APPENDIX IV APPENDIX IV 
diverse fish processing purposes. The Canadian Government 
has contributed to overcapitalization through assistance pro- 
grams for expanding the fishing industry while fish supplies 
were declining. 
The industry also suffers from instability in product 
prices, material costs, and availability of fish resources. 
These instabilities have caused steep, and usually unfore- 
seen, fluctuations in earnings and profits. Industry reac- 
tion has been to increase capacity to handle the peaks in 
supply, thus increasing the industry's overcapitalization. 
Finally, there is excessive dependence on a single 
market, fragmented marketing effort, and inconsistent product 
quality. Sixty percent of all Canadian fish exports and 
nearly all groundfish exports go to the United States. This 
great reliance on a single outlet increases the industry's 
vulnerability to economic fluctuations. The lack of coordi- 
nated market effort among Canadian exporters has aggravated 
the problem. A relatively large number of Canadian companies 
compete with each other and with companies of other nations 
for the U.S. market. 
Variation in the quality of Canadian fish products has 
reduced. their acceptability to consumers. Because port 
markets seldom pay higher prices for better quality fish 
products, fishermen are indifferent to the quality of their 
harvests. Official dockside inspection of the harvest is 
generally lacking. 
The Canadian Government, through the Ministry of Fish- 
eries, established a committee in 1974 to develop a fisher- 
ies rehabilitation policy. The resultant policy was devel- 
oped in 1975 and led to the planned introduction of 14 
programs by 1978. The programs will deal with 
--developing and controlling the fleet, 
--providing resource information and conservation, 
--restructuring the fish processing industry, 
--improving product quality and use, 
--consolidating marketing efforts, and 
--providing income adjustments to economically troubled 
fishermen. 
These programs represent a fundamental redirection in 
Government policy, including a more direct intervention in 
the industry. 
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