CHAPTER 12 



Economic Importance of the World's Fisheries 



By Andrew W. Anderson 



Chief, Branch of Commercial Fisheries, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 



General 



The fishery resources of the world are important, in varying degrees, to all 

 nations. In most countries of the southern hemisphere the fisheries are of relatively 

 negligible value and are often largely undeveloped. Their national fishery interests 

 are frequently in only imported products suited to their diets. On the other hand 

 the economics of such countries as Iceland, Newfoundland, and Norway are tied 

 so intimately to their fisheries that a failure in the catch or a decrease in price ad- 

 versely affects their whole economic structure. 



Taken as a whole, however, the world's fisheries occupy an influential and, to 

 some extent, unique place in the world's economy. The quantity and variety of the 

 fish caught and the monetary value of the numerous processed products are sub- 

 stantial, but the ultimate worth and significance of these fisheries are also con- 

 tributed to by other factors, equal in consequence, but more difficult to measure. 

 These factors involve the many things the fisheries have supplied since civiliza- 

 tion was young; they may even continue to provide them in increasing volume 

 as the possibilities in fishery resources are explored. 



The fisheries have always been a substantial source of the world's supply of 

 protein. Fishery products are, however, not just another food. Nutritively, they 

 rank high because they are readily digested, are obtainable as fat or lean 

 products, and contain notable amounts of minerals and vitamins. They lend 

 themselves readily for preserving processes, storage, shipment, and later use in 

 areas distant from the sea. Canned fishery products enjoy a world-wide market, 

 providing variety and economy to consumers of almost every nation. Dry-salted 

 fishery products are staple foods in many warm countries because of storage 

 problems, price, and the need for salt in the diet. Frozen fishery products led the 

 way when freezing began to develop as a method of preservation. The importance 

 of fishery products in connection with certain religious customs is well known. 

 Less familiar is the increasing prominence of a so-called industrial nature: the 

 fish meals and the fish oils which have become so valuable in animal-feeding 

 programs, the vitamin-bearing oils which have contributed so much to individual 

 and national well-being, and the pharmaceutical products now just reaching the 

 market. 



The fisheries provide a primary source of employment with many unique ad- 

 vantages. For example, it may be either practiced full time or combined on a 

 part-time basis with some other occupation, such as farming. Similarly, the skills 



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