Table 1 .—Chronology of Japanese and Soviet fisheries off Alaska 



Japanese 



1930 Eastern Bering Sea king crab fishery Initiated 

 Asian fishing off Alaska. 



1933 Eastern Bering Sea fish meal and oil fishery con- 

 stituted first foreign trawl fishery off Alaska. 



19^0 Trawl fishery for groundflsh frozen for human con- 

 sumption began In eastern Bering Sea. 



19A2-51 Fisheries off Alaska discontinued because of World 

 War II. 



1952 First high-seas salmon fishery began off Alaska 

 near the western Aleutian Islands. 



1953 Eastern Bering Sea king crab fishery resumed. 



195A Eastern Bering Sea groundflsh trawl fishery resumed. 



1959 North Pacific whaling extended to along Aleutian 



Islands. 



1960 Longllne fishery for sableflsh began in central 

 and eastern Bering Sea. 



1961 First shrimp fishery developed north of Prlbilof 

 Islands In central Bering Sea. 



1962 Trawling extended Into Gulf of Alaska. 



1963 Longlining extended into Gulf of Alaska. Entered 

 halibut longllne fishery in eastern Bering Sea. 



1964 



First high-seas salmon fishery began In Chukchi Sea. 



King crab and flounder fisheries began In eastern 

 Bering Sea, and whaling began along Aleutian Islands. 



Herring fishery began In central Bering Sea, and 

 ocean perch fishery began In central and eastern 

 Bering Sea. 



Ocean perch fishery extended into Gulf of Alaska. 



Shrimp fishery began in central Bering Sea. Ocean 

 perch fishery spread to along Aleutian Islands. 



Shrimp fishery transferred from central Bering Sea 

 to Gulf of Alaska. 



JAPANESE FISHERIES 



Most of Japan's fishing fleet was destroyed in World 

 War II, but less than 20 years later Japan reemerged as a 

 dominant nation in world fisheries and is now second in 

 annual fishery landings. This expansion was 

 accomplished througli acquisition of large modern 

 vessels and development of high-seas fisheries in all 

 oceans of the world (Borgstrom, 1964). Resumption of 

 her prewar fisheries and development of new fisheries in 

 the eastern North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and Gulf of 

 Alaska (fig. 2) exemplify Japan's effort to regain her 

 status as a leading fishing nation and have been a major 

 factor in her success. 



The worldwide spread of Japan's fisheries was 

 hastened because her increasing population depends 

 upon fish as a source of protein. After World War II, 

 Japanese fishermen found some of their prewar fishing 

 areas closed to them; these restrictions plus 

 overcrowding in Japanese waters forced them to seek 

 new grounds on the high seas. As the distance from 

 Japan increased, some fishery operations became based 

 overseas (Borgstrom, 1964). 



Although private companies carry on Japan's 

 fisheries. Government licenses control their areas and 

 types of operation. The Fishery Agency licenses fishing 

 vessels to operate in a specific area and for a specific 

 period of time. Japanese vessels fishing off Alaska are 

 generally licensed to fish in a given area for 1 year. 



The various fisheries off Alaska use several types of 

 vessels. They include small side trawlers, pair trawlers, 

 Danish seiners (80-150 feet long), factory trawlers (120 

 to over 300 feet long), longline vessels (110-185 feet 

 long), whale killers (185-225 feet long), gill netters 

 (about 90 feet long), and factory ships (up to 650 feet 

 long). Support vessels include a variety of refrigerated 

 transports, cargo ships, and tankers. 



Japanese fisheries off Alaska may be divided into two 

 categories: (I) fleet operations that involve several 

 tlshing vessels which deliver their catches to a factory or 

 processing ship, and (2) independent operations that 

 involve fishing vessels which have their own processing 

 facilities. Various support vessels usually service both 

 types of operations. 



