There are millions of people in the world today who are starving. Right now there are children suffering from malnutrition.

I believe this legislation is an important step toward ending that starvation.

Our Nation has generously and altruistically given aid to most of the nations of the world. We have done our best to end the tragic course of underdeveloped, overpopulated countries by supplying them with food and agricultural knowledge. But the problem is so large and so cumbersome that even our magnificent efforts have not been enough. It is time to try another method and expand our program of aid.

In many of the countries with which we are dealing the problem of food shortage is twofold. First there is the lack of sufficient food for the population; second the food that is in any kind of supply lacks the necessary protein and minerals. Thus the people who are fortunate enough not to be starving are still lacking those foods required for health.

The case of protein is an excellent example and pertinent to these hearings. Americans get most of their protein from meat, eggs, and milk. These foods are in short supply even in countries that have other foods. The people of these countries suffer from malnutrition because of a lack of protein.

Fish protein concentrate could be the important answer we need. Fish are in abundant supply all over the world. Authorities have estimated that the world's fish catch could be increased at least several times over on a sustainable yield basis. And fish are an important source of protein. Research has demonstrated that a fish protein concentrate can be manufactured containing 75 to 85 percent protein plus other food elements and minerals. This concentrate could be produced, transported, and stored at low cost.

The legislation the committee is examining this week would expand this work further and explore the possibilities for production on a commercial basis that would be economically feasible.

Fish is a potentially cheap source of high-quality protein. The legislation I have submitted would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct, encourage, and promote research, studies, and experiments to develop the best and most economical processes and methods to reduce fish to a highly nutritious and stable fish protein

concentrate.

The Secretary would work through public and private agencies; he would be authorized to provide for the construction and operation of five or fewer experiment and demonstration plants. These plants would demonstrate the reliability and practicability of methods to produce fish protein concentrate and would determine the economic, engineering, and operating potentials of these methods.

I believe this legislation, especially H.R. 14905, and like bills, would create an extremely workable and realistic program. Plants located in the most feasible areas for this research might approach the problems of fish protein concentrate from all the realistic angles.

The end result would be a program for the production of fish protein concentrate that would fill the "protein gap" of the world's starving peoples and provide American industry with a practicable and economic means for the production of a needed and worthwhile foodstuff.

Mr. DINGELL. The subcommittee is very grateful for your excellent statement.

The Chair notes the presence of the Senator from Rhode Island, the Honorable Claiborne Pell. Senator, the subcommittee welcomes

you.

STATEMENT OF HON. CLAIBORNE PELL, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

It is a pleasure to comment again on the many positive values which I feel S. 2720 holds for the well-being of this country. In order to avoid taking too much of the time of the committee, I would like to ask your accord that my statement on the floor of the Senate, Wednesday, June 29, 1966, on fish protein concentrate be included in the record of this hearing.

This statement in substance reviews the thoughts of many food scientists and others in various parts of the world in favor of whole fish flour. It also elaborates on the potential of the Point Judith, R.I., area as a site for a fish protein concentrate demonstration plant, and includes a prospectus on this subject prepared jointly by several Rhode Islanders expert in the fields of agriculture, oceanography, and fish catching and processing. I refer specifically to Dr. James W. Cobble, dean of the University of Rhode Island College of Agriculture; Jacob J. Dykstra, president of the Point Judith (R.I.) Fisherman's Cooperative, Inc.; and Dr. John A. Knauss, dean of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography.

In summary, Mr. Chairman, I would like to reaffirm my strong support of this bill. Also, I would like to recommend publicly that upon its passage, a demonstration plant be designated to be set up at Point Judith, R.I.

Mr. DINGELL. Thank you for your views, Senator.

The Chair is now happy to recognize Mr. Donald L. McKernan, Director of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Department of the Interior.

