10 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



Vol. 28, No. 9 



TRENDS 



AND 



DEVELOPMENTS 



Alaska Fisheries Explorations 

 and Gear Development 



POTENTIAL OF COMMERCIAL FISHERY 

 FOR LARGE ALASKA SHRIMP STUDIED: 

 Giant Alaska shrimp, also described as 

 "prawns" may soon be available as a result 

 of research being conducted under the Alaska 

 exploratory fishing and gear development 

 program of the Interior Department's Bureau 

 of Commercial Fisheries. 



The Bureau is following up on the results 

 of this research by offering assistance to the 

 fishing industry in the form of detailed tech- 

 nical information on methods and design of 

 gear, handling methods to obtain the highest 

 quality of product, and assistance in market- 

 ing. 



According to Harry L. Rietze, Regional 

 Director of the Bureau of Commercial Fish- 

 eries at Juneau, fishing for Alaska shrimp is 

 not a get -rich-quick type of activity, but is 

 ideally suited for the 8- or 9 -month nonpro- 

 ductive gap now experienced by the salmon 

 fishermen living in remote villages of South- 

 east Alaska. Vessels that are used in the 

 salmon fishery can easily be adapted to the 

 shrimp fishery and employ a one- or two- 

 man crew. The major capital outlay by the 

 fisherman to start commercial production 

 would be for the construction of shrimp pots 

 at a cost of $10 to $15 each. One vessel 

 should be able to handle 100 to 200 pots for 

 a profitable return based on the findings so 

 far. 



The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries also 

 provides financial assistance to qualified fish- 

 ermen for the purpose of financing, refinanc- 

 ing, repairing or maintaining vessels, equip- 

 ment and gear. 



Central Pacific 

 Fisheries Investigations 



SONAR STUDIES FOR LOCATING 



SUBSURFACE TUNA: 



M/V "Townsend Cromwell" Cruise 



24 



(April 14-June 10, 1966): Familiarization and 

 development of sonar techniques in searching 

 and tracking subsurface tuna schools was the 

 objective of this cruise by the research ves- 

 sel Townsend Cromwell of the Interior De- 

 partment's Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 

 Biological Laboratory, Honolulu, Hawaii. The 

 area of operations was within 100 miles off 

 the islands of Hawaii, Kauai, and Oahu. 







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Areas in which tuna were studied with CTFM sonar during M/V 

 Townsend Cromwell Cruise 24 (April 24 -June 10, 1966). 



After installation of a specially designed 

 frequency-modulated sonar system on the 

 vessel, adjustments and calibrations were 

 made to eliminate internal interferences and 

 optimize the performance of the sonar. Two 

 characteristic noise patterns of unknown or- 

 igin occurred on the visual and audio dis- 

 plays during operations at sea. They oc- 

 curred irregularly but often enough to ham- 

 per the operator's ability to locate and fol- 

 low targets. 



