318 EIGHTH PACIFIC SCIENCE CONGRESS 



way or another. In general this can be done most cheaply in the few 

 large centres of population having good transportation facilities. A 

 few specialized communities relying entirely on fishing products have 

 been located at places convenient to the fishing grounds. Technological 

 advances are improving established j^rocessing methods and developing 

 new ones. 



The Canadian fishing industry depends upon exports, and in con- 

 sequence is in an assured competitive position only in cases where there 

 are advantages in fish availability or in some other way. There is little 

 incentive to organize costly offshore operations (such as for tuna) in 

 competition with exploiters from other nations. 



The vessels used must be large enough to deliver paying fares to 

 fishing ports or buying stations which are rarely as much as a day's run 

 from the fishing grounds. They must be large enough to continue fish- 

 ing in moderate weather in order to complete paying loads, but they 

 need not ride out severe gales as safe harbours are always within reach 

 of the fishing grounds. The boats must, of course, be large enough 

 to handle effectively the gear in use and to accommodate the necessary 

 fishing aids. The tendency is accordingly toward the use of craft of 

 medium size. Boats used in the marine fisheries are customarily 35 to 

 85 feet long depending on the gear used and the places and seasons of 

 operation. Salmon gill net boats used in the inlets and river estuaries 

 are smaller and lighter in construction. 



Because the economic situation puts the emphasis on financial re- 

 turn rather than on efficient use of the whole resource, the fish utilized 

 are those commanding the highest prices or those whose habits make 

 it convenient to capture them in very large numbers. Only such species 

 can produce sufficient return to allow the fishing profession to compete 

 successfully for the time of potential fishermen. However, for these 

 species more fishermen are attracted to the fishery than are necessary 

 to take all the fish which can safely be removed from the reproducing 

 stock. 



As the most important fisheries in Western Canada are for ana- 

 dromous fishes which are liable to depletion by over-fishing, regulations 

 have been introduced to assure each year an adequate number of 

 spawners. These regulations limit fishing or define the gear. In general, 

 the resource has been fully used for years. Consequently, each tech- 

 nological advance in fishing efficiency must be matched by regulations 

 reducing the effectiveness of the gear. A paradoxical situation is pro- 

 duced but such seems inevitable in view of the biological facts and the 

 accepted policy not to refuse fishing privileges to any citizen. 



