fishermen into the industry durinr; mrirket boom;?, he has reason to wel- 

 come the trend. In a declining market, the fisherman's attitude can be 

 expected to be substantially different, an foreign producers favored by 

 lo\;or costs may offer a corioua threat to his market. More than likely 

 efforts vrill be made at such times to combat imports and complaints 

 against dumpin<?: vrill be raised in the industry. 



The attitude of processors and secondary wholesalers with re- 

 spect to imports may differ from that of the people at the producinj; 

 level. Imports arriving in a fom requiring additional processing and 

 marketing operations do not constitute a threat to the business of the 

 processor. If foreign supplies can be obtained for less than prices asked 

 by the domestic fisherman, the processor, may shift part of his purchases 

 to foreign sources. The distributor who has no direct interest in pro- 

 ducing or processing operations may be totally unconcerned about any 

 potential danger to his business stemming from rising imports. Ha can 

 be expected to argue vigorously for free imports, since he is primarily 

 concerned in supplementing any gaps between supply and demojid caused by 

 the domestic fleet's inability to meet domestic requirements. 



The fact that demand for shrimp has held up so well favors 

 amicable relations betvjeen United States and Mexican shrimp processors. 

 That a large part ,of the domestic industry favors Latin American partici- 

 pation in the United States market is demonstrated by the existence of 

 the Shrirap Association of the Americas which is composed of United States 

 and Mexican shrimp interests. The Association, was formed as a Joint 

 enterprise to promote the industry and its products. 



A theoretical alternative to the possibilities of expanding 

 supply is that additional resources in some fisheries may be created 

 through ciiltivation. Unfortunately, the prospect of cultivating shrimp 

 on a commercial basis does not appear promising. 



Some fishoiy biologists consider it improbable that successful 

 cultivation could be achieved since the larval stages of shrimp float 

 freely in the ocean water. VJhen confined in aquaria the shrimp tend to 

 absorb their eggs instead of laying them. This situation iK)uld have to 

 bo overcome before successful cixltivation could be achieved. 



MANAGLl'lENT OF SUPPLY 



No discussion of shrimp supply should fail to stress the 

 importajice of px^oper management and protection of resources. These 

 are tasks entrusted to state conservation agencies. The primary objec- 

 tive of these agencies is the elLnination of hazards to natoral resources 

 resulting from overfishing, pollution of fishing grounds, or other causes. 

 Poor managcraent has frequently been blamed for otherwise unaccountable 

 decreases in annual catch. Ideally, intelligent management \i±ll see to 

 it that resources are exploited at their most profitable level, V/hen 

 small shrimp are permitted to grow, through the enforcement of closed 



U8 



