CHAPTER H 



FISHING OPERATIONS 



ABSTRACT 



VESSELS OPERATING OUT OF PORTS ON THE SOUTH ATLANTIC COAST 

 ARE RESTRICTED TO A SHORTER FISHING SEASON, MAKE SHORTER TRIPS, AND 

 SPEND LESS TIME AT SEA THAN GULF COAST VESSELS. THEY ARE SMALLER IN 

 SIZE AND LESS STURDY AND COSTLY THAN THE TAMPA-BASED VESSELS WHICH 

 MAKE THE CAMPECHE RUN. 



THE OPERATION OF DUAL-PURPOSE VESSELS MAY FREQUENTLY CON- 

 TRIBUTE TOWARD FASTER AMORTIZATION OF FIXED INVESTMENT. SINCE IT 

 MAY BE THE ONLY MEANS OF INSURING YEAR-ROUND FISHING, IT MAY ALSO 

 SERVE TO PROVIDE GREATER STABILITY OF EMPLOYMENT. THE DESIGN OF 

 MANY CRAFT OPERATING IN THE SHRIMP FISHERY TODAY PLACES RESTRICTIONS 

 ON THE USE OF THESE CRAFT IN OTHER FISHERIES. 



TIME CONSUMED IN FISHING OPERATIONS AND IN THE HANDLING OF 

 CATCH ABOARD VESSEL IS PRIMARILY A FUNCTION OF SKILL AND EFFORT OF 

 CREW MEMBERS. TIME VALUES COLLECTED FOR A SAMPLE OF VESSEL OPERATIONS 

 INDICATE THAT, ON THE AVERAGE, A TOTAL OF EIGHT MINUTES AND FORTY-TWO 

 SECONDS WAS CONSUMED IN SETTING NETS, THE RANGE OF TIME VALUES 

 SPANNING FROM THREE MINUTES AND FORTY-FIVE SECONDS TO TWENTY-TWO 

 MINUTES AND SEVEN SECONDS. DRAGGING CONSUMED ANYWHERE FROM ONE HOUR 

 TWENTY-FOUR MINUTES TO FIVE HOURS AND SEVENTEEN MINUTES, THE AVERAGE 

 WAS SLIGHTLY OVER FOUR HOURS. OPERATIONS CONNECTED WITH THE HAULING 

 OF NETS TOOK CkEV/S FROM FIVE TO OVER 32 MINUTES. 



THE PRODUCTI'ITY OF INDIVIDUAL VESSELS IS INFLUENCED BY 

 NUMEROUS FACTORS, AMONG THEM GEOGRAPHIC, METEOROLOGICAL, SEASONAL 

 AVAILABILITY OF SHRIMP, AND SKILL OF FISHERMEN. AVERAGE ANNUAL CATCH 

 IN 195-1 FOR A SAMPLE OF SHRIMP VESSELS STUDIED RANGED FROM 12,944 

 POUNDS FOR VESSELS OPERATING OUT OF MAYPOi;T, FLORIDA, TO 82,606 

 POUNDS FOR BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS OPERATIONS. AVERAGE CATCH PER DAY 

 DURING THE YEAR WAS AS LOW AS 82 POUNDS, AND AS HIGH AS 372 POUNDS. 



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