1144 
There is not expected to be a substantial increase (or decrease) in the land- 
ings of Penaeid (Gulf) Shrimp off the coast of the United States. The resources 
are quite well surveyed and are felt to be producing about as much as they ¢an. 
There is steadily developing a larger sized vessel, and freezing at sea has been 
experimented with extensively (it is used extensively in the Persian Gulf on 
vessels built for that fishery in Texas) but it is not clear yet that long range 
shrimp fishing plus freezing at sea can compete economically with ice boats 
working out of foreign ports where catches can be frozen and shipped by common 
carrier (or flown). Nevertheless a trend toward larger long-range freezing vessels 
has looked as if it is starting over the past two years. ; 
(18) Crabs.—Crabs have been a delicacy in sea coast towns forever. With 
the coming of refrigerated transport facilities, and frozen food counters in 
every super-market type grocery store in every village and town of the interior 
as well as the coast, the common taste for good shellfish continued to build 
market in what seems an almost insatiable manner. This is much forwarded by 
modern packaging, marketing and merchandizing methods, and the rapidity of 
transport from catcher to consumer, including by air. 
Crab have participated fully in this expansion of market with shrimp. In 
1965 they were second only to menhaden in volume of landing by U.S. flag vessels. 
(with a total catch of 335 million pounds), and fourth in value (behind shrimp,. 
salmon and tuna) at $31 million. Both volume and value were new records. In 
1966 new records were set with a catch of 372 million pounds valued at $33. 
million. The catch was off somewhat in 1967, but will be up again in 1968. 
The big volume of production is derived from blue crab, which are found in 
commercial quantities on the east and Gulf coasts from southern New Hngland to 
the Mexican border. There is a problem with this kind of crab of the great 
amount of hand labor in picking meat which keeps production costs up. Catching 
is by small vessels inshore. Progress is being made in mechanization of processing. 
Catch has been going up rather steadily. It exceeded 100 million pounds in 1957, 
and reached 171 million pounds in 1965. There is ample resources base, particu- 
larly in the South Atlantic and Gulf States, for major expansion still in the yield. 
King crab is caught commercially in Alaska from Kodiak Island to Bering Sea 
(by Japanese and Russians, to westward, as well as Americans). The American 
fishery is conducted by large pots on the continental sheif fairly near to shore, 
but the seas and weather are rough and it is a hardy operation requiring sound, 
and fairly expensive, vessels to tend the pots. 
The American fishery was twenty years getting started and as late as 1959 
yielded a little less than 9 million pounds. It then took off like a sky rocket 
and a veritable gold rush developed. Catches went from 9 million pounds in 
1959 to 87 million pounds in 1964, and a top of 159 million pounds in 1966 (almost 
equaling the blue crab catch of that year). The catch fell to 126 million pounds 
in 1967 because of resource scarcity but there is not a feeling among experts 
that the top has yet been reached. Expansion of the fishery in this last eight years 
has been heavily concentrated close to Kodiak Island, and the stocks in that 
vicinity have probably reached their maximum level of productivity or sur- 
passed it. There is much stock left that is not fully fished further westward 
along the Alaska peninsula and out along the Aleutian chain, as well as in 
Bering Sea. The fishery is expanding out in that direction. The United States. 
Government has jurisdiction over most production, which lies outside the 3 
mile limit, but, as is normal, does not exercise it except in negotiations with 
other countries. Again, as is customary, the State of Alaska fills the management 
of use void to the limit of its ability. 
king crab (as with tuna, brown and pink shrimp) is an example of a marine 
resources for which no market existed in the United States and for which a 
market was deliberately created by advertising and skilled merchandizing. It 
makes a fine canned product but in this form was expensive and directly 
competitive with the same product from Japan and Russia, where production 
costs are cheaper. It was not until a solid marketing program was put afoot 
to sell the product frozen, either in sections or as picked meat, that costs 
got in line and market expanded so that the fishery could grow. 
At once a rather large number of fairly good vessels were needed, and 
sooner than they could be built. The fishery accomplished its rapid growth by 
attracting in a conglomeration of vessels, poorly suited to the fishery, from 
all other fleets on the coast, from tuna clippers, sardine seiners, and salmon 
seiners to halibut schooners. A good many of them were overage, ald none 
of them were designed for this specialized and rugged fishery, operating under 
such harsh work and climate conditions. A bad vessel under a good master 
