WHOLESOME FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS ACT 90-2 HEARINGS BEFORE THE CONSUMER SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE NINETIETH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON S. 2958 TO REGULATE INTERSTATE COMMERCE BY AMENDING THE FEDERAL S. 3064 TO AMEND THE FISH AND WILDLIFE ACT OF 1956, AS AMENDED, Farrelly, James C., vice president, New Orleans Shrimp Co., and vice president-treasurer of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, New Orleans, Jones, Robert, executive secretary, Southeastern Fisheries Association, Phebus, Fred, director, Congress of American Fishermen, and manager, Fishermen's Marketing Association, Eureka, Calif__ Dykstra, Jacob J., president, Point Judith Fishermen's Cooperative Asso- Guhring, Miss Elizabeth, executive secretary, American Seafood Dis- Robinson, H. R., chairman, Legislative Committee, American Shrimp Canners Association, New Orleans, La.; accompanied by L. W. Stras- WRITTEN STATEMENTS, LETTERS, AND ARTICLES Biemiller, Andrew J., director, Department of Legislation, AFL-CIO.. Brindle, A. W., Wards Cove Packing Co., Inc., Seattle, Wash--- Brooks, J. Clayton, the J. M. Clayton Co., Cambridge, Md., for the Tristate 327 Eastland, Hon. James O., U.S. Senate. 309 Edney, Steve, president of the Cannery Workers Union of the Pacific, 326 Glasgow, Leslie L., director and secretary, Louisiana Wild Life and Fisher- ies Commission, Wild Life and Fisheries Building, 400 Royal Street, New Johansen, George, secretary-treasurer, Alaska Fisherman's Union, 2505 323 Kennedy, Hon. Edward, U.S. Senate__ 311 Lee, Philip R., M.D., assistant secretary for health and scientific affairs. 186 338 317 Martina, Glenn, general chairman, Louisiana Oyster Dealers and Growers 331 Modesto, Octavio, Seafood Producers' Association, New Bedford, Mass- 322 310 Morton, Hon. Rogers, U.S. House of Representatives. 314 National Consumers League_ 320 QUALITY CONTROL MARK Nickerson, Howard W., executive director, Seafood Dealers Association of Page 329 341 333 312 Quave, Laz, supervisor, Harrison County, District 1, Gulfport, Miss_ 44 348 332 Reuther, C. G., Jr., Reuther's Sea Food Co., Inc., New Orleans, La Richards, Ralph A., executive vice president, Alabama Fisheries Association, Inc., Mobile, Ala 340 339 Roberts, Woodrow W., executive secretary, Department of Agriculture, 326 Shoreline Seafoods Limited, Tampa, Fla- 339 Skinner, Austin P., secretary-treasurer, New Bedford Fishermen's Union, 62 North Water Street, New Bedford, Mass. 330 Taylor, Nelson W., on behalf of the North Carolina Commercial Fisheries 324 Verhoeven, Leon A., executive director, Pacific Marine Fisheries Commission, 1400 Southwest Fifth Avenue, Portland, Oreg-. 339 Wallace, Mrs. David H., executive director, Oyster Institute of North 215 Yonker, W. V., executive vice president, Association of Pacific Fisheries, 1600 South Jackson Street, Seattle, Wash.. 338 WHOLESOME FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS ACT AND ASSISTANCE NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT IT TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1968 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., in room 5110, New Senate Office Building, Hon. Philip A. Hart presiding. Present: Senators Hart, Moss, Cotton, and Bartlett. OPENING STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN Senator HART. The committee will be in order. Today the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs of the Senate Commerce Committee opens 3 days of hearings on two related bills: S. 2958, the Wholesome Fish and Fishery Products Act of 1968, and S. 3064, a bill which would provide technical and financial assistance to the commercial fishing industry, through Department of the Interior loans, in meeting the requirements of the Wholesome Fish and Fishery Products Act. Consumption of fish and fishery products in the United States has remained relatively stable at about 11 pounds per person for each year over the past decade, and is actually slightly lower today than it was 50 years ago. In contrast, over the same period of time, per capita consumption of meat and poultry has increased substantially. Most authorities agree that this relatively poor market acceptance of fishery products is due to consumer uneasiness about the wide variations in the quality and wholesomeness of the fish products which they buy, and certainly much of the testimony which was presented at the hearings this subcommittee held last July, on an earlier fish inspection proposal which I had introduced, supported that conclusion. The evidence is strong that the processing and marketing of uniformly good quality fish and fishery products will have the doubly beneficial effect of promoting sales of the fishing industry and protecting the health of consumers. The fish inspection bill under consideration today was introduced, at administration request, by Senator Magnuson and myself, and it received prominent mention by President Johnson in both his state of the Union address and his consumer message. The bill would authorize the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make a survey of processing conditions and procedures in the domestic fishing industry. From information developed through this survey, he would, within 1 year after the appropriation of funds to implement the program, develop regulations applying to all segments of the fishing industry-from the time the fish leaves the sea until it reaches the retail market-to make certain that the fish is handled and processed in a Staff member assigned to this hearing: William G. Meserve. (1) |