Cod end of a trawl containing several tons of ocean perch 

 coming aboard Japanese factory trawler in Gulf of Alaska. The 

 trawl is taken aboard via a stern ramp. The large after deck of 

 Japanese factory trawlers provides space for carrying extra gear 

 for repairing trawls. 



February and ended in October. Tlie combined catch of 

 the three trawlers was 10,310 tons-6,635 tons of perch, 

 2,971 tons of other demersal species, and 704 tons of 

 shrimp (International North Pacific Fisheries 

 Commission, 1965b). The catcher vessels accompanying 

 the factory ship fished from late April to mid-September 

 with sunken gill nets. They caught 1 ,710 tons of fish, 96 

 percent of which were sablefish (International North 

 Pacific Fisheries Commission, 1963b). The Japanese 

 were apparently not satisfied with the results with the 

 sunken gill nets because they have not used that type of 

 gear again in the Gulf. 



The Fishery Agency in 1964 licensed six trawlers 

 (four factory trawlers and two side trawlers) to fish in 

 the Gulf of Alaska and extended the geographical limits 

 of the fishing area by 10 degrees in the east and 5 

 degrees in the west. The first factory trawler began 

 fishing in April, and a second began in June. The 

 remaining two factory trawlers began fishing in early 

 August, and all four trawled in the Gulf until October. 

 The factory trawlers fished mainly for Pacific ocean 

 perch, primarily on Albatross Bank but also on Portlock 

 Bank and along the 100-fathom curve from Chirikof 

 Island to Unimak Pass. One of the side trawlers began 

 fishing in the Gulf in May, and the other began in June. 

 They trawled until late October near the Trinity Islands 

 off the southwest end of Kodiak Island, mostly for 

 shrimp. The Gulf catch in 1964 was 14,696 tons of 

 perch, 4,437 of other groundfish, and 2,608 tons of 

 shrimp (International North Pacific Fisheries 

 Commission, 1965b). 



The Japanese increased the fieet in the Gulf of Alaska 

 in 1965 to six factory trawlers and five small trawlers. 

 The fishery was begun by 1 trawler in late February, 

 increased to 4 trawlers by April, and reached a peak of 

 10 trawlers in June and July. Five of the trawlers fished 

 until early November: thereafter only one vessel fished. 

 In December, however, the effort increased to four 

 trawlers, which fished the first 3 months of 1966-the 

 first winter Japanese trawl fishery in the Gulf. Most of 

 the trawling in 1965 was concentrated on Albatross 



Emptying trawl on Japanese factory trawler off Kodiak Island in 

 Gulf of Alaska. The cod end of the trawl is raised above deck, 

 and the fish go through a hatch at the top of the stern ramp and 

 then directly to the processing facilities below deck. 



Bank, although some fishing also took place along the 

 lOO-faihoni curve in the western Gulf, on Portlock 

 Bank, and, for the first time since the Japanese entered 

 the Gulf, on the Yakutat grounds in the eastern Gulf. I 

 estimate the catch totaled about 60,000 tons-80 

 percent Pacific ocean perch, and 20 percent other 

 groundfish. One of the factory trawlers fished briefly for 

 shrimp but after a few days of poor catches resumed 

 trawling for ocean perch. 



The trawl fishery in the Gulf of Alaska increased in 

 1966 to 10 factory trawlers and 5 small trawlers. Four 

 of the vessels were licensed to fish east of long. 135° W. 

 and north of lat. 30 N., which encompasses the coasts 

 of southeastern Alaska, British Columbia, and the Pacific 

 Northwest States. The four trawlers in the Gulf at the 

 beginning of the year fished until March and then 

 returned to Japan. The fishery was resumed by 1 trawler 

 in April and reached a peak of 13 trawlers in September. 

 The number of vessels then began to decline, and only 

 one or two trawlers were in the Gulf at the end of the 

 year. Most of the trawling in the Gulf in 1966 was along 

 the 100-fathom curve in the western Gulf and on 

 Albatross and Portlock Banks in the central Gulf. For 

 the first time, Japanese trawlers appeared off the coast 

 of southeastern Alaska. The Japanese trawlers caught an 

 estimated 66,000 tons of fish (mostly Pacific ocean 

 perch) in the Gulf in 1966. Five hundred tons of slirimp 

 were caught by the two small trawlers in the Shumagin 

 Islands area and near the Trinity Islands off southwest 

 Kodiak Island (International North Pacific Fisheries 

 Commission, 1966b). 



The Japanese freeze most of the fish they catch in the 

 Gulf of Alaska. Pacific ocean perch are headed and 

 eviscerated by machine, quickfrozen. packed in cartons, 

 and held in refrigerated holds aboard trawlers until 

 transported to Japan by refrigerator ships. Other species 

 of groundfish. such as walleye pollock, arrowtooth 

 fiounder, and sablefish, are filleted or dressed mostly by 

 hand and are frozen. Some of the factory trawlers are 

 equipped with reduction plants and produce fish meal 

 and oil from the offal and the less desirable species of 

 fish. 



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