CHAPTER VII 



RESOURCES AND PRODUCT IVITI 



Introdaction 



In examining the statiis of the fish- 

 ery resources, present and future, two 

 facts must constantly be kept in mind: 



(1) The deep-sea fisheries are a com- 

 mon-property resource; that is, the grounds 

 are owned by no one, but are there to be 

 fished by all; and, 



(2) The practical policy of "fisheries 

 management" is to benefit man, not fish. 



While these two propositions seem self- 

 evident, their implications have at times 

 been largely suppressed, if not ignored. 



As to the first, the common-property 

 nature of the deep-sea fisheries is not 

 unique and similar problems are encountered 

 in other cases of common-property resource 

 industries, such as petroieiim production, 

 and hunting and trapping. The dissipation 

 of the potential net yield of the resources 

 is common to all such industries, and is 

 usually guarded against by some form of 

 regulatory action. 



This brings us to the second proposi- 

 tion. What should be the objective of 

 such regulation? For whose benefit should 

 it be intended? What form should regvila- 

 tion take? The answer to the second ques- 

 tion posed is, of course, provided directly 

 by the statement of the second proposition 

 itself. The answers to the questions a- 

 bout the objective and the form regulation 

 should take are not so easily formulated. 



The great bulk of research on the prob- 

 lem has centered on the question of "net 

 yield," and, more specifically, net physi- 

 cal yield. In other words, it has been 

 largely biological research focused on the 

 maximization of the catch. Such an ap- 



proach, however, is concerned mainly (if 

 not solely) with output, and neglects the 

 inputs of other factors of production which 

 are used up in fishing and must be account- 

 ed for as costs. 



The more critical factor, then, is 

 "net economic yield," which equates pro- 

 duction with cost of production and takes 

 cognizance of the economics involved in 

 the fishing industry. Only when the net 

 economic yield is maximized will we attain 

 the optimum degree of utilization of any 

 particular fishing ground. 



It will be the purpose of this chapter 

 to investigate the current and future state 

 of the vario\is groundfish resources in the 

 light of the foregoing discussion. The 

 most recent productivity experiences on the 

 princxpal banks fished will then be ana- 

 lyzed; 



Current and Future Groundfish Resouress 



The current rate of utilization of 

 groundfish and the long-term prospects for 

 groundfish stocks were estimated by the 

 Gordon Commission in its recent report on 

 the Canadian fisheries. iiZ/ The report 

 indicates that in the future, prospective 

 stocks will be below current levels (1955), 

 but that catches will increase due to "i??® 

 efficient utilization of the resources. iii/ 

 The rationale of the future catch estimates 

 will be s-'^'^n as the major species are dis- 

 cussed. 



1. Cod 



Cod is the mainstay of the Newfound- 

 land fishery. In 195^, Newfoundland landed 

 301 million pounds of cod II9/ or 66 percent 

 of all cod landings in the Atlantic Prov- 

 inces of Canada. Cod con^^rised 6h percent 

 of all groundfish landings in Newfoundland. 

 The bulk of these landings came from ICNAF 

 Subarea 3> which comprises both the inshore 

 fishing grounds and the offshore Grand 

 Banks grounds. An increasing proportion of 



117/ The Commercial fisheries of Canada , prepared by the Department of Fisheries of 

 Canada and Fisheries Research Board, for the Royal Commission on Canada's iiconomic Pros- 

 pects, Ottawa, 1956. 



IIB/ Ibid., p. 12 



119/ Monthly Review of Candian Fisheries Statistics , December 1958, Dominion Bureau of 

 Statistics. Queen's Printer, Ottawa, 1959, 



81 



