54 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



Vol. 28, No. 10 



The research vessel Ogon , which belongs 

 to Pacific Scientific Institute for Fisheries 

 and Oceanography (TINRO), was sighted in 

 mid-August off Grays Harbor, and remained 

 off Pacific Northwest well into mid -Septem- 

 ber. During August, Resource Management 

 Agents of BCF did not see salmon on decks 

 of Soviet vessels nor did they see salmon 

 drying in the rigging. This does not exclude 

 possibility that the Russians were making in- 

 cidental catches of salmon, because sur- 

 veillance flights took place only one day a 

 week and each vessel could be observed only 

 for a short time. However, a few U.S. fish- 

 ermen did report seeing fishing vessels with 

 salmon on deck. On August 20, Oregon Fish 

 Commission officers, checking a fisherman's 

 report, spotted a medium trawler with salmon 

 on deck. Identified as the Kakhovka , she was 

 sighted about 10 miles west and 5 miles north 

 of mouth of Columbia River with load of salm- 

 on on deck. 



BCF's Region I has formed an ad hoc com- 

 mittee of 25-30 representatives of Pacific 

 Northwest fishing industry (fishermen's as- 

 sociations, unions, and fishing vessel owners' 

 associations), fishery officials from State 

 governments, and other citizens. The pur- 

 pose of the committee, which will meet in- 

 formally about once a month, is to dissemi- 

 nate information on foreign fishing off U. S. 

 Pacific Northwest coasts and appraise all 

 developments related to future foreign fish- 

 ing near U. S. shores. 



During routine surveillance flights by U. S. 

 Coast Guard in August, practically no Soviet 

 vessels were sighted closer than 12 miles 

 off U.S. Pacific Northwest coasts. But, on 

 August 23, the BCF research vessel John N. 

 Cobb sighted 6 Soviet medium trawlers north- 

 west of Columbia River's mouth close to U.S. 

 shores. On August 24, ten medium trawlers 

 fished the same general area, 8.7-10 miles 

 off U.S. coast. 



During a chartered flight by Oregon Fish 

 Commission agents on August 20, 20-25 ves- 

 sels were seen near Columbia River's mouth, 

 the closest vessel 7.8 miles off U.S. coast. 



OFF ALASKA 



U.S.S.R.: During August, about 40 fishing 

 and support vessels operated off Alaska's 

 coast. 



Fishing for Pacific ocean perch was con- 

 ducted throughout the Gulf of Alaska and off 



Aleutian Islands. The Gulf perch fleet was 

 small: 4 large stern trawlers, 1 medium 

 side trawler, and 2 refrigerated fish carriers; 

 the Aleutian fleet had more than 20 vessels: 

 among them, 10 large stern trawlers, 8 med- 

 ium side trawlers, and 3 refrigerated carri- 

 ers. Little information is available on perch 

 fishing south of Pribilof Islands --only one 

 medium side trawler was sighted, presum- 

 ably exploring for ocean perch stocks. 



According to Soviet sources, perch fish- 

 ing in Gulf of Alaska was less satisfactory 

 in August than in July. Bad weather was one 

 reason, but principal reason was lack of ex- 

 ploratory and scouting vessels and assign- 

 ment to fleet of young, inexperienced fisher- 

 men. 



The shrimp fishing fleet, which had re- 

 turned to U.S.S.R. in mid-1966, was again 

 sighted in Shumagin Islands area in August. 

 Three medium side freezer trawlers were 

 sighted during surveillance patrol by BCF 

 management agents aboard U.S. Coast Guard 

 cutter. No estimates of catches are avail- 

 able. 



Whaling operations in northern Pacific 

 continued on large scale but only one large 

 factoryship was sighted in western Aleutians 

 about mid -August. 



Japanese: A total of 206 Japanese vessels 

 were fishing off Alaska coast in August. 



Pacific ocean perch fishing in Gulf of 

 Alaska was in full swing in early August, 

 when 5 trawlers ended salmon buying in Cook 

 Inlet, and 2 trawlers ended shrimp operations 

 in Shumagin Islands area and resumed perch 

 fishing. One vessel was added to Gulf fleet 

 in late August. At month's end, 12 trawlers 

 and 3 reefers were on Albatross Bank and one 

 trawler was fishing on outer Portlock Bank. 



In Aleutian Islands area, along the central 

 and western Aleutians, two factoryships and 

 11 trawlers fished for perch. 



The two king crab fleets remained on 

 Bristol Bay "flats" throughout August, about 

 150 miles northwest of Port Moller. 



Fish meal and oil operations were con- 

 ducted by 2 factoryships accompanied by 58 

 trawlers about 200 miles south of Nunivak 

 Island, and by 2 factoryships accompanied 

 by 40 trawlers northwest of Pribilof Islands. 



