TREASURE FROM THE SEA 



Pond culture has proven successful in several areas, with a yield 

 higher than that of agriculture. For instance, in China production 

 is said to be 5,000 to 7,000 pounds of fish per acre, compared to 800 

 pounds per acre for beef. Oyster cultivation, however, has been 

 one of man's most successful attempts at aquaculture. The Romans 

 were among the first to try their hand at aquaculture some two 

 thousand years ago. Growing oysters were attached to ropes in 

 protected areas, while they were fattening. Today, where con- 

 ditions are favorable, oysters are cultivated in many areas of the 

 world. 



One oyster will produce several million young of which only a 

 very few ever emerge as adults. Were this not the case, a few 

 oysters could, within a short time, produce enough food to feed 

 the entire world population. When the spat (young oysters) emerge 

 from the plankton stage, they settle to the bottom. If at this 

 critical period of their life they do not find sand, or a rock on which 

 to attach themselves they soon expire from silt and pollution. It is 

 at this most important phase of their life that man can best promote 

 their growth, for the numbers are few that ever find the necessary 

 type of bottom. For this reason, some states wisely require that 

 a certain percentage of marketed oyster shells be returned to the 

 growing areas. 



FISHERIES 



Fishing has been referred to as man's oldest industry. It has 

 certainly provided him with a substantial portion of his diet since 

 pre-historic times. Currently seafood probably makes up less of 

 man's diet than it did in earlier times, as fishery products now con- 

 stitute less than three percent of the world's food. 



In the less fortunate areas of the world, millions of people suffer 

 greatly from protein deficiency, due to their economic diet of rice 

 and other starchy foods. Fish from the sea, however, offers a thrifty 

 solution to this nutritional problem. For, fish is a concentrated 

 protein diet, with the advantage of holding all of the essential 

 amino acids. 



In addition to the calorie producing foods, our body chemistry 

 requires other sources of energy such as vitamins and minerals, 

 which are all contained and well-balanced in seafood. Further, the 

 fat in fish provides vitamins A, D, & B complex; and it is now 

 believed that natural vitamins may contain beneficial qualities not 

 found in the synthetic product. Concerning minerals, fish contains 

 phosphorus, calcium, potassium, and magnesium along with adequate 

 quantities of iodine, iron and copper. So, not only is fish a most 

 palatable and economical food, it is also the most digestible form of 

 protein and a well rounded source of energy and health. 



The remedy for protein shortages is in the sea and waiting 

 utilization. But, all too frequently the fish are scattered and so 

 far removed from the hungry mouths it is beyond the means of 

 economy to catch them. New devices and methods are sorely 

 needed, as very little has been accomplished of a radical nature, 

 concerning methods, in the past several hundred years. 



A wide variety of new gear, with a completely new approach, 

 is presently being studied by scientists. They have discovered some 

 of the ways fish respond to what they feel, see, hear, and smell and 

 are taking advantage of these facts. One of the items receiving 

 interest is the tendency of fish to react to electric fields. A strange 

 fact concerning electrical fishing, is that fish line up with the field, 

 facing the positive pole. Upon becoming ahgned with the electrical 

 fields of force, the fish then begins an inexorable move towards the 

 positive pole and so continues as long as the current persists. At or 

 near the anode electrode the fish becomes stunned and may be 

 scooped up. This process, although not yet too successful in salt 

 water, has been going on for some time in fresh water. 



The basic reason for the lack of success in salt water is the 

 fact that salt water has less resistance than fresh water. Or, 

 stated differently, the higher the salt content of water the greater 



the conductivity. This range of resistance is quite great, with a 

 minimum of 9 to 20 ohms per cubic inch for sea water and going 

 up to 1,000,000 ohms for pure rainwater. 



As electricity takes the path of least resistance it can be seen 

 that it would bypass a fish with a resistance of perhaps 250 ohms 

 swimming in sea water of, say, 15 ohms. On the other hand, were 

 the fish swimming in river water of 1,500 ohms resistance it would 

 quickly be effected. Consequently, to produce the required effect 

 in sea water, considerable more power is necessary. 



The advantage of this process is that the size of fishes caught 

 can be controlled, as the larger the fish the less current is required 

 for response. Other items include dye curtains, a net of sonar 

 transmitters that emit a repellent noise, gigantic nets that can be 

 closed before the fish become frightened, underwater television 

 cameras and many others. 



Whatever improvements and advances are made in the near 

 future, commercial fishing will still largely be a matter of hunting 

 and finding the fish. It is therefore not only important that 

 catching methods be improved, but also the means of locating the 

 fish is of paramount importance. 



To awaken the general public's interest in the protein rich food 

 of the sea, marketing experts are continually at work. New 

 methods of packaging along with new products such as breaded 

 shrimp and fish sticks are now conveniently available at most grocers. 



FRESH WATER 



Of all the riches from the sea, the one that may well prove to 

 be of highest value to man, is water itself. For, neither industry, 

 agriculture nor man himself can long survive without this all 

 important element. In parts of the United States, North Africa, 

 Australia and Central Asia the need for fresh water is becoming 

 desperate. During the draught years several United States cities 

 place special restrictions on the use of water. An extreme example 

 of the lack of water was in Dallas, Texas in February 1957 when 5 

 gallon jugs of drinking water sold in grocery stores for $1.25. 



So, where shall we get additional water? More reservoirs would 

 help, but a vast supply of water in a northern reservoir would be of 

 no value to the draught-stricken south. Again we should look to 

 the sea for help. Man has long been in quest for a means of irri- 

 gating deserts and arid lands. Several methods have been known 

 for years, but the problem has been not only to obtain fresh water 

 abundantly, but cheaply. The answer to this age-old problem will 

 probably be nuclear power. For, as has been the case with so many 

 subjects, "nuclear energy has been a solution in search of a problem." 



The Department of Interior has been conducting research on 

 obtaining fresh water from the sea, for more than a decade, and has 

 a few pilot plants in operation. In any event, the day is probably 

 not far off when deserts will bloom and arid countries will be able 

 to produce the crops that their populations so desperately need. 



CONCLUSION 



The Malthusian theories hold that the population of the world 

 tends to multiply faster than its means of subsistence can be made to 

 do, and that, unless an increase of population be checked by pru- 

 dential restraint, poverty is inevitable. The views of political 

 economist Rev. T. R. Malthus (1766-1834) might well have been 

 quite different if he could have forseen more of the capabilities of 

 our inexhaustible sea. 



The potentials of Neptune's treasure are vast. Minerals and 

 chemicals exist beyond one's comprehension. Food is available in 

 quantities more than sufficient to lift all of the world's wants. In 

 addition, if the power of the ocean's currents, tides and waves could 

 be converted for use. it would be considerably more than all the 

 power currently produced. 



Our conquest and understanding of inner space may well prove 

 more important to our very existence than the greatest of achieve- 

 ments in outer space. 



16 



