TABLE 2.3.—Harvest and value of sea fisheries and aquiculture in Japan in 1963! 
Sea fisheries Aquiculture 
Harvest Value Harvest Value 
Billion pounds?) Million dollars | Million pounds | Million dollars 
LOSI 2 saree. soe eee eee Sedu es 193 |. eae 
NOS Dee hee Se ae LO C2 acer Sane 220 «||_45 See 
OSE cs eo et ee ee eee Oi eee Slt) 2a 
1S ay SS yee gS ee hae ap ei OF One Seats ae 320) 32 eee 
1 ASS) lle ace 2 eh ea hes ae a be Re 9 NOMS: lasses. ae 340". eee 
DS Gee ee eee arte eee hoy ete Oh aenae ee eee 397 | 26S 
DOD ee See eee ee era eee eet oe 529) ||. 
LOG Rien Se a 2 ee ee a Ie | eee se ee AT 2, |e a= 
GS Gare eens cere Sree ee ee te 12.3 739 497 64 
TOGO! Siete ene eee ee ee 12.8 892 625 94 
1) aa ah a ae spl pe 13.9 1, 000 687 126 
OGD Bye Se Bel Pe ASS 14.4 1, 070 797 149 
LOGS Re es = eens See ee = 13.6 1,190 857 180 
1 Data from “Fisheries Statistics of Japan 1963,’’ Statistics and Survey Division, Ministry of Agriculture 
and Forestry. Government of Japan. 1965. 
2 Average for years 1945-50 was 5.5 billion pounds. 3 Average for years 1945-50 was 90 million pounds. 
seeding areas, collecting larvae on artificial surfaces and transplant- 
ing seed into bays, estuaries, and ponds that have rich algal growths 
which favor rapid growth to commercial size. Private concerns in 
many parts of the United States culture oysters, but to a great degree 
we still exploit and try to preserve the natural beds. The production 
of oysters on the U.S. west coast is based almost solely on seed im- 
ported from Japan. 
Forty years ago the Japanese began growing oysters on long ropes 
hanging from floating rafts or on ropes sustained by buoys. The 
difference in production is astounding: the old method yielded an- 
nually no more than 600 pounds per acre, while the raft method 
yields as much as 16,000 to 32,000 pounds per acre. With the new 
method, oysters are grown throughout the water column, not only on 
the bottom; therefore, oysters free from bottom predators grow rap- 
idly even when the bottom is unsuitable for their development. 
In Japan oysters are bred and selected for flavor and maximum 
yield. Progress was rapid after suitable methods were discovered 
for feeding oyster larvae artificially on cultured algae. A similar 
research program for growing clams is in progress at the Bureau of 
Commercial Fisheries Laboratory, Milford, Conn. 
In the United States, the Public Health Service has identified areas, 
totaling more than 10 million acres, that are suitable for shellfish 
production. Only about 7 million acres were in production in 1964— 
the unused acres were inactive due to pollution and other causes. It 
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