August 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



79 



Fig. 6 - Japanese crab factoiyship in Bristol Bay. 



A total of 3 whaling factoryships with a- 

 bout 30 killer vessels were spread from the 

 eastern Gulf of Alaska to the far Aleutian 

 chain. 





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Fig. 7 

 Bay. 



Trawler fishing for a Japanese crab factoryship in Bristol 



Soviet : During June the number of fishing 

 vessels operating off Alaska decreased. By 

 the end of the month less than 100 Soviet ves- 

 sels rem.ained in the area, almost half the 

 number fishing there in May and at the be- 

 ginning of June 1966. 



As it has been for the past year, trawling 

 for Pacific ocean perch continues as the larg- 

 est Soviet fishery off Alaska. Throughout 

 May a fleet of from about 70 to well over 100 

 vessels fished for perch in the Gulf of Alaska 

 and in the Bering Sea. 



This large fleet was divided into 4 major 

 operational areas. In southeast Alaska--al- 

 most 50 vessels engaged in perch fishing 

 early in June, but their numbers dwindled 

 down to about 12 towards the end of the month; 

 by early July that fishery was abandoned by 

 the Soviets. The vessels fishing there moved 

 mostly southward accounting for the large in- 

 crease in the number of vessels in the hake 

 fishery off the Pacific Northwest. 



In the Central Gulf of Alaska- -a major 

 change occurred about the middle of the month 

 when most of the fleet moved f ronn the Yakutat 

 fishing grounds west to join the Soviet perch 

 fleet on Portlock Banks. The Portlock fleet 

 doubled during June to over 50 vessels. Some 

 of the Alaska Gulf perch-fishing vessels had 



excellent catches. At least one large stern 

 trawler was reported as having caught a total 

 of over 1,200 metric tons (2.6 million pounds) 

 in June alone; the largest daily catch for that 

 vessel was 60 metric tons of perch. 



Off Western Aleutians --fishing for ocean 

 perch did not change during June. An average 

 of about 10 vessels operated intermittently 

 in various areas of the Western Aleutians. 



Bering Sea- -a new fishery for Pacific o- 

 cean perch was started. In 1960, the Soviet 

 fishing fleets began a short-lived perch fish- 

 ery near the Pribilof Islands (after the her- 

 ring season in that area was terminated) and 

 caught about 7,000 metric tons. In subsequent 

 years, however, when a highly successful 

 Gulf of Alaska perch fishery was started, the 

 fishing grounds off the Pribilofs received no 

 attention. Early in 1966, the Soviet Far East- 

 ern Fishery administrators ordered a re- 

 newal of perch fishing along the limits of the 

 Continental Shelf off the Pribilofs. In May, 

 an exploratory vessel discovered large Pa- 

 cific perch concentrations in the central Ber- 

 ing Sea and the build-up of the fishing fleet 

 followed. By the end of June about 12 med- 

 ium trawlers operated in that area. 



Fig, 8 - Older-type Soviet side trawler imder way in Bering Sea 

 witii all nets aboard. 



Soviet shrimp fishing in the Shumagin Is- 

 lands area ended during June and the vessels 

 either returned to their Siberian home ports 



Fig. 9 - A Soviet refrigerated fish transport operating in the Ber- 

 ing Sea and Gulf of Alaslta. 



