10 Table III--Fisheries of the World: Fishermen, Fishing Craft, and Production by Continents and Countries (Cont'd.) Continent and Country Year Fishermen Fishing engaged craft Value Remarks 480 Includes sardines only. 540 Includes exports only, 1,450 Quantity and value estimated. 353 Includes sponges, sardines, & tuna only. Value est. Quantity 44,780 31,517 23,681 11,638 11,758 10,022 70,767 4,055 French Morocco 1933 2,323 511 42,580 1,264 French West Africa 1935 23,212 172 Kenya 1931 10,988 Morocco (Spanish & Intern, Zone) 167 Includes exports only. 1933 30,864 484 Seychelles 1925 600 350 1,560 61 Southwest Africa 1934 6,600 400 Estimated. Tripoli 1934 1,910 Tunisia 1937 10,820 3,130 23,346 Union of South Africa 1936 220 Includes tuna only. 1,397 7,400 60,000 2,500 Fishermen estimated. 1,950 The 1943 production reported at 35 million lbs., 8,034 valued at $1,420,000. Table IV--Fisheries of the World: Control of Fisheries in World War II1/ Quantity Quanti ty 4,059,524 3,432,000 2,335,531 2,000,000 Germany 1,596,919 Canada 1,198,865 France Italy 788,400 450,000 155,141 Denmark 250,800 British Malaya 196,768 Philippines 473,995 Other 671,274 Total available to United Total available to Axis Nations.. 19,808,723 15,200,944 Nations 1 This was the apparent distribution of the fisheries during the height of Axis power, or about 1942. A number of the fisheries listed above as available to the Axis have since then become available to the United Nations. Available to Axis Nations .... 19,808,723 15,200,944 Neutral Nations 1,770,237 Grand Total The production of Western Australia in the Indian Ocean has been included with Pacific Ocean off Oceania and that of the Union of South Africa in the Indian Ocean has been included with the Atlantic. Table VI--Fisheries of the World Supplementary Table of Fisheries of Certain Countries Whose Catch is Obtained from Both The Division of Fishery Industries of the Fish and Wildlife Service will be renamed Division of Commercial Fisheries effective July 1, Dr. Ira N. Gabrielson, Director of the Service announced June 29. The new name more adequately reflects the work of the Division, which is entirely devoted to commercial fishing interests. A. W. Anderson remains as Chief of the Division and no organizational changes during the war are contemplated, Dr. Gabrielson declared. Much of the work of the Commercial Fisheries Division is now concerned with the war due to the importance of fishery products in the war food program and in industry. "The Division will actively continue work on its present wartime projects," Dr. Gabrielson said, "but it will also begin to study more closely the problems which the fishing industry will most likely face in the post-war period. The fishing industry has been deeply affected by the war and it is probable that its operations will be no less deeply affected by peace. Since the Office of the Coordinator of Fisheries will disappear shortly after the war is over, the Commercial Fisheries Division will be the only agency devoted exclusively to servicing the billion dollar fishing industry. We hope to develop and intensify the work of this Division so that it will be able to give the fishing industry prompt and accurate statistics, sound technical advice, and assistance on many problems in the production, processing, and marketing of fishery products." The change in name will be the fourth for the Division of Commercial Fisheries. When the Commission of Fish and Fisheries was established by Congress in 1871, the unit which handled statistics and methods was known as the Division of Fisheries. In 1890, it became the Division of Statistics and Methods, and in 1921, the name was changed again to the Division of Fishery Industries. The scope of the Division's work has constantly widened. From a unit largely organized to gather statistics, it has today become a far-flung organization with technological laboratories in College Park, Maryland; Seattle, Washington; Ketchikan, Alaska; and Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, as well as Market News Service offices in Boston, Massachusetts; New York, N. Y.; New Orleans, Louisiana; Jacksonville, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; and Seattle, Washington, and statistical field stations in San Pedro, California; and Gloucester, Massachusetts. Present Chief of the Division is Andrew W. Anderson who took over the office in 1943. His predecessors have been R. H. Fiedler (1928-1943), Oscar E. Sette (1923-1927), Harden Taylor (1922), Lewis Radcliffe (1917-1921), Alvin B. Alexander (1903-1916), Barton W. Evermann (1902-1903), Hugh M. Smith (1890-1897), and