UNITED STATES 



VALUE OF 1966 CATCH IS NEAR 1965 RECORD 



The value of United States fishery prod- 

 ucts to commercial fishermen in 1966 is 

 forecast at $445 million, only about $1 mil- 

 lion short of the 1965 record. 



The volume of the catch is expected to be 

 4.3 billion pounds, the lowest since 1947. 



The total value remains high despite the 

 smaller catch because the harvest of high- 

 value fishery products, those people eat, is 

 at about the same level of recent years --2. 5 

 billion pounds --and price levels approximate 

 last year's. The sale of edible fishery prod- 

 ucts makes up, by far, the largest part of f ish- 

 ermen's income. 



Shrimp and Pacific salmon are again rank- 

 ing one -two among dollar earners. Shrimp 



are bringing fishermen the highest average 

 prices per pound in the history of the fishery. 



The drop in the total fish catch reflects 

 the decline in the industrial fish catch- -pri- 

 marily the dramatic decrease in the menha- 

 den catch. The menhaden catch plummeted 

 from 1.7 billion pounds in 1965 (36 percent 

 of the total catch of all species) to 1.133 bil- 

 lion pounds in 1966. While the total value of 

 menhaden was down, average prices were up 

 because prices in the fish meal industry, a 

 prime user of menhaden, were the highest in 

 its history. (BCF/Branch of Fishery Statis- 

 tics.) 



Coming issues of COMMERCIAL FISHER- 

 IES Review will report the 1966 catch in great- 

 er detail. 



SITUATION AND OUTLOOK 



Supplies of edible fishery products at the 

 beginning of November 1966 were the heav- 

 iest ever for that date. Compared with a 

 year earlier, stocks of frozen products were 

 up substantially. There were marked in- 

 creases in holdings of fillets and steaks of 

 cod, flounder, and ocean perch. Stocks of 

 fish sticks and portions, halibut, salmon, and 

 spiny lobster tails also were higher. Storage 

 holdings of frozen shrimp, scallops, and crabs 

 (including crab meat) were down. Among 

 cured products, holdings of salted herring 

 were plentiful compared with 1965. 



The fine run of pink salmon in Alaska in 

 1966 and a good run of reds assure plentiful 

 stocks of canned salmon for coming months. 

 Supplies of canned tuna appear adequate; the 

 pack to date is running well ahead of last year. 



Imports of edible fishery products likely 

 will exceed those of 1965. However, the 1966 

 beginning inventory was lighter than 1965, so 

 total supplies in 1966 may fall somewhat 

 short of the amount available in 1965. 



Overall, retail prices for fishery products 

 advanced throughout 1965 and the first three 

 quarters of 1966. Further gains seemed like- 

 ly as the last quarter began. 



Present indications are that per -capita 

 consumption of edible fishery products for 

 1966 will be 10.8 pounds; last year it was 11 

 pounds. Very little change is in prospect for 

 fresh and frozen or cured fishery products, 

 but consumption of canned fishery products 

 will fall off a little. 



The Year Ahead 



The outlook for 1967 is for a continued 

 high rate of per -capita consumption at only 

 slightly higher prices. Total domestic pro- 

 duction may not increase over 1966's but in- 

 creasing imports will supplement domestic 

 production. 



Increasing worldwide consumption of the 

 sea's resources is expected. The world catch 

 of fish and shellfish has more than doubled 

 during the past decade- -from about 60 billion 

 pounds to more than 120 billion. The United 

 States catch has not increased, but imports 

 have risen. Some experts predict a several- 

 fold increase in the world catch and even 

 estimate that man is now taking only about 

 4 percent of the harvestable living resources. 

 (BCF/Branch of Current Economic Analysis.) 



