1132 
Accordingly, it is useful to examine most closely the estimates of marine living 
resources suitable for supporting fisheries supplying United States markets that 
are available in U.S. coastal waters, or close thereto. The knowledge respecting 
such resources has been reviewed recently by appropriate experts for the “Confer- 
ence on the Future of the U.S. Fishing Industry,” held at the College of Fisheries, 
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, in late March, 1968. A tabulation 
summary of this information is given in Table 12. This can be summarized 
further as follows. 
1. In the shelf and slope area adjacent to the United States there are known 
resources of the sorts of fish used in the United States that are conservatively 
estimated to be capable of supporting annual harvests on a sustainable yield basis 
(if properly managed) of about 22 million tons of fish and shellfish per year. 
These estimates can be divided roughly into 8 million tons per year of demersal 
(bottom) fish, 10 million tons of pelagic fish, and 4 million tons of shellfish. 
2. The largest blocks of underutilized fish and shellfish resources exists in the 
Gulf of Mexico, with some along the South Atlantic coast of the United States. 
These may be able to support annual fisheries of 13 million tons per year. 
3. Pelagic resource potentials suitable for making fish meal, fish protein con- 
centrate, ete., in addition to those now used, are particularly large in the Gulf 
of Mexico and off Southern California (6 million tons per year). 
4. Demersal (bottom fish) potentials in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and 
New England are large (4 million tons per year), but much of the potential is 
currently being harvested by foreign fishermen. 
5. Pink shrimp, tanner crab, and scallop show particular promise in the Alaska 
area, as do clams. Calico scallops and clams are in large underutilized supply 
in the Gulf of Mexico and along the South Atlantic sea bed (4 million tons per 
year). 
6. In essence. these reviews indicate that there are resources of fish and shell 
fish available on the continental shelf and slope, of the sorts capable of being 
marketed in the United States, that can support on a steady, sustainable basis 
(if their harvest is rationally managed) annual yields in physical volume about 
&+910 times that now produced by U.S. flag vessels. 
A little more than 2 million tons per year of these is now taken by U.S. flag 
fishing vessels and at least half that amount is taken now per year, in addition, 
by foreign fishermen. Straight arithmetic would indicate the possibility of increas- 
ing yields by a factor of 6 or 7 from present levels without interaction between 
fisheries or nations, but the siutation is by no means so simple. 
Some of these resources are presently fully utilized and under international 
or other conservation regulation (Pacific salmon, Pacific halibut, Alaskan king 
crab, Maine lobster, Pacific yellowfin tuna, etc.). Generally speaking these are 
the resources of higher individual value where scientific information is good 
enough to permit rational regulation of effort. Some of these resources are a little, 
some, or have been heavily, overfished and are not under rational management 
procedures yet, either because of lack of scientific knowledge as to what to do, 
or lack of agreement or machinery therefore to do what is needed. Included are 
Atlantie haddock, Atlantic silver hake, Pacific mackerel, Pacific sardine, ete. Some 
of these resources have just had their harvest and environment so badly managed 
that they do not produce well any more (oysters, many clam resources, Atlantic 
shad, Atlantic salmon, ete.). Some are so heavily regulated for no resource justi- 
fication at all that a fishery cannot be economically initiated on them (Gulf of 
Mexico thread-fin herring, California anchovy, Alaska Herring, etc.). 
These various situations are so complex, and so different one from another that 
a number of them,are discussed separately in the following chapter. Nevertheless 
it can be stated flatly, and without fear of contradiction, that there are very large 
underutilized living resources on the continental shelf and slope of the United 
States, easily available to United States harbors and flag vessels which are of the 
kind required by the United States and the world market. 
It is not contended that all U.S. fishery market needs can, or will, be filled from 
them, because of the variety of U.S. market requirements, some resources of which 
do not occur off the United States in sufficient quantity for that market. What is 
contended is that if the United States followed a general policy along the lines 
followed by Japan of providing incentive to domestic fishermen to more fully 
utilize coastal resources, the living resources in U.S. coastal waters are more 
than adequate in size to fill the equivalent of the total U.S. market for fish and 
shellfish products (about 7 million short tons per year) and provide more than 
twice that much in surplus for export. 
