and smaller ones 39 years. W Of 6k 

 trawlers in Maine in 1957, W were over 11 

 years old, most of the large trawlers were 

 over 20 years old, and the average age of 

 the entire fleet was slightly more than 

 19 years. 2/ The useful life of a large 

 trawler is reckoned at 2$ years and that 

 of a smaller craft at 12 to 1$ years. When 

 these standards are con^ared to the ages 

 of the New England vessels. It is readily 

 evident that the New England fleet has 

 arrived at a crisis period, 



3. Cost-Revenue Relationships 



The declining employment and the di- 

 minishing fleet are not causes of the 

 groundfish depressicxi, but rather the ef- 

 fects of fundamentally inadequate cost- 

 revenue relationships in the industry. As 

 observed earlier, gross revenues and returns 

 per po\u)d of fish landed have declined in 

 constant dollars in the postwar period. 

 Costs, however, have advanced sharply. 



While labor costs have remained at a 

 fairly constant proportion of gross reve- 

 nues, because of the nature of the share 

 arrangement, there have been substantial 

 increases in overhead costs, Ihe average 

 cost of hull insurance rose dxu-ing the 

 years 1950-51i by 27 percent, while there 

 was a staggering 78 percent increase in the 

 cost of the average protection and indent- 

 nity policy in the same period. i2/ One 

 of the principal marine railways in the 

 area audited its 19^48 sales book and foiuid 

 that to perform exactly the same repair and 

 maintenance work on six average trawlers in 

 1958 would cost 73 percent more. The 

 majority of the increase was due to higher 

 labor rates: the 19 h8 charge was $2,00 per 

 hour, and the 1958 charge was $3.85 per 

 hour, ii/ 



For the tiwnty-five New England trawl- 

 ers in this study, for which complete cost 

 data were avciilable for each year 1953 

 through 1957, insurance expenses per boat 



advanced 28 percent; repair and maintenance 

 expenditures were lower in 1955 and 1956 

 than in 1953» but were 17 percent higher 

 in 1957 than in 1953; and gear and supply 

 expenses followed a similar pattern, lower 

 in 1955 and 1956, but 26 percent higher 

 in 1957. 



Ihe decline of prices and revenues at 

 a time of increasing costs has resulted in 

 deficit operations for many vessels* A 

 recent cost study showed that in each year 

 from 1953 to 1957 aggregate losses outweigh- 

 ed aggregate profits. Fbr the year 1953, 

 35 vessels lost money, 33 showed profitsj 

 in 1951*, U) had losses and 36 profits; in 

 1955, Ux had losses and 28 profits; in 1956, 

 33 had losses and 21 had profits; in 1957, 

 \£) had losses and 22 showed profits. 



The aggregate losses for each year 

 were: 1953, $116,000; in 1951*, 10.71*, 000; 

 1955, $175,000; 1956, $118,000; 1957, 

 la.88,000. On a per boat basis this was a 

 deficit in 1953 of $1,706; in 1951*, of 

 $2,289; in 1955 of $2,li31; in 1956 of 

 $2,185; and in 1957 of $3,032. It is not 

 to be wondered then that old vessels in 

 the New England groundfish industry are not 

 being replaced by newer units. 



To gain a proper perspective of the 

 situaticai in the groundfish industry, it 

 is instructive to examine very briefly the 

 postwar- progress in other major New England 

 fisheries. Have groundfish vessels and 

 fisherman transferred activity to other 

 fisheries? Have ports not as dependent on 

 groundfish landings experienced growth or 

 decline? 



Shellfish values Increased substantial- 

 ly in the postwar years, while the valiies 

 of seafish other than grouodfish were rela- 

 tively stable in the 191*8-57 decade, 

 (chart I-l). A more detailed breakdown of 

 landings and values in the significant com- 

 ponents of the New England fishery appears 

 in table I-ll. 



8/ Comnercial Fisheries Review, Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department 

 of the Interior, November 195a, p. 29, 



9/ Fisheries Legislation , op. cit., p, l5l. 

 ^/ Hull Insurance and Protection and Indeimity Insurance of Conmercial Fis hing Vessels, 

 by Warner C. Danforth and Dr. Chris A. Theodore of Boston Uiiversiiy, Special Scientific 

 Report - Fisheries, 2lil, United States Department of the Interior, Fiah and Wildlife 

 Service, 1957, p. 3. 

 11/ Data submitted by a Gloucester marine railway, January 8, 1959, 



