November 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



43 



Japan (Contd.): 



Completion of the coming sale is expected 

 to just about clean out this year's pack. (Sui - 

 san Tsushin , September 19, 1966.) 



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FISHERY RELATIONS WITH 



SOUTH KOREA MAY BE REEXAMINED 



The advance of South Korea into the North 

 Pacific salmon and trawl fishery and the re- 

 cent entry of her vessels into Japanese ports 

 to unload catches have reportedly strengthen- 

 ed the view of Japanese fishery circles that 

 the government should reexamine its thinking 

 about South Korea's expansion program. The 

 program is based largely on Japanese assist- 

 ance. They maintain the Government's curb 

 on port entry by South Korean vessels is only 

 temporary and will not effectively check the 

 expansion. 



A trade journal editorial noted disunity in 

 the industry, the absence of long-range plan- 

 ning concerning South Korea, and urged for- 

 mulation of a basic long-term policy to reg- 

 ulate vessel and gear exports, imports of 

 fishery products from South Korea, and cre- 

 ation of joint ventures with her. 



The Japanese Embassy in Seoul reported 

 that South Korea's present fleet numbers 

 about 50,000 vessels totaling 190,000 gross 

 tons. Of these, about 7,000 vessels (14 per- 

 cent) are motorized; the remaining 86 per- 

 cent are unpowered craft. Vessels under 5 

 gross tons comprise 86 percent of the fleet; 

 67 percent are under 2 tons. 



South Korea, with Japan's aid, plans to 

 increase tonnage within next five years by 

 about 100,000 gross tons to 300,000 tons. 

 Japanese interests fear this would inevitably 

 lead to competition in offshore fisheries. 

 ( Minato Shimbun , September 13, 1966, and 

 other sources.) 



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PLANS TO BUILD FLOATING 

 SUPPLY BASE FOR TUNA FLEET 



The Japan National Federation of Tuna 

 Fishermen's Cooperative Associations 

 (NIKKATSUREN) is planning to construct a 

 1,600-gross-ton "floating supply base" to 

 provide fuel, provisions, and medical ser-v- 



ice to tuna vessels at sea. Now in the blue- 

 print stage, the vesselwill cost about 280 mil- 

 lion yen(US$777,778) and have a21-mancrew, 

 plus accommodations for 2 NIKKATSUREN 

 representatives, 1 doctor, and 2 patients. It 

 is scheduled to begin operations in 1968, ini- 

 tially in the eastern Pacific Ocean. 



This venture is another attempt by the 

 Federation to improve management of tuna 

 vessel operations to offset growing trend 

 among coastal fishing countries to extend 

 fishing zones and restrict use of ports. In 

 1963 and 1964, NIKKATSUREN successfully 

 operated chartered tankers to conduct high- 

 seas refueling operations in the Pacific Ocean. 

 ( Suisan Keizai Shimbun , September 15, 1966, 

 and other sources.) 



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FROZEN TUNA EXPORT PRICES UP 



The Japanese frozen tuna export market 

 was becoming firm in mid-September 1966-- 

 compared to preceding weeks --with prices 

 for both yellowfin and albac'ore up about $30 

 a short ton. Trading firms contracted for 

 delivery of frozen tuna to California at the 

 following prices: yellowfin, gilled and gutted 

 US$470-475 a short ton c.i.f.; albacore, round 

 $520 a short ton c.i.f. ( Suisan Tsushin , Sept. 

 30, 1966.) 



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CANNED MACKEREL EXPORTS, 

 JANUARY -JULY 1966 



During January-July 1966, the equivalent 

 of 67,203 cases of 1-lb. tall 48's, natural, and 

 1,068,556 cases of j-lb. 48's (Japanese can 

 size--flat No. 2 48's), other than natural, 

 were cleared for export, according to the 

 Ministry of Finance. In first-half 1965, ex- 

 ports of 1-lb. tall natural totaled 400,999 

 cases, and of ^-Ib. other than natural 418,507 

 cases. Of total exports, the equivalent of 

 3,219 cases of 1-lb. tall natural, and 14,003 

 cases of 2-lb. other than natural, were ex- 

 ported to the United States. ( Suisan Tsushin, 

 September 13, 1966.) 



