October 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



15 



FEDERAL ACTIONS 



Department of the Interior 



ADOPTS YELLOWFIN TUNA REGULATIONS 



The Department of the Interior has adopted 

 regulations to carry out recommendations of 

 the Inter -American Tropical Tuna Commis- 

 sion (lATTC) designed to conserve the yel- 

 lowfin tuna resources of the eastern tropical 

 Pacific Ocean. 



The lATTC, meeting in Guayaquil, Ecua- 

 dor, April 19-20, 1966, recommended a total 

 catch of 79,300 short tons during calendar 

 1966. It believes this limit will restore the 

 stock to a maximum sustainable yield of about 

 91,000 tons annually within 3 years. 



Interior's regulations became effective 

 September 15, 1966, and the season closed on 

 that date. Vessels that departed on fishing 

 voyages after September 15 may not have on 

 board or land yellowfin tuna in excess of 15 

 percent by weight of all tuna taken on the trip. 

 The yellowfin season will reopen on January 

 1, 1967. 



The regulations include restrictions ap- 

 plicable to fishing and cargo vessels and pur- 

 chasers, reports and recordkeeping, persons 

 and vessels exempted, and Fish and Wildlife 

 Service and State officers designated as en- 

 forcement agents. The regulations appear in 

 the Federal Register , September 10, 1966, 

 pp. 11938-11944. 



Note: See Commercial Fisheries Review , June 1966 p. 103. 



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HELPS ATLANTIC COAST 

 OYSTER INDUSTRY 



Interior Department has acted to help re- 

 store the hard -hit oyster beds of Virginia, 

 Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and New 

 York. Secretary Stewart L. Udall said about 

 $100,000 of Federal money is available under 

 P.L. 88-309 of 1964 for research and such 

 other activities that may be necessary to de- 

 velop and propagate disease -resistant strains 

 of oysters. The States must share one -third 

 the cost of the projects. The 1964 law pro- 

 vides that the Secretary may give up to 

 $400,000 to aid the industry when he deter- 

 mines that a commercial fishery failure was 

 due to a resource disaster. 



Secretary Udall said: "The oyster mor- 

 tality problem, due to natural and undeter- 

 mined causes, presents a continuing threat 

 to the economic stability of the remaining 

 oyster industry in the five States involved." 



The oyster problem began in 1957 and 

 virtually wiped out stocks in Delaware Bay 

 and Lower Chesapeake Bay. The disease -re- 

 lated deaths extended to oysters in other parts 

 of Chesapeake Bay and to the Great South Bay 

 of New York in 1965. These areas. Secretary 

 Udall said, "face the prospect of an inade- 

 quate supply of marketable oysters for the 

 1967-1968 period." 



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APPLICATIONS FOR 



FISHING VESSEL LOANS 



The following applications were received 

 for loans from the U. S. Fisheries Loan Fund 

 to help finance the purchase of fishing vessels: 



Samuel Martin, Box 104, Seldonia, Alaska 

 99663, for a used vessel to fish for salmon, 

 halibut, and crab. BCF published notice of 

 application in Federal Register . August 20, 

 1966. 



Richard N. Johnson, 14911 Washington St. 

 SW., Tacoma. Wash. 98498, for a used 37- 

 foot registered length wood vessel to fish for 

 salmon, albacore, and Dungeness crab. No- 

 tice published September 3, 1966. 



Levi McKinley, 1300 No. 2 -A West Ninth, 

 Juneau, Alaska 99801, for a used 34.7 -foot 

 registered length vessel to fish for halibut, 

 salmon, and black cod. Notice published Sep- 

 tember 8, 1966. 



Regulations and procedures governing fish- 

 ery loans have been revised and no longer re- 

 quire an applicant for a new- or used -vessel 

 loan to replace an existing vessel (Public Law 

 89,-85; Fisheries Loan Fund Procedures--50 

 CFR Part 250, revised Augus t 11, 1965). 



Note: See Commercial Fisheries Review , September 1966 p. 78. 



APPLICATIONS FOR 



VESSEL CONSTRUCTION SUBSIDY 



The following firms have applied for fish- 

 ing vessel construction differential subsidies: 



