April 1951 CQMMEHCIALFiaiEEIES REVIEW 51 



Ecuador 



MEW FISHERIES LAW BTCREA-'^fS FKK^ FOR ALERICAN VESSELS ; "Sue new Ecuadoran Presi- 

 dential Decree on Fish and Fisheries increases the fees for American fishing vessels, 

 according to an American consulate dispatch from Quito dated March I5. The new De- 

 cree, published in the Registro Oficial . No. 747, dated February 23, I95I, is Ecuadoran 

 law until the next session of the Ecuadoran Congress in August I95I. If the Congress 

 does not amend the Decree during that session, it then becomes a permanent Ecuadoran 

 law. It is not believed that there will be any attempt to alter the present Decree 

 in the next Congress. 



Iliere is no prohibition of tuna purse seining. In Article 2, the territorial 

 waters of Ecuador are claimed to extend from the lowest tide to a distance of 12 nau- 

 tical miles from the mainland coast; also, concerning the Galapagos Islands, that 

 territorial waters extend similarly for 12 miles, measured as a unit from the furthest 

 points of the exterior islands, rather than around each island. 



In Article 23 the system of issuing licenses by radio to fishing vessels at sea 

 is authorized. In Article 28 the fees given show that permits from California, valid 

 for 100 days, now are as follows: Registration for tuna, swordfish, and shark, 

 $200.00, and for codfish, $100.00; additional permit fee per each net ton of registry 

 for tuna and shark, $12.00, for swordfish, $20.00, and for codfish, $8.00. 



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France 



SALT-WAIER FISH CATCH , 1949-5O ; French landings of fresh sea fish in the period 

 July. 1, 1949, to June 30, I95O, totaled 289,055 metric tons (exclusive of crustaceans 

 and molluscs), according to a January I6 American Embassy dispatch from Paris. Pre- 

 war average landings were about 282,000 tons. 



Total fish supplies (exclusive of the domestic production of fresh-water fish 

 for »diioh data are not available) reached 320,987 tons, including net imports of 31,932 

 tons. It is believed that fish production in I95O-5I will be somewhat lower than in 

 1949-50, chiefly because of marketing difficulties and unsatisfactory prices, 



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CANMED FISHERY PRODUCTS HVPORTS FROM U. S. SUSPENDED ; Ihe French customs author- 

 ities have been requested to suspend entry into France of canned fish, crustaceans, 

 and other marine animals beginning on April 1, 1951 » according to a note addressed to 

 the U. S. Department of State from the Embassy of France in the United States. The 

 order was issued by the French Minister of the Hferchant Marine. 



Apparently this action was taken because no agency has yet been selected to is- 

 sue inspection certificates for shipments from the United States. Efforts are being 

 made to select such an agency. These certificates have been required since January 1, 

 1951, to accompany imports into France of the products mentioned. The regulations 

 which require these inspection certificates were issued in a decree of October 5, 194 9> 

 published in the Joiimal Official of October 12, 1949. 



