throughout the United States and many parts 

 of the world. 



% 



^Tf 



FINANCIAL 

 ASSISTANCE 



The Loans and Grants office at Boston 

 administers the Fisheries Loan Fund, the 

 Fishing Vessel Mortgage Insurance Pro- 

 gram, and Fishing Vessel Construction Sub- 

 sidy Program. These programs help bring 

 about a general upgrading of existing vessels 

 and gear and encourage construction of new 

 vessels. 



SAFETY AT SEA 



The Safety unit, operating from Boston, 

 maintains liaison with industry and insur- 



ance companies, demonstrates equipment, 

 and makes surveys aimed at reducing acci- 

 dents aboard fishing vessels and ashore. This 

 unit is, at present, the only one so far estab- 

 lished in the Bureau to specialize in this 

 essential function. 



RESOURCE 



MANAGEMENT 



The Resource Management unit, with 

 headquarters in Gloucester, functions as the 

 enforcement arm of the Bureau for the U.S. 

 obligations under the International Commis- 

 sion for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries. 



THE FISHERIES TODAY 



THE RESOURCE 



The Continental Shelf and offshore fish- 

 ing banks upon which the fishing industry 

 in this Region depends are among the richest 

 and most productive in the world. North and 

 east of Cape Cod is Georges Bank, which 

 forms part of the outer edge of the Gulf of 

 Maine basin. It is the home of haddock, sea 

 scallops, and many other less abundant 

 but nonetheless valuable species. Along the 

 Maine coast are lobster and herring fisheries, 

 which make important contributions to the 

 economy of the area. To the east are the 

 Nova Scotian banks and the Grand Bank of 

 Newfoundland, where large quantities of 

 ocean perch, cod, and other species are har- 



vested by the fleets of many nations. 



South of Cape Cod, the Continental 

 Shelf supports the large menhaden fishery of 

 the Middle Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay 

 States, as well as the industrial fishery of 

 southern New England and several minor 

 trawl and trap fisheries. In the bays and 

 estuaries from Long Island Sound to Vir- 

 ginia are harvested approximately one-half 

 of the Nation's oyster crop, in addition to 

 clams, crabs, and many species of fin fishes. 



To the fishermen of this Region the fish 

 and shellfish harvest is valued at about $118 

 million, or nearly 33 percent of the value of 

 the Nation's total fishery landings, but in 



