THE CARIBBEAN ARKA — VENEZUELA 



Arenque are caught by fishennen, chiefly in the Gulf of Cariaco, Watches (vigias) oo 

 the cliffs signal the arrival of a school by blowing on conch shells. Vlhen this signal is 

 heard, the fishermen man their piraguas and place their haul seine around the school. The 

 ends of the net are brought inshore and the fish inpounded if there are many. When the 

 cnnery desires fish, a smaller net is used inside the large one to haul the fish out. 

 These are loaded into piraguas and towed to the cannery. At the cannery the O-sh are put 

 into baskets and carried ashore through the surf. There is no wharf nor shore facilities 

 for handling the fish rapidly. The fish are cleaned by a groi^) of women working in a shed 

 outside of the cannery and the fish are then taken inside for canning. This entire operation 

 takes but a short time, and all fish seen were absolutely fresh. 



Cannery help is plentiful and about 600 persons are employed in the canneries more or 

 less regularly — chiefly in cleaning the fish and cleaning and labeling the cans. Fishennen 

 laborers when working for the company receive 4 to 6 Bolivares per day (about 1.20 to 1.80 

 U. S. per day) — others doing more important work get more. Factory hands receive 3.50 

 Bolivs^res per day. 



According to the Servicio de Pesqueria, the chief fisherman receives about 8 Bolivares 

 per day and laborers and sailors about 3. Female cannery workers receive 0.25 Bolivares per 

 hour in daytiine and 0.37 Bolivares per hour from 6 in the evening to 6 in the morning of the 

 following day. It was noted, however, that the majority of Venezuelan fishennen prefer to 

 work with a share of the catch and not at a salary or daily wage. 



The canning plants described in this section have never operated to their full capacity 

 because of difficulties in obtaining cans and material. Ihe total pack in 1941 was approxi- 

 mately 75,000 cases, based an 48 1-pound cans per case. The possible production would be 

 about 100,000 cases, if cans were available. In 1942, the shortage of cans had already caused 

 some dislocation and it is probable that the situation has not improved materially.!/ 



Practically the entire output of Venezuelan canneries is ccHisumed within the covmtry. 

 Within the past year, however, several shipnents of canned fish were made to Trinidad. It 

 was found that the distribution of nationally-canned products was excellent — many isolated 

 retail outlets had good stocks and have reported that the items sold exceedingly well. A 

 sample of prices at the cannery follows: 



Sardines in oil 100-can (130 gm.) case 30 Bolivares (f 9.00) 



Tuna in oil 100-can (240 gm.) case 100 Bolivares ($30.00) 



Salmonete, al natural 100-can (150 gm.) case 23.50 Bolivares (f 7.05) 



The Government of Venezuela has placed a control on the prices of canned fish where the 

 cost is not greater than 40 Bolivares. In direct purchases, 10 percent profit is allowed; 

 and in indirect, 3 percent. 



Salting and drying 



The salting and drying of fish is a highly important phase of the fishery industry of 

 Venezuela. For the most part, this activity is cairried on by individual fishermen or by 

 small groups of fishermen. Some of these groups are run on a cooperative basis. One large 

 company, also engaged in canning, prepares herring in brine and spices and also dried shark 

 meat. A large shark fishing company, located at Porlamar, Isla Margarita, produces respect- 

 able quantities of dried shark meat. Samples of this product, examined by the Mission, 

 were judged very good, for the flesh was well dried, hard, and almost irtiite in color. There 

 was no objectionable odor or flavor. 



Preparation of salted and dried fish is probably as old as fishing itself in Venezuela. 

 The methods are relatively simple and the coastal regibns of the country are well suited for 

 this activity for there the air is dry and the region enjoys much sunshine and regular 

 breezes. Salt is obtained by the evaporaticai of sea water. In 1919, dry-salt fish produced 

 on the coast and outlying islands was sent into the interior of Venezuela in large quantities 



1/ Latest informatiOTi indicates that cans are now being made available. 



77 



