MARINE SCIENCE 65 
project engaged in by the Government of Pakistan at Karachi with the aid of the 
International Cooperation Administration. 
Neither foreign enterprise nor domestic enterprise can be attracted to the 
rapid development of Nigeria’s fisheries in the present congested condition of 
Lagos Harbor, and there is presently no other harbor in Nigeria where modern 
vessels can be practically accommodated, or where their product can be readily 
transported into the interior where it is needed. Port Harcourt is 40 miles from 
the sea and does not have good interior lines of communications. The HEscranos 
River entrance will not be fully navigable for 2 or 3 years yet and its interior 
lines of communications are as yet nominal. 
Tin-Can Island comprises about 100 acres of mangrove land, very little of 
which is more than a foot above high tide level and a good deal of which is below 
that level. It lies directly west of the industrial area of Apapa from which it is 
separated by a narrow creek. Its southern boundary faces on the international 
waterway leading from Lagos Harbor to Dahomey. 
This waterway is deep enough without further dredging to accommodate high 
seas fishing vessels of the size and draft apt to be used in the area. Dredging 
operations directly in front of the island would produce enough fill to make this 
island into a flat land suitable for industrial development. The creek to Apapa 
could be conveniently bridged by a Bailey-type bridge, with which there has 
been considerable satisfactory experience in Nigeria. Water and power could 
be brought to the island from nearby Apapa by the same means. 
The scheme envisions the fill of 20 acres of the island as a start, the construc- 
tion of wharves and sheds for the accommodation of fishing vessels and their 
catches, adequate flat land upon which to construct processing plants, boat re- 
pair yards, and other facilities needed by a modern fishing and fish processing 
industry. 
The Federal Fishery Service calculates that bridge, fill, dredging, wharves 
and basic facilities will cost £500,000 or about US$1,400,000. We calculated 
that the total bill would come closer to US$3 million if ICA undertook it hbe- 
cause ICA would wish to do things in a little more complete and permanent fash- 
ion if it undertook the job, and if it were to maintain the high and excellent 
standards we saw at the modern fish harbor development at Karachi. 
During the course of a recent trip to Nigeria, one of us inspected this site and 
talked about it with Mr. Johnson, Director, Nigerian Federal Fishery Service, 
and Mr. Lewis, Federal Ministry of Hconomic Development. It was also dis- 
cussed with Mr. Olnick of the local ICA staff in Nigeria. Mr. Lewis and Mr. 
Johnson were told that it appeared to be a practical scheme from the fishery 
standpoint and it was suggested that the Government of Nigeria make a formal 
request to ICA in respect of it. Mr. Olnick was informed as to what had been 
done, and was told that we were intending to bring the subject to the attention 
of the appropriate authorities in Washington, D.C., which we hope we are doing 
with this letter. 
Additionally, one of us talked with Mr. F. Clark, director, West African Cold 
Storage Co, in Lagos (an affiliate of Unilever). Mr. Clark said that he was 
acquainted with the Tin-Can Island scheme and that his company was prepared 
to build a 4,000-ton refrigerator plant in the Lagos area for handling fishery 
products if they could locate the land to build it upon and if other basic facilities 
were made available so that a modern fishing industry could grow in that area. 
Two of our major California fishing industries have already inspected the area ; 
the representatives of two of our firms will be in Lagos looking into it before 
this letter reaches you, or very shortly thereafter. 
We recommend that ICA look into this matter in Lagos and, if the situation is 
as it was represented to us, give the Government of Nigeria such technical assist- 
ance as iS wanted and appropriate for drawing up of a proper request for the 
project. We agree with Messrs. Lewis and Johnson that some such project 
which will provide the basic facilities of land, wharves, repair yards, etc., are 
necessary if the sea fisheries of Nigeria are to develop in accordance with Ni- 
geria’s needs. 
We believe it to be desirable from the viewpoint of U.S. policy and interest 
that this be viewed with considerable urgency for reasons noted below. 
Two other fishery projects not concerned with Nigeria alone, but with the 
whole of west Africa as well as Nigeria, deserve to be mentioned too. One of 
them is perhaps appropriate for ICA to consider in view of its recent fishery 
oceanography project in the vicinity of Thailand; the other is certainly appro- 
priate for consideration by the appropriate officers of the Department of State 
