September 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



57 



Japan (Contd.): 



On her first set on May 26, she caught 63 tons 

 of tuna. 



The vessel was originally scheduled to op- 

 erate in the western central Pacific in the 

 area of latitude of 10° N. between longitudes 

 140°-160O E. in April of this year, but the 

 trip was cancelled due to problems associ- 

 ated with her freezing system. She is sched- 

 uled to explore those grounds for skipjack be- 

 ginning in November. 



The usual two-boat purse-seining opera- 

 tion requires a complement of about 60 men 

 but the Nissho Maru . which is equipped with 

 a power block, carries only 17 men. In ad- 

 dition, she is equipped with a brine -freezing 

 system. To further increase the vessel's 

 fishing efficiency, the company plans to con- 

 struct a 90-ton auxiliary vessel to be used 

 for scouting as well as a transport vessel to 

 haul the catches to Japan. ( Suisan Keizai 

 Shimbun, July 11, 1966.) 



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PORTABLE -BOAT -CARRYING 

 TUNA MOTHERSHIP FISHERY 

 REGULATIONS LIBERALIZED: 



The Japanese Fisheries Agency on June 16, 

 1966, announced a partial revision of the regu- 

 lations governing the operation of portable - 

 boat -carrying tuna motherships. Under the 

 revised regulations, vessel tonnage withdrawn 

 from the portable -boat mothership fishery will 

 henceforth be permitted to be used for the con- 

 struction of large distant -water tuna vessels. 

 The Agency also expanded the operational 

 areas for the portable -boat-carrying mother- 

 ship fishery, and they now include the Pacific 

 Ocean east of 170° W. longitude north of the 

 equator and east of 160O E. longitude south of 

 the equator, the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. 

 The liberalization of regulations is aimed at 

 assisting operators overcome management dif- 

 ficulties arising from declining catches, longer 

 fishing trips, and rising labor and material 

 costs. ( Suisan Keizai Shimbun , June 20, 1966.) 



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FOREIGN TUNA VESSEL 

 LANDINGS INCREASE: 



Beginning in 1966 there was a sharp in- 

 crease in the number of foreign tuna vessels 

 (mainly Okinawan and South Korean) landing 

 their catches directly in Japan. This devel- 



opment was attributed to the large demand 

 for tuna and billfish for the domestic fresh 

 fish trade. Species in demand in Japan are 

 bluefin and big -eyed tuna and striped marlin. 



In 1965 a total of 2,564 metric tons was 

 imported, mainly from Okinawa, South Korea, 

 and Formosa. Small quantities were import- 

 ed from the United States (135 tons) and from 

 American Samoa (72 tons). (Suisan Tsushin, 

 June 13, 1966.) 



TO COOPERATE IN INTERNATIONAL 

 SKIPJACK TUNA INVESTIGATION: 



It was reported that the Japanese Fisher- 

 ies Agency plans to participate in the pro- 

 posed international cooperative skipjack tuna 

 investigation to be conducted by the Inter- 

 American Tropical Tuna Commission, the 

 United States, and France, and will seek funds 

 for the joint program in its 1967 budget re- 

 quest. Reportedly, a broad outline of the 

 joint investigation was to be developed at the 

 Eleventh Pacific Science Congress at Tokyo 

 in August 1966. The Agency hopes to assist 

 the depressed Japanese tuna fisheries by en- 

 couraging the exploitation of skipjack tuna, a 

 wide and far-ranging species, which abound 

 in the world's tropical waters and which re- 

 main largely underutilized. As part of the 

 cooperative effort, Japan plans to charter a 

 300-ton fishing vessel to tag about 12,000fish 

 and to collect data on age, growth, gonad de- 

 velopment, and oceanographic conditions 

 from the waters extending from Kagoshima 

 in southern Japan to the Sanriku area in 

 northeastern Honshu between April -Septem- 

 ber 1967. ( Suisan Keizai Shimbun , July 14, 

 1966.) 



USE OF REELS INCREASED FOR 

 HAUUNG TUNA LONG LINES: 



The use of reels on Japanese tuna vessels 

 for handling long-line gear is increasing. A 

 major Japanese fishing firm has already 

 equipped two vessels, the Eiko Maru (310 

 gross tons) and the Eikei Maru (1,500 gross 

 tons), with the new line -hauling equipment. 

 Based on the success of operation of these 

 two vessels, this and other tuna -fishing com- 

 panies plan to modernize 10 long-line ves- 

 sels. (Fisheries Attache, U. S. Embassy, 

 Tokyo.) 



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