MARINE SCIENCE 67 
ernmental which could be attracted to these purposes but it is doubtful if there 
is enough to meet the requirements of motors for canoes, nylon webbing for 
nets, small trawlers, processing equipment, and latterly larger modern seagoing 
vessels. To nurture the use of Nigerian capital in these enterprises there will 
be required, we believe, sums of capital for loans mostly on a rather small 
scale and with liberal terms of repayment. This is probably as important to 
the overall purpose of building a Nigerian fishing industry as are the basic 
facilities of such a scheme as the Tin-Can Island one. It is certainly an ap- 
propriate subject for the proper U.S. agency to look into. 
We have dwelt at considerable length on Nigerian fishery developments for 
these reasons: 
1. Nigeria’s large human population desires and needs fish. 
2. Nigeria is rather ideally situated in respect of the abundant high seas 
fishery resources of the west Africa area. 
3. The Governments of Nigeria and of its several regions are actively inter- 
ested in developing their fisheries. 
4. Nigeria has a large fishing population having long fishing traditions. These 
have had all or most of their experiences in the fresh water fisheries of west 
Africa but appear to be readily adaptable to being developed into sea fisheries. 
5. The business community of Lagos and Western Region seem fully pre- 
pared to go forward in such developments if basic facilities can be provided, 
and 
6. The present political complexion and stable progressive nature of the 
Nigerian Government is such as will attract in American fishing firms with 
their technical know-how and even capital. We believe that a considerable 
amount of such sophisticated capability will be required to prime the pump 
of bringing Nigeria’s presently very primitive fishing industry up to modest 
but modern capabilities in high-seas fisheries. 
We believe that all of this is highly desirable from the standpoint of overall 
objectives of U.S. diplomacy and defense. Our private sources of trade infor- 
mation indicate that Russia has quickly seen the political significance of great 
unused fish resources immediately adjacent to large human populations badly 
in need of animal protein in their diet. Accordingly Russia is in the process 
of offering Ghana all of the facilities noted above and some additional ones. 
Poland is purported to have made similar offers to Guinea. We learn from 
competent sources that Russia has under study the making of the broad ocean- 
ographie and fishing survey off west Africa recommended by the Monrovia 
symposium noted above. 
Obviously it would be advantageous for the U.S. Navy rather than the 
Russian Navy to have the advantage of a thorough knowledge of the west 
African seas. It would be even more desirable for the United States to demon- 
strate in west Africa what its peculiarly competent combination of private and 
public enterprise can accomplish in such a situation, while materially aiding 
these peoples both economically and nutritionally. 
From our background of experience we believe that Nigeria has the pos- 
sibilities of being made into a show case of fishery development and that 
American industry can contribute materially to this objective there. 
In view of the fact that what we have set forth here is of wider scope than 
the responsibilities of your office we are taking the liberty of sending copies 
of this letter to Mr. Rusk, Secretary of State, Mr. Udall, Secretary of the 
Interior, Mr. Dillon, Secretary of the Treasury, and Admiral Burke, Chief of 
Naval Operations. 
Sincerely yours, 
Cuas. R. CARRY, 
Heecutive Director. 
W. M. CHAPMAN, 
Director, the Resources Committee. 
