AUGUST 24. 1951 -mi: SEVEN

' i50,000 Worth of Menis and Bo i Clothing and Furnishings

so on SALE

'Jusf Think! Of The lmporfance Of This GREAT SALE - Coming As If Does Right Af The Time You Need The Merchandise. Everyfhing Will Be Marked In Plain Figures On Brighf Red Ticliefs.

THE GUARDIAN. CHARLOTTETOWN

DISCOUNTS FROM

25 to 50th Off Regular Retail Prices

ACT AT ONCE

Just The Sale You Have Waifed For. You Will Realize More For Your Money Than Ever Be-

fore. We Caufion You To Come Early.

Sale For Cash: Buf Will Sell Approved Aceounfs On Time. Also Will Handle Accounfs On Our Part Payment Plan. So Don'f l.ef Your Financial Sifuafion Delay You. Call And See Us Anyway. If Unable fo Arrange Safisfacfory Paymenfs. No Harm Done.

PROWSE BROS. LTD.

Preliminary Report

Continued from page 1

Ln; landings up to s1i2,00o. The mackerel catch. which averaged less than SlI0.000 annually be- iore the war, was in excess of 3100.000 from 1043 to 1946 al- ihough it has fallen off consider- ably since then, due principally io the decline in the market for t:ie canned product. Smelt land- ngs were valued at less than 540.000 before the war; in recent years. they have been around and over the Sl00,000 mark.

The pelagic smun as a whole has accounted for from ten to ffieen per cent of the total mine of all ish landed on the island in recent years. l'I'he above paragraphs indicate that the total landed value of the Islands fishery has risen greatly over the past ten years. Prior to 1942. the total value rare- ly exceeded one million dollars. since that date. t'wo-million-dol- lar years have been common and

onelyear (1946) exceeded three ni:!l:oii diollars.

Tiii'ee possibilities exist for n-pnnding the landed value of the fishery: (:0 increasing the miantity causiht: obi increasing the value of the catch; (e) in- riea.-lng the share of the catch

limit; to the fishermen.

As to the first of there. Dr. Net-dlrr'.s "Brief Preliminary In- "Holy of the Fishery Resources n! Prince Edward Island". which was presented to the Comrriittee at its Mhy meeting. indicates that some considerable lines of expan- 5l0l'l are available. It is certain that neither the gioundfish nor pelagic resources of the Gulf of Lawrence are presently ex- tmited to anything like their maximum extent. Even with the present catching equipment it ap- pears that greater inshore land- ings of these species could be made. The principnl drawback appears to be I marketing one ind itiwili be neceeury. as the economic investigation proceeds. i” e?iDl0!'e means whereby great- er inshore catches of herring. mackerel and groundiish could 5' "imposed of in ways that would "way an increased fishing effort.

offshore Fishing

(T-'10 zreater potential source 9- extlanslon in groundflsh and magic Lllldisll. however, lies in offshore fishing and this neces- utatcr different and more ex- :””51V' equipment than has yet Icon used in the Prince Edward ”"d ”-9l101'Y- Here the prim- ?r:v' question is whether the Is- arirl could develop such I fish. "V with Klull or greater effici- "nVV than the other areas which litre Icccss to the Gulf of St. I, Wmice. Such an evaluation of no ability of the Island to coni- pete with other fishing centre: 311.1 also have to be studied as mtfdseconomic investigation pro-

d;-is Dr. Neod'ler's inventory in- C-catcd. there in also i-oom for "itch expansion in some of the '”l0T.IDecias. In some cases. "CV53-W18 production may rs- 'l"'Tc nothing more than the dia- smlnition of infomietion about fgdllvtion methods and mlrkell '1 g the undertaking of some gx. lierimenfal tests. This may be tm"f 0f such hllinll Is farmed

u. and eels. in other cases. the fgfhlm may be mainly nm of teclhm! certain technical or u i7"C0-economic probleml. such

it oyster farming. mzelny be well at this stage to Cahnm 9 question as to what the '0 like might be able to do

ntmullle development where mmgllnclpal needs on for re- uon a. information. experimentg. mv utid the ever-pi-agent, necgg. hm. OW-"Nome the inertia of - itianal practice.

Quality Grading

nigh”: ll1&ui:lte!VeluO! of the v or a cw pol- feiliun. beyond the control of wand 11 of Prince Edward ... at since the market for Druducis is in many case:

his;

world-wide and. in practically all cases. highly competitive.

