Members of these fishery societies included not only persons 
engaged in fishing but those who manufactured, traded in or stored 
fishery products. The functions are said to have included “encouragement 
fisheries, improvement and extension of the manufacture of marine pro¬ 
ducts, development of fishing districts and protection of aquiculture. “ 
They also looked after the rescue of shipwrecked vessels, worked in the 
field of labor relations and engaged in educational work through lectures 
and exhibitions. These societies have been used by the central government 
to finance and improve fishery methods and to collect statistics. 
Aquatic Products Societies (Suisan-kumiai) . 93/ These were organi¬ 
zations of fishermen and persons engaged in the manufacture or sale of 
aquatic products, formed under the Fishery Law of 1901, for the purpose 
of “improving the fisheries, cultivation of aquatic products etc." Unlike 
the fishermen's societies formed under the same law, they were not permitted 
to engage in actual fishing but were trade associations intended to work 
for the general improvement of all branches of the fishery industry, 
using “fishery" in its broadest sense. Although fishermen belonged to 
these societies proprietors who owned vessels and gear and those engaged 
in marketing or other chases seemed to have dominated many of the societies. 
Except for matters provided for in the Fishery Law and Buies, these organi¬ 
zations were regulated by the law of 1900 relating to Associations for 
Staple Products (Jugo-bussan Dogyo-kumiai). 
937 Some sources refer to these organizations as fishery or aquatic 
products “guilds, " 
- 174 - 
16-031 P203 bu 