J. W. Collins (1888-1890). The Commercial Fisheries Division now has five sections: Technological, J. M. Lemon, chief; Economics and Cooperative Marketing, Dr. Richard A. Kahn, chief; Fishery Statistical, E. A. Power, chief; Fishery Market News, W. H. Dumont, chief; and Consumers, (vacant). DIVISION OF FISH CULTURE CHANGED TO DIVISION OF GAME FISH AND HATCHERIES In anticipation of a proposed post-war broadening of its activities, the Fish and Wildlife Service's Division of Fish Culture will be known as the Division of Game Fish and Hatcheries after July 1, Dr. Ira N. Gabrielson, Director of the Service, announced June 29. The Division of Game Fish and Hatcheries will continue to propagate fish and to take an active part in the development of the farm pond program. After the war, however, it will embark on a more extensive program designed to gear production of fish more closely to actual needs of fishing areas. Other changes will make it the principal service agency for sports fishermen, furnishing advice on the problems of maintaining game fishing. When the old U. S. Fish and Fisheries Commission was established, one of its first undertakings was the establishment of fish hatcheries. In 1872, seasonal field stations were established for the hatching of shad, striped bass, alewives, salmon, whitefish, and carp. This work was under the direction of an Assistant Commissioner, J. W. Milner. The first two permanent hatcheries were established at Craig Brook, Maine, and at Baird, California, both for the propagation of salmon. The Craig Brook hatchery is still in operation, but the Baird hatchery was recently closed due to the construction of Shasta Dam which flooded the site. A number of Federal fish hatcheries have been closed since the war started, but there are still 113 in operation. These hatcheries are located in every state with the exception of Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, and Illinois. At one time, the theory behind the propagation of fishes was that the more hatched and placed in streams, the more fish would be caught by fishermen. Investigations have shown that this is not necessarily true. The Division will adopt a more extended program of management, particularly for streams on Federal lands, determine stocking needs, and gear hatchery production more closely to those needs. Stream improvement work in Federal areas will also be undertaken and rough fish will be cleared out where this action is required, and the Division will generally apply the principles developed by scientific research of the Fish and Wildlife Service and State conservation departments. PROSPECTS FOR ALASKA HERRING SEASON FAVORABLE The fishing season for the Pacific herring will begin June 15 in southeastern Alaska, with the prospect of the largest catch in the Territory as a whole since 1939, the Office of the Coordinator of Fisheries reported on June 3. The herring fishery, which, after salmon, is Alaska's most important fishing industry, is subject to regulations issued annually by the Department of the Interior for the protection of the commercial fisheries of the Territory. Based on a survey of the probable abundance of herring by biologists of the Fish and Wildlife Service, this year's regulations have been liberalized to permit the taking of approximately 175,000,000 pounds of herring, compared with a catch of about 84,000,000 pounds last year, and only 37,000,000 pounds in 1942. Satisfactory increases in abundance of herring were noted by the biologists in all the major fishing areas, especially Kodiak and southeastern Alaska. The latter area was closed to all herring fishing in 1940 because of the severe depletion of the stock, but several very successful spawning seasons have so restored abundance that a quota of 200,000 barrels has been authorized in southeastern Alaska. The quota for Prince William Sound, where fishing begins June 24, is also 200,000 barrels. The season in the Kodiak area opens July 1, with an established quota of 300,000 barrels. While a small quantity of the catch of Pacific herring is cured as food, by far the most important use is in the manufacture of meal and oil. The distribution of herring oil is rigidly controlled by the Government, the supply being restricted to certain essential uses for which it is particularly suitable. These are the manufacture of water insoluble metallic soaps, natural leather, lubricants, and metal working compounds other than core oil. PACIFIC HALIBUT ALLOCATION BEGUN JUNE 23 An order providing for the allocation among dealers of all Pacific halibut landed at United States ports on the Pacific Coast and in Alaska was