with very limited success » In 1952, generally less than three were pres- 

 ent on the grounds at any one time,, 



Many factors have contributed to the faj.lure in the establishment of 

 a trend toward the use of larger vessels as refrigerated freighters.. 

 The preferred method of operation is to go to the Campeche grounds with 

 a full load of ice and to return as seon as a load of shrimp has been 

 caught or until a shortage of ice malces the return imperative. Also, a 

 large number of shrimp boats are owned or controlled by dealers and it is 

 to their advantage to get all the production of these boats delivered 

 directly to their plants. A third factor is that many of the small fleets 

 and independent shrimp boats fish seasonally in different areas and move 

 irregularly, following reports of good fishing. 



During 1952 the catch-rate on the Campeche grounds declined » If 

 such a decrease in the catch per unit of effort continues, there may be 

 some changes in the methods of operation that could possibly involve 

 greater use of refrigerated transport vessels on these grounds. 



COMPARISON OF FISHTNO VESSELS AND METHODS OF FISHING 



The value of frozen yeHowfin tuna delivered at the dock at the 

 present time is $320 per ton« The larger vessels of the American tuna 

 fleet catch tuna by live bait fishing or with purse seines. Both of 

 these methods usually produce large tonnages of fish in a short time 

 lAien fishing is successful. A single tuna vessel many times boats more 

 than ten tons in a single day and annual catches totaling one thousand 

 tons are not unusual. The value of iced or frozen shrimp delivered at 

 the dock varies with the size and species., but for purposes of comparison, 

 a value of $1,000 per ton for headless shrijup may be used. A catch by 

 a single shrimp vessel of as much as fifty tons of headless shrimp In one 

 year is large. The daily catch with a shrimp trawl is seldom as much as 

 half a ton of headless shrimp. 



The design of long-range tuna vessels gives them large capacity for 

 quick handling of bulk fish. On the other hand, the limited catch of the 

 shrimp trawlers makes design for extra large payloads unnecessary and 

 ir^jractical. Some increase in the catch of shrimp by use of vessels of 

 greater power and with nets of larger size has been obtained by shrimp 

 fishermen but in practice the cost of gear and vessels of larger size and 

 the eicpense and difficulty of maintaining and handling larger shrimp 



233 



