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One species of fish, the mackerel, which is prevalent in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and other Island waters during the fishing season ig con- sidered by fishermen to.be a val-

. Uable cash

MAY PASS $300 MILLION

Canada's fisheries caich - reaches all- time. record

through plant and éitahors fleet

The quantity and value of Ca- nada's fisheries catch attained record levels in 1965, according to preliminary estimates prepar- ed by the Economics Service of the federal Department of Fish- eries and the Dominion Bureau of Statistics.

Total landings of ‘fish and shellfish were estimated at close to 2.4 billion pounds, represent- ing gross earnings by fishermen of $153 million. Both totals show- ed an increase of three per cent over the previous records estab- lished in 1964, when landings amounted to 2.8 billion pounds with a landed value of $148 mil- lion.

The total marketed value of all fishery products of Canada last year is likely to exceed $300 million for the first time, the

~™ Economics” Service” predicted. This. figure, combining both do- mestic and export market valu-- es, has been climbing steadily within the past decade and has 50 per cent since. 1960.

The value of fishery exports has shown a comparable n-

crease in the same period, ris---

inc from less than $140 million in 1960 to more than $200 mil- Hon i in 1964.

Exports for the first, nine. mon- ths of 1965 were running $10 mil- | lion ahead of 1964 and this mar- gin was expected tobe main- tained for the last three months, bringing the year’s total export value to an estimated $213 mil- lion.

U.S. MAJOR MARKET

The United States was. again the major market for Canada’s lishery exports, and —increased * ts purchases to more than 70 per cent of all exports. The in- ereases were chiefly in quanti- ties of groundfish fillets and shell lobsters. Exports to Eur- ope and the Caribbean area de- -elined ffom 1964 levels, mainly as a result of a short supply of eanned salmon and salted fish.

In the northwest Atlantic fish- eries, Canada last year establ- ished new records for total land- (ngs and earnings of fishermen.

|

The *"hulaniic fisheries harvest | totalled 1.65 billion pounds, worth to Canadian fishermen $97 million. The comparable _tot- als in 1964 were: 15 billion pounds and $87 million. .

British Columbia, as sole Can- adian participant in the Pacific fisheries, again led individual provinces in the volume of sea- fish landings, despite a serious decline from the 1964 catch: B. C. landings in_1965 amounted to 620 million pounds, worth to fish- ermen $46 million

Fishermen of Nova Scotia ach- feved notable success in 1965 by outstripping British Columbia fishermen in earnings for the first time, and seriously challen- ging Newfoundland’s lead among the Atlantic provinces in physical quantity landed. Gross “earnings by Nova Scotia fisher- men rose to-a-record $49 million last year on a total catch of 592 million ._ pounds. Newfoundland’s landings amounted to 604 mil-

“}lion pounds, representing an in-

come to fishermen .of $24 mil- lion,

In-fact,-Nova- Scotia's catch of fish and shellfish, excluding liv- ers, tongues, and scales, actual- ly__exceeded that of .Newfound- land— 591 million pounds ‘to 585 million pounds. Newfoundland landed 18 million pounds of liv- ;ers, tongues and scales as com- pared to one million pounds for Nova Scotia.

British Columbia’s catch in 1965 dropped sharply from the previous year’s total of 712 mil- lion pounds, valued at $48 mil- lion. The annual catch in B.C. in the past decade has ranged be-. tween 600 and 700 million pounds but reached its peak with 773 million pounds in 1963.

STEADY INCREASE

Nova Scotia’s annual catch has shown a steady increase sinuce 1954 when it was less than 400 million pounds. In 1964 the catch was up to 519 million pounds, and ft gained another. 73 million-pounds last year. The rapid increase is attributed to

intensification of fishing effort ' total

EDGAR OATWAY, ELLERSLIE RAKES OYSTERS

many ready markets. Here a couple of Alberton fishermen prepare that mackerel catch for landing and de- livery to the market.

GOOD MONEY IN. MACKEREL Ma

crop and ‘one that finds

|expansion: Nova Scotia at the | Fe of the year had 61 of Can-

ada’s 113 deepsea trawlers, com. |

jpared with 46 in Newfoundland. than a decade; last year’s catch

Brien expansion in fleet

been taking an increasing prop- ortion of the catch: in 1965 the

representing third of the total and a 28 per

year. ; in | OTHER* PROVINCES

ings and value totals last year were: New. Brunswick 289 mil-

Quebéc 141 million pounds worth six million dollars and Prince

worth seven million dollars. Figures on landings and earn- ingx by. fishermen. engaged in

Commercial..operations_.on.—in- land” waterways give employ- ment to some 17 thousand. fish- ermen. In recent years their landings have totalled approx-

nually, worth to fishermen some $13 million. Most abundant fish’ species

in the past year was ..erring, which accounted for more than one third of the overall catch.

