Table 10 



ESTIMATED SUSTAINED CATCH CAPABILITIES FOR VARIOUS LATENT OR 



LARGELY UNUSED FISHERY RESOURCES NEW ENGLAND AND 



MIDDLE ATLANTIC AREAS' 



(millions of pounds) 



Estimates courtesy Keith A. Smith. 



International Commission for Northwest Atlantic Fisheries. 



virtually unused. Perhaps the largest unknown 

 potential in the Pacific Northwest region is that 

 for moUusks. Very large quantities of clams known 

 to inhabit the inter-and subtidal areas in the waters 

 of this region. There is no information, however, 

 upon which to quantify their potential. Perhaps 

 more important, the recurrent toxicity of these 

 shellfish in Alaska waters makes it impossible to 

 market them at present. 



The utilization of the extensive butter clam 

 resource in Southeastern Alaska has been re- 

 stricted since 1946 when the U.S. Food and Drug 

 Administration found that the clams may contain 

 a naturally occurring toxic substance, identical to 

 that sometimes found in mussels in California. The 

 toxin is derived most commonly from a dinoflagel- 

 late plankton, Gonyaulax catenella. Frequently, 

 but not always, these plankton produce endoge- 

 nously a potent neurotoxin that is retained by the 



butter clams in the areas of occurrence. Since 

 these episodes cannot be predicted, except in a 

 general way, clams from Alaska beaches must be 

 sampled and analyzed at the time of harvest to 

 assure a safe product. The extensive Alaska butter 

 clam resource cannot be utilized on a large scale 

 economically until the problem of monitoring the 

 toxin occurrence at time of harvest is solved. 

 Alternatively, practical methods of processing or 

 treating the clams to eliminate the toxin at point 

 of harvest might be developed and enable utiliza- 

 tion. 



The 1964 and 1965 values to American fisher- 

 men in this region were $134 million and $167 

 million. 



d. California The Continental Shelf area off 

 California is relatively narrow and the potential 

 yield of demersal fishes relatively small. It will 



VII-23 



