canned animal food. The processed products for 
human consumption in 1977 consisted of: 
@ canned products—418,186 tonnes, 
@ fish portions—159,111 tonnes, 
e fillets and steaks—68,018 tonnes, 
© breaded shrimp—42,698 tonnes, and 
® fish sticks—39,458 tonnes. 
Industrial products consisted of: 
© fishmeal—256,803 tonnes, 
e bait and animal food—231,845 tonnes, 
@ solubles—110,937 tonnes, and 
® fish body oil—60,654 tonnes. 
In 1976 there were 1,668 plants processing fresh 
and marine fishery products in the United States that 
seasonally employed 77,90U people. In the same 
year, 1,992 wholesale plants seasonally employed 
13,900 people. The number of plants engaged in 
canning, preparation of fillets and steaks, and pro- 
duction of industrial fishery products increased from 
520 in 1976 to 533 in 1977. Most of these types of 
plants are in the Pacific States, and their primary 
product is canned fish. The South Atlantic and Gulf 
States have the largest number of plants for process- 
ing industrial fish. The largest number of plants for 
processing fillets and steaks is in the New England 
States. Several large firms dominate the processing 
portion of the industry in sharp contrast to domestic 
harvesting operations. Ninety percent of the U.S. 
fishing vessels are independent operations and em- 
ploy fewer than five persons.‘ 
About 161,400 persons worked in the harvesting 
sector of the fishing industry in 1974.° This figure 
includes some persons who were involved on only a 
part-time basis. An additional 92,000 people (also 
including some part-time persons) were employed 
in the processing and wholesaling segments. Thus, 
the approximate total employment of the commercial 
and processing segments was 253,000 in 1974. This 
figure is small relative to total U.S. employment, but 
significant when compared to employment in some 
major industries such as: electrical wiring and appli- 
ance equipment (227,000), plastics materials and 
synthetics (224,000), dairy products (202,000), 
household appliance manufacturing (197,000), coal 
mining (160,000), nonmetallic minerals (117,000), 
and metal mining (86,000).° 
The National Marine Fisheries Service estimates 
the total value” added by commercial fishing_activ- 
*U.S. Comptroller General. The U.S. Fishing Industry— 
Present Condition and Future of Marine Fisheries, Washington, 
D.C., Government Printing Office, 1976, (107 pp.), p. ix. 
= National Marine Fisheries Service, op. cit. note 1, p. 74. 
°U.S. Bureau of the Census. Statis: tical 1 Abstract of the United 
States, 1975. Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 
1975, pp. 355-356. 
ities at $6.7 billion, based on 1973 data. This figure 
is less than | percent of the Gross ‘National Product.’ 
Table 3-1 summarizes the commercial industry’s 
recent record. 
Regional Impacts 
In certain U.S. regions, the importance of the 
fishing industry relative to other industries is more 
significant than indicated by the national picture. 
For example, employment related directly to fisher- 
ies in Alaska accounted for 19 percent of the total 
State employment and 7 percent of the gross State 
production in 1973.8 When both the direct and 
indirect effects of the Alaska fishing industry were 
considered, they contributed about 23 percent to em- 
ployment and 12 percent to the gross State product.® 
Table 3-1.—Commercial fishing industry statistics, 
1960-77 * 
Commercial landings and imports 
USS. per capita 
World utilization U.S. per capita 
commercial (edible and consumption 
catch nonedible) (edible only) 
billion pounds pounds pounds 
1960 83.2 : 45.5 10.3 
1965 115.5 54.2 10.8 
1966 125.2 63.4 10.9 
1967 133.4 70.4 10.6 
1968 141.1 86.6 11.0 
1969 139.1 58.4 11.2 
1970 152.8 56.0 11.8 
1971 153.7 57.0 TES) 
1972 144.6 66.3 12.5 
1973 145.7 49.3 12.9 
1974 153.9 46.6 12.1 
1975 153.7 47.4 121 
1976 162.0 53.7 13.0 
1977 — 48.8 12.8 
*Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration. Fisheries of the United States, 
1960, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 
1974, 1975, 1976, 1977. 
? NOTE: 1 metric ton (tonne) = 2,204.6 pounds. : 
Centaur Management Consu!tants, Inc. Economic Impacts 
of the U.S. Commercial Fishing Industry. NMFS Contract No. 
4-36756, Washington, D.C., 1975, p. V. 
* These figures were derived by the National Marine Fisheries 
Service. Employment figures were developed from: (a) NMFS, 
Fishery Statistics of the United States, various years. (b) U.S. 
Bureau of Census, Census of Manufacturers, 1972, Industry 
Series: Miscellaneous Foods and Kindred Products, MC72(2)- 
201. (c) U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics 
May 1976, Vol. 22, No. 11. 
®’Values for Gross State Product were based on data from 
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, 
Survey of Current Business, various years. The methodology for 
computing Gross State Product was based on the procedures 
described in: J. W. Kendrick and C. M. Joycox, “The Concept 
and Estimation of Gross State Product,’ Southern Economic 
Journal, October 1965. 
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