6 DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES ANNUAL REPORT NE'TFOUNDLAND AREA 1 -17' The 1954 fishing year in Newfoundland was marked by a number of well defined variations in primary production, increased expansion at the processing level, changes in the marketing system affecting salted codfish and a continuance of experimentation. Of singular significance was the emergence of the "fish stick", which spurred additional expansion, as reflected in new plant construction and extension. On the output side, the year was highlighted by the relative abundance of dodfish on the east coast of the island, which resulted in an exceptionally fruitful trap fishery. Landings at fresh and frozen fish processing establishments also attained new records. By contrast, the trap and hand-lining fisheries in other sections of the province produced but moderate returns, while marked declines were registered in the landings of salmon, mackerel and herring. Total landings of all species for the year were placed at 625.2 million lbs., valued at $15.1 million. This was an increasekof 115.1 X ay-Avf91-3 million lbs., worth ,r.2.8 million, made up almost entirely of cod. SALTED CODFISH The cod fishery in 1954 yielded returns per unit of effort seldom excelled in the history of Newfoundland. Altogether, cod landings reached the high total of about 460.4 million lbs., valued at 310.2 million. The gain over 1953 was of the order of 111 million lbs., valued at $2.6 million, or 32 percent and 34 percent respectively. Yet, there was no appreciable gain in the number of cod fishermen. The expansion of the frozen fish industry permitted larger quantities of cod to be disposed of in fresh state than was possible in past years. Still, nearly 361 million lbs., or over 78 percent, of the entire cod landings were given the traditional salt cure. In product weight, the year's cure was placed at 615,000 cwts. of light salted and 344,429 cwts. of heavy salted fish. Thus, there occurred an increase of nearly 178,000 cwts. over the 1953 production, made up of about 108,000 cwts. of light salted and 70,000 cwts. of heavy salted fish. The production increase indicated is wholly ascribable to the pro- lific fishery on the east and northeast coasts of the island, where the trap fishery resulted in a catch which many operators found difficult to process during the drying season. On the other hand, fishermen on the northwest coast had a relatively lean year, while the shores of the south and southwest coasts afforded but average returns. The catch on the Labrador coast was also lower than that of last year, due mainly to the reduction in the number of floaters engaged in the fishery. The following are comparative production statistics by type of fishery for the years 1953 and 1954. The heavy salted cure is shown in wet weight while the dry salted cure is shown in dry weight. SALTED CODFISH PRODUCTION LIBRARY (cwts. of 112 lbs.) Dept. of Fish cries of Canada 1953 1954 St. John's, Nfld. Light Heavy. Light Heavy Inshore 491,327 180,545 603,435 249,636 Labrador Stationers 16,424 72,146 11,565 91,293 Labrador Floaters - 21,309 - 3,500 Total 507,751 274,000 615,000 344,429 2 FROZEN GROUNDFISH While the frozen fish industry has experienced a fairly constant growth since the outbreak of war in 1939, considerable added impetus was given to the industry by the relatively recent development of "fish sticks" and the growing demand for fish in block frozen form. Due mainly to the market potential for this new product, 1954 saw the establishment and oper- ation of new freezing facilities at Twillingate, Greenspond, witless Bay, Trepassey and Long Harbour, as well as the expansion of existing processing capacity at Harbour Grace and Bonavista. hbreover, the construction of two other plants, one at Grand Bank and the other at Catalina, was well under way by the year-end. The expansion offrozen fish plants was also accompanied by the addition of 11 vessels to the off-shore fishing fleet. Twenty-nine draggers were operated this year compared with 26 in 1953, while 8 vessels were added to the fleet of long-liners and Danish seiners. Concurrent with these developments, inshore fishermen in many sections of the province were enabled to dispose of larger quantities of fish in the fresh state. Their fishing effort was therefore enhanced and their catch contributed significantly to the upsurge in frozen fish pro- duction. Frozen groundfish production reached record proportions during the year with estimates placed at 53.6 million lbs. Compared with 1953, the increase is of the