August 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



71 



South Africa (Contd.): 



could be expected to recover, received close 

 examination. It may be possible that float- 

 ing larval colonies will be drawn from the 

 lobster colonies occurring in the Tristan de 

 Cunha area (which are composed of a species 

 identical to that form^ing the colonies around 

 Vema Seamount) by the South Atlantic Gyral 

 current system; on the other hand, distances 

 are great and migrating life is subject to the 

 vagaries of the current. 



Judging by the population growth on Tristan 

 de Cunha, however, the lobster species con- 

 cerned has a slow growth and, therefore, also 

 rate of increase. ( Barclays Trade Review , 

 June 1966.) 



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EXPORTS OF LIVE 



SPINY LOBSTERS INCREASE: 



South Africa's exports of live spiny lob- 

 ster in 1965 were almost 10 times bigger 

 than in the previous year, and after the first 

 four months of 1966 it was indicated that last 

 year's record would be surpassed within the 

 next two months, an official of the Cape Lob - 

 ster Exporters' Association in Cape Town 

 said on May 13, 1966. 



The exports of frozen whole lobster showed 

 an even bigger increase in 1965, compared 

 with the previous year (3,356 lbs. to 

 128,758 lbs.). France is by far the big- 

 gest customer for South African live spiny 

 lobster, although exports to many other parts 

 of the Continent and Britain are increasing 

 rapidly. South Africa exported 35,128 lbs. 

 of live lobsters in 1964, 349,128 lbs. in 

 1965, and 229,703 lbs. for the first four 

 ntionths of 1966. (United States Embassy, 

 Pretoria, June 7, 1966.) 



CANNED PILCHARDS HAVE 

 LOCAL MARKET BOOM: 



The South African pilchard -canning in- 

 dustry is experiencing a boom, with home 

 market sales having doubled in the last three 

 years, from 625,000 cartons to 1,250,000 car- 

 tons in 1965, A further 20 -percent increase 

 in sales this year to around 1,500,000 car- 

 tons is expected. 



For many years dependent on fluctuating 

 export markets for the bulk of its revenue, 



the industry is now finding a much more 

 stable base in the rapidly -expanding home 

 market. 



The Director of Federal Marine, the fish- 

 canning~industry's sales organization, gives 

 the low price of the product and the growing 

 consumption of canned fish by the Bantu as 

 reasons for the upsurge in local sales. As 

 the basic price of canned pilchards has not 

 risen for 18 years, they represent very good 

 value for the money. 



The favorable prognosis for local sales 

 will only partially compensate the industry 

 for the loss of the anticipated Philippine 

 market, in the wake of a decision by the 

 Philippine Government to prohibit further 

 purchases of South African canned pilchards. 

 Previous sales to the National Marketing 

 Corporation of the Philippines had amounted 

 to over 700,000 cases annually. ( South Af- 

 rican Digest . Pretoria, June 3, and United 

 States Embassy, Pretoria, July 7, 1966.) 



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FISHING INDUSTRY SEEKS 

 GOVERNMENT CONTROLS 

 ON FOREIGN OPERATIONS : 



Four major South African fishing firms 

 reportedly plan to seek South African Gov- 

 ernment action to control the activities of 

 foreign fishing firms off South African wa- 

 ters. They will ask the Government to im- 

 pose restrictions on the use of South African 

 harbors by foreign firms and to require own- 

 ers of foreign trawlers to pay customs duty 

 on fish in cold storage, particularly in Cape 

 Town. In addition, they will urge the Gov- 

 ernment to call an international conference 

 to protect fish stocks in the Atlantic, and 

 particularly around South Africa, 



According to an industry representative, 

 the South African problem is twofold: one of 

 long-term preservation of fishing grounds 

 and one of meeting foreign fishing competi- 

 tion. The press recalls Minister Diederich's 

 statements to the recent conference in Cape 

 Town of the International Association of 

 Fishmeal Manufacturers. These statements 

 dealt with the threat to South Africa's fish- 

 ing industry posed by the extensive opera- 

 tions of foreign fishing interests, and called 

 for observance by the respective foreign 

 governments and interests of proper con- 

 servation measures. (United States, Em- 

 bassy, Pretoria, June 21, 1966.) 



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