STATEMENT OF DONALD L. McKERNAN, DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR; ACCOMPANIED BY E. RAY PARISER, PROGRAM LEADER, FISH PROTEIN CONCENTRATE PROGRAM

Mr. McKERNAN. Mr. Chairman, with your permission, I would appreciate having Dr. Ray Pariser, who is in charge of this program in the Bureau, with me at the witness table.

Mr. DINGELL. You may do so.

ก

If there is anyone else you wish to ist you, please introduce him. Mr. McKERNAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I appreciate the opportunity of appearing before this committee on this very important subject this morning.

I have a rather lengthy statement, and if the Chair wishes I could put it in the record and very briefly summarize it, and thus allow more time for questions, if you would like.

Mr. DINGELL. I think that would be quite appropriate.
Without objection, so ordered

(The statement follows.)

STATEMENT OF DONALD L. McKERNAN, DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

Since 1961 the Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, has been engaged in research and development of an inexpensive, stable, wholesome product of high nutritive quality, hygienically prepared from fish, in which the protein and other nutritive materials are more concentrated than they were in the original raw material. In the early days of our program, the product we then had was commonly referred to as fish flour and then later, as the product was further developed, and seeking a more descriptive term, the product has come to be known as fish protein concentrate (FPC).

A definition of this product which we now call FPC would include products of varying characteristics ranging from tasteless, odorless, light colored flour-like materials, to coarse meals having a fish taste and odor, to highly flavored dark colored pastes or powders resembling meat extracts.

In the five years that have elapsed since the initiation of this program, there has been considerable progress made leading from bench-scale experiments, involving a few ounces of raw material, to tests in a model-scale unit in which many hundreds of pounds of raw fish were processed. We are now at the stage where pilot plant operations are necessary to test and confirm a number of engineering concepts, to demonstrate to the U.S. fishing and food processing industries the practicability of FPC manufacture and the versatility of the product, to produce sufficient quantities of FPC for largescale feeding and storage tests, and to initiate feasibility studies for the creation and development of markets for FPC-supplemented foods.

In our Departmental report to the Committee on H.R. 14268 and four other similar bills, we indicated that the present status of our program would justify the construction and operation of one experiment and demonstration plant. Our program thus far has demonstrated the safety and wholesomeness of a solventextracted product from hake belonging to the Merlucciidae and Gadidae families. including the silver hake, the white hake, the squirrel or red hake, and the Pacific hake. Studies leading to the extension of the solvent process to other families of schooling fishes are now underway and when they are completed, additional plants may be needed. At the present time, however, the operation of a single plant can be justified in this program. The Departmental report, therefore, recommended the enactment of H R. 14268.

We view the Department's program for the production of fish protein concentrate as an effective means of increased utilization of the fishery resources off our coasts to the betterment of the economics of our fishing industry, and we view the construction of an experiment and demonstration plant as a necessary part of that program. It is responsive to the remarks of the President to the Congress in his "Food for Freedom" message on February 10, when he said:

"The wonders of modern science must also be directed to the fight against malnutrition. I have today directed the President's Science Advisory Committee to work with the very best talent in this Nation to search out new ways to develop inexpensive, high-quality synthetic foods as dietary supplements. A promising start has already been made in isolating protein sources from fish, which are in plentiful supply throughout the world."

In order to survey the progress that has been made in the conduct of this program and especially to indicate the need for the construction of a demonstration plant for the production of FPC in sufficiently large volume to satisfy the present needs, we will discuss briefly the raw material resource available in U.S. coastal waters, the origins and objectives of the Bureau's FPC program, especially the results of an accelerated program that was initiated 19 months ago at the direction of Secretary Udall. Our report will conclude with an account of our immediate program needs and our future research plans.

The resource

Although there is not complete agreement, marine biologists estimate that the seas of the world could annually sustain a catch of 400 to 500 billion pounds of fish-a very real potential for supplying critically needed sources of animal protein. Tragically, about 85 percent of this potential supply is now going to waste. This is true despite the fact that nearly every inhabited coastal area has some sort of fishing activity.

