Norway (Contd.): state subsidies or special privileges of any kind. Norway has repeatedly taken the initiative to place whaling on a more rational and economic basis. Though there is no international agreement to reduce participation, the Norwegian government has since 1948 rejected all applications for building new factory ships or replacing old ones. Since 1952, the number of Norwegian expeditions has been reduced from 10 to 9, whereas other nations have increased their participation. On the initiative of Norwegian whaling companies, a voluntary reduction has been assured in the number of catcher boats attached to each factory ship. The Soviet Union, which is not a party to the international agreement, used 24 catcher boats for the one Soviet expedition which took part in the 1957/58 season, as against an average of 10.4 for each Norwegian expedition. And in the next three years, three additional Soviet expeditions are scheduled to join the Antarctic whale hunt. This prospect is a source of grave concern in Norwegian whaling circles (News of Norway, Oct. 23, 1958). WHALING INDUSTRY FEARS PARTICIPATION IN ANTARCTIC: The Norwegian whaling industry is reported by the press to be very concerned over the prospects of increased participation by the Soviet Union in whaling operations over the next few years. The Norwegian Whaling Council held a meeting in Oslo recently to consider what action should be taken to meet the threat of added competition. According to the press, consideration was given to the advisability of Norwegian withdrawal from the International Whaling Convention, states an October 3, 1958, dispatch from the United States Embassy at Oslo. Peru FISH MEAL PRODUCTION The 1957 production of fish meal in Peru amounted to 64,480 metric tons as compared with 30,969 tons in 1956. Although there is Government control over the construction of new reduction plants, expansion of the fish meal industry continues at a rapid rate. Prices for fish meal in September 1958, according to a September 30 dispatch from the United States Embassy in Lima, were about US$145 a metric ton f.o.b. Callao. There is some official concern over the increasing drain on anchovy resources as a source of fish meal. It is feared that the guano industry will be damaged as the large flocks of seabirds ("aves guaneras") are dependent on the anchovy as a source of food. Philippines RESTRICTIONS ON OTTER-TRAWL The Philippine Undersecretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources stated in October 1958 that the Department of Agriculture will issue an order restricting otter-trawl fishing in Manila Bay to certain areas to conserve the fish supply. This policy resulted from the charges of the small fishermen that trawl fishing was depriving them of their livelihood. The proposed ban on trawl fishing is a recurrent problem which results from political pressure from small fishermen. The FAO fisheries consultant who recently completed a two-year study of commercial fishing in Manila Bay and San Miguel Bay, publicly stated that his studies had shown that trawl fishing, as practiced in the Philippines, did not deplete the supply of fish. Commercial fishing spokesmen claim that a shortage of fish would result if trawl fishing were banned. Officials state that one of the primary causes of fish depletion is the use of dynamite, which is primarily used by small fishermen. Portugal CANNED FISH EXPORTS, JANUARY-JULY 1958: Portugal's exports of canned fish during January-July 1958 amounted to 32,868 metric tons (2,012,800 cases), valued at US$17.7 million, as compared with 23,971 tons, valued at US$15.0 million, for the same period in 1957. Sardines in olive oil exported during the first seven months of 1958 amounted to 22,543 tons, valued at US$12.1 million. During January-July 1958, the leading canned fish buyer was Italy with 5,579 tons (valued at US$2.9 million), followed by Germany with 5,225 tons (valued at US$2.8 million), Great Britain with 3,496 tons (valued at US$1.8 million), the United States with 3,085 tons (valued at US$2.2 million), and Belgium-Luxembourg with 2,435 tons (valued at US$1.2 million). Exports to the United States included 1,542 tons of anchovies. (Conservas de Peixe, September 1958.) Portuguese Canned Fish Exports, January-July 1958 During the season six vessels were lost at sea (all crew members were saved) during the fishing season on the Grand Banks and off Greenland. About 1,500 tons of green salted cod were lost with five of the vessels (all of them more than ten years old). The loss of these vessels reduces the capacity of the Portuguese salt cod-fishing fleet to about 38,600 tons. FISHERIES TRENDS, JULY 1958: Sardine Fishing: During July 1958, the Portuguese fishing fleet landed 8,706 metric tons of sardines (valued at US$1,096,939 ex-vessel or $126 a ton). In July 1957, a total of 7,556 tons of sardines were landed (valued at US$1,184,382). Canneries purchased 53.4 percent or 4,652 tons of the sardines (valued at US$625,148 ex-vessel or $134.38 a ton) during July. Only 2 tons were salted, and the balance of 4,052 tons was purchased for the fresh fish market. Matosinhos lead all other ports in July landings of sardines with 5,914 tons or 67.9 percent, followed by Portimao 937 tons (10.8 percent), and Penichi 611 tons (7.0 percent). Other Fishing: The July 1958 landings of fish other than sardines were principally 4,650 tons (value US$331,050) of chinchards, 2,208 tons (value US$238,306) of anchovies, 320 tons of mackerel (value US$34,900), 93 tons of tuna (value US$22,400), and 44 tons of bonito (value US$6,800). (Consevas de Peixe, September 1958.) Note: Values converted at rate of 28.75 escudos equal US$1. * ** COD FISHING TRENDS, The Portuguese cod fishing fleet operating on the Grand Banks and off Greenland was ordered to return to Portugal about the middle of October. The season's catch was estimated to be about 26,000 metric tons, or only about twothirds of the fleet's capacity. A scarcity of cod and poor fishing weather contributed to the lower catch this season. Republic of Korea ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF A report on the accomplishments of the United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency (UNKRA) program of aid to the Republic of Korea states that "The fishing industry was supplied with large quantities of nets, other gear, and ice plant and cold-storage equipment. UNKRA boatbuilding materials resulted in 486 new fish