however, may be impaired by operation of foreign 
vessels in adjacent waters because fish migrate 
between zones. The definition and protection of 
U.S. rights within various fisheries constitute a 
major responsibility of Government. 
A second major Government obligation is to 
establish measures to develop and conserve fish- 
eries resources. Often this requires difficult choices 
between the rights of groups of commercial and 
sport fishermen and between fishing and other uses 
of the marine environment. Within coastal waters, 
abatement of pollution and preservation of natural 
habitats are matters of major concern. 
To further orderly fisheries development, U.S. 
and State governments for many years have 
conducted programs to locate and define fisheries 
resources, improve basic understanding of marine 
life, and improve catching, processing, and market- 
ing technology. The budget of the U.S. Bureau of 
Commercial Fisheries for these activities totaled 
$50.5 million in fiscal year 1969. In addition, 
State and local governments spend sizable amounts 
on fisheries development. 
In some fisheries, conservation legislation has 
been used to curtail competition and stifle innova- 
tion such that an excessive effort is required to 
take the available catch. The efficiency of some 
fisheries subject to potential depletion could be 
improved by establishing in advance the rights of 
participants to shares of a given fishery, enabling 
each to take his share in the most efficient 
manner. 
Fishing is an international business. Many U.S. 
processors depend heavily on foreign sources of 
fish, permitting economies which would be un- 
available if the industry were forced to operate 
within the strictures of a high tariff or nontrans- 
ferrable national quota system. However, foreign 
competition in domestic markets has contributed 
to the diminishing proportion of the total world 
catch taken by U.S. vessels. 
Ten years ago the U.S. ranked second in the 
world in tonnage of fish landings. Currently it 
ranks sixth behind Peru, Japan, Red China, the 
Soviet Union, and Norway. Even though U.S. 
fishermen concentrate on high value species, the 
United States still ranks only third or fourth in 
value of fish landed. 
The United States has the world’s second 
largest fishing fleet, consisting of 76,000 powered 
craft of which 12,000 are over 5 tons. Unfortu- 
nately, about 60 per cent of the vessels were built 
over 16 years ago. There are about 128,000 
fishermen in the United States. 
The law requires fishermen to use U.S.-built 
vessels to make domestic landings. Capital invest- 
ment in the industry has been low in spite of a 
vessel subsidy program, a Fisheries Loan Fund, 
and a Mortgage Insurance Program (under which 
the Government guarantees repayment of fishing 
vessel mortgages). 
Widely disparate trends exist within this diverse 
industry. America’s large integrated food compa- 
nies are able, within the present legal/regulatory 
environment, to manage highly efficient opera- 
tions for processing and distributing fish for 
domestic needs. On the other hand, many USS. 
fishermen, small independent companies, and 
small cooperatives operating U.S.-flag vessels off 
this Nation’s coasts have not participated success- 
fully in the growing U.S. demand for fish pro- 
ducts. This has diminished employment opportu- 
nities and placed a drain on foreign exchange. The 
panel urges that the domestic industry be assisted 
in achieving a higher level of efficiency to enable it 
to compete more effectively and serve a larger 
share of the U.S. market. 
B. Investment, Sales, and Production 
1. Investment and Sales 
The total domestic investment in fishing vessels 
and processing plants is estimated at $1.5 
billion.2° In addition, U.S. corporations have 
substantial investments in fishing vessels and plants 
in foreign countries. 
The U.S. commercial catch at dockside was 
valued at approximately $438 million in 1967 
with shellfish (primarily shrimp), tuna, and salmon 
comprising about 70 per cent. This compares to 
1966’s $472 million and 69 per cent. The 1967 
retail value in the United States of all fishery 
products (both domestic and imported) was al- 
most $2.6 billion.?? 
2 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. 
21 Office of Program Planning, Bureau of Commercial 
Fisheries. 
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