Systematic efforts to farm the seas have lagged far behind land efforts. Yet the seas, today a vast reservoir producing animal protein, might with

pisciculture techniques provide us with even more protein than we can now estimate.

As an important part of the global picture we must turn our attention to the resources found in the seas around our own U.S. shores, emphasizing especially the available resources of hake and hake-like fishes. These are of particular interest at present since it is these fish that will, most probably, gain initial acceptance by the Food and Drug Administration for use as raw material for the manufacture of FPC.

Starting in the northeast corner of our country, we think of the great fisheries off New England. Our cod fishermen went "down to the sea in ships" during the days of sail. Their hardy and productive exploits form a colorful chapter in the early history of our country. As eating habits changed, dried cod production fell off and other fish took over as fresh or frozen forms. One of the most spectacular advances was that of the redfish. Once considered a "trash fish," its use under the name "ocean perch” increased dramatically, and a yearly production of over 200 million pounds was achieved by 1950. Certain biological evidence leads fishery scientists to believe that large, almost untouched reserves of these redfish may exist outside the areas now fished.

A fish now only partially used by man either directly for food or indirectly for the manufacture of animal food is the silver hake or whiting, (Merluccius spp.) and the red hake (Urophycis spp.) In the New England area there are four species potentially readily available for the manufacture of FPC-M. bilinearis and albidas and U. chuss and tenuis.

The red hake (U. chuss) and the silver hake (M. bilinearis) are seasonal migrants, moving inshore during the warmer months of the year and offshore in the colder months. This temperature relationship is spelled out in some detail in the attached appendix.

Figure 11 (appendix) refers specifically to the red hake. This species moves inshore in April, appearing in concentrations first off Martha's Vineyard and shortly thereafter around Block Island. During the period April through June small and medium otter trawlers average better than 5,000 pounds per hour of dragging. During the summer months relative abundance falls off (the fish are dispersed) to about 2,000 pounds per hour. In September they begin to congregate again prior to the offshore migration and the catch per hour rises again to levels comparable to those obtained in the spring.

The red hake is also taken within the Gulf of Maine and appears to be a separate stock. They appear later, reaching peak abundance off Cape Cod in early summer, at which time the small and medium trawler catch averages between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds per hour. As these fish move northward they are dispersed and available at much lower catching rates.

The silver hake also a migrant species reaches peak abundance on the southern New England grounds late in the summer (see fig. 10 of appendix 1). At this time the catch per hour averages 3,000 to 5,000 pounds per hour. On Gulf of Maine grounds silver hake arrive much earlier and are steadily harvested through the summer months at the rate of about 2,000 pounds per hour.

The local industrial fishery has depended almost entirely on silver hake and red hake. Two areas, Point Judith offshore and No Man's Island, both southern New England grounds, seem to be consistently productive for most of the year. Fishing trips are mostly 2-day trips. For each of 5 years when the industrial fishery was very active, these grounds produced an average of about 100 million pounds annually of silver and red hake during the period April throughg December.

A flexible fishery, capable of extending the season by fishing offshore during the winter months could radically increase the amount landed by fishing these and other stocks. It must be noted here that the U.S.S.R. is moving into this offshore area in force at the present time.

There are as yet essentially unexploited stocks of these species and others in the area between the Hudson Canyon off New York and the Virginia Capes.

To summarize, for the period April through December, raw material for FPC would be available in inshore southern New England at catch rates averaging about 4,000 pounds per hour (small and medium trawlers). Early and late in the season these catch rates are considerably higher for short periods of time. Depending upon the intensity of the U.S.S.R. efforts on the same species, one can expect to be able to take considerably in excess of 100 million pounds per year in such a fishery. If the fishery can be extended to immediate offshore grounds and grounds farther to the east and west, the available resource is at least threetimes as large.

Great resources also exist off our Middle and South Atlantic coasts. Stocks of red hake could yield 100 million pounds per year; Atlantic herring 50 million. Species not now directly used for human food are termed "industrial fish." An estimated additional 100 million pounds per year of these could be caught along the Atlantic Coast.