announced on June 16, by Coordinator of Fisheries Harold L. Ickes. The order became effective June 23. Under the terms of the order, no person or firm may purchase halibut from fishing vessels after the effective date, June 23, without a permit issued by the Office of the Coordinator of Fisheries in Seattle. Any person engaged in dealing in halibut during 1941, 1942, or prior to July 13, 1943, and who desires to continue such operations, will be issued a permit on request, but others, who desire to enter the halibut business, in order to secure a permit, must satisfy the Coordinator of Fisheries that his proposed operations "would not unduly disrupt the marketing, processing, and distribution of fish and would not interfere with the programs of the Office of Price Administration or the War Food Administration and would be otherwise consistent with the purposes of this order." Advice of the OPA, the WFA, and the WMC may be sought by the Coordinator of Fisheries in passing on applications for permits. The actual allocation of the American portion of the 51 million pounds of halibut produced in the Pacific Northwest will be carried out by assigning to each dealer who has a permit a definite percentage of the total landings in each port for the entire season. The allocation schedules for each port will be based on records of past purchases with such modifications as may be necessary to assure equitable distribution of the product into the normal channels of consumption. Industry committees may be set up in each port to advise on allocation schedules and other details connected with the administration of the order. Although violation of the order will carry stringent penalties under the Second War Powers Act, ample provision is made for appeals and petitions for relief by any person who finds that compliance with the order imposes an unreasonable burden upon him. The halibut allocation order is the culmination of a long series of conferences by Government authorities and members of the halibut industry in Seattle and in Alaskan cities, resulting from appeals of the industry for the establishment of an orderly system of marketing to replace the selling of halibut by auction or competitive bidding which is no longer possible under price control. As a result of wartime restrictions, the industry was disorganized, patterns of distribution were distorted, and black-market dealings were reported on the increase, according to the Office of Coordinator of Fisheries. These conditions caused grave concern on the part of the WFA, which is responsible for maintaining an equitable distribution of all food commodities to consuming markets. The OPA was also alarmed by increasing black-market operations and with the threat of increased costs of living. It was concluded, therefore, that restoring the normal distribution of fish by allocating landings to dealers on a historical basis would be the first and most important step in restoring distribution patterns and also in removing incentive to the payment of bonuses and black-market prices that would tend to be carried along the line to the ultimate consumer. The Coordinator of Fisheries, under existing Executive Orders, is primarily concerned with increasing food production from the fishery industries but any doubt as to legal authority for his allocating catches was removed by the issuance on June 3, 1944, of a Directive from the Economic Stabilization Director, Fred M. Vinson, granting full authorization of the allocation program. The order follows: Chapter IV-Office of the Coordinator of [Order 1956] PART 401-PRODUCTION OF FISHERY COM- ALLOCATION OF HALIBUT WITHIN PORTS Because the fulfillment of the requirements for the defense of the United States will result in a shortage in the supply of food including halibut and other fish, because it is deemed necessary in the public interest, to promote the national defense and to carry out the provisions of Executive Order 9280 (7 F.R. 10179) and of War Food Order No. § 401.4 Allocation of halibut within and subject to his supervision and direction shall be administered by the Office of Fishery Coordination. (b) Statement of policy. The purposes of this order are: to secure and facilitate the maximum production of halibut with a minimum expenditure of critical materials and manpower; to allocate halibut landings between dealers within ports so as to aid in the most efficient distribution of the processed product to meet war and essential civilian needs, so that the several markets will be supplied with substantially normal proportions of the product, to satisfy as near as may be, the demand which was developed |