FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1939 193 
noted in Boston, Gloucester, and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., and on 
certain parts of the Maine coast. 
Current information on cooperation among fishermen in other 
countries is obtained through publications and correspondence. 
During the year, requests for information were received from neigh- 
boring countries to the north and south of the United States. Visitors 
from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Sweden 
discussed cooperation among fishermen with members of our staff. 
Of particular interest among foreign developments are the programs 
of fishery rehabilitation arising in Nova Scotia and spreading to New 
Brunswick, Newfoundland, British Columbia, and, to a limited ex- 
tent, to the United States. The Nova Scotian development was 
reported by Ralph Russell in an article entitled, ‘“Nova Scotia Fisher- 
men Aided by Cooperatives,” in the Nevember 1939 issue of Fishery 
Market News. Progress in Newfoundland was summarized in the 
February 1940 issue of this publication in a report entitled, ““New- 
foundland Develops Fishermen’s Cooperatives.” 
The process of adult education and establishment of economic 
enterprises, Which is the fundamental concept of the programs, begins 
with the awakening of interest and the development of local leader- 
ship. Under their own selected leaders, the people study their eco- 
nomic situation and then plan to correct it. Usually a start is made 
by establishing credit unions. The experience gained by managing 
these credit unions teaches the people business methods and control 
of economic enterprises. Other economic and social developments 
usually follow and involve cooperative techniques. This program 
seems adaptable to conditions in some fishing areas of the United 
States. In fact, the movement has already begun in one or two 
localities. The Bureau is an interested observer of such attempts to 
adapt the procedure to our conditions. 
A committee of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce studied 
the problems of the fisheries of that State and recommended the 
formation of a division of fishery rehabilitation in the State govern- 
ment. This division would undertake to evoke leadership among the 
fishermen so that they might initiate a program of adult education 
and cooperative development. 
Lectures on cooperation, designed primarily for Boston fishermen, 
were sponsored by the Massachusetts State Board of Education. 
These lectures, each of which was given by a different authority in 
this field, extended over a period of several weeks. Among other 
subjects, the Nova Scotian developments were discussed. 
A report containing material collected in a recent survey of fishery 
cooperatives in the United States was advanced further toward pub- 
lication during the year, and an excerpt was printed in a report of 
hearings before the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fish- 
eries. The study dealt with data obtained from 54 of the 59 cooper- 
ative associations reporting. The number of producers dealing with 
these cooperatives, either directly as members or indirectly as fisher- 
men on boats commanded by members, totaled 12,500 and the volume 
of business was over $9,000,000. The investment of the cooperatives 
in plants, equipment, and other facilities was about $5,200,000. The 
investment by the members of these cooperatives in fishing equipment 
totaled over $20,700,000 in boats and over $3,600,000 in gear. 
