September 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



63 



Japan (Contd.): 



ating expenses stemming from higher raw 

 material and labor costs. These factors, 

 therefore, tend to lower Japan's international 

 competitive position. 



Meanwhile, world demand for canned tuna 

 is likely to continue to grow. Japan must 

 strive to firmly maintain her export market 

 by securing a steady supply of raw material, 

 reduce costs, improve quality, and strength- 

 en her sales system. ( Nihon Suisan Shimbun , 

 July 4; Suisan Keizai Shimbun , June 28, 1966.) 



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CONCERN ABOUT FISH DEPLETION 



IN HOME WATERS: ^___ 



In late June, the Japanese Fisheries Agen- 

 cy released a statement to the effect that the 

 fishery resources close to Japan have been 

 greatly depleted due to "reckless fishing." 

 For this reason, the Agency said, it is essen- 

 tial that Japan develop new fishing areas 

 around the world. (Fisheries Attache, United 

 States Embassy, Tokyo, July 13, 1966.) 



EXPLORATORY FISHING IN 

 NORTH ATLANTIC WATERS: 



The Japanese Fisheries Agency on June 

 30, 1966, authorized a fishing company to 

 test-fish in the western North Atlantic with 

 the 370-ton trawler Taiyo Maru No. 32 for 

 one year beginning July 1, 1966. The vessel 

 has been licensed to operate in the area west 

 of longitude 40° W. between latitudes 10° N. 

 and 50° N. Her ports of landing have been 

 designated as St. Georges, Newfoundland, St. 

 Pierre Island (off Newfoundland), and Port of 

 Spain, Trinidad. 



In 1963-64, the same company conducted 

 test-fishing in the Northwest Atlantic with 

 the converted 3,700-ton trawler Tenyo Maru 

 No. 3 without much success. Doubts were 

 raised at that time whether an all-year oper- 

 ation would be feasible. For this reason, the 

 Taiyo Maru this year will be used to develop 

 new fishing grounds and is scheduled to ex- 

 plore the waters off Florida for sea bream. 

 In the spring and summer, the vessel will 

 test drag for shrimp south of 50° N. latitude. 

 (Shin Suisan Shimbun , July 4, 1966.) 



EXPLORATORY FISHING IN 



INDIAN OCEAN: ^__ 



The Japanese Fisheries Agency will con- 

 duct experimental fishing in the Indian Ocean 

 off South Africa and Madagascar for red and 

 yellow sea bream, bottom sharks, and other 

 fish. The Eidai Maru (474 tons) will be char- 

 tered for those studies. The catch target is 

 set at 79.2 metric tons. (Fisheries Attache, 

 United States Embassy, Tokyo, July 13, 1966.) 



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SHRIMP FISHING OFF AUSTRAUA GOOD: 



A Japanese fishing company, which was li- 

 censed to fish on an experimental basis for 

 shrimp with a fleet of five vessels (1 carrier 

 vessel and 4 catcher vessels) from the Equa- 

 tor south to 18° S. latitude between east lon- 

 gitudes 123°-147°, dispatched on May 30 the 

 300-ton vessel Suruga Maru and 95-ton trawl- 

 er Kyoshin Maru No. 12. to the Gulf of Car- 

 pentaria off the northern coast of Australia. 

 The vessels commenced exploratory fishing 

 June 15. Initial test-fishing results were 

 only fair but the Kyoshin Maru was reported 

 in late June to be averaging daily catches of 

 nearly 700 pounds of quality shrimp off Cape 

 York, Australia. As a result, it was antici- 

 pated that the company would dispatch addi- 

 tional vessels to the Gulf of Carpentaria, 

 ( Minato Shimbun , July 1, 1966 & other sources.) 



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EXPLORATORY FISHING OFF AUSTRALIA: 



Exploratory fishing, conducted off Aus- 

 tralia by the Japanese Fisheries Agency, has 

 been under way since September 1965 using 

 the research vessel No. I Suruga Maru (339 

 tons). There are extensive areas around 

 Australia that contain good fishing grounds. 

 The season between January and March pro- 

 vided the best catches even though the seas 

 were rough. Long lines did not pay because 

 of damage by sharks. (Fisheries Attache, 

 United States Embassy, Tokyo, July 13, 1966.) 



MINCED-FISH INDUSTRY GROWING: 



For a number of years the Japanese fish- 

 ing industry has been producing minced fish 

 as a raw material for fish sausage and simi- 

 lar products. The ground meat of fish is 

 frozen and sold to processors. Because of 

 the growth of the minced -fish industry, the 

 companies will create a National Council to 

 set standards for the minced fish made by 



