﻿GENERAL 
  REVIEW 
  

  

  tuna 
  and 
  imported 
  canned) 
  was 
  a 
  record 
  509.9 
  million 
  pounds 
  . 
  About 
  40 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  U.S. 
  supply 
  

   was 
  packed 
  from 
  domestic 
  landings 
  — 
  slightly 
  more 
  than 
  in 
  1969. 
  

  

  Per 
  capita 
  consumption 
  of 
  canned 
  tuna, 
  which 
  was 
  2.0 
  pounds 
  in 
  1960, 
  reached 
  2.5 
  pounds 
  

   in 
  1970., 
  

  

  Shrimp 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  a 
  record 
  367.5 
  million 
  pounds 
  (heads-on) 
  worth 
  a 
  record 
  $129.8 
  million 
  were 
  

   48.9 
  million 
  pounds(15 
  percent) 
  and 
  $5.3 
  million 
  (4 
  percent) 
  more 
  than 
  in 
  1969. 
  Contributing 
  sub- 
  

   stantially 
  to 
  the 
  greater 
  production 
  were 
  Pacific 
  Coast 
  landings 
  of 
  9 
  2.9 
  million 
  pounds 
  (up 
  49 
  per- 
  

   cent) 
  and 
  Gulf 
  States 
  landings 
  of 
  230 
  .5 
  million 
  (up 
  15 
  percent) 
  . 
  In 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Coast 
  States, 
  Alas- 
  

   ka 
  landings 
  were 
  80 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  total. 
  The 
  shrimp 
  fishery 
  in 
  Alaska 
  has 
  trended 
  sharply 
  upward 
  

   since 
  1959 
  when 
  landings 
  were 
  13.1 
  million 
  pounds 
  — 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  a 
  record 
  harvest. 
  In 
  the 
  Gulf 
  

   States, 
  landings 
  exceeded 
  200 
  million 
  pounds 
  for 
  the 
  fourth 
  consecutive 
  year. 
  However, 
  New 
  Eng- 
  

   land 
  landings 
  (23.5 
  million 
  pounds) 
  declined 
  17 
  percent 
  compared 
  with 
  1969, 
  and 
  South 
  Atlantic 
  

   States 
  landings 
  (20.6 
  million) 
  declined 
  25 
  percent. 
  The 
  exvessel 
  value 
  of 
  landings 
  increased 
  in 
  

   all 
  areas 
  except 
  the 
  South 
  Atlantic 
  States 
  . 
  

  

  Crabs 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  crabs, 
  all 
  species, 
  were 
  277.2 
  million 
  pounds 
  worth 
  $39.2 
  million 
  — 
  a 
  gain 
  of 
  

   19.9 
  million 
  pounds 
  but 
  a 
  decrease 
  of 
  $3.9 
  million 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  Hard 
  blue 
  crab 
  landings 
  

   increased 
  sharply 
  — 
  from 
  132.3 
  million 
  pounds 
  in 
  1969 
  to 
  145.4 
  million 
  in 
  1970. 
  Catches 
  improved 
  

   in 
  all 
  areas. 
  Record 
  landings 
  of 
  both 
  Dungeness 
  crabs 
  (58.5 
  million 
  pounds) 
  and 
  snow 
  crabs 
  (14.5 
  

   million) 
  also 
  contributed 
  substantially 
  to 
  the 
  greater 
  volume. 
  The 
  harvest 
  of 
  king 
  crabs 
  (52. 
  1 
  mil- 
  

   lion 
  pounds) 
  , 
  however, 
  was 
  the 
  smallest 
  since 
  1961, 
  and 
  landings 
  of 
  soft 
  blue 
  crabs 
  (2.7 
  million) 
  

   declined 
  41 
  percent. 
  The 
  decline 
  in 
  exvessel 
  value 
  reflected 
  a 
  decline 
  of 
  about 
  2 
  cents 
  in 
  the 
  a- 
  

   verage 
  price 
  per 
  pound 
  received 
  by 
  fishermen 
  for 
  landings 
  of 
  Dungeness, 
  king, 
  and 
  hard 
  blue 
  crabs. 
  

  

  Anchovies 
  . 
  Record 
  landings 
  of 
  anchovies 
  in 
  California 
  were 
  19 
  2.5 
  million 
  pounds 
  — 
  a 
  gain 
  of 
  57.2 
  

   million 
  (42 
  percent) 
  compared 
  with 
  1969, 
  the 
  former 
  record 
  year. 
  In 
  1970, 
  greater 
  fishing 
  effort, 
  

   early 
  season 
  price 
  agreement, 
  and 
  favorable 
  market 
  prices 
  for 
  anchovy 
  meal 
  contributed 
  to 
  the 
  in- 
  

   creased 
  landings. 
  The 
  anchovy 
  fishery 
  (used 
  principally 
  for 
  reduction 
  to 
  meal 
  and 
  oil) 
  was 
  in 
  its 
  

   sixth 
  consecutive 
  year. 
  

