ECONOMIC ANALYSIS 47 



it has been assumed that all conditions of the fishery remain un- 

 changed. Yet clearly there are important additional savings that would 

 accrue if the amount of gear were reduced by one-third to one-half. 



1. The reduction in interference and competition among indi- 

 vidual boats in the same fishing area would increase the effi- 

 ciency of individual units, particularly in seining. 



2. If gear reduction could be accomplished in an orderly man- 

 ner it should be possible to relax some of the restrictions on 

 gear efficiency which are now required to keep the manage- 

 ment problem within bounds. Fishermen could be allowed to 

 gradually introduce new techniques such as monofilament 

 nylon gill nets, the use of fish finding gear, and similar tech- 

 nical improvements if an appropriate gear reduction were 

 possible. This could only be done after scientific study to 

 provide factual information on the relative efficiencies of the 

 gears proposed. 



3. The risk of loss from breakdown would be minimized if each 

 vessel were fishing a longer period. At the present time a 

 breakdown occurring during the peak of the season, even if 

 it means only the loss of a day or two of fishing, can mean 

 financial disaster to a Puget Sound salmon boat. 



4. The quality of the end product probably would be improved 

 if deliveries to packers were spread out over a four- or five- 

 day week. At present fish must be held under refrigeration 

 in order to operate over a full week. In most cases quality 

 does not suffer, but only at the cost of additional expenses 

 incurred for refrigeration. 



5. Most important of all, extension of the fishing week to four 

 or five days would greatly assist the management program. 

 Under present circumstances the flow of information coming 

 to the Salmon Commission and the Department of Fisheries 

 is so limited that it is most difficult to know precisely what 

 is occurring in the Puget Sound waters during the closed 

 period. Sample fishing can provide only a slight improvement. 

 The longer the fishing week the greater the range and accu- 

 racy of information reaching the Commission and the more 

 accurate its regulatory techniques can be made. The man- 

 agement problem would also be reduced with respect to pos- 

 sible margins for error. Under present conditions the mini- 