One available opening lies in increased quality. In the case of practically every product, from

the highest to the lowest. sub- stant ially higher prices can be received for top quality. Tits

acts as an incentive to qualtty production however only when individual producers feel its ef- fects directly and this is unlikely to be the case when products are sold in an ungraded form.

The question that arises here for consideration by the Com- mittee is whether some form of general grading should be estab- lished for the fishery products of Prince Edward Island. Such grad- ing is always difficult to apply. but it has been very successful in the case of other food pro- ducts and there is no reason why the benefits derived from it in other cases could not be enjoyed by the fishing industry.

The other important possibility of increasing the value of the catch applies to the lobster fish- ery. Large lobsters are more valuable than small. In most places, the fisherman who lands lobsters under the present size limit receives a lower price than for those legally caught: and again he receives more for those of market size than for the ones which must be sent to the can- nery. On somc parts of the Can- adian Atlantic coast. the fisher- men return all lobsters under market size to the water and have reaped substantial additional benefits from this practice.

The questions which this raises may be considered in two parts: (1) In the case of undersized lobsters. are the present regula- tions and the methods of their implementation and enforcement satisfactory? (2) Should the fishery he ea-icounged to reduce the intensity of fishing to allow a larger proportion of the catch to grow to market silze and what methods should be employed to bring this about?

Marketed Value

lnci-easing tlhe share of the mar- ket value which is received by the fishermen is possible by r..- duclng the intermediate costs which lie between producer and consumer. More direct marketing methods which reduce costs of both hsiidling and taransrport might bring substantial gains to the fishermen of Prince Edward Island. Here too the Committee should consider the various ways by whch this may be realized such II. 4.51.. the encouragement of co-operative and pooled mar- keting.

(On all points referred to in the preceding panagmphs. it is ex- pected that more material for dis- cussion will be provided by the detailed report of the economic survey which will be presented to the Committee in the near future).

Boll: and Gear

Up to the fall of 1950. the fish- ery of Prince Edward island was exploited exclusively with in- shore craft. These are open boats ranging between N and 38 feet in length and powered by automo- bile or marine gas engines. These boat: are built loully and most are equipped with power haul- ers. A eubstlntial her of boats are owned by packers and lot out to fishermen on a catch- shai-ing .rrengement. Taking the Island as a whole, however. the majority of boats are owned by individual flute:-inen.

The flaheri-rian'a annual needs of gear and fishing supplies Ire, in pi-Icically all cases, financed not by himself but by packers against the year's catch. some boat financing is done personally by packers but the bulk of these funds are provided through the Prince Edward Island Flshermen's Loan Board. In some cases. pack- ers. my loan money and give provisions on charge throughout the winter against next year's

catch. A study of the statistics on year used in the lobster fishery

indicates that the amount of Iguch gear may fluctuate widely rom year to year. The amount of gear used was steadily increased from 1932 to 1937, then experi- enced a decline until 1942 and began climbing again in 1943. Throughout these fluctuations. the catch of lobsters remained iinaffected which lends support to the view that. for some years now, close to the total available stocks of lobsters have been taken each year.

The other fisheries arc, in al- most all parts of the Island, ex- ploited only as supplementary to the lobster fishery and the amount of gear used is not very large. in some places, the most rudimentary form of hand-lining for groundflsh is common.

Important Questions

Some important questions arise with respect to the use of boats and gear on Prince Edward Is- land. Is the best use being made of already known catching de- vices, or could somebhlng be ac- complished by iniformation and demonstration? Cart more be clone along experimental lines, such as the Fisheries Research Board's current effort in respect of inshore boat design? On the economic side. is the present method of financing of boat and gear purchases the best?

There is little doubt that more and better could be done in all these fields. To confine our- selves for the moment to the last question raised. it appears to the writer that most fishermen pre- fer having as little of their own capital invested in boat and gear as possible. The practice has de- veloped of using all other avail- able sources of capital before in- vesting tlhe fisherman's own. In the writer": opinion, this is I development which is hamnful both socially and economically.

Methods should be considered whereby fishermen are encouraged to own more of their catching equipment and financing should be designed to supplement the flshcrm-enls limited resources, not to replace them. In this aspect of the industry, we must go by the rule that the greater the "stake" in the operation on the part of the people who are ac- tively engaged in it. the more successful it is likely to bc.