The new enterprise is reported to own the M/V Shimu Maru, which left Japan several weeks ago and is now engaged in deep-sea fishing off the coast of South-West Africa. The vessel is one of a series that will be purchased in Japan by the company together with a larger ship equipped with refrigeration facilities. The firm's initial capital is understood to amount to US$100,000, while a further sum of US$200,000 is to be invested at a later date. The foreign partners in the new venture are a Swiss firm and a Japanese firm, reportedly affiliated with one of the largest Japanese shipping companies. A recent statement by a Japanese representative of the new firm now visiting Israel in the company of the Israeli Italy REVIEW OF THE FISHERIES, 1957: Italy's landings of fish and shellfish from the Mediterranean Sea amounted to 175,047 metric tons in 1957 as compared with 188,975 tons in 1956--a decrease of 7.4 percent. EXPORT OF TUNA LOINS AND DISCS Since mid-August 1958 the Japanese fisheries trade press has been following closely the cautious steps that have been taken by the Japanese tuna industry and Government agencies toward a reopening of exports to the United States of cooked tuna loins and discs. These semiprocessed products can be canned with less than half the labor required for processing whole fish, and it is easy for all types of United States packers and others to engage in tuna canning. These products were placed under an export embargo in October 1957 because of the protests of United States tuna canners. Following a meeting on September 4 of representatives of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at which the reopening of loin and disc exports was finally approved, the Export Tuna Freezers' Association held a special meeting on September 5 and adopted certain changes to its regulations to cover the loin and disc trade. As these new regulations were to take effect 20 days after promulgation, it was considered almost certain that export of loins and discs would begin not later than October 1, 1958. The new rules provide: (1) Total loin and disc exports to the United States to March 31, 1959, will be 2,970 metric tons, of which 2,850 tons will be allocated on the basis of past production records, 90 tons will be allocated freely, and 30 tons will be held in reserve; (2) in calculating equivalence of loins and discs to round fish, the ratio will be 2 to 1; (3) minimum prices for sales to exporters will be set by the directors of the Association; (4) members of the Association must not produce loins and discs in any plant not approved by the Association. In a press conference on September 8, the Director of the Japanese Fishery Agency stated that the loin-and-disc export quota of approximately 3,000 tons in the next 6 months did not necessarily mean that exports of 6,000 tons a year were envisaged. The situation, he said, would be re-examined next April, the United States Embassy in Tokyo reported on September 18. FISHING INDUSTRY FORESEES INTENSIFIED COMPETITION FROM RUSSIANS: The Japanese fishing industry is concerned that the Soviet Union's sixth Five-Year Plan calls for an annual catch of 4.2 million metric tons (9.3 billion pounds) by 1960. In the Far East much of this production will have to come from fishing grounds now exploited by Japan. Soviet fishery men who have visited Japan recently have expressed a strong and inquisitive interest in Japanese fishing techniques, particularly for saury and tuna. Soviet "Fisheries Minister" A. A. Ishkov is reported to have expressed the intention of ordering between 15 and 20 tuna vessels of the 800- to 1,000-ton class, and of seeking the services of Japanese experts to train the Russians in tuna fishing. These vessels, according to Ishkov, would operate mainly in the Atlantic, but he mentioned the possibility that one or two of them might fish experimentally in the Pacific. Late in September 1958 a Japanese fishing vessel reported sighting an 80-ton Soviet steel vessel fishing for saury 20 miles off Ochishi in eastern Hokkaido. The point of this report that has excited the most interest is that the Soviet fishing vessel was not using a stick-held dipnet, as Japanese saury fishermen do, but was apparently pumping the saury aboard with a fish pump. Several similar boats have been seen fishing off Shikotan Island in the Kuriles, which is believed to be their base. Japanese press comment on this development has taken two tacks. One is that a large-scale Soviet advance into the saury fishery will necessitate reconsideration of Japan's regulations, particularly with regard to the time of opening of the season, in view of the possibility that the Russians night decimate the schools before Japanese vessels are allowed to begin fishing. A need for more intensive investigation of the resource and its ability to stand up under Republic of Korea (Contd.): ing craft and repairs to more than 1,200 others. Ten deep-sea fishing trawlers also were built in Hong Kong for Korea. Two modern new fish canneries were established with a total capacity of 300,000 cases a year, increasing canning facilities by more than 50 percent." (United Nations press release dated October 13, 1958.) UNKRA was established in 1950 "to help the Republic of Korea and its people toward the restoration of their warwrecked economy. The latest report (Doc. A/3907) marks the conclusion of the Agency's operational activities, except for a very few projects which will be carried to completion by a small staff of UNKRA personnel. ***** TUNA LONG-LINE VESSELS FISHING FOR AMERICAN SAMOA CANNERY: Vessels of South Korea's long-line sea-fishing fleet are scheduled to fish tuna for the tuna cannery located on American Samoa, which is leased and operated on that Island by a United States west coast canner. One Korean vessel has been fishing for the American Samoa cannery since the spring of 1958. In the meantime, another vessel was reported sailing for fishing off that Island and another six long-line fishing research vessels are scheduled to fish for tuna in the same area. (Ou Min Sinbo, a Korean newspaper, dated September 9, 1958.) Spain OFFSHORE FISHING FLEET OF TERRITORIAL WATERS: The Syndical Council of the Spanish Syndical Federation of Operators of Long Range Fishing Vessels (Federacion Espanola Sindical de Armadores e de Buques de Altura) at a meeting in Vigo on September 11-12 went on record as opposing any extension of existing territorial fishing limits. |