activity of these vessels was even higher 

 in the 1937-39 period than it had been dur- 

 ing the war time period 19h2-14i. In each 

 year, 1937-39 inclusive, it appears that 

 approximate ily 70 percent of these vessels 

 made more than 30 trips per year. This in- 

 formation also indicates that the per ves- 

 sel activity of the entire large trawler 

 fleet - which was then approximately twice 

 the size (nambers) of the existing fleet - 

 was also substantially above present levels: 

 50 percent made 30 trips or more in each of 

 the years 1937-39; and at least 11 vessels 

 made 35 or more trips per year in any given 

 year. In 19)40, despite a strike-caused work 

 stoppage lasting 3 J months, the average 

 large-trawler made 23 trips per year. There 

 is then some justification for assuming that 

 the present large -trawler fleet is not only 

 smaller but much less active than the large 

 trawler-fleet of I9U2-UU, and 1937-UO. 



Costs and Earnings in the Boston Indus - 

 try;' 150-199 Gross-Ton Trawlers 



1. Receipts And Productivity 



The operating results of the average 

 150-19? gross -ton trawler for the years 

 1953-57 ai"e shown in table V-10. A major 

 difficulty faciag the operators of this 

 size vessel is the same as that with which 

 the operator of the 200+ gross-ton trawler 

 must contend: the decreasing level of 

 receipts . 



Per vessel receipts of the 150-199 

 gross-ton trawler fell continually over the 

 period: from $173,000 in 1953 to $1^5,500 

 in 1957. During this same period total 

 costs of vessel operation also declined 

 steadily: from $170,700 in 1953 to$l53,900 

 in 1957t Receipts declined at a faster rate 

 rate, hovfever, than costs, and the result 

 has been operating losses in each of the 

 years 19 5U to 1957. The extent of the gen- 

 eral unprofitability of these vessels is 

 further emphasized by the fact that all of 

 the five travflers included in 1956 had 

 operating losses and only one of the six 

 vessels included in 1957 reported an oper- 

 ating profit. 



The much lower receipts and larger 

 losses of these trawlers during 1956 and 

 1957 are attributable to a decline in per 

 trip productivity. In both of these years, 

 per vessel receipts were approximately 

 $5,800 per trip. In contrast, per vessel 



receipts averaged $6,li00 per trip over the 

 previous three -year period. The additional 

 fact that in every year only 32 percent or 

 less of receipts was available as the ves- 

 sel owner's share, leads to the conclusion 

 that the productivity levels of vesse^ls of 

 this size are such as to make profits 

 highly vulnerable to the burdens of trip 

 expenses and the minimum guarantee for 

 crew wages . 



2. Vessel Expenditures 



Vessel expenditures for the 150-199 

 ton trawlers followed a similar pattern as 

 those for the 200+ ton trawlers, showing 

 an inverse relation to receipts. 



a. Gear, Repair, and Maintenance 



In the years 1953, 1955, and 1957, 

 expenditures for gear, repair, and main- 

 tenance were- highest on trawlers with the 

 highest receipts and lowest on those with 

 the lowest receipts, (table V-11). At the 

 same time, these expenditures of individual 

 vessels ranged from $16,000 to $32,000 in 

 1953, and from $13,000 to $26,000 in 1957. 

 Thus, these trawlers in 1957 were not only- 

 less productive, but also were spending 

 less for gear, repair, and maintenance than 

 they were in 1953. Here, again, is evidence 

 of the corroding effect of falling receipts: 

 undermaintenance leading to reduced effi- 

 ciency, which in turn leads to still lower 

 receipts. 



b. Insurance 



The rise in insurance expenditures of 

 the trawlers studied was substantial. Per 

 vessel insurance expenditures rose steadily 

 from $8,100 in 1953 to more than $11,500 

 in 1957. Here, again, however, the pattern 

 is the same : increasing insurance expend- 

 itures have accompanied decreasing receipts 

 and decreasing gear, repair, and maintenance 

 expenditures . 



Gloucester and Maine Trawlers 



The analysis of Gloucester and Maine 

 groundfish trawling operations is based on 

 the eight -year perfomance, 1950-57, of 10 

 vessels: 5 in Gloucester and 5 from the 

 Maine ports. The choice of tliese vessels 

 is not based on statistical procedure but 

 rather on the simple fact that these ves- 

 sels furnished information to all the 



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