APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
The U.S. tuna processing industry is made up of 29 plants: 
the west coast has 20; Puerto Rico, 5; American Samoa, 2; 
Maryland, 1; and Hawaii, 1. The U.S. tuna industry has de- 
veloped plant capacity to process about 7.3 million pounds 
of fish per day on a one-shift basis. Since 1965 Puerto 
Rico has become the most rapidly developing U.S. tuna pro- 
cessing center. One large new processing plant was con- 
structed in Puerto Rico in 1971 at a cost of $10 million and 
a total of $30 million has been invested in two new facili- 
ties in San Diego, California, and American Samoa. 
Markets 
Tuna consumption has been increasing steadily since 
World War II. The U.S. canned tuna per capita consumption 
rate has risen 1.8 pounds between 1950 and 1975 while the 
total canned fishery product per capita consumption rate has 
decreased .7 pounds during the same period, an increase of 
164 percent versus a decrease of 14 percent, respectively. 
U.S. consumers continue to constitute the major world 
market for tuna. Domestic production in 1975 filled about 
51 percent of the Nation's total supply. Another 538.5 
million pounds of foreign-caught tuna was imported. Table 
II shows tuna imports from 1970 through 1975. 
Table II 
Tuna Imports, 1970-75 
(note a) 
Fresh frozen, 
including cooked Canned ba 
Year loins & discs lipo ei) abs loneshinss Total 
1970 464,583 15S 72,109 536,845 
ILS) 7/ak 506,602 1,050 SNe 1/ DP 566,444 
OWE 764,784 384 56729 S22 729.7, 
IDWS 816,739 244 38,382 855,365 
1974 838,889 2313 Dp SUS) 8917635 
OS 486,795 Lee 51,472 538,466 
a Expressed in pounds. 
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, "Fisheries of the United 
Stakes L975." 
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