48 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



Vol, 13, No. 7 



Production of sperm oil in the Azores during the first half of 1950 was esti- 

 mated at 1,000 metric tons, valued at about Z^, 000,000 escudos (about ;^138,800) . 



Ryukyu Islands 



FISHERIES REPORT . 1 949- 50 ; After ten years, the fish production in the Ryulsyu 

 Islands still lags behind pre-World War II levels. The latest estimate for the 

 the 1949 productio- is 11,000 

 metric tons, only y3.6 per- 

 cent of the 1939 production 

 of 14,000 metric tons. 



The Ryukyus are a source 

 of a variety of fishery prod- 

 ucts. Among the-more impor- 

 tant marine products produced 

 in the Islands are processed 

 skipjack; fish pastes; dried 

 fish, cuttlefish, and shark 

 fins; salted fish; shells and 

 cuttlefish bone; fish oils 

 and sponges; and kaijinso 

 (seaweed), 



Ryukyu exports of marine 

 products have been steadily 

 increasing. The leading ex- 

 port product is sea shells, 

 which accounted for 4,536.3 

 metric tons in I95O (see 

 table). Fishery products 

 exported in I95O totaled 

 48O5.O metric tons, with a 



value of US$361,171. Thus, exports increased 77.7 percent in quantity and 192.3 

 percent in value over the previous year, according to Bulletin No. 9 of the U, S. 

 Civil Administration of, the Ryukyu Islands, Sept. -De c. , I95O. 



