permit some of the latter operations. For example, the off-shore 
sardine fisheries which are efficient producers and not carried on in 
distant waters might be permitted to resume operations. In general, 
however, emphasis should be on the coastal fisheries and aquiculture. 
These should be worked as fully as the available equipment permits and 
as is consistent with conservation regulations. 8/ 
In the reestablishment of processing facilities for marine products, 
attention should be given to the drying and salting of fish and the pre¬ 
paration of seaweed. Fish canneries should not receive undue emphasis 
for canned fish is normally consumed only in small quantities by the 
Japanese population. 
A workable system of distribution of fish and other marine products 
during the period of military occupation is of utmost importance. The 
system of distribution and rationing during the war period has not worked 
particularly well and with final defeat and surrender this may be in a 
stage of collapse. A plan for regulated and equitable distribution of 
food fish is as essential as the restoration of production. 
The severing of fishery companies from large parent organizations 
(such as the Mitsui and Mitsubishi Combines) is recommended as a step 
in the breakdown of the large Japanese combines which control much of the 
non-coastal industry. The fishing corporations affiliated with such 
&) Japanese regulations (both national and local) designed for conserva¬ 
tion of marine resources should be observed by the military government 
authorities. Coastal fisheries of some areas are known to have been depleted 
and this has often been given as one reason why the Japanese fishermen 
have gone far afield into foreign waters. 
16-03 t P35 bu 
