Living Resources 



Historically, our major marine prospecting has been for the varied and 

 valued forms of life which animate the sea and which support those who 

 hunt, harvest, and sell them. Hunger and economic pressures, not wonder 

 or human curiousity, have impelled our main connection with oceanic life; 

 and we have become, as a species, the most successful of marine predators. 



Our national success has been less spectacular. 



Since 1956, the United States catch in poundage has dropped from second 

 to sixth place among the fishing nations while domestic and world demands 

 and the world fish catch have continued to increase. The annual domestic 

 demand for fish, currently 11.5 billion pounds, is expected to increase to 

 14 billion pounds by 1980. Of the current demand, only 4.9 billion pounds 

 come from the fishing efforts of 13,600 U.S. vessels and more than 65,000 

 boats; 57 percent of the demand is met by imports, with the larger part of 

 this demand (32 percent) being edible fish and the remainder industrial 

 fish. The result has been an adverse balance-of-payments rate of more 

 than $900 million annually. 



A viable fishing industry for the United States means solving difficult root 

 problems: The common property nature of the resource; lack of knowledge 



CATCH OF SEAFOODS BY LEADING COUNTRIES 



BILLIONS OF POUNDS 

 28 



1958 



-n — I — I — 1 — I — I I 1 I r 



1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 



1 — r 



968 



1970 



NOTE: LIVE WEIGHT BASiS 



SOURCE "VEARBOOK OF FISHERY STATISTICS 1970' VOLUME 30. FOOD AND 

 AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION 



30 



