APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
effort in the Atlantic fishery. Excessive fishing pressure 
has been cited as the primary reason for the reduction in 
landings in the 1960s. 
An industry representative said there is excess capa- 
city but he does not wholly agree that this excess is the 
primary reason for the reduction in landing. Although it 
may have been a contributing factor, he said that there are 
others in the industry who would strongly disagree about the 
excessive fishing pressure and cite ecological changes as 
the prime reason. 
Harvesting capability--gulf 
NMFS believes potential exists for continued growth of 
the gulf menhaden on a limited controlled basis. Controls 
would set parameters on catch, effort, and yield by season. 
The philosophy is to allow increased yield until the MSY is 
met or slightly exceeded. To accomplish this, additional 
vessels may be added to the gulf fleet. 
An industry representative said that in his opinion this 
is poor management strategy. He favors better utilization 
of the existing vessels, which in his opinion can increase 
effort by about 10 percent, if the goal is to gradually ap- 
proach the MSY; to avoid exceeding the MSY he would favor 
reducing the effort of the existing companies by the same 
amount across-the-board. 
Product development and processing-- 
Atlantic and gulf 
Menhaden are used widely in the manufacture of many 
products and the uses continue to grow. The processing 
methods are continually being improved. 
Marketing potential--Atlantic and gulf 
The market for the menhaden products is international 
and as such affords additional opportunities for expansion 
through natural market growth. 
Some NMFS officials believe that if the FDA would allow 
the use of menhaden oil for human consumption, the menhaden 
oil could be marketed nationally. However, the economic im- 
pact on other oils, such as vegetable, safflower, corn, soy- 
bean, palm, and peanut, now used is not known nor to what 
extent oil imports would be reduced. The net effect on the 
U.S. balance of payments is not known. 
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