  

  Flounders 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  168.5 
  million 
  pounds 
  worth 
  $23.1 
  million 
  were 
  6.3 
  million 
  pounds 
  and 
  

   $3.2 
  million 
  more 
  than 
  in 
  1969. 
  Flounder 
  landings 
  on 
  the 
  Pacific 
  coast 
  (46.0 
  million 
  pounds) 
  de- 
  

   clined 
  3 
  percent 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  On 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  and 
  Gulf 
  coasts 
  the 
  flounder 
  production 
  was 
  

   122.5 
  million 
  pounds 
  — 
  a 
  7-percent 
  gain 
  over 
  1969. 
  Landings 
  of 
  blackback 
  (24.3 
  million 
  pounds) 
  , 
  

   fluke 
  (5.7 
  million), 
  and 
  yellowtail 
  flounders 
  (71.3 
  million 
  pounds) 
  all 
  increased 
  moderately 
  com- 
  

   pared 
  with 
  1969. 
  Yellowtail 
  flounder 
  landings 
  were 
  60 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  and 
  Gulf 
  flounder 
  

   harvest. 
  Overfishing 
  of 
  the 
  yellowtail 
  flounder 
  resource 
  by 
  both 
  domestic 
  and 
  foreign 
  fleets 
  during 
  

   recent 
  years 
  has 
  led 
  the 
  International 
  Commission 
  for 
  the 
  Northwest 
  Atlantic 
  Fisheries 
  (ICNAF) 
  to 
  

   recommend 
  proposed 
  regulations 
  for 
  member 
  nations 
  fishing 
  the 
  resource. 
  Beginning 
  in 
  1971, 
  the 
  

   fishery 
  will 
  be 
  regulated 
  by 
  closed 
  seasons, 
  catch 
  quotas, 
  and 
  minimum 
  mesh 
  size 
  of 
  trawls. 
  

  

  Groundfish 
  . 
  The 
  Atlantic 
  fishery 
  for 
  groundfish 
  (cod, 
  cusk, 
  haddock, 
  white 
  hake, 
  pollock, 
  and 
  

   ocean 
  perch) 
  yielded 
  149.6 
  million 
  pounds 
  worth 
  $15.6 
  million 
  — 
  a 
  decline 
  of 
  22.7 
  million 
  pounds 
  

   and 
  $157,000 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  Haddock 
  landings 
  of 
  26.9 
  million 
  pounds 
  were 
  18.9 
  million 
  

   less 
  than 
  in 
  1969 
  and 
  the 
  principal 
  cause 
  of 
  the 
  decline. 
  The 
  haddock 
  production 
  was 
  the 
  smallest 
  

   on 
  record. 
  Results 
  of 
  a 
  survey 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  NMFS 
  research 
  vessel. 
  Albatross 
  IV 
  , 
  showed 
  that 
  had- 
  

   dock 
  will 
  probably 
  not 
  be 
  plentiful 
  for 
  at 
  least 
  another 
  3 
  or 
  4 
  years 
  — 
  particularly 
  on 
  Browns 
  or 
  Geor- 
  

   ges 
  Banks, 
  formerly 
  among 
  the 
  most 
  productive 
  haddock 
  fishing 
  grounds. 
  As 
  conservation 
  mea- 
  

   sures, 
  ICNAF 
  instituted 
  catch 
  quotas 
  and 
  closed 
  seasons 
  for 
  both 
  fishing 
  areas. 
  Compared 
  with 
  

   1969, 
  landings 
  of 
  three 
  other 
  groundfish 
  species 
  declined. 
  The 
  cod 
  harvest 
  of 
  53.2 
  million 
  pounds 
  

   was 
  7 
  percent 
  less 
  than 
  in 
  1969. 
  Landings 
  of 
  pollock 
  (8.8 
  million 
  pounds) 
  and 
  ocean 
  perch 
  (55.3 
  

   million) 
  also 
  declined 
  slightly. 
  Cusk 
  and 
  white 
  hake 
  were 
  the 
  only 
  species 
  landed 
  in 
  greater 
  vol- 
  

   ume 
  than 
  in 
  1969 
  . 
  

  

  