govemnent policy and to obtain government 

 aid. The prosperity of the major indus- 

 tries of the provinces, and especially of 

 the fishing industry, is basically depend- 

 ent on export sales. 



The Atlantic Provinces have lagged be- 

 hind New England and the rest of Canada in 

 economic development. There have long been 

 conditions of surplus labor, underemploy- 

 ment, and low living standards. These have 

 been particularly marked in the fishing in- 

 dustry, especially in the inshore segment, 

 which is characterized by small operations 

 of one or two man boats . The Government , 

 recognizing these social conditions, has 

 initiated and will continue schemes to raise 

 incomes by increasing labor productivity. 

 The most significant policies aijned at 

 achieving this objective have been the sub- 

 sidization of small (3 to 5 nien) modem 

 long-liners and draggers, loan funds for 

 vessel construction, and rescission of a 

 long-time ban against trawler use , The sub- 

 sidy and loan plans, while not completely 

 successful, have accomplished the limited 

 immediate objectives set out for them and 

 will continue in the future. A large trawl- 

 er fleet has grovm due to the needs of an 

 expanding post-war market in the United 

 States for frozen groundf ish fillets . No 

 significant increase in the number of such 

 trawlers is expected in the next decade. 

 The industry is prosperous enough, however, 

 to replace the present fleet. 



The Canadian groundf ish industry proc- 

 esses and sells two basic products: salt- 

 fish and frozen fillets. The latter market 

 has been a growth one and the former a de- 

 clining one. Saltfish still takes about 

 70 percent of the large -cod landings in 

 Newfoundland. Haddock and ocean perch 

 landings in all Provinces, and the bulk of 



cod landings in Nova Scotia, are processed 

 in fresh and frozen forms. 



Canadian fishermen eire legally unable 

 to organize and bargain collectively. They 

 face greater ovmership interest concentra- 

 tion than is the case in New England, and 

 work in an area where there is surplus 

 labor and fevJer alternative job opportuni- 

 ties . The Canadian trawler-owner has a 

 stronger bargaining position with fisher- 

 men than his New England counterpart. A 

 governmental commission feels legislation 

 is needed to equalize the price bargaining 

 processes. Barriers to this labor exploi- 

 tation are the relatively limited number of 

 experienced traviler crewmen and the jo^ 

 opportunities available on the increasing 

 number of subsidized vessels. More flexi- 

 ble layover practices permit Canadian 

 owners to obtain greater vessel usage 

 annually. 



Prices paid to Canadian fishermen for 

 their catch show both short- and long-run 

 stability. Prices are established by the 

 policies of the leading firms, allow only 

 for seasonal supply variation, and are 

 generally based on the expected United 

 States market price for groundf ish fillets. 

 Canadian processors assert that the United 

 States price is the result of the inter- 

 action of international forces of supply 

 and demand. 



Direct government subsidy to the 

 Canadian fishery has not been significant, 

 except in the cases of the modem draggers 

 and long-liner building programs. The 

 Dominion, however, spends in relation to 

 annual catches about 2.5 times the United 

 States budget for research and allied 

 services. 



36 



