proportional relationship between fuel and 

 ice costs and total revenue. If the pro- 

 portion is 23 percent or higher, the Cana- 

 dian owner seems worse off under his lay. 



The effect of the guaranteed minimum 

 per diem labor share ("Broker payments") 

 on Boston trawlers is not clearly seen in 

 the average figures on revenue distribution 

 shown in table II-16. If there were no 

 "broker" the average gross owner's share 

 would be 38.6 percent of revenue. The dif- 

 ference between that figure and the one 

 actually shown can be attributed largely to 

 the broker payments • Even with these , how- 

 ever, the contribution to vessel overhead 

 does not appear to be too much different 

 from that in Canada. If, however, atten- 

 tion is shifted to the poorer earning ves- 

 sels on which the necessity for paying 

 brokers is a more frequent occurrence, the 

 comparison is less favorable, ( table 

 11-17) . 



The difference in layover systems re- 

 sults in a definite advantage to the Cana- 

 dian vessel owner. By union rules in New 

 England, vessels fishing for haddock must 

 remain in port for three days between trips5 

 those catching ocean perch must lay over 

 four days. In the Atlantic Provinces no 

 such mandatory requirements exist. The 

 owners voluntarily keep their vessels in 

 port 2li to 36 hours. 



The difference in layover procedure 

 enables a Nova Scotian trawler to make at 

 least 2 more trips per year than a Boston 

 vessel even if average trip lengths were 

 the same. Boston haddock trawlers avera^d 

 27 trips in 1956, 26 in 1957, and 27 in 

 1958. One Nova Scotian trawler owner said 

 his vessels averaged 32 trips a year. 

 Another put it this way, "Our trips must be 

 over 30 a year or else we fire the captain." 



The difference between the number of 

 trips possible if New England ocean perch 

 boats were not under a k day layover and 

 what they do make is even more marked. One 

 Gloucester owner asserts that his vessel 

 could make 25 to 28 trips per year instead 

 of only 17 to 20 made under the layover 

 requirements. 



This much shorter "down'.' time enables 

 the Canadian's vessels to achieve higher 

 annual capacity utilization with fixed 

 overhead thus being spread proportionally 

 over more units of production. This lowers 

 the cost of fish per pound to the Canadian 

 processor-vessel owner. 



A sample of over 30 percent of the 

 deep-sea trawlerraen in Newfoundland shows 

 annual berth earnings to be $2,300 in 

 1956, $2,100 in 1957, and $1,850 in 1958. 

 Presented on a weekly basis, this is much 

 below the average weekly earnings in all 

 industries in the provijice, as shown in 

 table II-II4. All of the trawlermen sur- 

 veyed, however, lived on the South Coast of 

 Newfoundland. This is an area of few 

 alternative occupations, and one in which 

 the average income from all sources in 1956 

 was $1,237. Zl/Hence the trawler earnings 

 compare advantageously with others in the 

 immediate area. 



There is not sufficient evidence to 

 estimate precisely the earnings of crewmen 

 on Nova Scotia trawlers. The Nova Scotia 

 Fish P-ackers Association in 1957 estimated 

 that "the average earnings of a deep-sea 

 trawler fisherman based on a 12-month 

 operation is presently about $3,000." 58/ 

 There was no reason for these trawler 

 owners to overstate the earnings, as the 

 occasion for the statement was a hearing 

 to determine among other things if the 

 deemed earnings of fishermen were to be 

 raised for the purpose of computing work- 

 men's compensation benefits. The higher 

 the income was raised, the higher the cost 

 of insurance to the vessel owners. 



The $3,000 per year earnings figure is 

 roughly in line with field data collected 

 in this stuc^r. In any event, it would seem 

 to be comparable with earnings in other 

 Nova Scotian industries , but not signifi- 

 cantly higher. This may be due to the fact 

 that the unionized iron and steel workers 

 and coal miners in Nova Scotia pull up the 

 base used for comparison. Trawler earnings 

 are, of course, much higher and more 

 stable (less seasonal) than in the inshore 

 fisheries. 



57/ Report, of the South Coast Commission, op. cit., p. 9li. 

 5S/ Report of the Workmen's Compensation ComoTiission, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 

 De cember 18, 1958. pp. lUU-lIi5. 



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