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Yearly effort for the Japanese surface, Japanese longline, and 

 U.S. surface fisheries are shown in Figure 2. Units of effort among 

 fisheries cannot be compared because effort has not been successfully 

 standardized; therefore, no attempt is made here to describe trends in 

 total effort. 



Effort in the Japanese pole-and-1 ine fishery, currently the 

 major producer, increased substantially in the 1970's. Effective effort in 

 the Japanese longline fishery decreased dramatically from 1967 through 

 1975, then increased slightly in years 1976 through 1978. Effort in the 

 U.S. fishery was reasonably constant throughout the 1960 's but more than 

 tripled between 1970 and 1972. This apparent change may be partially an 

 artifact of changes in the statistical reporting system. Effort from 1973 

 through 1977 appears to be stable at a level well below that reported for 

 1972, but above that for the 1960's. 



I.e. Value of the Catch 



The U.S. fleet landed an annual average of 20,400 mt of albacore 

 between 1969 and 1978. At current ex-vessel prices ($1800/mt), the average 

 annual catch was worth $37 million. 



I.D. Current Management of the Fishery 



There is currently no organization responsible for the management 

 of fisheries for North Pacific albacore. 



II. NATURE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF U.S. AND FOREIGN 

 PARTICIPATION IN THE FISHERY 



Albacore, which is generally canned in water and marketed as white 

 meat tuna, is a popular product in the U.S. The U.S. surface fishery 

 currently consists of more than 900 vessels; from 1969 to 1978, these 

 vessels landed an annual average of 20,440 mt worth an average of $37 

 million (ex-vessel) at current prices. Because demand exceeds supply, 80?o 

 of the total U.S. demand is typically imported from as many as 40 

 countries; an estimated 40X to '45% of the imports originate from the 

 Pacific, historically the most heavily harvested ocean (Figure 3). 

 Although the exact proportions of the Pacific imports that originate in the 

 North Pacific are not known, they may be as high as 75% in some years. 



In recent years some U.S. fishermen have begun fishing in the 

 vicinity of Midway Island, where they have experienced high catch rates. 

 Foreign participation has also increased. The Japanese surface fishery 

 became the major producer of North Pacific albacore in the early 1970's, 



