May 1, 1945
THE FISHERMAN
Page Three
Barents Sea Fishing Trawlers Smash Production Records
By RAYMOND ARTHUR DAVIES
(From Moscow via Press Wire)
The Soviet fishing industry is enormously widespread. There is fishing in the Black Sea, in the Caspian Sea, in the Aral Sea, in Lake Baikal, in the Pacific, in the Baltic. There is also river fishing. Finally, there is fishing in the Arctic.
In their fishery resources the*-Russians are a great deal like the
Canadians, but in utilization of these resources they are far beyond us and this applies especially to fisheries beyond the Arctic Circle, where in Canada only Eskimos and Indians fish.
Russian arctic fisheries are divided into those around the Bering Straits and those in the Barents Sea. The latter, being a theatre of major military activities has been deeply affected by the war. The Germans tried to "rump" allied convoys bringing lendlease supplies to Murmansk, Archangel and other ports. Every fishing expedition was fraught with danger, and fishing trawlers were forced to go farther out into areas where no fishing had ben done before. The launching of nets and landing of fish had to be carried on in darkness.
Despite this, the fishing industry beat both enemy and nature. Last year the annual fisheries plan in the Barents Sea was completed by August.
Thirty Thousanders
In their effort to produce more fish for the land and for victory, the Barents . fishermen developed a new slogan: "Become Thirty Thousanders." What does this mean?
In peacetime the Barents fishermen held the world's record for their catch. Some trawlers like the Kirov and the Etdvina caught more than 6,660 tons of fish in one year as against an average catch per boat of less than half
that much. In difficult wartime conditions the fishermen decided to keep up their pre-war averages. Measured la centners (220 pounds), they average 30,000 centners of fish a year. They decided the catch would be no less during the worst period of the battle with the Germans.
Started By Crew
The beginning of the "Thirty Thousanders" movement was laid by the fishing vessel Abrek at a meeting of its crew. Boatswain Degtev proposed that even though their quota was only 14,500 cent-
ners, they should try to get 30,000. His suggestion was accepted and the crew challenged other fishing boats. The Stolesome pledged they would get 32,000 centners; others 35,000 centners, still others 38,000. On the day following the meetings, the trawler Profintern left harbor. There was a strong wind. News came that there was good fishing in another district. The ship changed its position, dropped its buoy and began working. Each time the nets were raised two to three tons of fish were brought aboard. Work was so organized that the nets were dropped eight times a day. During some days, the working day was fifteen to sixteen hours. The country needed food. Socialist competition developed
Swift Action By IF AW A Averts U.S. Fishing Crisis
Averting for the time being a fish crisis in Southern California, the OPA regional office in San Francisco on April 13 extended the winter price schedule for barracuda, halibut and other fresh fish in that market area until approximately May 15.
Halibut Heads Valuable Food
An article appearing in the March 30 issue of "Alaska Fishing News" reveals that the Fishery Products Laboratory of Ketchikan has been conducting studies on the possible use of salted halibut heads for export use.
"The heads keep very well when salted with about 14 percent salt and stored at 35 degrees F," lab officials have disclosed.
Since they contain about 12 percent oil and 1 percent protein, they are very nutritious—in fact, they have a higher caloric value than the portions of the halibut now used.
"The heads have been used before, non-commercially," the News states, "but with the present demand for food among the Allied nations, it seems deplorable to let the volume of several million pounds go unused each year.
"One aspect of such a possible industry that should especially appeal to the processor is that no special equipment is required."
The extension was made at the insistence of International Fishermen and Allied Workers of America, supported by boat owners and fresh fish dealers in Southern California.
The summer price schedule automatically went into effect April 1. In the face of repeated warnings from the union, the OPA delayed action on requests for upward revision of this price schedule.
In March IFAWA Secretary-Treasurer Jeff Kibre requested OPA to extend the winter price schedule through April in order to allow time for further consideration.
