There is a possibility that by impregnatiir^ a plastic minnow 

 with a fluid containing a feeding reaction agent, an artificial bait 

 might result. These experiments are still in the preliminary phase 

 and it is too early to attempt to forecast their outcone. 



CAN BAIT RESEARCH (NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC) DEVELOP A MEANS TO 

 EXPEDITE OPERATIONS AND REDUCE COSTS OF PRODUCTION? 



It is clear from the preceding discussion that bait at the pres- 

 ent time is expensive from both financial and time standpoints and 

 that the supply is largely controlled by foreign countries. It is 

 obvious that a substitute source of bait would be desirable and 

 encouraging resvilts in preliminary research have been obtained 

 recently. Success in such research would expedite operations through 

 time savings and would reduce costs by eliminating various license 

 charges and equipment costs. Moreover, it would free the high-seas 

 fleet from dependence on foreign-owned bait. 



At the present time little is known about potential bait fishes 

 in the open ocean — where they are, how suitable they are for 

 chumming purposes, how well they would survive in bait tanks, how 

 deep they are, how plentiful they are, how dependable their occurrence 

 is, or how they may be caught. Occasionally a catch of bait is taken 

 quite far from any land. It has been reported that from time to time 

 bait has been caught on the high seas off Panama and as far as 60 

 miles off the coast of Peru. Rather extensive investigation of these 

 matters would need to be undertaken to ascertain if such a source coiiLd 

 possibly substitute for the immense weight of bait fish needed by the 

 fleet each year. 



Synthetic bait, if perfected and available at reasonable cost, 

 would possibly be even more desirable than a substitute supply of 

 natural bait. A synthetic bait would not be perishable, could be 

 procured and stored on board like any other fishing supply, woiild re- 

 quire no expensive water-circulating system to keep the bait alive, 

 and would free the fishing vessel from dependence on baiting areas 

 with the attendant delays to fishing. However, to develop such a 

 synthetic bait would undoubtedly require sustained research and ex- 

 perimentation. To tiie present time, only live natural bait has 

 proved successful in the tropical fishery. To be acceptable, «m 

 artificial bait would have to do as good a job as the present Hve 



224 