The Gulf of Mexico is an enclosed sea whose productivity is enriched by the millions of tons of silt and dissolved nutrients washed into it each year from the Mississippi and other rivers. Part of the fertile soil from our Great Plains States ends up here. It can be partially reclaimed by harvesting the marine animals feeding on the nutrients contained in it. Completely unused stocks in the Caif of Mexico, with their estimated annual potential poundages, include thread herring, 2 billion; anchovies, 1 billion; scaled sardines, 100 million; butterfish, 100 million; little tuna, 500 million; industrial fish, 200 million; round herring, 500 million. Of the fish now caught, many are thrown back because markets for them do not exist at present.

Crossing the Mexico peninsula brings us to the Pacific coast. Here lie enormous stocks of anchovy and jack mackerel, now only partly used. Fishery scientists believe the annual anchovy catch could be increased to 1 billion pounds, while that of the jack mackerel could be increased by 130 million. Besides these, completely unused stocks include saury and dogfish with potential yearly yields of 100 and 54 million pounds, respectively.

Concerning the availability of Merluccidae and Gadidae in the northeastern Pacific, the following are the species with commercial potential: the Pacific hake (Merluccius productus), Pacific truecod (Gadus Macracephalus), pollock (Theragra chalcogrammus), and the smaller cods-tomcod (Microgadus proximus), Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), and saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis). Although the latter three species may provide supplemental production in localized areas, they do not appear to be in sufficient quantities to yield large scale production for FPC. Thus, species suitable for potential use in FPC include the Pacific hake, truecod, and pollock.

Truecod is now utilized extensively by U.S. and Canadian fishermen as a food fish species. Although it does represent a potential source the high demand for Pacific truecod makes it doubtful that this species would be landed for FPC production. Pacific Truecod is abundant in the eastern Pacific from Destruction Island off the State of Washington to the Bering Sea, while pollock are abundant in the northeastern Pacific from southeast Alaska to the Bering Sea.

Pacific hake is generally found from Baja, Calif., to southeastern Alaska. It is abundant along the Continental Shelf in depths from 30 to 100 fathoms during the spring, summer, and fall months, and a resident population is known to occur within Puget Sound. Pacific hake, is generally found in areas in close proximity to shore and within easy operational range of existing fishing boats. The rate of capture, utilizing the newly developed Cobb pelagic trawls, is sufficiently high to allow large-scale production at relatively low cost, under $30 a ton.

Preliminary estimates by Bureau biologists of the Seattle Biological Laboratory in 1964 placed the maximum sustainable yield of hake off Washington and Oregon at 100,000 to 150,000 tons per year or an equivalent of 4 to 6 million daily 10 gram (80 percent protein) rations of FPC for 360 days. This would, therefore, be sufficient to supply about 3 to 4.5 million children with enough protein to upgrade adequately their daily ration with animal protein. Although there is no reliable information as yet on the extent of hake populations resident in Puget Sound, a Bureau biologist has estimated the resource at about 5,000 tons.

Too long have the fisheries of our 50th State been confined to the traditional salmon, halibut, and herring. Off Alaska is a vast shallow body of water— the eastern Bering Sea. Here, in a few short years, Japanese and Soviet catches have skyrocketed to over 2 billion pounds per year of such species as cod, pollock, flounder, sole, and king crab. Except for the crab, these cannot now be profitably harvested by American fishermen. A new outlet for fish, such as fish protein concentrate, could drastically change this situation. Even among the "traditional" Alaskan fisheries, an estimated 24 million pounds of herring could be caught each year. The catch of sablefish (now incidental to halibut fishing) could be increased.

In our circumnavigation of the coastal areas of the United States, we have probably overlooked many possible sources of marine food. Even those we have found, however, are impressive. Fisheries specialists have estimated that the annual U.S. catch could be 28.5 billion pounds over five times the 1959-63 average of 5.1 billion pounds. Much of the estimated 23.4-billion-pound increase