Marine Science Affairs 



— successful testing of experimental drifting buoys designed to obtain 



ocean data at distances up to 400 miles; 

 — development of spacecraft oceanography for analyzing biologically 



significant conditions of the ocean; 

 — coordination of large-scale international investigations of tuna in 



the Eastern Tropical Pacific. 



2. Processing and marketing: Research directed to converting raw fish 

 into marketable products accounts for about 20 percent of the FY 1969 

 budget, including the initiative to expand efforts to develop Fish Protein 

 Concentrate (FPC) described below. During 1967 the following develop- 

 ments were noteworthy: 



— assistance in expanding commercial use of Spanish mackerel, soft 

 clams, mullet, and catfish; 



— assistance in developing East Coast markets for fish products from 

 the Pacific Northwest by bringing together processors, airline repre- 

 sentatives, and buyers; 



— approval by the Food and Drug Administration of FPC obtained 

 from hake for human consumption; 



— technical assistance to AID in selecting countries to participate in 

 overseas FPC programs; 



— development of several new fish products; 



— development of irradiation techniques aboard ships to increase the 

 shelf life of fresh fish. 



3. Advanced technology: The program for the development of new fishing 

 technology is designed to help industry locate fish concentrations more 

 quickly and catch fish more efficiently through new harvesting methods, 

 fishing tactics, and locating techniques. This program accounts for about 

 10 percent of the FY 1969 budget request. 



Achievements during 1967 included: 



— development of methods for estimating the size of surface fish schools 

 by aerial photography; 



— successful testing of a prototype electrical trawl for harvesting alewives 

 in the Great Lakes; 



— development of mechanized seining and conveyer equipment to re- 

 duce the time and labor involved in harvesting farm pond fish ; 



— improvement of midwater trawls and precision depth telemetry sys- 

 tems for harvesting Pacific hake ; 



— introduction of improved pot gear and preferential bait to expand 

 commercial fishing for crab off southeast Alaska. 



4. Economic research: Basic economic research and analyses are con- 

 ducted to aid improvement in economic efficiencies of the commercial fish- 

 ing industry. This involves all aspects of the fishing industry — management, 

 harvesting, processing, transporting, and marketing. This program accounts 

 for about 4 percent of the requested FY 1969 program. Activities during 



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