APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
Therefore, removing large quantities of eggs for the specialty 
fisheries of eggs on kelp and egg roe has an unknown effect on 
the herring population. Considerable research is needed to de- 
termine the relationships between eggs produced and resulting 
herring because of the increasing demand to harvest the eggs. 
Alaska makes studies of the herring fishery using hydro- 
acoustical gear to locate and obtain estimates of the number 
of fish congregating in large wintering schools. Alaska also 
makes annual sampling of known stocks for determining age, 
sex, and size composition of fish within each stock. This in- 
formation is needed for management decisionmaking. However, 
an NMFS official told us the actual size of Alaska's herring 
stock was much larger than indicated by the assessment. He 
believed the assessment program was insufficient because of a 
lack of funding by the State legislature. He believed the 
low-stock assessment and the political pressure generated by 
salmon fishermen wanting herring preserved as forage for 
salmon have been the major factors in limiting Alaska's herring 
fishery. Many fishermen think adequate stocks of herring are 
necessary to sustain important food fishes, such as coho and 
chinook salmon. However, some biological evidence suggests 
that these carnivorous fish may feed equally well on other 
organisms, especially if herring abundance is low. 
Harvesting capability 
Due to their age and condition, the vessels now in the 
Atlantic herring fishery may not be able to survive storms in 
offshore areas where large increases in adult herring catch 
would have to be obtained. Other problems cited by NMFS and 
industry members were the reluctance of U.S. fishermen to be 
at sea for 1 or 2 weeks which are required to harvest offshore 
herring and the risk of losing expensive gear on unfamiliar 
grounds. Also industry members may hesitate to make needed 
investments to greatly increase domestic landings because of 
uncertainties related to the future availability of the re- 
source and the stability of the foreign herring market. 
Sophisticated foreign-built detection equipment is avail- 
able but is subject to tariffs, which increases the cost to 
U.S. fishermen. A NMFS official stated that midwater pair- 
trawling nets are subject to tariffs, even though they are 
not manufactured in the United States. Also U.S. fishermen 
must compete with fishermen of foreign nations, which subsi- 
dizes the construction of fishing vessels. 
In Alaska too much vessel capacity exists in one part of 
the herring fishery, due to the low quotas of herring allowed 
by the State. For example, an NMFS official told us there 
were 42 large purse seiners and 15 tenders, worth about $20 
million, participating in the 1975-76 herring roe fishery. 
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