1136 
(4) Atlantic Ocean Perch.—The landings of Atlantic perch illustrate most 
clearly a fishery coming into prominence and then dying away in a relatively 
short term of years. The species was largely ignored for economic reasons prior 
to 1930 and only began to come into prominence with the inception of the market- 
ing of frozen fish fillets in the United States. The landings exceeded a million 
pounds first in 1934 and grew steadily and rapidly to a high level of 238 million 
pounds in 1948. It then declined steadily to a new low of 81 million pounds in 1966. 
The decline in catch came during a steady growth in the market for frozen fish 
fillets in the United States. It arose from two factors. Atlantic Ocean perch is 
a slow growing fish that reaches considerable age. The growing fishery creamed 
off the standing stock as well as the annual growth increment in its early years 
and reduced the available stocks in waters aGjacent to the United States. Although 
some overfishing probably took place, this was not the serious problem that 
existed in Pacific sardine or is growing in menhaden. 
The more important reason for decline in production after 1948 was competi- 
tion in the market from the same or similar product produced in the Canadian 
Maritime provinces from essentially the same resources. Growing support for the 
Canadian fisheries from the Canadian Federal and provincial governments, and 
slackened market protection and support for the New Engiand fishermen from 
the United States Government, made it possible for Atlantic Ocean perch fillets 
to come into the U.S. market and increasingly take it away from the New Hngland 
fishermen. 
(5) Atlantic cod.—The Atlantic cod contributed 128 million ‘tons to domestic 
landings in 1938 and only 48 million pounds in 1967. This is not the whole story 
with cod, and its story is different than that of the other major, or formerly 
major, species in the landings of U.S. flag vessels. 
Cod was the mainstay of the New England fishery during the eighteenth and 
nineteenth centuries. The highest recorded catch (294 million pounds) occurred 
in 1880, the year of the first general fishery census in the United States. Although 
cod were, and are, commercially abundant off New England, its center of abun- 
dance and ease of catch is eastward on the Nova Scotia Banks, the Grand Banks, 
around New Foundland and up north and east. In these early days cod fishermen 
out of New England ranged as far east as Iceland on occasion, as far north as 
Labrador rather normally, and fished most actively on the Grand Banks. The 
catch was almost all salted and dried and, besides being an important item of 
the domestic diet, was a valued item in the export trade of New England. 
The gradual decline in favor of salt cod in ‘the United States led to catch de- 
clining from its average U.S. catch level of about 170 million pounds per year 
during the 1890’s to an average yield of about 140 million pounds per year up to 
the outbreak of World War I, and an average of perhaps a little less than 100 
million pounds per year from its end up through the depression of the early 
1930’s. From 1933 to 1939 landings ‘increased to 'an average of 120 million pounds 
per year under the stimulus of the beginning frozen and fillet production. In only 
two years after 1939 did the catches exceed 100 million pounds, and these were the 
war years. The landings of cod by U.S. vessels has declined rather steadily 
since war end and is still doing so, having reached 43 million pounds in 1967. 
This decline bas nothing to do with market for cod in the United States. Cod has 
become a standard ingredient of the rapidly growing frozen fish block business. 
These are imported from Canada, Iceland, and Norway especially in large 
volume. The United States eats the round weight equivalent of at least 400 million 
pounds of cod per year presently, and probably more. It is a prominent part of 
the fish sticks, fish portions, fish sandwiches, and fish steaks that are so popular 
presently in the United States. 
The decline in harvest has not been materially affected by decline in resource 
abundance, although some has been apparent in the last few years. There are 
presently caught about 1 million short tons of cod per year in the northwest 
Atlantic, and the United States fishery has become eighth or ninth in size among 
the nations fishing there, instead of first as it was during the eighteenth and 
nineteenth century. 
It is simply that other nations, and particularly Canada, can catch cod, fillet 
them, freeze them into blocks of fillets, and ship them into the United States 
cheaper than New England fishermen can economically survive at doing the same. 
(6) Haddock.—Haddock have also been caught in the New England area since 
colonial days. Unlike cod they were mostly used for the fresh market in the 
early years of the fishery, and the catch did not reach a level of 100 million 
pounds per year until 1919. The initiation of filleting and packaging of haddock, 
