able to use the technology. This ability may be 
limited by such factors as lack of technical 
knowledge and capital, marginality of profits, lack 
of available peripheral equipment, environmental 
and institutional peculiarities, obsolete laws and 
regulations, and tradition. 
In the past 20 years, and increasingly so in the 
last few years, new materials and techniques have 
been incorporated in a few fishing vessels, includ- 
ing improved propulsion units, greater refrigera- 
tion capabilities, better location and catching gear, 
and better sea-keeping qualities. The summation of 
all these new discoveries could have had a revolu- 
tionary effect on the construction of fishing 
vessels and the reduction in the cost per ton of fish 
production had they entered the fishing industry 
more rapidly. 
The governments of such countries as Russia, 
Japan, and West Germany have programs to adapt 
new technology to fishing industry needs which 
have helped their industries thrive. Only minimal 
programs have been sponsored by the U.S. Govern- 
ment. However, the panel notes and commends 
the recent exchange agreement between the Navy 
and the Department of the Interior to study 
advanced acoustic technology in fish detection 
and adapation of fleet environmental prediction 
techniques to forecast fish location. The panel 
urges that similar steps be taken, within the 
constraints of security, to accelerate the adapta- 
tion of other pertinent military research to the 
domestic fishing industry. 
In addition, much information gathered by 
scientists in work in biological and conservation 
research has potential to reduce fishermen’s pro- 
duction costs substantially. There is, however, no 
satisfactory mechanism to readily translate the 
results of Government technology or scientific 
information to the fishermen. 
Recommendation: 
A field service mechanism should be established by 
the U.S. Government analogous to the cooperative 
State-Federal extension service administered by 
the Department of Agriculture in order to facili- 
tate transfer of technically useful information to 
fishermen at the local level. 
VI. AQUACULTURE 
A. Present Status 
Aquaculture in the United States today consists 
of a small, scattered but growing effort to raise 
v-42 
aquatic plants and animals in a controlled environ- 
ment or a modified ecological system. Modifica- 
tions to the natural ecology include those due to 
temperature, artificial feeding, use of barriers for 
containment or predator control, and selective 
breeding. Although the prevailing concept of 
aquaculture is growing selected species of fish in 
fresh-water ponds, operations exist in rivers, estu- 
aries, and marshlands, and there is definitely a 
potential for the open ocean. 
In the United States the present level of activity 
is low compared with that in Asia, especially China 
and Japan, but nevertheless a variety of plants and 
animals is being cultivated. Reliable and compre- 
hensive statistics on sales of aquacultural products 
in the United States are available only in a few 
selected instances. 
The panel estimates that the total U.S. whole- 
sale value was in excess of $50 million in 1967, . 
but this can vary widely with the definition of 
aquaculture. Sales of farmed trout and catfish in 
1967 each exceeded $7 million wholesale, bait 
minnows exceeded $8 million, and oysters from 
managed, private lands exceeded $13 million.” ® 
In addition, a variety of operations involve 
salmon, black bass, pompano, mullet, clams, 
scallops, prawns, lobsters, shrimp, and other 
animal species, as well as several kinds of seaweed. 
Statistics on capital investment in U.S. aquacul- 
ture projects are elusive due to the great variety of 
situations and the often proprietary nature of the 
information. Both expanding research efforts and 
reduction of labor costs in commercial operations 
will result in a sharp increase in the demand for 
capital. The companies involved are generally 
small, but the situation is changing rapidly as some 
of the largest companies in the United States now 
are beginning to explore aquaculture opportuni- 
ties. This trend will bring some needed capital as 
opportunities for profit are discovered. One 
State recently estimated that several companies 
have considered investments in fixed facilities in 
excess of $100 million in different aquaculture 
projects; the commitment awaits favorable out- 
come of present research efforts and removal of 
some political, legal, and regulatory barriers.”° 
28 : : ‘4 
Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. 
2° Florida Development Commission, Tallahassee, Flor- 
ida, October 1968. 