order of 56 percent or 19.0 million lbs. Cod, of which nearly 15.0 million lbs. took the form of frozen blocks, was chiefly responsible for the gain. The production of haddock, including hake and pollock, was almost three times as high as in 1953, but rosefish, flounder and greysole registered declines. On a landed basis, the year's output represented about 170.2 million lbs. and a value of $4.1 million, compared with 116.0 million lbs. and 1 .2.7 million last year. The figures below show the production of frozen groundfish by speciesfor the years 1953 and 1954: 1953 1954 lbs. 1777 Cod 16,756,776 31,542,287 Haddock, Hake, etc. 5,368,161 13,773,070 Rosefish 7,928,866 5,621,674 Flounder & Greysole 4,108,020 2,410,538 Halibut 164,875 174,869 Catfish 100,841 81,926 Total 34,427,539 53,604,364 As in previous years, the U.S. market constituted the main outlet for Newfoundland frozen fish. Prices remained relatively stable throughout the year. HERRING The downward trend in the herring fishery during the past few years was again in evidence in 1954. Due mainly to a declining resource, less than 31.0 million lbs. were recorded as landed during the year. In the light of the province's peak landings of 164.0 million lbs. in 1946, the 1954 experience was somewhat discouraging. Compared with last year, the decrease this year was of the order of 6.4 million lbs. or 17 percent. Yet, owing to the production increase in the higher priced areas of the province, together with a significant rise in the price of herring bait, the value of the year's catch reached $350 thousand, to exceed the 1953 results by nearly 8 percent. Pickled herring production, which is the main form of utilization in the province, amounted to 33,490 bbls., a decrease of over 7 percent from the 36,100 bbls. produced in 1953. Two types of product accounted for the decline, viz., vinegar cured fillets, and "split". 3 The figures below give the production of pickled herring by type of product for the years 1953 and 1954: 1953 1954 bbls. bbls. Gibbed 46 870 Scotch 860 1,508 B.C. Dressed 12,591 14,828 B.C. Fillets 8,579 9,375 V.C. Dressed 196 104 V.C. Fillets 4,958 2,495 Split 8,659 4,019 Round 211 291 Total 36,100 33,490 Despite the drop in production, a larger number of herring packers operated in 1954 than during the previous year. Licenses issued were 223 and 187 respectively. MACKEREL Mackerel, which has never featured highly in the province's total landings, contributed little to fishermen's incomes in 1954. Mainly because of the scarcity of supplies, the year's returns of about 2.1 million lbs., valued at about $100 thousand, represented less than half the volume and value of the 1953 catch. As in former years, the pickled cure was the main form of utilization. SALMON (Commercial) The salmon fishery also provided meagre returns to fishermen in 1954, due mainly to the late retreat of the ice from the Labrador and the northeast coast of the province. Altogether, only about 2.4 million lbs. were landed valued at $584 thousand. Compared with 1953, the reductions are 0.7 million lbs. and $121 thousand respectively. Of the quantity landed, over 2.0 million lbs., or 86 percent, were marketed in fresh or frozen state. The balance of the catch was either pickled or canned. Only 3,551 cases were reported canned, reflecting the rapidly declining interest in canning operations in the industry. LOBSTER The lobster fishery proved relatively rewarding to Newfoundland fishermen in 1954, despite adverse weather and the late opening season on the northeast coast. About 5.2 million lbs. were landed for an increase of about 0.7 million lbs., or 16 percent, over that of the previous year. In value terms, this represented approximatel -r $1.3 million for fishermen as against $1.2 million in 1953. As in the past, the greater proportion of the year's catch was marketed in the live form. About 4.4 million lbs., or nearly 90 percent, were marketed in this state, in comparison with 4.0 million lbs. in 1953. The U.S. was again the main buyer and market conditions remained fairly favourable throughout the year. Fishermen averaged about 25(f per lb. as compared with 26¢ in 1953. The production of canned lobsters was again negligible, amounting to only 885 cases. SQUID There was a significant increase in the landings of souid in 1954. The catch was estimated at 15.1 million lbs., almost double the 8.3 million 4 lbs. recorded in 1953. Supplies for bait purposes were satisfactory in all areas of the province. TURBOT The results of the turbot fishery compared favourably with operations in 1953.