34 



High Seas Fisheries 



The oceans beyond the continental shelf contain 

 living resources of a magnitude unsuspected even 

 a few decades ago. Among these are the valuable 

 tunas, swordfish, hake, anchovies, thread herring, 

 saury, mackerels, squid, and deep water shrimp. 

 Many of these fauna have a transoceanic distribu- 

 tion which is as yet incompletely defined. Some 

 are caught only seasonally when their life histories 

 and migratory regimes bring them into shelf or 

 coastal waters. 



The competitive position of the United States 

 fisherman on the high seas must be improved by 

 developing these and other resources if he is to 

 survive the competition of foreign fishing fleets. 

 Programs must be continued to determine the 

 location and sizes of new fish populations and how 

 these vary with changing conditions in the sea, 

 to determine what ocean conditions bring about 

 aggregations of fish and how these conditions can 

 be predicted, and to find aspects of' fish behavior 

 that can be exploited to reduce the costs of catch- 

 ing fish. 



A major factor preventing the full commercial 

 exploitation of the protein resources of the sea is 

 the general lack of application of our present 

 scientific knowledge and engineering know-how. 

 Studies will be continued to determine new 

 methods of locating fish and harvesting them from 

 the sea. Efforts to increase the efficiency of 

 fishing operations will be accompanied by con- 

 tinued emphasis on maintaining stocks at their 

 maximum sustainable yield. The United States 

 has taken the lead in the world for proper manage- 

 ment of the living resources of the ocean. To 

 continue this leadership will require added em- 

 phasis on obtaining scientific data upon which 

 management principles can be based. Research 

 programs will continue on the life history, growth, 

 mortality, subpopulations, migrations, and 

 environmental requirements of important species 

 in off-shore waters. These studies in time will lead 

 to information on what harvest the stocks might 

 support on a sustained basis. 



Continental Shelf Fisheries 



Proper management of the coastal and estuarine 

 environment to produce fish and shellfish at 

 maximum sustainable yields is one of the most 



critical problems facing the Bureau today. Actual 

 size of the habitat has been reduce by construction 

 activity, and pollution has markedly changed the 

 chemical and biological characteristics of the water. 

 The eff'ect of fishing on the inshore resources is 

 not fullv understood. 



In working toward optimum use of the living 

 resotnxes of inshore regions the Bureau plans to 

 continue emphasis on its radiobiological and 

 pollution programs to determine the effects of 

 pollutants on the marine environment. Research 

 sponsored cooperatively by the Bureau of Com- 

 mercial Fisheries and the Atomic Energy Commis- 

 sion will measure the existing levels of gamma 

 radioactivity in the estuarine environment to find 

 biological indicators of this radioactivity, and to 

 determine what factors influence the accumulation 

 and retention of radionuclides by filter-feeding 

 fish and shellfish. 



The Bureau will conduct studies at a number of 

 coastal laboratories with the broad objective of 

 eventually manipulating and managing the 

 estuary to increase production of commercially 

 valuable food organisms. Life history studies of 

 important estuarine and coastal species will 

 continue. Special emphasis will be given to: 

 determining the causes of fluctuations in the size 

 of fish and shellfish populations, developing selec- 

 tive strains and hybrids, and the application of 

 fish cultural methods to fishing farming. 



In estuarine studies of a different type the 

 Bureau vsill continue to in\'estigate the eff'ects of 

 engineering projects on biological productivity. 

 Results so far indicate that sediments and biota 

 do not return to normal condition within ten 

 years after completion of certain types of dredge- 

 fill projects. With proper knowledge of both the 

 livinar resources and the environment, some 

 estuarine waters already laid waste by man may 

 be recovered. 



In respect to dollar value, the No. 1 fishery 

 product of the United States is shrimp, the 

 greatest portion of which comes from the South 

 Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The Bureau's shrimp 

 research program is designed to determine the 

 effects of en\ ironmental factors, such as salinity, 

 temperature, light, and food on growth, survival 

 and distribudon. Studies will assess the eff'ects of 

 \arious fishing practices on shrimp populations 

 and determine rates and causes of natural 

 mortality. 



