Fish is today one of the least known and most promising assets of the South

              OFFICE OF COORDINATORC F FISHERIES

For Release TO PM's, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1944.

Fish Is today one of the least known and most promising assets of the South,

according to a publication on the f$shery reeources of that region just iesued by

the Interior Department's Office of the Coordinator of Fisheries.

The pamphlet is titled "Fish and Shellfiah of the South Atlantic and Gulf

Coasts" and was written by Rachel L. Carson, an aquatic biologist on the

Coordinator of Fisheries' staff. It is the third in a regional eeries of bulletins

by the same author dealing with the fisheries of the Unlted States.

Describing what the southern states have already done in building up their

fisherie's, the bulletin points out that at the present time "the South supplies

the United States with practically all of its shrimp, a third of its crabs, a

fourth of its' oysters, and a number of choice fishes that are not taken anywhere

else in abundance, like the red snapper, the Spanieh mackerel, and the pompano."

Although~fiah~and shellfish have been caught along the southern coasts ever

since the first settlements were made' in the region, "the ,fisheries of the South

Atl&ic &d Qulf coasts have by no means completed their development," accordi%

to Miss C&son. 'With a coastl.ine more than 2,500 mile@ long aa the crow flies,

the region produces only a little more than half a billion pounds of fishery

products -- 14 per cent of the total yield of the United States and:,Alaska."

Southern.coastal watere support a'greater variety of fish tid shellfish than

are found anywhere else in the country, but as yet only five major fisheries have

been developed -- those for menhaden, shrimpl mullet, .crabs, and oysters.

Describing the southern fisheries as. "a fertile field for exploration which

will reveal wh6ther they may in time yield &I, even larger and more valuable sea-food

harvest," the bulletin cites lack of sc'lentific exploration a8 one of the

reafsons for the slow development of the south~s.sea.-food resouroes, Comparatively

little is known either'of'the oceanography of the region or of the distrfbution

or habits of the fishes, With few exceptions, fishing operationa are confined to

waters close inshore.‘ .

,

Studies tie' needed; :t ls'pointsd o&, to fipd the areas where fieh may

congregate offshore, or whether such'areas exist. In addition to such explora-tions,

new methods of handling the catch would permit fuller use of apeciea known

to be abundant; T

Annual~landlngs of fish and shellfish in the states fro& North Carolina to

Texas total about'575,000,000 pounds, coneisting of come 85 different species.

(over)

The menh&en alone, 8; Iar@ member c$ the herrUg family, is 80 lnrpotia+t in tie

southern fishcries that It @&en up more thag half the total catch, and supports

the largest fishery of North Carolina, FlorMa, &d. M4aeie~13ppi, and the moet

valuable fishery of North Carolina, Menhaden Is an ?.xaportant source of meal end

oil umxl in enlmal fscidlnp; ma of oil .for bdustr~al wea.

The catch of shrimp ranl& next to 8lonhade.n in vo&x& and cxcounte for Q

quarter of the total landings, Shr%p fiehing $6 t&e principal aquatic industry

fra Georgja, Alobcma, Louisiana, end Texa#, and thw most valuable fiehery 18 most

aouthem atatee,

Mullet is the prinoigal food fieh of the eou$h, ylaldlng an aanua.S catch of

35 t0 40 miil:!~ppould~. Laxgeet cat&e@ are mads on the weat coast of Florida

and ic~ the vicinity of Beaufort, J?orth Carol&a, the peak of the eeaeon coming in

the fall md ea;rly winter.

Mullet, crabs, and oysters epoch make up 3 ts 6 per cent of the total catch

of the region, all other *8pecle8 boiw caught in quantities of left@ than

10,000,000 pouade.

Differing greatly in the prodxxctivlty of thair fl.sherios, the eouthern state

are led by Florida which, with tts long coast Ilne, contributesl a third of the

total yield. North CerolJaa.1~1 a close eooond, with 30 per cent of the total,

$nd xlotisiana la thS.rd, with 22 par cent,

Geographically, the producte of the southern fleherles (excl~~alve of the -'

canned pack) are dletrlbuted chiefly in the area bowed by the MLssiesippi River

on the west and the Ohio RiPer on the north, Certain speoios, however, have a

much wider dietribution, Probably shrimp and red snapper are 'chipped to more

distant cities than any other southern 80~ foode,

Can~@ng of sea food producta In the South ia XlmJ.tod almostenH.r&yto ehr'lmp

and oystera, The pator part of the &rimp &MI been canned in the past, but

there is now a strong-treti toward freezing more shrimp and cenning leers,

PractlcaUy all; the oyster cannw In the Un$ted Statee in done in the south, and

Blloxi, M&M., carrs more oysters than any .other city in the world,

Mc?t of the-fieh lasded. at southern ports entera the fresh-fish markets, ,&t

present the necessary shore facllitfce'for packa@% and frcoz?.ng .t& catch by the

meet modern hiboaf3 4827im3 tea in the South, The skQled.labor neceesarg to

operate such plants Is almost unobtainable u&x- war ponditions,

The new bulletin, whfch le bol3.cved3o be the first ~~bl,lshed account of the

fishery re8ourcea of the entire eouthern coast, contain@ Information on Bpproxi-mtely

29 different kinds pf fish and &oLljFl6h, In.cludln& many .of the lees known

and under utilized epecies of tht.region,

Copies of 'F3.ah and Shellfish of the south Atlantic and Gulf Coasts," Iu-mm

ae Conservation Bulletin 37 of the Department of the Interior, mayfbe obtained

from:tho Superintendent of Documents, Government PrIntiw OffQcs, Wash$n&on,

I>, C, for 10 cents each, 03: from membe$s of Congress on request,

P.N. 50033 2