billion pounds of anchovy was taken in 1964 whereas 10 years pre- 
viously the catch had only been 2 percent of that amount. Even 
though relatively primitive techniques are used for harvesting an- 
chovy, the resource may have been overfished and the Peruvian gov- 
ernment has this year restricted the catch to 15 billion pounds as a 
step to assure a continuing and stable harvest. 
The U.S. fish catch for the last 30 years has been about 6 billion 
pounds which does not include sport fishery catches. The sport 
fishery catch in coastal and marine waters was estimated at 590 
million pounds in 1960.1 
Additional resources are present in waters off the U.S. coasts. It 
is estimated that a standing crop of about 15 billion pounds of hake 
and anchovy is present in the California current off the coasts of 
California, Oregon, and Washington. Until recently, this resource 
has not been utilized because, for one reason, anchovy are food for 
sport fishes, and sportsmen are concerned that intensive fishing on 
anchovy might disrupt sport fishery populations. An agreement has 
now been worked out by the California Fish and Game Commission 
to allow some 150 million pounds to be harvested in 1966 for process- 
ing into fishmeal and oil. If properly managed, these hake and 
anchovy populations might yield an annual catch of 2 or 3 billion 
pounds. 
Fishery resources in all parts of the world, especially in those 
areas near populations with protein deficiencies, have not been studied 
as thoroughly as those in the California Current. Therefore, it is 
difficult to predict the maximum harvest and the amount of food 
potential now present in the world’s oceans. Some estimates indicate 
that the world’s fish catch might be increased three or four times. 
More optimistic estimates predict a tenfold increase. One pertinent 
fact is that the fish catch in the last 20 years has increased at a faster 
rate than the world’s population. 
2.4. UTILIZATION OF FISH FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION 
Whereas certain fishes are brought to market directly for human 
consumption, a large fraction of the total fish catch is not utilized 
directly by man. This is particularly true of fishes of relatively 
moderate and small size—e.g., anchovy, menhaden, and hake—which 
are caught in great numbers by simple trawling and seining proce- 
dures. These “industrial fish” are processed for oil and fish meal. 
Fishmeal is used as a high protein source for poultry and livestock 
feeds. From the standpoint of human nutrition, this use is wasteful 
because some of the protein in fish is lost in its conversion to poultry 
and livestock protein. 
* Sport fishing—today and tomorrow. Outdoor Recreation Resources Review 
Commission Report 7. 1962. 
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