\ 
Seaa t four produced about 60 percent of the entire production of this 
area. Likewise in the South China Seas some areas were very productive 
whereas others were low in productivity. 
The trawlers were licensed by the Ministry of Agriculture and 
Forestry and were strictly limited in number. The number permitted to 
operate in waters of Japan proper, the China Sea and the Yellow Sea was 
limited to 70; a few other vessels of this class operated, however, in 
other waters. Trawling in the China Sea was also limited to certain 
seasons; north of 25° N. from October 1 to June 1; and south of 25° V. 
from May 1 to November 1. 
The operations off the China coast which provided the bulk of the 
trawling production were of a large-scale commercial nature carried on 
chiefly by one company (Nippon Suisan K. K.) with modern vessels, equip¬ 
ment and production techniques. In 1937 it operated 61 of the vessels 
working in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea. The trawlers of this 
company, vessels of several hundred tons driven by steam or Diesel engines, 
had their chief base of operations at Shimonoseki where constant control 
over the fleet was kept. Each trawler was equipped with wireless so that 
at all times it was in touch with the base. When a boat started work, 
it notified the frisiness office in Shimonoseki of its location and after 
every 10 hauls made a full report on its catch (quantities and species). 
The office, which constantly kept in touch with the fish markets at home, 
notified trawlers at work of the prevailing prices for various kinds of 
fish so that the catch could be evaluated. Trawlers in touch with one 
another by wireless could rush to places where the catch was most 
-88- 
16-03 t P112 bu 
