SEA GRANT COLLEGES 133 



Mr. Dykstra. Well, our port at Point Judith has the bulk of the 

 fishermen in Rhode Island. Newport has some. We have fishino- out 

 of our port probably 125 to 150 fishermen. I would say that in New- 

 port there would probably be based right there, maybe 25 or 30, and 

 some of the out-of-State boats are laying there, but they are not Rhode 

 Island fishermen. Now, this is trawl fishermen and trawlers. If 

 you asked me, like how many fishermen there are including the trap- 

 pers, we call them shell fishermen, pot-lobster fishermen, ones who are 

 part time in and out, and so on, why there would probably be more 

 fishermen to be counted, but as far as trawl fishermen go that's about 

 it. 



Senator Pell. Would you say there are more than 1,000 people 

 that are fishermen of one sort or another in the State, lobster, shellfish, 

 trawlers, and so on ? 



Mr. Dykstra. If you were to include shell fishermen, yes, there 

 would be. 



Senator Pell. And in connection with insurance rates, since your 

 profession is a relatively hazardous one, do you have any problem in 

 getting insurance for your men and the boats ? How do you arrange 

 rates ? 



Mr. Dykstra. This is a very great problem in many places. We 

 are very fortunate in our cooperative. We have a complete program 

 based on our experience, and so far we have been successful in keep- 

 ing the rates well below, for instance, New Bedford. But many ports 

 and vessel operators find this one of the most difficult things that they 

 have to contend with. I am not saying that we couldn't have a great 

 deal of difficulty overnight, and be in the same boat that they are in. 

 We just happen to have a rather unique situation in that regard. 

 Fishing vessel operators throughout the country have that insurance 

 problem. 



Senator Pell. Isn't lobster pot fishing even more hazardous than 

 your trawl fishing ? 



Mr. Dykstr.\. I would say perhaps, yes, but this is a different type 

 of operation. You haven't got the same situation. Most of these 

 are a one-man, or sometime, a two-man operation. Most of the time 

 they fish alone. We wouldn't think of going out to sea without com- 

 plete insurance coverage. 



Senator Pell. Returning to the general purpose of the bill, that is 

 the exploitation of the knowledge we already have. How many fish 

 that you catch would you call "trash fish," that get thrown back into 

 the sea ? 



Mr. Dykstra. Well, of course we do have a plant which utilizes 

 these "trash fish" now. 



Senator Pell. So, you would throw nothing back into the sea as of 



now 



Mr. Dykstra. Well, that would be or might be a very bad im]U'es- 

 sion because we are asking other people if they are throwing anything 

 back into the sea. We try to use commonsense as far as conservation 

 goes. In other words we don't just go out and try to catch everything 

 that we possiblj' can and bring it in. But we do use all species of fish 

 excepting for one or two species. 



Senator Pell. Thank you very much, Mr. Dykstra, for giving us 

 this valuable time and your special specific knowledge. Indeed, we 

 are very grateful to you. 



