possible reserve. 



The catch of hake almost doubled in 1965-1973. However, in spite 

 of the great intensity of fishing, the catch of most species of hake 

 (silver hake, patagonian hake and European hake) has decreased or held 

 steady. The supply of hake along the Pacific coast of North and South 

 America is still in good condition, as is the reserve off the coasts of 

 South Africa. 



The catch of Pacific pollock, now widely used for the preparation 

 of nutrient flour and stuffing, is rapidly increasing; the catch of this 

 fish is now approaching 5 million t, 80% being accounted for by Japan. 

 In recent years, the stock of pollock in Korea Bay and Petr Velikiy Bay, 

 off the coast of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, Kamchatka and in the eastern 

 portion of the Bering Sea, has been intensively used. We must assume 

 that no less than 10 million tons of pollock are consumed by the Pacific 

 Ocean seals each year. Reports are already being heard of significant 

 decreases in the average age of many populations of pollock; therefore, 

 a further increase in catch can occur only if the populations of the 

 northwestern portion of the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska, still 

 incompletely utilized, can be brought into play. 



The catch of other Gadidae can be significantly increased by 

 development of fishing for hake within the regions mentioned above, as 

 well as the eastern Pacific, off South Africa and the Patagonian Shelf, 

 by fishing for poutassou in the North and South Atlantic, and Arctic cod 

 in the Barents Sea. At the same time, the catch of cod, haddock, silver 

 and red hake in the traditional fishing regions of the North Atlantic 

 will decrease, while the total catch of pollock and hake in the Pacific 

 Ocean will remain at approximately its present level. The number of 

 commercial species of Gadidae as yet plays a secondary role in 

 commercial fishing: whiting--catch up to 270 -lO^ t, tresochka esmarka-- 

 up to 900 -lO^ t, tusk--30-50«103 t, poutassou--40-80«lo3 t, etc., 

 although in most cases the size of the catch does not correspond to the 

 population of these fish at all. This is a result of the low economic 

 effectiveness of fishing for these species, due to the relatively low 

 quality of their meat. 



The development of sea fishing with the extensive use of trawls at 

 different depths, purse seines, longlines and other hook equipment has 

 led to a rapid increase in the catch of a number of pelagic fish, 

 including many species of the Carangidae and Scombri dae. At the present 

 time, both of these groups support a total catch of about 5 million 

 tons, significantly greater than the catch of Thunnidae, Salamonidae, 

 Pleuronectidae, etc. The catch of Scombri dae has increased from 1.3' 10° 

 t in 1965 to 3.2 '10° t in 1975. Representatives of this group inhabit 

 primarily the neritic zones. Of the world catch of Scombridae, 56% 

 consists of the Japanese mackerel, 34% of the common mackerel and 10% of 

 the Indian mackerel (data for 1973). A significant fraction of the 

 catch of mackerel is taken by Japan--up to 1.4»10° t, while a large 

 quantity, as much as 480 'lO-^ t is caught by Norway, significantly less 

 by the USSR, France and South Africa. The extremely rapid growth of the 

 Norwegian catch of mackerel (from 23,000 t in 1963 to 480,000 t in 1966) 



373 



