II WARTIME CONDITIONS OF THE INDUSTRY 
Decline in Production and Supply 
During the war period the fishing industry has suffered seriously 
and this has, in turn, affected the food supply of the Japanese people. 
It has been estimated that the 1943-44 fish production was 2,360,000 
metric tons and that of 1944-45 about 1,650,000 tons. In recent months 
the production has been drastically curtailed by naval operations close to 
the home islands. 
The reduction in supply available for domestic consumption from 
about 3,000,000 tons in prewar years to 1,650,000 tons in 19 44 - 4 5 can be 
expected to have seriously affected the Japanese diet, reducing annual 
per capita consumption from more than 60 pounds to about 40 pounds. This 
loss in a major protein food is important although it has been partly 
mitigated by increased soybean imports. 
The decline in production has been due largely to developing short¬ 
ages of boats, manpower and equipment, but has also been related to the 
government pricing of food fish. Many fishing vessels were commandeered 
by the armed forces, others were taken for transport purposes in the coastal 
trade and the inter-Enpire trade, and some of the smaller boats were used 
for landing operations in China. The conscription of large numbers of 
fishermen, the removal of others from the industry for the operation of 
commercial boats and the transfer of some to more lucrative war industries 
resulted in a manpower shortage. Boats using Diesel oil or gasoline have 
had their operations restricted because of fuel shortages; rationing of 
- 5 - 
16-031 P23 bu 
