1967 included advice to local fishermen in planning and forming fishery cooperatives and coordination of economic research programs at universities on the East Coast. 5. International activities: Major changes are taking place in long-established patterns of world fishing. Also, there is a growing interest by the developing countries in expanding fishing capabilities. Details of some of the most significant international fishing programs for which the Bureau has provided the scientific data and technical personnel are described in Chapter II. This type of activity accounts for about 3 percent of the Bureau's FY 1969 budget request. In addition to these marine science and technology programs, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries is also responsible for the implementation of three financial assistance programs which are intended to offset, in part, the high costs of ship construction and operation to American fishermen compared to the costs to some foreign competitors. These programs are: -loans for fishing vessels and gear; -fishing vessel mortgage and loan insurance; -fishing vessel construction differential subsidies. The Environmental Science Services Administration, Atomic Energy Commission, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, National Science Foundation, and Navy also contribute to better understanding of the potential of the living resources of the oceans. These programs and their FY 1969 budget implications are discussed in other chapters. Of particular interest to the fishing industry are the successful efforts of the Atomic Energy Commission, in conjunction with the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, in the development of irradiation techniques for fish preservation. Using Food from the Sea in the War on Hunger Marine resource development has long been a part of AID programs. Technical assistance has been provided to Korea, for example, for surveys on salmon, oysters, and trout production, and the FY 1968 program calls for further market feasibility studies and technical assistance. The Korean Reconstruction Bank, with loan funds provided by AID, will lend $3 million. to Korean fishing cooperatives for the purchase of modern equipment including refrigerator ships and deep sea trawlers. In South Vietnam, AID, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization, is helping to explore unused fish resources near the mouth of the Mekong River. The program also includes training of Vietnamese in modern fishing technology, production and distribution of fingerlings, construction of fish ponds, dis tribution on credit of fishing boats and gear, and construction of fish landing facilities, ice plants, and processing facilities. In 1967 the United States embarked on a new Food-from-the-Sea program with initial objectives projected over a five-year period as shown in Figure III. 3 to: -develop commercial processes for producing FPC;1 -improve the fish catching, landing, and processing capabilities of three protein-deficient countries; -develop markets for FPC in at least one protein-deficient country; -establish a viable commercial FPC system in at least one protein deficient country; ----encourage other nations and private interests to establish commercial fishing industries in the developing countries. In carrying out the responsibility as assigned last year as lead agency for the program, AID has established a Food-from-the-Sea Service in its Office of the War on Hunger, and the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries is accelerating necessary technological development. Spearheading this drive to exploit fish resources as a major low-cost item of high protein nourishment for large masses of people are the accelerated efforts of the United States in the development of FPC. Two approaches are involved: assistance to developing countries in exploring possibilities for indigenous FPC production, and the use of FPC produced in the United States in world-wide food aid programs. Preliminary surveys of the opportunities for developing FPC capabilities have been conducted in a number of Latin American, Asian, and African nations. As a result of these surveys, Chile has been selected for more intensive study to determine whether and in what manner FPC-fortified foods can be marketed commercially. It is anticipated that a country will also soon be selected in Africa and in Asia for similar studies designed to stimulate the market for FPC. These studies will employ modern marketing techniques and will be carried out under contract with private industry. The feasibility studies should provide the basis for determining the potential of FPC, and it is anticipated that the United States will encourage the establishment of an FPC demonstration plant in at least one of these countries as the next step. The studies will also furnish the data and incentives necessary for large-scale investment in FPC industries by the private sector. 1 During FY 1968, AID plans to purchase about $1 million of domes Whole hake and similar abundant species can be converted into a nutritious and wholesome protein concentrate (FPC) that is tasteless and odorless. FPC is bacteriologically and biochemically safe and stable without refrigeration or other special process. Its protein is easily digestible. It can be easily stored and transported and can be readily added to a variety of foods commercially consumed in the developing nations. Ten grams will provide adequate animal protein to meet the daily requirements of one child, at an estimated daily cost of less than one cent. tically produced FPC to enrich wheat or a combination of grains provided by the Commodity Credit Corporation for distribution as specially formulated foods in AID's world-wide food programs, primarily for children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers. AID will initiate a study of the training needs of marine science specialists of the developing nations, including the desirability of establishing an international training center in the United States. The development of AID's Food-from-the-Sea program has elicited widespread interest in cooperating countries. U.S. industry has shown a great deal of interest in both the production and marketing of domestically produced FPC and in the possibility of construction and operation of FPC plants abroad if AID-sponsored feasibility studies indicate commercial viability. The Council's Committee on Food from the Sea is concerned with policy guidance and general recommendations for the broad, long-range program to harvest the oceans in every reasonable way as a source of food. Accelerated Development of Fish Protein Concentrate In view of the promise of fish protein concentrate as an inexpensive source of protein, engineering development of FPC processing will be accelerated during FY 1969. It is proposed to increase the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries' funds from $1.6 million in FY 1968 to $3.6 million in FY 1969. FY 1969 efforts will include further refinement of the process for extracting FPC from hake-like species-the process already approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Work to develop processing methods and techniques for extracting FPC from other fish species, particularly oily fish species which are available near protein-deficient nations, will be started. The FPC program in the United States will continue as outlined in Figure III.3. Supporting Studies To assist in the development of Government policies to strengthen the domestic fishing industries and the contributions of Food-from-the-Sea to the War on Hunger, the Marine Sciences Council has supported two studies under contract with non-Governmental specialists. The purpose of the first study was to ascertain whether a systems analysis approach, which has proven valuable in many industries, would be useful in planning Federal fishery management and resource development programs. A methodology for analyzing optimum fishing systems was developed. Using data provided by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, the activities of Boston-based trawlers engaged in exploiting the George's Bank haddock fishery were analyzed as a case study. The investigators concluded that a systems analysis approach can be useful in analyzing the effectiveness of Federal programs such as subsidy programs in the fishing industry. The other study surveyed the practice in many countries of aquaculture— the rearing of aquatic organisms under controlled conditions. Scientific and economic factors were evaluated. The authors concluded that aquaculture, and particularly broader development of pond culture, can make a very significant contribution to the War on Hunger. The United States, by virtue of its accomplishments in fields such as ecology, genetics, chemistry, and engineering, can contribute to the development of new and improved techniques in aquaculture. The domestic economy might also benefit from aquaculture through increasing production of high quality food items now considered luxury items because of limited supplies. The studies are now under review by the concerned agencies, and they will be made available to the public in early 1968. Looking Ahead In view of the limited economic viability of the U.S. fishing industry, many recent advances in ocean science and technology are not being as effectively applied by the United States to enhance production of fisheries as by other leading fishing nations. While the programs of the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries described above provide assistance of considerable importance to industry, they cannot in themselves reverse the trend in our declining competitive position in world fisheries. Of highest priority should be a new concerted effort of the Federal Government, the States, and industry to encourage the evolution of a legal, administrative, and financial framework which harmonizes economic efficiency, conservation needs, and local interests. Given the broad range of overlapping and often conflicting domestic laws and interests, together with the complicating impact of international arrangements, a sharp departure from the limited efforts of the past may be required if there is to be a rehabilitation of the domestic fisheries. Concurrent with this effort, there will be technological opportunities to strengthen the capabilities of the industry through automation and mechanization on shipboard and on shore; development of new products and new processing, preservation, storage, and marketing practices; and in |