High construction costs in Canada retard 

 further growth of the trawler fleet. 



In 1956 there were approximately 57 

 large otter trawlers in Nova Scotia and 

 Newfoundland. There were only 50 in New 

 England. The growth in the Canadian fleet 

 occurred largely during the postwar decade. 

 During the same period the New England 

 fleet was declining substantially. In fact, 

 only eight vessels of the present (June 

 i960) large -traw Ifi r fleet in New England 

 were built in the postwar period. 



The degree of concentration in owner- 

 ship of large trawlers differs significantly 

 between New England and Canada. The leading 

 vessel operator in New England has but lU 

 percent of all the areats large trawlers. 

 The leading operator in Nova Scotia has 

 nearly 80 percent of that Province's trawl- 

 ers; the leading Newfoundland company owns 

 35 percent of the trawlers in the Province . 

 The three biggest operators in New England 

 own 36 percent of the total fleet; the four 

 biggest in Newfoundland own 83 percent; 

 there are only three operators in Nova 

 Scotia. 



Another important difference between 

 Canada and New England lies in the role 

 that the large trawler plays in the busi- 

 ness operations of their owners. Of the 

 50 New England trawlers only 9 (belonging 

 to two fish processors) are used as raw 

 material sources in vertically-integrated 

 operations. In contrast, all Canadian 

 trawlers are owned by vertically-integrated 

 processors, who buy the catch of their own 

 vessels. One large integrated firm and 

 its subsidiary companies headquartered in 

 Nova Scotia have been gaining control of 

 an increasingly large part of the fisheries 

 industry of the Maritime Provinces, partic- 

 ularly in fresh and frozen fish. This firm, 

 in addition to having trawlers and proc- 

 essing facilities, owns wholesale and re- 

 tail establishments in the central Canadian 

 market into which more the bulk of the 

 domestic fresh and frozen products. 35/ 



The Canadian fishery has substantially 

 fewer medium trawlers than is the case in 

 New England. In 1956 there were only 31 



such vessels in the Maritimes and Quebec 

 and 9 in Newfoundland. New Englamd had 

 about 150 fishing out of its groundfish 

 ports in 1958. Unlike New England, where 

 many medium trawlers are skippered by men 

 who have an equity position in the vessels, 

 there are not sis yet in Canada enough 

 fishermen-captains with sufficient capital 

 to own a medium trawler. Such a vessel 

 would not generally qualify for government 

 subsidy. Not until 1957 were such grants 

 available to boats over 60 feet in length, 

 and most medium trawlers exceed this 

 footage limitation. 



Canadian large and medium trawlers in 

 1956 accounted for 27 percent of all At- 

 lantic Coast groundfish landings and for 

 63 percent of landings by offshore vessels. 

 In the Maritimes and Quebec they caught 

 9U percent of the ocean perch landed, 63 

 percent of the haddock landed, and 19 per- 

 cent of cod landings. In Newfoundland, 

 they accounted for 98 percent of all ocean 

 perch landings, 100 percent of haddock 

 landings, and-Ij percent of cod landings. 



The Canadian offshore fishery then, is 

 divided Into two classes of vessels: the 

 large trawlers, similar to those found in 

 New England, operated by large vertically- 

 integrated fish processing companies, and 

 the small subsidized long-liners and 

 draggers operated by owner-skippers. 

 Vessels of these two classes supply close 

 to 90 percent of the fish for the fresh 

 and frozen industry. 



c. The Subsidized Fleet 



Since 19ii7, the use of government 

 subsidy incentive has resulted in a 

 striking growth in deep-sea vessels of 

 less than 65 gross tons. This has been a 

 joint federal-provincial program for the 

 modernization of the Atlsmtic Coast fishing 

 fleets. Since its inception, 32U vessels 

 have been built under the plan's grant 

 assistance, (table 11-12"). The federal 

 grant is $165 per gross ton for boats built 

 to specification. 36 / xhe Province of New- 

 foundlandj also, grants an additional $160 

 per gross ton on vessels built in that 

 Province . 37/ As an inte gral part of the 



35/ Report of the Royal Commission on Price Spreads of Food Products , Vol. I, Queen's 

 Printer and Controller of Stationery, Ottawa. September, 1939. p. 76. 



W P. C. "21190, SOR/51-227, dated May 2Uth, 1951, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 



77/ The Fishing Ships (Bounties) Act and Regulations made under the Act, April 27, 1955, 

 Departnent of Fisheries and Co-operatives, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. 



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