Fishing Communities

Contrary to a widely held be- lief. most of the fishermen of Prince Edward Island are not farmer - fishermen. While the majority may have small amounts of land. comparatively few farm on anything npproachng I com- mercial scale. Some fishermen follow the fishery throughout its various seasons and depend ex- rlusively on fishing for their livelihood. A large number. 'hcrwcver. fish only the lobster and after this season is over may take odd jobs at whatever happens to be available front time to time.

Opinions are mixed as to the present. standard of living enjoy- ed by the fishermen. but it is commonly believed that the av- erage flsherman live: approxi- mately as wall as the average small farmer. (It may be possi- ble to throw some better light on this sutject It a later date as a result of work now in pro-

gr-esa). There are very few "fishing communities" on the Inland, i.e..

towns or villages composed main- ly of fishermen and their fam- illes. A large number of fishing locations are places to which fishermen come for the fiehing season, and live in temporary homes. A fair number come from their homes to the fishing loca- tlon by car or truck only for the day. In those places which are actually fishing communities. such as Rustico, Tlgnish Run and Mlminognah, there -ppelrs to be a greater tendency for fishermen to follow other fisheries before and after the lobster reason than

pornry residences.

when a specific program for

in phase which are only fem-.

fisheries development is discuss- ed, the effect that it may have on the fishermen and the few fishing communities must be con- sidered. It may well be that such a program will necessarily in- volve deliberate efforts to con- centrate fishing effort at a small number of places. The ability and willingness of Island fisher- men to move from their present locations to such centres is I question of both social and econ- omic importance and a develop- mental program must be accom- panied by plans to facilitate and encourage any geographic shift- ing of fishermen that may be necessary to its success.

Canning ' This is the principal type of fish processing carried out in

Prince Edward Island. Roughly half of the marketed value of all fishery products is in the can- ned form. 04 this. lobster is by far-the most important although during the years in which a good market for other canned fish pre- vailed, substantial amounts of canned hake and mackerel were produced.

The principal difficulty of the canning industry is the short sea. son. Where only lobsters are canned. the plant. is open for only two months. and even during this short period perhaps less than half 'of the days may see actual canning operations being carried out. Some firms attempt to re. duce the burden of overhead charges by canning other fish and. in a few cases. meat and Poultry and fruit. Some firms ap- parently find it profitable to bring poultry from as far distant as Saskatchewan and Alberta for canning in their Prince Edward Island plant. That this can be done illustrates clearly the heavy burden of overhead costs which the short season must impose on those packers who depend entire- ly on lobster canning.

In 1941, the counties of Prince. Kins and Queen's ranked 2nd, 3rd and 11th respectively in the value. of fish canned among all counties of the Maritime Pro- vinces. ln lobster canning alone. these three ranked lst. 3rd and 9th respectively. At that time. I special and temporary relief market for canned groundflsh ex- isted and King's county led all other Maritime counties in the value of this product produced.

N umber of Pllnia

The number of canncries in use in Prince Edward Island is iv0d3Y Only half of what; it was during the early 1930?. The greatest reduction occurred in 103'? and 1938 and was probably due to the sharp depression which occurred at that time. The num- ber of cannerics has been fairly stable since 1944. ranging between 47 and 50. It is, however, doubt- ful that Ill of these are on Jul- ficicntly firm A footing to with- stand even a moderate depres- sion.

At the present time I large numibes of packers appear to be dependent on the wholenling firms which handle the canned product for the fishing luppliel which they, in turn, hand on to the fishermen and for financing of their own operations and this would indicate that I sudden business depression for perhaps EVE" i IWPPMO of credit ham the wholesaling firms) would be likely to reduce the number of operating cannerles cults sub- stantially. -

It is likely that the number of cannerlu now in use in Prince Edward Island is too large for efficient and quality production. A consistent developmental pro. gram for the fishery may in. volvc the direct or indirect clos. tire of l significant number of these. It is expected that the tar or report will present some me ial on the economic lm. portance of the canning industry of Prince Edward Island which will enable an A-essmem to be made of the overall desirability at in reduction in the number of

nrperating plants.

Other rroceuing Facilities

The only other facilities that exist to any great extent for the processing of fish are for salting. Most fishing locations where groundfish is landed have fish houses owned either by the Pro- vincial or Federal governments or by private parties. some of these have good built-in facilities for saltlng and others have large puncheons for the pt.mpOIc. in practically none of the places visited however. were these fac- ilities protperly used and kept in a proper state of cleanliness and repair.