But OPA delayed action, and the summer price, slashing the price of barracuda from 16 cents down to 9% cents per pound on drawn fish, made it impossible for the fishermen to operate after April 1.
The situation thus created led to a meeting in San Pedro on April 9 of IFAWA representatives, dealers, boat owners, representatives of War Food Administration and Office of the Coordinator of Fisheries, and Charles Smith of the national OPA.
Kibre attacked the basis on which the barracuda ceiling was set—the average price for 1942—on grounds that the OPA used an av-
erage of all prices, figuring in that paid for sub-quality fish that was dumped on the market at any price rather than being dumped in the sea. -
Fresh fish dealers said Los Angeles wholesalers had less than 20 percent of the normal supply of fish on hand. .With the current meat and poultry shortages, protein foods weer becoming dangerously scarce.
The meeting wound up with a decision to send Kibre to San Francisco for a meeting with the OPA regional office, which was held April 11.
The regional office took the matter under advisement, promising a quick decision, which was announced two days later.
between the fishing boats for the 1944 celebration of the anniversary of the Russian Revolution and led crews to review their quotas and accomplishments. The Yersh decided to get 40,000 centners instead of 38,000. The Profintern raised its aims by 2,500 centners or more than one hundred tons. Others followed. It was agreed that come what may ships must get their pre-war catch.
In order to assist in increasing the catch, it was decided to award titles of "Best Captain," "Best Fisherman," "Best Canner," etc., to outstanding seamen and fishermen. Soon forty-five men were awarded these titles, of whom eleven were on the initiator of the competition, the Abrek.
By the end of the year the titles "Best" were won by two captains, three mechanics, two machinists, seven trawling masters and helpers, five fishery foremen, two salt-ers, three canners, two radiomen, three helsmen, two boatswains, two cooks and six sailors. The results were that for the last quarter of 1944, the average catch was 167 percent of the original plan. Of the whole catch, 98 percent was first class fish.
Fishing costs dropped by 37.4 percent. The Yershs obtained the best results. Its captain, Vasili Bur-yak, won the title of "Best Captain of the Trawler Fleet." The average time for raising and lowering the nets has been reduced to 40.8 minutes and for changing trawls to 22.1 minutes.
The trawler Askold has raised its per trip output of the canned product to 3,284 cans, fish oil to 64.7 percent of catch of halibut, and of other livers to 184 percent of quota. On September 1, 1944, the northern fishing fleet fully completed its yearly canning quota. There were then still four months to go. This year better results are expected.
Vita |n/li/i« Raymond Arthur Davies, author of the ex-M ItC J\Uin01r clusive article carried on this page, is shown here shortly after he returned to Canada following several months in the Soviet Union as war correspondent. He stayed in Canada only a few weeks before returning to Moscow as correspondent for several Canadian newspapers and magazines. A very good friend of the labor movement, Davies is shown here holding a bar of aluminum presented to him by Soviet factory workers, on which was engraved, "Greetings to Friendly Canada From USSR, Factories No. 95 and 150."
Doig Named Cuna Chief
MADISON, Wisconsin.—The Credit Union National Association completed its second wartime membership campaign and added 41,033 new members of credit cooperatives in the U.S. and Canada. Additional reports may push this total to nearly
50,000,
Thomas W. Doig was named managing director of the Credit Union National Association at the quarterly meeting of the organization's executive committee held in Chicago, Illinois, recently.
Roy F. Begengren who has served as managing director since the association organized in 1935, was named promotional advisor. Warm appreciation of the service Mr. Bergengren has rendered the credit union for a quarter of a
century as managing director and as head of the Credit Union National Extension Bureau, was expressed by members of the executive committee at this meeting.
The Credit Union National Association and its affiliates—Cuna Mutual Insurance Society serve 12,000 unions having 4,000,000 members and nearly $450,000,000 of assets. These credit unions are located in the Hawaiian Islands and the Canal Zone, as well as in the United States and Canada.
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