doast United States packers.. An increase in the Nova Scotia catch 

 cannot be expected with the present fishing methods. The Canadian 

 Government has made no special attempt to aid or develop the tuna 

 industry „ 



CUBA 



Although the Cuban fishing industry takes more than 450 species 

 of edible fish from nearby waters, only a few are caught in large 

 commercial quantities. Among these are the skipjack and the black- 

 fin tuna ( Parathunnus atlanticus ) . Both are taken by Cuban fishery- 

 men mainly from within territorial waters. Extensive explorations 

 have not been conducted to determine how abundant these species are 

 in offshore Cuban waters 5 but results of sport fishing indicate that 

 these and other tunas occur in sufficient numbers to permit expansion 

 of the Cuban tuna fisheries. 



Total annual landings of fish and shellfish by Cuban fishermen 

 have recently averaged about 25 to 30 million pounds = Detailed data 

 on the tuna landings are not available, but have been estimated to be 

 nearly 3,000,000 pounds of eviscerated fish in 1952. 



Canning of tuna was first started in 1940 by the Fabri ca Nacional 

 de Conservas , and 1,777 cases of 48 7-ounce cans were produced in that 

 year. A second plant, the Mariscos del Carib , began canning in 1944, 

 and a third plant, the Cla . Ganadera de La Habana, began operations in 

 1945. Tbtal production by the threeplants in 1946 was 20,830 cases of 

 24 8", 9-, or 9g-ounce canso In 1952, five companies operating seven 

 canneriesj processed tuna as well as vegetables and other fishery prod- 

 ucts. Estimates of tuna production for 1952 were upward of 100,000 

 cases of 24 95"Ounce cans. Regardless of the species of tuna used or 

 methods of packing, the cans are labeled "Bonito en Aceite" to com- 

 pete with a similsirly named product imported from Spain. It is esti- 

 mated that 85 percent of the Cuban demand for canned tuna was satisfied 

 by the local producto 



Cuba has exported fresh or frozen tuna, but only in 1941 and in 

 1950 have the amounts exceeded more than 140,000 pounds annually. In 

 1941, 615,195 pounds were exported, almost entirely to the United States^ 

 in 1950, 566,685 pounds were exported, of which 361,620 pounds were sent 

 to the United States. 



Although Cuba is presently using only a small part of its avail- 

 able fishery resources, it is not expected that tuna production will 



133 



