fish protein concentrate industry are of this type. 

 Finally, research into other methods of production 

 and other end products should be increased 

 substantially in order to make the best possible 

 adaptation to taste, preferences, and marketing 

 problems in all areas where protein supplements 

 like FPC can be utilized. The total amounts 

 involved are not large; the humanitarian and 

 economic returns appear far more than enough to 

 justify them. 



The panel does not regard the fish protein 

 concentrate program as a major element in rehabil- 

 itation of the U.S. fishing industry, although it 

 may stimulate some activity along these lines, 

 utilizing hake, thread herring, anchovies, or other 

 latent or under-utilized species. The greatest ad- 

 vantage of FPC is to locate the processing plant 

 next to the cheapest sources of supply anywhere 

 in the world, and to transport and store the 

 finished product at low cost. It is therefore likely 

 that U.S. firms (and others) which may enter the 

 industry on a large scale will locate plants in areas 

 where fish can be obtained for $10-12 per ton, and 

 where adequate support facilities are available. 



The panel also recognizes that research and 

 development is going forward on other types of 

 protein concentrates. Private industry efforts to 

 produce an economical protein concentrate from 

 crude petroleum have drawn wide attention. Oil 

 seed concentrates and the use of synthetic amino 

 acids to improve the quaUty of vegetable proteins 

 are other promising prospects. On the basis of 

 present cost estimates, however, fish protein con- 

 centrate appears to warrant continued effort, 

 particularly in view of the substantial progress 

 already mad?. Moreover, nutrition experts are 

 unanimous in the view that all sources of protein 

 for human use must be expanded as rapidly as 

 possible in view of impending world scarcities. 



The same reasoning suggests the need to sepa- 

 rate clearly the nutritional objectives of our 

 foreign aid program from those involved in the 

 development of new fishing industries. There is no 

 logical reason why a U.S. program designed to 

 alleviate protein deficiencies should be limited to 

 those countries that have abundant supplies of 

 cheap fish, a fishing industry that can be de- 

 veloped to produce raw material in satisfactory 

 quantities, and a protein deficiency problem. What 

 is more likely is that some nations may benefit 

 substantially from the development of the new 



industry while many others will benefit from the 

 contribution the product makes to dietary pro- 

 grams. There is no necessity that both be asso- 

 ciated in a given country. 



The panel supports strongly the concept of a 

 Government research and development program to 

 broaden the base of the FPC potential with the 

 understanding that actual production and most of 

 the market development will be a matter for 

 private enterprise to undertake. At the same time, 

 the panel stresses the need for Government finan- 

 cial support, whether by the United States, recipi- 

 ent governments, or both, if mass distribution of 

 FPC is to be achieved. It is also quite possible that 

 FPC will find profitable commercial markets, most 

 likely in developed countries with sophisticated 

 programs for formulating blended foods. If so, it 

 will strengthen the overall technology and market- 

 ing capability of the industry. But the human need 

 for animal protein is so great that every effort 

 should be made to assure a combined private and 

 government market for FPC that will induce 

 private enterprise to proceed as rapidly as possible 

 in translating the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 

 research program into a family of economical 

 processes and products. 



6. Institutional Arrangements for Technological 

 Research and Development 



As indicated in the preceding section, the panel 

 places great emphasis on the need for expanded 

 efforts to improve conventional methods of fishing 

 gear and to explore new concepts and strategies in 

 the light of current developments in materials, 

 platform capability, and instrumentation. It does 

 not find satisfactory organizational arrangements 

 for such work within the BCF as now constituted. 

 While it is clearly essential that such work be 

 carried on by the BCF, in view of its intimate 

 relation to other Bureau missions, it is equally 

 necessary to establish close working connections 

 with specialists in industry, the universities, and 

 State agencies. In addition, some means must be 

 provided for a blending of specific technical 

 competence in ocean engineering, resource assess- 

 ment, search and detection, harvest dynamics, fish 

 behavior, and fishing strategy. 



All of these skills exist in some degree within 

 the Bureau already, and Bureau personnel have 

 frequently established, on a more or less formal 



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