216 



In 1958, imports of industrial fishery products accounted for 35 per- 

 cent of the total U.S. supply ; in 1967, imports accounted for 82 percent 

 of the total. This increasing share of imported industrial fish products 

 contributes to the balance-of -payments problem in the national econ- 

 omy as well as directly affecting the economic base of the domestic 

 fishing industry. 



It must be noted, however, that increased harvesting of industrial 

 fish is ultimately dependent on existing renewable supplies of the re- 

 source. Although some sizable stocks of underutilized species exist, 

 such as the thread herring in the Gulf of Mexico, other stocks may be 

 overfished, now or in the future. Further degradation or destruction 

 of the estuarine nursery grounds for menhaden could well reduce or 

 eliminate this major domestic source of industrial fish. 



The edible commercial -fishery 



Despite the growth of the industrial fish sector, edible fish continue 

 to dominate the overall fisheries market in terms of value, as table 

 IV.3.4 indicates. 



Shrim,p 



Penaeidean shrimp, the most valuable commercial fish resource, are 

 dependent upon the estuary for nursery grounds and are then harvested 

 in coastal shelf waters. Almost all domestic harvesting of this shell- 

 fish occurs in the southern South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico bio- 

 physical regions. Particular estuarine economic areas that support 

 this fishery and allied processing are the Georgia-eastern Florida 

 coast, the Louisiana coast, the Mississippi-Alabama-west Florida 

 coast and the Texas north and south gulf coasts. 



Recent and projected trends show a strong and increasing demand 

 for shrimp although prices have increased rapidly. The ability to 

 supply these increasing demands in the future is dependent, to a 

 great extent, on the continuing supply of domestic shrimp. It is esti- 

 mated that the shallow water shrimp fishery is already fully utilized 

 and perhaps over-fished in the traditional south Atlantic and Gulf of 

 Mexico grounds. "V-SHiile the deep water shrimp supplies are estimated 

 to be large and are relatively untapped, there are considerable tech- 

 nological problems in locating and harvesting these shrimp. 



The continued existence of domestic shrimp to meet rising market 

 demands is uncertain. Recent declines in shrimp landings have been 

 noted in estuarine areas of relativelv little industrial and population 

 pressure and in areas of considerable economic and population con- 

 centration. For example, in Florida's Apalachicola Bay, the shrimp 

 fishery experienced a dramatic decrease in the short period between 

 1964 and 1967. The 1967 catch was less than 17 percent of the 1964 

 landings. Nearby St. George Sound experienced a similar decline dur- 

 ing the same period. The decline in local supplies of shrimp forced 

 Apalachicola fishermen to extend their operations to the Tortugas area 

 of Florida, which not onlv increased their operating costs, but — more 

 significantly — ^added to the heavy pressure already applied to the 

 Tortugas shrimp fishery. 



Galveston Bay, a steadily growing population and industrial center, 

 has been a prime nurserv ground for shrimp and a major area of shrimp 

 harvesting and processing. These primary and secondary fishery ac- 

 tivities are threatened by the degradation of the Galveston estuarine 