Codfish landings . the Atlan- tie coast of 570 million pounds made up more than half of the

catch has ranged between 500 | and 600 million pounds for more |

was the highest since 1964, when | totalled 607 million pounds. |

and plant facilities has also tak- | en place in this province, and | the epading offshore fleet - has |

fleet landed 209 million pounds, | more. than one | cent increase over the previous |

Other provincial seafish land. | ———-

lion serine worth $11 million; |

Edward Island 47 million pounds |

the 1965 freshwater fisheries | have not been compiled to date. |

imately-120- million -pounds—an- | landed by Canadian fishermen |

West coast fishermen landed 444 | million pounds of Pacific her- | ‘ of Atlantic |

groundfish catch. How- |

accel

Here are a few news sidelights emanating from various reports given at 1966 annual meeting’ of the federal department’ of fish- eries in the Maritimes covening in Halifax earlier this year. a interesting results have chieved at the new oyst- ex. pan station at Ellerslie, |

E. I. A joint project of the department of fisheries and the

ever, species landed in smaller quantities, lobster and Pacific salmon— were leaders jn value to fishermen at $27 million and $25 million, respectively. nee

ay

Sidelights gathered from annual reports

)Fisheries Research Board of

Canada, the station could prove said a Halifax fisheries official, to be the threshold to reviving and possibly increasing the oy- ster industry in the Maritimes beyond anything know hereto: fore»

_-cod,-eusk.-

weights’ of catfish, smelts, flounders,. her- ring, salmon, redfish, halibut, clams and scallops showed §in- creases last year over 1964. Al- so increasing in 1965 over the previous year were the landed values of cod, hake, cusk, floun- ders, salmon, herring, macker- el, alewives, smelts, haltbut,

ranked third in value at $23 mil- lion.

clams, oysters, and scallops.

Four vessels t2 Wova Scotia were engaged in whaling opera- tions last year. Three vessels landed their catches in Lunen- burg County, and the fourth landed in Meteghan, Digby County.

Ross E. S. Homans, acting fe- deral director of fisheries for the Maritimes, paid warm tri- bute to protection and inspec- tion officers of the department’s field foreés for the’ manner in which they enforced sealing re- gulations. Jast year. In 1965, for | the first time,’ the department took—a-direet-lead—in-—supervis--| ing sealing operations, In fact, this enforcement was the ‘first of its kind in the history of seal- ing. The field officers super- vised killing methods to ensure that cruelty did not occur, In the Gulf of St. Lawrence area, the department saw to it that a quota of 50,000 placed on white- coats (baby seals) was upheld.

The sealing enforcement pre: |’ The Guardain - The oe Patriot

gram was directed: by Mr. Ho mans.

In 1965 the federal}! - partment of fisheries in the | Maritimes isstied 24,562 licences for the fishing Of lobsters. Most | of the licencees were’ bona fide | commercial fishermen, but many licences were issued to part-time fishermen fishing for lobsters for their own use or fishing a small number of traps for commercial purposes.

—_theirer-

hives while engaged in fishing in

included 14 sports: ‘fishermen and 12 commercial fishermen.

During the year nine draggers |truction of grey seals amount-

six longliners, and 21 smaller boats were lost. They represent- ed a value of $1,047,900. In addi- tion, loss of fishing gear and miscellaneous damage account- ed for losses amounting to $361,-

269. °

Page 9-A

Federal department of fisher- jies patrol ‘boats in the Mari-

itimes engaged in 30 sea search and rescue incidents in 1965. The flagship of the fleet - - CGS Cygnus - - went to aid of six jlarge trawlers in d ss on the ‘offshore fishing grounds. In one case, she delivered an en- gine part and transported an: in- |jured seaman-ashore. In the oth- -five— the lcrippled vessels to port. The

ing boats in inshore waters, Bounty payments for the des-

ed to $2,675 last year. These Payments are made by the fe- deral department of fisheries. Grey seals, so Halifax fisheries Officials said, are becoming very plentiful in Northumber-

area in Nova Scotia. These ani- mals are destructive to fish t-k- en in nets, and fishermen in the above areas are requesting that they be included in bounty. pav- ments. At present hourty claims aré only payable on grey jseals in the Miramichi estuary lin New S8runswick

MAIL HELD UP. ‘OTTAWA (CP)—All mai! ad- ‘dressed-to Jamaica, except let- -

t

ters and postcards will be re- turned” to senders” until farther ~~~

notice, the post office depart- ment announced Friday. The policy results from official ad- vice from Jamaica that all de- livery services within Jamaica, as well as mail despatches from Jamaica, have been sus- pended since April 4. Letters and postcards will be for

land Strait and _Chedabucto Bay

warded at the first opportunity.

~“A 23.2% increa

in the value of the Prince Edward Island fishery, is a sound argument for further investment in the de-

velopment and expansion of the in-

}

dustry.

"Our acs, the rapid. renin |

crease in in practical research and the

development of m

fishing fleets is further evidence

that our industry-is

"We invite the North American fishing industry to note our growing opportunities for investment."

Leo F. Rossiter #

se, during | 965,

odern, efficient

on the move.

\

‘Minister. -

-

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