Thus, although salted products make up ten to fifteen per cent of ilhe total value of fish pro- ducts marketed. there appears to be little or no effort to increase the yield by proper attention to quality. Here again the question arises whether it may not be de- sirable to establish and enforce certain minimum standards of care and cleanliness and specific quality gpadings.

There are it few centres at which freezing facilities are available. and in Charlottetown Provincially-owrried facilities are open to the general public. Fm- zen products, however, make up lass ohan five per cent of the total manket. value of the Is- land's fishery products and smelts constitute the bulk of this at present.

Other faollitlu are either neg- ligible in amount or non-existent.

The development of better and more extensive ... essing facil- ities for salting and freezing or new facilities for smoking. re- duction. etc. depends primarily on increasing the volume of raw material supplies available at one or more specific centres. In some lines sufficient volume may be forthcoming aimpLy by con- centrating the landings which are already made. other lines the development of processing facilities must await an expand- ed catching effort. The volume of raw materials necessary to the successful operation of different types of processing plants is a matter of crucial importance here and it would be desirable to have such information as now exists on this question presented to the Committee for its consideration.

Disposal of Products

Canned Fish. Most. of the packers dispose of their canned lobsters and other canned fish by sale to wholesaling firms in Charlottetown. Thee firms sam- plc the pack for quality, label it and sell it, principally through brokers, to United States buyers. Smaller quantities are Sold in Canadian centres. A number of packers have their ow labels and make occasional dir t sales. Some market all their product directly under their own label. A few packers possess quotas for the United Kingdom -'- and sell as much there as they are permitted to, since prices there are higher.

The market for canned lobster appears to be quite variable from day to day. This is I principal source of risk to the wholesaling firm. The variable quality of the pack is slso a source of risk since it cannot be adequately protected by sampling. A: to the latter. however. the inc of con- boased. covers enable: the whole- saling firm to charge loan: to the packer from whom an in- ferior product originated. The p.' economic functions of the cooling firm are those of assembling and risk-taking. Their exietence in the chain from pro- ducer to conllrmer in pr' clpally due to the fact that packers are, in the main. not large enough either in their production or fin- ances to engage in more dii-oct marketing.

Fresh lobsters. Lobster: over nine inches in overall length are bought at higher prices from the fishermen end shipped fredi. prktcbally to the Boston mar-

ket. The combination of fruh and canned lobster operations is

economically advantageous for it permits weak and injured mar- ket-size lobsters to be culled and canned, thereby cutting down loss in shipment. In the majority of places. market lobsters are handled by the packers. They are kept in the water until there is enough for shipment and then sent by iced truck or rail to Boston.

Then are a. few cases of ca- operation among packers to handle their market lobster jointly. This permits better marketing and shipment due to the larger vol- umes attained. In addition. there are some firms specializing in the collection and shipment of live lobsters. They receive supplies both directly from the fishermen in somh areas and from packers who prefer not to ship direct to market.

other

As in production,

Products

so in mai-

keting the fishery of Prince Ed- ward Island is dominated by the lobster. Oysters and smells are handled in II well-organized man- ner through a small number of

buyers who ship to market but there is virtually no organized disposal for other products. This

is due to the fact. that the vol- ume of these products at any one place on the Island is not large enough to make organized mar-

keting operations economically feasible.

Some groundfish and pelagic fish are sold directly to local

peeldlers, some are taken by boat across the Nor-thumberlnnd Strait to New Brunswick firms. but most is salted and sold to one or an- other of the large Nova Scotian firms that send trucks on buying expeditions around the coast. In some cases the packer may pur chase fish and salt it himself. lll

part in the process is complete. Even in such cases. however, the disposnl of fish is in a relatively unorganized state.

It is possible that the returns to the fishermen from the minor products could be increased by such larger-scale marketing as might result from the pooling of supplies and the Committee might consider ways in which this car. he brought about. As to the ma- jor products. canned fish anti fresh lobsters. the question of more direct marketing through a government-sponsored agency co-operative. or some other me- thod should be thoroughly ex- plored.

Gcncrnl Outlook

The following before any intenslvo; the information collect- the survey and must

(Note' are mnde study of ed durintz

remarks

which case the fisherman receives

payment "from the knife" and his

(Continued on Page 11)

HOLM AN lS Both Stores

I

M

Solo and Chair ONLY