Politics and the Marine Fisheries 



Wilbert McLeod Chapman 



Director, Division of Resources 



Van Camp Sea Food Company 



San Diego, California 



We have been examining this morning the future of North 

 American fisheries. Presumably this means the future catch of 

 fish by North Americans in the ocean bounding North America. 



Dr. Larkin has given us some appreciation of what ocean 

 resources are available in these waters upon which such an 

 expansion can be based. Dr. Kask has described for us the 

 management problems we presently have, and which may be 

 anticipated in the near future. .This afternoon Dr. Schaefer 

 will give us a closely related part of this subject in his treatment 

 of oceanography and the marine fisheries. Also Messrs. Corny, 

 Parkes, and Kinney will describe for us what is going on in 

 advancing the technology of harvesting and processing of fish 

 that will affect this future. Others, at a later time, will speak 

 on the marketing aspects. 



The very organization of this series of talks on the full range 

 of fishery problems under the auspices of the fishery trade or- 

 ganization of our three neighboring countries is an encouraging 

 sign. Perhaps our industries are approaching that stage of 

 maturity where we will no longer be the ignorant hunters of 

 wild things in the deep, but will be so organized that integrated 

 industries will use the results of operations research to search 

 out, harvest and rationally manage ocean resources — to the 

 end that cost per ton of production will be minimized. These 

 integrated industrials will also process, distribute and market 

 the products in such a manner that the consumer will have an 

 ever-growing volume and variety of sea products available in 

 desirable form at as low a cost as possible. One hopes that we 

 are heading rapidly in the direction of applying the findings 

 of science and technology to all of these things in a framework of 

 lational social, economic, political and diplomatic thought and 

 activity. 



The practical situation, however, is that the fishing indus- 

 tries of our three countries are far from this condition at present. 

 The Mexican industry is now beginning to get into the modern 

 stride of ocean resource development other than shrimp. 

 Large sectors of the United States industry, however, have been 

 stagnant for a decade or more and show few signs of livening up. 

 I believe our Canadian colleagues will agree that their domestic 

 fisheries are not developing as rapidly as might be desired. 



Our latent resources are rich. Fishermen from Europe 

 and Asia come thousands of miles from their home ports to 



harvest them regularly and in increasing strength and variety. 

 We of this continent are particularly noted in the world for our 

 industrial, managerial and scientific skills and the application 

 of these factors to the improvement of human activity in most 

 walks of life. But we have shown very little aptitude during 

 this century of science and its application in competing with 

 the countries of Europe and Asia in the full use of the living 

 resources of the sea. 



I wish to examine this morning some institutional reasons 

 that may be contributing to this condition. The technical 

 term institutional problems used in this fashion simply means 

 barriers that we put in our own way to prevent ourselves from 

 doing what we want to do. They arise ordinarily from eco- 

 nomic and social reasons and conflicts and are adopted mostly 

 through political means. For the most part, they are also re- 

 movable by political means, and by those means alone. Ac- 

 cordingly, I have entitled my talk "Politics and the Marine 

 Fisheries"'. 



When I speak of politics, however, I am not talking only 

 about elective officials and their doings. I am speaking more 

 broadly of human relations and the means whereby people get 

 along with each other inside companies, in trade associations, 

 in communities, and with other groups of people everywhere. 



I shall deal mostly with situations of this sort in my own 

 country, and in my own State of California. This is for two 

 reasons. In the first place, I know more about these problems 

 close to home. In the second place, political matters are gen- 

 erally somewhat sensitive to talk about publicly and I will step 

 on fewer tender toes as I confine my remarks to home grounds. 

 Nevertheless, something of what I say may have broader 

 application. 



Competition With Other Foods 



The ocean produces as human food mostly animal proteins 

 and oils, and it can produce more of these things than are 

 needed by all mankind at present population levels, and at 

 considerably higher population levels as well. The land also 

 produces animal protein and oils, and vegetable proteins, oils 

 and carbohydrates as well in great abundance. 



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