IV-294 



The Industrial Fishery 



Industrial uses of commercial fish, rather than human consumptive 

 uses have accounted for most of the increase in tonnage in the 

 recent past, as indicated in Figure IV. 4. 11. This trend is 

 particularly evident in the more recent period between 1961 and 

 1966. Industrial uses of marine fish are primarily for fish oils, 

 fish solubles and fish meal. These basic products are used mainly 

 for industrial processing, pet food, agricultural feed (particularly 

 for chickens) and fertilizers. 



The primary species caught for industrial use is the menhaden, an 

 estuarine-dependent fish. Productive areas for this fish have been 

 the Middle Atlantic, Chesapeake, South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico 

 biophysical regions. Production in the Middle Atlantic region has 

 decreased markedly in recent years, and the catch in the Chesapeake 

 Bay has fluctuated. Fishing pressure for menhaden in all regions 

 has intensified, and may have reached the point of overharvest in 

 some localized areas. This pressure has continued despite declines 

 in the wholesale price for fish meal partly brought on by foreign 

 competition, particularly from anchovies from the Humboldt Current 

 grounds off Peru. Figure IV.4.12 Indicates the growing foreign 

 share of the industrial fish catch. 



