terms of weight, about 42 percent of the 

 national total of about "i billion pounds is 

 landed in Region 3's ports.' 



Some 90 different species are utilized by 

 the commercial fishing industry in this Re- 



gion. The major species can be grouped into 

 general categories of trawl fish, menhaden, 

 herring, oysters, sea scallops, clams, blue 

 crabs, and lobsters. 



■zr^ 



^J-4k 



STATUS OF THE INDUSTRY 



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Several fisheries in the Region are faced with problems of local and national impact. 



^Ll 



THE TRAWL FISHERY 



The bulk of the food fish harvested in 

 the North Atlantic Region are taken by the 

 otter trawl fishery. U. S. trawlers operate 

 from Cape Hatteras to the Labrador banks, 

 and catch a large share of their fish on the 

 rich Georges Bank in the Gulf of Maine. In 

 New England waters the species taken in- 

 clude haddock, cod, ocean perch, pollock, 

 flounder, fluke, dab, cusk, sole, whiting, red 

 and white hakes, tilefish, sea bass, butterfish, 

 and many others. 



Over 1,000 vessels of various sizes are 

 normally occupied in trawl fishing. Approxi- 

 mately 5,000 fishermen man these vessels; 

 about the same number of people handle and 

 process the catch ashore. Thus, about 10,000 

 people are directly concerned with this fish- 

 ery. Most of the industry is centered in the 

 New England area. About 80 percent of the 

 trawlers are permanently based in ports north 

 of New York City. 



The trawl fishery is subject to large, and 

 as yet unpredictable fluctuations in supply. 

 Landings of haddock, ocean perch, cod, and 

 some species of flounders have decreased in 



' Fishery Slalistics of the United States, I960 is used 

 throughout this report unless otherwise noted. 



recent years. The harvesting of whiting has 

 increased spectacularly, but not enough to off- 

 set decreases in other species. 



The trawling fleet is dominated by me- 

 dium-sized otter trawlers, averaging from 51 

 to 150 gross tons. Many of the vessels are 

 timeworn and obsolete. Since World War U, 

 the fleet has decreased, and boats lost over 

 the years have not been replaced. At present, 

 the average age of the vessels is about 20 

 years. 



On traditionally favored fishing grounds 

 the domestic fishing fleet is also facing 

 increasing competition with fleets of other 

 countries. Increasing numbers of highly 

 mechanized vessels from the U.S.S.R. and 

 other countries are actively fishing in the 

 Gulf of Maine and adjacent waters. 



The total production of fillets from 

 domestically caught trawl fish has declined 

 since the early 1950's, whereas imports of 

 frozen fish fillets, blocks, and slabs have 

 increased significantly. The introduction of 

 frozen fish sticks and other specialty prod- 

 ucts has significantly diversified the process- 

 ing segment of the industry. But, since most 

 of these products are processed from im- 

 ported fish, little benefit to the U. S. fisher- 



