operate over UO research, guidance, and 

 training vessels which fish tuna. They 

 explore new grounds, report intelligence 

 of value to the fishery, and train a steady 

 supply of competent tunaboat officers. 

 Last year, for example, a training vessel 

 of the national government made a cruise 

 around the world, training cadets in tuna 

 fishing, canning tuna aboard, and doing 

 simple public relations work for canned 

 tuna in its ports of call. In the past, 

 the operations of many of these government 

 vessels have not been well coordinated and 

 they have often fished more to make money 

 than to obtain and disseminate new knowl- 

 edge, but the Japanese Fisheries Agency is 

 now making a determined effort to get them 

 all working at their proper functions on a 

 unified research plan. It certainly does 

 not seem that our government agencies are 

 doing as much along these lines for our 

 tuna fishermen. 



someone is ready to buy the fish which they 

 produce. Most of them have only the vaguest 

 notion that American tuna fishermen exist 

 or of what use Americans make of the tuna 

 that they buy from Japan. I should be most 

 unhappy to think that the economic difficul- 

 ties in which you find yourselves might lead 

 you to harbor feelings of animosity or 

 bitterness against the Japanese fisherman. 



To sum up, the Government of Japan, 

 fearing overproduction and the disruption 

 of export markets, is holding down the lid 

 on expansion of the tuna fleet, against 

 considerable pressure. Unless the pressure 

 blows it sky high, the lid will be eased 

 off gradually, as increased demand for tuna 

 seems to warrant it. No one can say any- 

 thing very meaningful about the eventual 

 maximum sustainable yield of the world's 

 tuna resources at this time, when we know 

 so very little about the tuna populations. 

 People close to the fishery in Japan are in 

 agreement that tuna production is likely 

 to increase steadily in the near future, as 

 more efficient and versatile boats replace 

 old ones and as the vast, newly won fishing 

 grounds are consolidated in terms of de- 

 tailed knowledge of seasons and fish move- 

 ments. 



I should like to be permitted to con- 

 clude on a personal note. I have sailed a 

 bit with Japanese tuna fi6hermen on their 

 boats. I found them to be good men, good 

 fishermen, and good shipmates. Tou might 

 think them willing to accept an unreason- 

 able degree of discomfort and hardship, 

 but they have mostly never known anything 

 else. You might think them inordinately 

 fond of fish and rice, but that is the 

 normal Japanese diet ashore too. They do 

 not go tuna fishing just to annoy you or to 

 threaten your livelihood. They fish tuna 

 because they know no other trade and because 



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