternmost of the main islands, is about nine miles long and five miles wide at its widest point.

A new freezing plant, when completed, will have a capacity of 100,000 pounds annually. The shrimp grounds are reported to be about 100 miles from the Island and are promising. Another United States company is reported to be seriously considering sending a fleet of boats to operate out of Guanaja, according to an April 7, 1958, dispatch from the United States Embassy in Tegucigalpa.

Iceland

DECREE CONCERNING EXTENSION OF TERRITORIAL WATERS FISHERY LIMITS: The text of a decree, scheduled to be released June 30, 1958, concerning the extension of Icelandic territorial waters fishery limits, was recently published by the Icelandic newspaper Thjodviljinn. The only material changes to existing Law No. 21 of March 19, 1952, are as follows:

1. The new fishery limits will be 12 miles from the baseline.

2. Icelandic vessels engaged in trawl, floating trawl, or drag-net fishing shall be permitted to fish within the new limits up to the present limit of four miles.

3. Special regulations regarding fishing areas and fishing periods shall be made and announced in detail.

4. The decree on fishing limits shall come into force on September 1, 1958.

5. The period from the time of release to the implementation of the decree on fishing limits shall be used to gain recognition for and understanding of the legality and necessity for extension of limits.

6. Iceland reserves the right to make adjustments to the baseline.

In addition to the decree, new fishery regulations were expected to be issued on June 30, 1958, according to the newspaper story. These regulations are to extend the conservation area to 12 nautical miles with no change in baselines and ban all operations of foreign vessels within that area. Icelandic trawlers would be permitted to operate in the outer 8 miles, subject to provisions that will be determined later.

POLISH TRADE AGREEMENT FOR 1958759 INCLUDES FISHERY PRODUCTS: A protocol, covering the exchange of commodities from March 1, 1958, to February 28, 1959, to the 1949 trade agreement between Iceland and Poland was signed on March 20, 1958. It includes exports of fishery products from Iceland to Poland. Shipments of fishery products from Iceland to Poland under the new agreement for 1958/59 were programmed at 7,900 metric tons as compared with 5,300 tons (only 5,223 tons valued at US$1,032,000 were actually delivered) for the year ending February 28, 1958. Actual shipments

may vary from the amount programmed when supplies fail to meet estimates as was the case for frozen herring in 1957. The agreement between Iceland and Poland may be automatically extended for another year unless one of the contracting parties declares it wishes to negotiate a new protocol. The exports of fishery products programmed for the year ending February 28, 1959, the programmed shipments for the previous year, and the actual shipments for this year are shown in table 1.

Israel

SHRIMP EXPORTS TO UNITED STATES: Shrimp exports from Israel to the United States in 1958 will reach 15 metric tons, according to an announcement by the Director of the Department of Fisheries in the Israel Ministry of Agriculture. The 1957 trial shipment of 10 tons of shrimp reportedly brought about US$2,000 a ton.

During 1958 Israel will also export 15 tons of cuttlefish to Western Europe. Fresh fish were shipped in 1957 on a trial basis to Cyprus at prices not lower than those in Israel.

In anticipation of a further increase in the export of frozen fish, the Israel Fishermen's Union is expected to purchase a second freezing plant with a processing capacity of three tons of fish every 24 hours. The new plant will be acquired in the United States at a cost of IL28,000 (US$50,400), of which the Israel Ministry of Agriculture will grant the Union a loan of I£15,000 (US$27,000). The new fish-freezing plant is to be located at the Kishon Harbor. At present the only other freezer plant operating in Israel is situated at the Haifa port, with a capacity of only one ton per 24 hours.

Italy

TWO CANNERIES CUSTOM PACK ALBACORE TUNA: Two leading Italian canneries are custom packing canned albacore or white meat tuna for a large Italian firm, according to a letter received from Milan dated April 19, 1958. It is believed that most of this is imported Japanese albacore or fish landed at Italian ports directly by Japanese vessels.

This new venture is part of a plan the Italian firm has been putting into effect the past two years in order to engage in fishing and canning. The firm has a small fleet of tuna vessels operating in the Atlantic Ocean and bringing in tuna, mainly yellowfin, since this is the species most in demand on the Italian market.

All the fish is dressed and frozen on board the vessel.

Japan

CANNED FISH ACCOUNT FOR 60 PERCENT OF ALL CANNED PRODUCTS: Canned fishery products account for 60 percent of the total output of Japanese canneries. The principal canned fish are tuna, crab meat, salmon, sardines, and saury. Canned fish products of lesser importance are scallops, small clams, Hokki clams, and canned smoked oysters. These products from the Japanese fish canneries are sold all over the world (Foreign Agriculture, issued by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, April 1958).

DISCOVERY OF PACIFIC ALBACORE TUNA SPAWNING GROUNDS: One of the great mysteries of nature has been the whereabouts of the Pacific spawning grounds of albacore--the choicest variety of tuna and a migratory surface-feeding type of fish found far from land.

Japanese fishery researchers now claim that the mystery has been solved. A fishing vessel operating along the equator somewhere west of the Gilbert Islands recently caught swordfish whose stomach contents included newly-spawned albacore. (Pacific Islands Monthly, April 1958.)

FISHERY LANDINGS IN 1957 AT RECORD HIGH: Japan's fisheries landings (excluding whales) and output of other marine products reached an all-time peak in 1957, according to the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Japan's fisheries landings of 5,398,000 metric tons, which includes pelagic fishing, coastal and offshore fishing, shallow-water culture, and inland fishing and culture, was 13 percent higher than for 1956 and 10 percent higher than for the previous postwar peak attained in 1955.

The record 1957 output was attributed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to favorable migration of fish, improvements in fishing technique, and modernization of fishing equipment.

Domestic prices for fish in 1957 were about equal to those prevailing in 1956. The fishing industry therefore had a most successful year.

Whaling operations resulted in a catch of 16,018 whales (including sperm and baleen whales), an increase of 3,102 whales as compared with 1956 (the Antarctic whaling fleet was increased by one mothership operation in 1957), the United States Embassy in Tokyo reports.