72 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



Vol. 28, No. 8 



South-West Africa 



FISHING TRENDS, MAY 1966: 



During May, fish were plentiful, and a- 

 bundant catches were being taken not far out 

 from Walvis Bay. Shoals were found within 

 1 to 1-1/2 hours sailing from the jetties, or 

 about 8 to 12 miles offshore. 



The general condition of the fish was de- 

 scribed as very good and oil yield amounted 

 to about 17 gallons per ton of fish. 



As a result of a major boiler -breakdown at 

 the Walvis Bay power station, processing fac- 

 tories were forced to curtail production. 



Production of fish meal, fish oil, and can- 

 ned fish during February and March 1966 was: 



Product 



1966 1 



February 



March 



"ish meal (short tons) 



•■ish oil (long tons) 



banned fish (lbs.). 



9,083 



1,463 



4,472,317 



16,649 



2,488 



12,304,782 



Production and export figures for frozen 

 spiny lobster tails and canned lobster meat 

 through Luderitz during April 1966 were: 



Product 



Weight 



Value 



Spiny lobster tails, frozen .... 

 Spiny lobster meat, 

 carmed 



Lbs. 

 521,000 



31,800 



US$ 

 1,039,000 



34,000 



(Barclays Trade Review, June 1966.) 



Spain 



AUTOMATED TUNA VESSEL BEING BUILT : 

 The tuna purse -seiner Sarasua under con- 

 struction in a Spanish shipyard is being e- 

 quipped with an automated system for loading 

 the catch and for freezing and storing the fish 

 in an "assembly -line" operation^ The system 

 provides for a purse -seine filled with tuna to 

 be coupled to an opening in the stern of the 

 vessel below the waterline. An inflowing 

 current is then created by the ship's two tur- 

 bine engines to draw the fish into the vessel. 

 As the water is expelled from the receiving 

 tank through a second opening in the direc- 

 tion of the seine, the force of the outgoing 

 current floats the net and prevents it from 

 becoming fouled in the ship's propeller. The 

 fish are emptied from the stern compartment 

 into adjoining freezer tanks amidships by 

 means of a conveyor belt. Once frozen, the 

 fish are conveyed to a forward storage com- 



partment which is also equipped with a con- 

 veyor belt for unloading the catch. Using 

 this system the owners expect efficient op- 

 erations with a substantially reduced crew. 



Schematic drawing showing planned "assembly -line" operation 

 of the Sarasua. 



The Sarasua' s 6 freezer tanks will have a 

 freezing capacity of 100 tons of tuna a day. 

 Capacity of the storage compartment is 1,000 

 cubic meters, with a temperature of -20°C. 

 (U.S. Consul, Bilbao, June 15, 1966.) 



Tanzania 



FISHERY AID FROM U.S.S.R.: 



On May 26, the Tanzanian Finance Min- 

 ister Jamal signed an aid agreement with the 

 Soviet Union during his visit to Moscow. The 

 credits, amounting to 18 million rubles (about 

 US$2 million), were provided in an agreement 

 reached in August 1964. Soviet credits will fi- 

 nance (among other projects) a fish-drying 

 plant, 4 cold-storage plants, and fishing gear 

 and equipment for both the Mainland and the Is - 

 land of Zanzibar. Two of the cold-storage 

 plants for keeping frozen fish will be located on 

 Zanzibar and 2 on the Mainland. The loan will 

 be repaid over a period of 1 2 years at 2|- percent 

 interest. The Soviets will use the loan payment 

 moneys for the purchase of Tanzanian products. 

 (U.S. Embassy, Moscow, June 10, 1966.) 



Togo 



FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT: 



Continued German aid to Togo's modest 

 ocean fishing industry bodes well for its 

 future. In 1965, a cold-storage room, smok- 

 ing and drying facilities, and related instal- 

 lations were completed with German assis- 

 tance. A store equipped to sell fishing gear 

 and boat supplies to fishing cooperatives was 



