THE VENEZUELAN SALT-FISH INDUSTRIES 



to be encountered, however, nnherever fishermen are found, for they are extensively used 

 to catch bait and to take fish for personal use. 



Nasas are used rather widely from Puerto Cabello eastward, but they are not of primary 

 importance in fish production. 



Miscellaneous types of geair, such as shark line-trawls (palangres) and harpoons are 

 used to a limited extent and chiefly in the eastern zone. 



All netting used in the fisheries is hand-knit by the fishermen. Cotton twine and 



much smaller amounts of linen and hemp are imported to supply the demand. The hand-made 



nets are very well constructed and compare favorably with those made by modern machines. 



Almost all rope and cordage employed in fishing is made locally — often by the fishermen 

 themselves from agave (coquiza), sisal, or from the bark of certain trees. Rope and cordage 



of excellent types also are made in considerable quantities and at reasonable prices by 

 a rope factory at Barquisimeto. 



Very little, if any imported cork is used for net floats. The fishermen employ several 

 species of light woods (madera de corcha, etc.) to float their nets. Weights are made of 

 stones, sheet lead, and in the Paraguana, of a special type of hard-baked clay. 



Nets receive no preservative treatment except in the Maracaibo-Paraguana region where 

 mangrove extract is used at regular intervals for tanning or barking, Handlines are also 

 sometimes treated by rubbing them with mangrove bark. All nets, however, are dried in the 

 sun and the average life of netting is not as long as if more care were taken to conserve 

 it through the use of various preservatives or other measures. 



No mechanized gear is used for handling nets, although many fishermen recognize that 

 such devices would constitute a great advantage. 



Imported twines, wire, hooks and other necessities can be procured in Venezuela but 

 prices are very high. The Government of Venezuela is attempting to alleviate this situation 

 and has succeeded in obtaining some of these items at reasonable prices for the fishermen. 

 Large shark hooks of an excellent type are now being made on a small scale in Venezuela. 

 They are considered superior to imported hooks since they do not straighten out when large 

 sharks are caught. 



It has been impossible, up to this time, t6 obtain concrete information on the total 

 quantities of gear used in the three zones of the Republic. When data, now being compiled, 

 by the Servicio de Pesqueria, are made available, they will be valuable in determining the 

 catches per unit of gear, and other Indexes and measures of abundance and availability of 

 the various species that support the commercial fisheries of Venezuela. 



FISHERMEN 



Venezuela is most fortunate in having a large coastal population of fishermen. This 

 population and its forebears have fished for more than 400 years; and, as a result, men 

 with excellent ability and experience are found. The fishermen of the Eastern Zone are 

 perhaps the best — particularly those of Isla Margarita, Isla Coche, and the Gulf of Cariaco. 

 Many skilled fishermen also are to be found in and around Lake Maracaibo and at other places. 

 Most Venezuelan fishermen are industrious, intelligent, and cooperative, and many are, or 

 would be, progressive if they had the opportunity. In terms of fishermen, almost any type 

 of fishery development would be possible j particularly if labor-saving methods were intro- 

 duced gradually. There is abundant evidence to indicate that if aid were extended to cer- 

 tain fishing techniques, particularly in the Gulf of Cariaco where fishermen have observed 

 fishing demonstrations with modern purse-seines. 



Lacking recent information on the number of fishermen employed in Venezuela, the sta- 

 tistics for 1936 are used. In that year the Ministerio de Hacienda reported that about 

 6,425 full-time fishermen were engaged in fishing on boats of over 1 ton gross measure. 

 This total was regarded as very low by the United States Fishery Mission of 1942, which 



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