APPENDIX VI APPENDIX VI 
But in the last two years (1974 and 1975), the Peruvian anchovy populations 
have increased again and the world's fish catch is again on the upswing. 
During the entire post-World War II period, the United States catch- 
has declined slightly from about 2.5 to about 2 million metric tons. In 
the face of a steadily increasing world catch, why did the United States 
catch remain at this low levél, particularly in light of a rapidly 
increasing domestic demand (Fig. 2)? 
Table 1 
nn 
World Fish Production 
Catch in millions 
Year of metric tons (mmt) 
1850 May = DELS 
1900 4.50 
1930 10.00 
1938 18.44 
1950 18.43 
1960 34.00 
1970 70.00 
1973 66.00 
In 1972, the annual catch by foreign fishermen off the Pacific coast 
States of California, Washington, Oregon and Alaska reached a level of over 
three mmt, with over 2-1/2 mmt coming from Alaska (Fig. 3). It has been 
estimated that the potential yield from the United States coastal and 
offshore waters is somewhere between 10 and 20 mmt. 
On the other hand, the United States has an abundance cf experienced 
fishermen. The United States commercial fishing industry consists of 
130,000 fishermen; approximately 2,000 processors; over 1,000 wholesalers; 
and 2,000 importer-exporters plus frozen and canned food distributors; 
etc.2 The problem is then, that in spite of the very large population 
of fish of various species located off the United States coast, the very 
high productivity of these waters, the large and sophisticated fish 
catching and processing industry, the United States fishing industry has 
failed to take advantage of its proximity to this large resource and its 
catch remains at a relatively low level. 
2Data from published statistical reports of FAO and personal 
communications concerning the data for 1974 and 1975. 
3National Marine Fisheries Service. National Plan for Marine 
Fisheries. "Final Draft;" Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, 
October 1975. 
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