58 



USSR (Contd.): 



PACIFIC SQUID FISHERY IS PRODUCTIVE 



A Soviet fleet was fishing for squid in the 

 South Kurils in mid-1966. Like the shrimp 

 fleet off the Shumagins, the squid fleet belongs 

 to the Soviet state-owned DALMORPRODUKT 

 firm. The firm operates principally in fish- 

 eries for export and is administratively at- 

 tached to the Far Eastern Fisheries Admin- 

 istration. Catches were good--as much as 

 100 metric tons a night. Most of the squid 

 will be exported to Japan. In July 1966, the 

 firm received orders from Japanese import- 

 ers for squid, sea urchins, and other marine 

 invertebrates. 



The Soviets are continuing their efforts 

 to increase fishery exports by expanding into 

 new fisheries yielding good export items. 

 Recent examples of this trend are the Soviet 

 fishery for spiny lobsters off S. Africa' and 

 shrimp in the Indian Ocean. 



^ :^ ^ Hfi 4fi 



FISfflNG IN BARENTS SEA IS POOR 



Fishing vessels of the Northern Fisheries 

 Administration at Murmansk reported ex- 

 tremely poor catches in August and Septem- 

 ber 1966. Two-thirds of all vessels, includ- 

 ing most stern factory trawlers, fishing in 

 the Barents Sea did not fulfill the August 

 monthly catch quota. The Murmansk admin- 

 istrators decided to send most of the unpro- 

 ductive vessels to the Northwest Atlantic. 



Conditions are better in the Norwegian 

 Sea where Soviet medium side trawlers are 

 taking excellent catches of herring with drift 

 nets. 



Soviet fishing troubles in the Barents Sea 

 are probably due to years of overfishing. As 

 a result, the USSR is planning increased re- 

 search (alone and with other countries) and 

 explorations for new resources. 



:^ :^ 3}e :fc :4e 



CAPELIN STOCKS IN 

 BARENTS SEA ARE LARGE 



Preliminary exploratory research off Hop- 

 en Island (below Spitzbergen Islands) showed 

 large concentrations of capelin, used prin- 

 cipally for fish meal and bait by other coun- 



tries. The Polar Scientific Research Insti- 

 tute for Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO) 

 believes that yearly catches of 300,000- 

 400,000 metric tons can be landed. In 1964, 

 the Soviets landed only 400 tons. The new re- 

 source was discovered through increased ef- 

 forts to offset poor Soviet catches from the 

 Barents Sea. 



Norwegian landings of capelin were 217,000 

 tons in 1965; in the first 8 months of 1966, to- 

 taled over 300,000 tons. 



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RESEARCH VESSEL VISITS AUSTRALIA 



The flagship of the Soviet Pacific fishery 

 research fleet, "Akademik Berg," visited 

 Melbourne, Australia, in early May 1966. The 

 3,800-gross-ton stern trawler, constructed 

 in 1963, has a crew of 86 including 10 fishery 

 scientists. The captain told an interviewer 

 that the Soviets are interested in redfish and 

 snapper, jackass fish, deep-sea travella, and 

 various other fish. The Soviets have no in- 

 terest in catching shark or spiny lobster. 



The Captain also reported numerous sight- 

 ings of tuna schools and believes that large 

 tuna resources are available in the area. The 

 Akademik Berg did not attempt to catch tuna 

 because it lacked purse-seine equipment-. 

 (Melbourne Fish Trades, June 1966.) 



Note: The Australian journal comments: 

 "4 vessels of this type- could land in a year 

 the equivalent of the total annual Australian 

 fisheries catch" (76,000 metric tons in 1964). 



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CONDUCTS HERRING RESEARCH 

 IN BERING SEA 



Iri'^early October 1966, the medium freezer 

 trawler SRTM-8452 of the Pacific Scientific 

 Institute for Fisheries and Oceanography 

 (TINRO) sailed for a 6-month research cruise 

 in the Bering Sea to study wintering herring 

 concentrations and the biological principles 

 governing their formation. This is the first 

 time the Soviets have studied winter herring 

 in the Bering Sea; heretofore, their research 

 was conducted mainly in the Sea of Okhotsk 

 and off Kamchatka, where large commercial 

 herring concentrations occur in early fall. 



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