deliver their catclies fresh to accompanying processing 

 ships which freeze the fish, primarily in the round but 

 also dressed (headed and eviscerated). When there is a 

 shortage of processing ships, the side trawlers (SRTM, 

 SRTR, and some SRT's) with freezing capabilities 

 process their own catches. Factory trawlers (mostly 

 BMRT's) head, eviscerate, and freeze their ocean perch 

 catches and produce fish meal and oil from the offal and 

 incidentally caught species of nonedible fish. The frozen 

 fish and byproducts are transferred from the processing 

 ships and factory trawlers to refrigerated fish transport 

 vessels for delivery to the Soviet Union. In the earlier 

 years of the Soviet ocean perch fishery off Alaska, some 

 of the catches were salted in barrels, but this method of 

 processing has been abandoned in the Alaska area. 



Gult of Alaska 



In July-September 1960. an SRT side trawler on an 

 exploratory trip in the Gulf of Alaska located large 

 concentrations of ocean perch south of the Shumagin 

 Islands and on Albatross and Portlock Banks off Kodiak 

 Island (Lyubimova, 1961 and 1962). !t was not until 

 July 1962, however, that the first Soviet fleet, with 

 about 50 trawlers and accompanying support ships, 

 entered the Gulf of Alaska and began fishing on these 

 two banks. This tleet, which reached a maximum 

 strength of about 70 vessels, remained in the Gulf until 

 December. 



Soviet SRT side trawler retrieving cod end of trawl containing 

 several tons of ocean perch in Gulf of Alaska. SRT's depend on 

 continuous support of processing vessels. 



In 1963 the tleet returned to the Gulf of Alaska in 

 March and remained until October. Fishing began along 

 the 100-fathom curve from Unimak Pass to south of the 

 Shumagin Islands and later concentrated on Albatross 

 and Portlock Banks. In 1963 the Soviets increased their 

 fleet in the Gulf to a maximum of about 135 SRT's, 10 

 BMRT's, and many accompanying support ships. 



Figure 15.— Soviet ocean perch fishing areas. 



24 



