TABLE 2. --Prices and landings of dogfish livers in the Pacific Northwest 



-'• Prices per pound based on total value of livers landed divided by total value for 

 California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. 

 ^ Sources - 



a. Holland (1957). 



b. Fishery Statistics of the United States. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Statisti- 

 cal Digest Nos. 4, 7, 11, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 27, 30, 34, 36, 39, 41, 43, 

 44, and 49. 



c. Fishery Statistics of Canada, 1937-51. 



d. Fishery Statistics of British Columbia (Preliminary), 1952-59. 



e. Alaska Fishery and Fur Seal Industries, 1937-54. 



^ Based on British Columbia statistics. Includes Government subsidy of 10 cents per 

 pound amounting to $129,985. 



in the 1940's are masked by changes in eco- 

 nomics, gear efficiency, and fishing intensi- 

 ties. The biological changes in Pacific coast 

 dogfish populations were not intensively in- 

 vestigated, but all information available sug- 

 gests that a marked reduction occurred in the 

 availability of dogfish as a result of the fishery. 



The dogfish fishery developed rapidly in 

 1940-43, with the upward trend in landings 

 closely following the increasing prices paid 

 to fishermen (fig. 5). Annual landings fell 

 rapidly after 1944, the peakyear in the fishery, 

 but the price per pound did not peak until 1948. 

 The catch in 1948 represented only 39 percent 

 of the record 1944 landings in spite of a price 

 increase from 38.1 cents to a peak price of 

 44.8 cents per pound. The reduction in catch 

 occurred during a period when fishing grounds 

 were being expanded by American trawlers. 



That annual yields of dogfish should decline 

 as prices paid for livers increased and the 

 grounds expanded suggests strongly that the 

 relative availability of the species had been 

 reduced. 



The Soupfin Shark Fishery- 

 Some indications of the effects of intense 

 fisheries on the abundance of shark popula- 

 tions may be obtained by reviewing the history 

 of the soupfin shark fishery. The soupfin, 

 because of its high vitamin potency, was 

 intensely exploited from 1941-49. Ripley (1946) 

 and Westrheim (1950) have described the de- 

 velopment of the soupfin shark fisheries off 

 California and Oregon. The California fishery 

 for soupfin sharks somewhat preceded the 

 Oregon fishery. California landings rose 

 sharply between 1937-38. Intense fishing and 



