the fisheries standpoint. In general it v.p-j be said, tliat lov; pressure 

 areas do not arise in those Y/aters and that tie highest ".'inds are of 

 force 5 or 6. 'Tinds of force 7 do occiir, but only as an extremely/ 

 temporary phenomenon. As far as tliis point is concerned fishing vessels 

 .of 100 tons could probably operate in the area without mishap. 



There is, ho'vever, the dravvbaclc t'.iat because of the higli teiTperatiire 

 '.vhich prevail all year roujid, bases and comparatively large vessels 

 equipped ?7ith refrigeration facilities are necessary. In view of the 

 fact that the whole catch consists of perishable foodstuffs, insofar 

 as there is no irarket where it can be quickly consumed deep thought 

 Eust be given to its handling. For fishin^^' off the l!,iidwa,y Is. a base 

 in the Marshalls wo-ild cut in half the direct cruising distance from 

 Japan, and there is a tendency to advocate strongly the inportance of 

 such a base, but the reasons why I cannot i^n-iediately agree ivith this 

 proposal are at present fo'unded nvainly on this point. The solution of 

 this probleD is predicated upon the establishment of the refrigeration 

 facilities r.er.tione'I above ^nd upon t]i.e existence of clear prospects rith 

 regard to r.arketing channels. 



Large '-^''■'.ntities of rain f.-;ll in tho so-called squalls and it is 

 essential that changes be made in the construction of the boats so that 

 the r-^in r.'ater will run of its o-vn scoord into tieir fresh water t^^nhs. 

 y-j friend i'r. Llinoni Yanaroto, first e;igineer on the ITippon Yusan ship 

 on which I '.'^ent to Jaluit, v.'as successful in catching water in this 

 manner while ;^oored in Kusaie Harbor. If this can be done aboard a 

 rnerchant vessel, and if, as everyone knows, it is necessary at all of 

 the islands to have fresh water tanks for catching rain, how luuch more 

 pressing is the need for such arrangernents on fishing vessels where 

 fresh wnter is a particularly vit,al necessity. 



At all positions during this voyage we s^w lightning frequently. 

 According to the radio operator there wps a lot of static and it was 

 irr^possibls nany tinies to make the scheduled contacts with oior base. 

 Since this happened repeatedly, one cannot help v;ondering whether there 

 is not some sort of direct cause and effect relationship between the 

 lightning and our present radio e.quipnsnt. Vessels of the 200-ton class 

 which operate in coiT;paratively distant waters should be fully equipped 

 with radio con"unications facilities. 



2. The principal problems arising from sea conditions 



There is a theory that, becsuse the sea is calm and the currents 

 slow, small fish.ing vessels (20-tQn class) should be constructed, but 

 I cannot iminediately agree with this idea either. Its proponents 

 seem to point out the fact that simply by using small vessels the expense 

 of operation will be cut down. If that were so the best thing to do 

 would be to go a step further and build a large nur.iber of canoes from 

 materials which could be obtained in the area. Even at present the 

 natives "nd Jopp.nese residsnx.s who take an interest in fishing' °r=: 

 catching not only yellowfin but even sharks and spearfish weighing 

 20 or 30 kan . For a number of reasons it is probably best to operate 

 efficiently with vessels of the largest possible size. As far as sea 



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