September 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



51 



Chile (Contd.): 



In Arica, during May, a total of 7 factories 

 were operating; in Iquique 20; and 1 in Toco- 

 pilla. In the North Zone, 28 plants out of 33 

 operated an average of 16 work days each. 



The production of fish as meal compared 

 to the previous years was : 



Year 



1966. 

 1965. 

 1964. 



May 



. (Metri 



Jan. -May 



. . . ^xvieuic Tons) 

 26,653 114, 



4,090 



161233 



864 



41*961 

 85,079 



Fish oil production during May was rela- 

 tively high reaching 4,097 tons and a total 

 production of 11,234 tons to date. 



The average yield for fish meal during 

 May was 18.2 percent (January 17.2 percent, 

 February 17.2 percent, March 17.9 percent, 

 and April 17.5 percent) and 2.8 percent for 

 oil. 



Fish meal production from other species 

 (hake, sardines, etc.) from the Norte Chico 

 and Central Zone reached a relatively high 

 level of 14,056 tons through May. Fish meal 

 production from those species in 1965 was 

 12,043 tons and in 1964 was 6,374 tons. 



Export prices for fish meal in Chile and 

 Peru, quotation for cost and freight per met- 

 ric ton in Antwerp/Hamburg market follows: 

 May - US$160/165; June - $168; and July/De- 

 cember - $170. (U.S. Embassy, Santiago, 

 June 27, 1966.) ._^ 



Cuba 



FISHERMEN TRAINING BY SOVIETS: 



In mid-May 1966, a group of 65 Soviet 

 technical experts and instructors arrived at 

 Havana, Cuba, led by a Soviet fishing captain. 

 The group will replace 65 Soviet instructors 

 who have been giving practical instruction 

 for the past six months in fishing techniques 

 to Cuban fishery apprentices. The U.S.S.R. 

 is maintaining a strong liaison group with the 

 Cuban Institute of Fisheries, helping the Cu- 

 bans in fishery research, fishing techniques, 

 technology, the training of fishermen, con- 

 struction of fishing vessels, and the general 

 organization of the state-owned Cuban fish- 

 ing industry. The general frame for this 

 work was established by the signing in Ha- 



vana by Soviet Fisheries Minister A. A. Ish- 

 kov of the 1962 Agreement for Technical Aid 

 to Cuba. Pinched by falling sugar production 

 and failures in agriculture, the Cubans --like 

 the Soviet Union- -are turning to fisheries as 

 a major source of animal protein as well as 

 a prime source for obtaining hard foreign 

 currency. 



Dahomey 



FISHERY DEVELOPMENTS 1965: 



One more trawler was added to the fleet 

 operating out of the port of Cotonou to raise 

 the total to six for 1965. Their total catch 

 was estimated at 1,500 metric tons, which 

 compares very favorably with the 94 6 tons 

 for 1964. As commercial production rose, 

 artisanal production declined so that for 1965 

 only 3,000 tons were caught as against 6,000 

 tons for 1964. The catch from the lagoons 

 and the rivers renaained constant at 15,000 

 tons. To supplant the local supply, the im- 

 portation of fish was authorized. According 

 to the Customs Service, 1,910 tons were im- 

 ported, mostly frozen from Japan and the So- 

 viet Union. (Editor's Note: This was pri- 

 marily from Japanese and Soviet vessels fish- 

 ing in the eastern Atlantic off the west Afri- 

 can coast.) (American Embassy, Cotonou, 

 July 26, 1966.) 



Ecuador 



SHRIMP AND TUNA FISHERIES 1965: 



Shrimp is by far the most valuable aquatic 

 species taken by Ecuadorian fishermen. Pre- 

 liminary data indicate that in 1965 the shrimp 

 catch totaled 7,300 metric tons valued at 

 US$3,612,000. The 1964 catch of shrimp was 

 6,500 metric tons valued at $2,756,000. In 

 1965, about 2,600 tons of frozen shrimpwere 

 exported, all to the United States. 



The white shrimp and the "titi" are the 

 most heavily fished by the Ecuadorean fleet. 

 The pink shrimp, found at greater depths, 

 cannot be caught by the majority of the Ecua- 

 dorean vessels, which cannot employ fishing 

 gear at depths below 40 meters (130 feet). 

 The pink shrimp has also proved to be some- 

 what elusive. No dependable commercial 

 concentrations have been found to date and 



