ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF THE WORLD'S FISHERIES 



203 



waste— was utilized to produce fish meal and fish oil. The catch used directly for 

 reduction purposes was estimated as about 13 billion pounds. The remainder of 

 the catch— 16 billion pounds— was marketed as fresh or frozen products (Fig. 12-3). 

 The trend since about 1940 has been increasingly toward frozen fishery products, 



Fig. 12-3. Estimated utilization of world catch 

 of fishery products. 



but even in 1948 it is doubted that they represented more than 600 million poimds 

 of the world catch. Tables 28, 29, and 30 show canned, cured, and other produc- 

 tion in greater detail. 



Foreign Trade 



Prior to World War II probably 5 billion pounds of the 37 billion pound catch 

 entered world trade. Cured fish constituted the most important export item, fol- 

 lowed by fresh and frozen fish and the preserved products (canned or similar 

 processing). In exported form the value has been estimated at $250,000,000 

 (Fiedler and Frank, 1944). For the year nearest to 1938 for which figures are 

 available 61 countries reported exports of 1,844,096 and imports of 2,075,500 

 metric tons (Anon., 1948). 



Preliminary postwar data indicate that exports of fresh and frozen fishery 

 products and preserved fishery products have increased in volume, while exports 

 of cured products and mollusks and crustaceans have declined. Data on oils, fish 

 meals, and fertilizers are not fully available, but it is believed that exports of 

 these products have not recovered to prewar totals (Anon., 1948). Prewar and 

 postwar trade are compared in Table 31 (p. 208). 



Some countries with a heavy per capita production, as Iceland, Newfoundland 

 and Norway, must export in volume. Their exports consist largely of ground fish 

 and herring. Other countries export expensive processed specialties, such as 

 canned sardines, anchovies, and tuna, and import less expensive staples, such as 

 salted cod. This is particularly true of Portugal, Italy, and some South American 

 countries. 



During and since World War II increased production in some countries forced 

 development of wider markets. The United States has received an important part 

 of the increased exports, in some instances largely because of a need for dollars on 

 the part of the exporting country. 



Although trade in fishery products amounts to only a very small part of total 



