I GENERAL SURVEY OF THE INDUSTRY 
The fishing industry in prewar years occupied an important 
position among Japan*s enterprises, "being on the one hand, an indispensible 
source of food and on the other, a vital factor in the nation's inter¬ 
national accounts by furnishing a major item in the export trade. In 
addition, the fisheries were of importance to agriculture in providing 
fertilizer materials and poultry feed, and to industry in providing oila 
(for soap, glycerine and a host of other products) and various chemicals. 
The total amount of marine products from operations based on Japan 
proper in pre-war years exceeded that of any other country and accounted 
for about 20-25 percent of the world's total. 1/ The annual production 
of fish, shellfish, crustaceans and molluscs averaged more than 3.4 million 
metric tons (Table l) — a production approximately equal to that of the 
twenty-one European countries (including England and Norway) or about 
three times the total United States production. 2/ In addition seaweed 
i 
was taken in large quantities (about 450,000 metric tons annually) and 
j 
whales and seals and pearl and pearl shell constituted other valuable 
catches. 
Engaged in the fishing industries were almost 1^ million Japanese — 
estimated at 50 percent of the world's total. According to one estimate 
20 percent of the population of Japan was engaged in or was directly or 
indirectly supported by fishing activities, a larger percentage than in 
1y Including all Japanese Empire areas the percentage was about 30-40 
percent in the immediate prewar years. 
2/ Including all Japanese Empire areas the total production was almost 
5 million tons. 
16-031 P 19 *>u 
