August 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



35 



of decreasing abundance) were sauger, north- 

 ern pike, white crappie, bullhead, walleye, 

 black crappie, drum, channel catfish, burbot, 

 carpsucker, and carp. 



A "standard drag" had previously been of 

 15 minutes duration. Most of the 5- and 10- 

 minute drags made during this cruise were in 

 response to the strictly exploratory nature of 

 many drags. Several small bays in lower 

 Zone 6 and Zone 4 were tested for trawlabil- 

 ity for the first time since the initiation of 

 trawling on Oahe Reservoir. Some of these 

 bays are not sufficiently long to accommodate 

 15 -minute (approximately one mile) drags. 

 In the fall of 1965, drags made on shallow 

 flats were more productive than drags made 

 in bays. During this cruise, however, the 

 average bay drag took 151 pounds as compared 

 to 11 pounds per drag on flats in the reservoir 

 proper. This revised differential in rate of 

 catch is probably associated with the warmer 

 water temperatures in bays and behavior char- 

 acteristics of the various species in response 

 to this environmental condition. As a result, 

 the 5-minute drags, many of which were made 

 in bays, were about as productive (84 pounds 

 per drag) as the 15 -minute drags (89 pounds 

 per drag), most of which were made over flats 

 in the open reservoir. Eight drags in the old 

 river channel took only 31 pounds per drag. 



Trawl comparison tests had been scheduled 

 for this cruise. The poor catches during May, 

 however, made it advisable to postpone these 

 experiments untilcatches improve. The trawl- 

 ing grounds exploration activity was substi- 

 t uted for the trawl compar ison tests. 



Note: See Commercial Fisheries Review, February 1966 p. 22. 



Maine Sardines 



QUALITY CONTROL PROGRAM 



FOUND EFFECTIVE: ^__ 



The effectiveness of their mandatory qual- 

 ity control program was clearly demonstrated 

 to Maine sardine canners at their annual 

 spring meeting held June 9, 1966, in Ells- 

 worth, Me. On display at the meeting were 

 130 open cans of various brands and types 

 which were purchased in retail stores in 16 

 key markets on a national basis. 



The Maine Sardine Packers Association 

 president stated it was the consensus of those 

 present that the overall quality and appear- 



ance were by far the best of any similar cut- 

 ting in the past 15 years. "This certainly 

 proved that our quality control program is 

 working and was a great source of satisfac- 

 tion for all concerned," he said. 



Forty-two canners and their representa- 

 tives attended the session and were briefed 

 on congressional affairs, plant improvement 

 and mechanization, the consumer market sit- 

 uation, and publicity and promotion. Also 

 given was a briefing on Canadian government 

 and industry plans to increase the herring 

 fishery. (Maine Sardine Council, Augusta, 

 Maine, June 9, 1966.) 



National Fisheries Institute 



ADVERTISING AND MERCHANDISING 

 MANAGERS' CONTEST IS FEATURE OF 

 1966_^'FISH 'N SEAFOOD PARADE": 



The first contest of its kind sponsored by 

 the United States fishing industry for adver- 

 tising and merchandising managers of super- 

 markets (chains and independents) will be a 

 feature of the 12th annual Fish 'n Seafood Ps 

 rade during October 1966. An impressive 

 array of prizes is to be given. 



The fall Parade is aimed at increasing the 

 sale of fishery products at a time when they 

 are most plentiful, according to the chairman 

 of the Fish 'n Seafoods Promotions Commit- 

 tee of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI). 



Winners of the contest will be selected on 

 the basis of the most effective and creative 

 newspaper advertising of fish and seafood 

 during October. Prizes will include a 1967 

 Ford Mustang, a two-week holiday in Europe, 

 RCA color TV sets, portable TV sets and 

 typewriters, record players, luggage, watch- 

 es, major electric appliances, Instamatic 

 cameras. 



To make store advertising and merchan- 

 dising managers throughout the United States 

 aware of the Fish 'n Seafood Parade Promo- 

 tion and the contest, a promotional brochure 

 featuring the advertising themes of the fall 

 Parade is being distributed. 



Contest details and coordination of the pro- 

 gram will be handled by the New York office 

 of the J. Walter Thompson Co., the advertis- 

 ing agency for the National Fisheries Insti- 



