in effort has been the result of fewer 

 large trawlers fishirig and of less trips 

 by some of the older trawlers still in 

 operation. 



Ihere is a body of opinion in the 

 industry which holds that the reduced 

 effort in recent years has caused lighter 

 landings. Analysis of the catch and effort 

 data in table III-8 seems to contradict 

 this view. Substantially reduced fishing 

 tine during World War II resulted in 

 dramatically higher catch per day, higher 

 annual fleet landings and a lesser depend- 

 ence on the scrod contribution. It may be 

 argued that it is not fair to base too 

 many conclusions on the war years because 

 of the effect of many external factors 

 present, such as the favorable O.P.A. 

 ceiling prices, the submarine menace, and 

 the acquisition of fishing vessels by the 

 United States Navy, It is perhaps better 

 to be conservative and omit the evidence 

 of the war years not because of the ex- 

 ternal factors but because of the shortness 

 of the period. Moreover, catches may have 

 been influenced by a very good brood year 

 in 1939, the results of which were felt 

 throughout the period. 



It may be instructive, however, to 

 compare the prewar (1931-39) and postwar 

 (19U7-56) years in terms of effort and 

 catch. An effort reduction in recent years 

 of about 10 percent has not resulted in 

 lower total annual landings, but rattier in 

 an increase of nearly 7 percent. Nor are 

 more fish escaping the fishermen. There 

 has been an increase of 27,3 percent in the 

 average annual catch in numbers of fish. 

 What is perhaps even more significant, 

 however, is the fact that the lower effort 

 has resulted in a 31 percent increase in 

 the average catch per day. Since most 

 fishing costs remain the same on a per day 

 basis whether a trawler catches 10,000 or 

 20,000 pounds, the higher landings per day 

 since 19li7 have acted as a deterrent to 

 further increases in the costs per pound 

 of securing the fish. This means that in 

 comparing per pound costs in recent years 

 with those of the prewar decade, it is 

 necessary to consider factors other than 

 effort as the determinants of cost ad- 

 vances. This means, too, that >rfiile the 

 decrease in the numbers of large haddock 

 otter trawlers operating in the last ten 

 years might have brought personal problems 



for the owners involved, it has redounded 

 to the benefit of remaining vessel owners 

 by reducing the fleet's fishing effort 

 and thereby increasing the catch per day 

 of the vessels still in operation. 



The effect of effort on catch and 

 cost must be illustrated further. The 

 following economic analysis is based upon 

 a biological foundation provided by fish- 

 ery research biologists, notably Mr. Clyde 

 C. Taylor, vrtio studied the rates of growth, 

 recruitment, and natural and fishing mor- 

 tality for Georges Bank haddock. By the 

 use of technical yield - isopleth diagrams 

 the biologists were able to show the 

 annual fleet catch and the catch per day 

 to be e^tpected at various levels of fish- 

 ing effort before adoption of the 1953 

 mesh regulation. Based on the brood yields 

 prevailing in the I93I-I48 period, pre- 

 dictions were also made of the increased 

 landings at each level of effort to be 

 expected after mesh adoption. Table III-9 

 summarized the findings. As noted earlier 

 brood recruitment in recent years has for 

 unknown reasons dropped below the average 

 prevailing in the 1931-U8 period. As a 

 consequence, the expected annual catches 

 did not materialize. Without the raesh 

 change, however, landings would have drop- 

 ped much more. Yield per recruit has in- 

 creased as predicted; total landings have 

 not increased because there have been 

 fewer recruits, 



A few words of explanation are nec- 

 essary for an understanding of table II 1-9, 

 Average annual fishing effort on Georges 

 Bank from 1931-U8 was computed in terms of 

 days fished by standard large otter trawl- 

 ers. IMs was termed "normal" or 100 per- 

 cent effort and was related to average 

 anniial or "normal" landings for the period. 

 Then the annual landings, before raesh 

 regulation, that could be ejqpected at 

 effort levels at increments of 25 percent 

 above and below the norm were calculated. 

 Of immediate interest is the conclusion 

 that at fishing effort levels ranging flrom 

 bO percent to 150 percent of "normal" , 

 total landings would vary only slightly 

 while t he average catch per day could fall 

 as much as 70 percent . It is seen, too, 

 that an effort level nearer 75 percent of 

 normal would have provided the maximum 

 sustained annual yield. Table III-9 also 

 indicates the expected effects of the 1953 



U6 



