ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF THE WORLD'S FISHERIES 



197 



Fisheries in the international field (Anon., 1948; Anon., 1949a). The most recent 

 available production data are shown in Table 27. 



The importance of a country's fisheries, particularly in its own economy, is 

 measured more accurately by per capita production than by total catch. Using 



%of 

 Total 



Country 



Japan 



U.S. and Alaska 



U.S.S.R 



China 



British Isles . . . 



Korea 



Norway 5.6 — 



India, Iran, Burma . 5.4 — 

 Germany 4.3 — 



22.0- 

 11.0- 

 9.3- 

 7.9- 

 6.4- 

 6.3- 



Canada 



Spain 



France 



Iceland 



Newfoundland 

 Netherlands . . 



Italy 



Sweden 



Portugal .... 

 Denmark .... 

 All other 



3.3- 

 2.6- 

 2.1- 

 2.0- 

 1.2- 

 1.0- 



.7- 



.7- 



6.6- 



iCourtesy U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service) 

 Fig. 12-2. Commercial fishery production of the world prior to World War II. 



this yardstick, one finds in Table 26 that relatively small countries— Iceland, 

 Newfoundland, and Norway— rank far higher than larger producers and more 

 populous countries. 



Production by Species 



Herring and similar species are undoubtedly the most important in volume of 

 all the varieties of fish making up the world's production. Norway, alone, for 

 example, landed 1,032,843 metric tons of herring in 1948 (Anon., 1945c). The 

 salmon are probably the most valuable. There are no detailed data on world pro- 

 duction by species. The most important fisheries, however, include the following: 



Demersal Species: Bottom-Dwelling. Cod and related species, such as haddock, 

 hake, cusk, and pollock (usually called "ground fish" or "whitefish"). Flatfish, 

 such as sole, flounders, and halibut. Rosefish and related species. Mollusks, such 

 as oysters, clams, and mussels. Crustacea, such as shrimp, crabs, and lobsters. 



Pelagic Species: Surface-Swimming. Herring and similar species, such as pil- 

 chards, anchovies, sprat, and menhaden. Tuna and tunalike species, such as 



