“WATERFRONT – Fishing Industry Dealt Real Blows – Albacore, Tuna Season Closes After Fantastic Series of Events – Highlighted by a series of fantastic and dramatic events unparalleled in the history of the world’s fishing fleets, San Diego’s 1951 albacore and tuna season ended last week. The devastating effect of imported tuna from South America and Japan on the fishing fleet is graphically illustrated by a statement of the American Tunaboat Association that the Industry suffered a momentary loss of $20,000,000 (equivalent to $231,585,160 today, an incredible $26,437 per hour! – ed.) during the season. There is every prospect millions more will be lost before the clipper fleet gets back on an even keel.
RUSSIANS PLAY PART
Involved In the fisheries disputes over the imported tuna were the governments of the United States, Canada, Peru, Nicaragua, Japan, and Soviet Russia. The part played by Russia heretofore has never been disclosed in this country. The Japs know it, for many of their fishing craft, poaching in Russian territorial waters along the Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin Island, have vanished from the sea along with their crews. There was no Japanese tuna, frozen, canned or fresh, dumped in Russian markets. Explosions, fire, stranding and storms were responsible for the destruction and sinking of the San Diego tuna clippers ‘AMERICAN GIRL’ and ‘COUNTESS’, while 10 other local fishing craft went to Davy Jones’ locker. Estimated value of the 12 vessels was approximately $2,000,000 (equivalent to $23,158,515 today – ed.). Two other albacore boats vanished in a fog off the Baja California coast and have not been heard from since.
DOZEN KILLED
A dozen fishermen lost their lives and 32 more had to be rescued by the Coast Guard. Included in the list of vessels lost were the ‘PALOMA’, ‘KINGFISHER’, ‘SKIPJACK’, ‘ELSIE A.’, ‘SELMA’, ‘STANDARD II’, ‘BUTTERFLY’, ‘DONNA MAE’, ‘RELIABLE’, and the ‘WEST WIND’. And the first mutiny reported in 35 years aboard a San Diego fishing boat occurred during the turbulent year. There was a near riot within the shadows of the Civic Center when a group of angry women protested action of the City Health Department in stopping the sale of albacore aboard the Cape Cod-type fishing schooner ‘PUGENT SOUND’. And a tuna clipper captain charged that his crew deserted after the craft was stranded on the lower Baja California coast…, but this later was disproved by a Coast Guard Board of Inquiry. Another clipper, the ‘NOTRE DAME’, was seized and fined $6,000 (equivalent to $71,630 today – ed.), a record penalty, for allegedly fishing without a license in Ecuadorean waters (*Editorial Note: This ‘Notre Dame’ seizure will be recalled in 1966 by A.T.A. Manager Auggie Felando as a seminal event after 15 [and counting…] years of continued seizures, fines, and thefts of and aboard U.S. tuna vessels.).
REPRISALS LOOM
Nicaragua, Peru, and Ecuador threatened reprisals if the American government imposed a tariff that would prove harmful to their fisheries. The local fishing fleet is dependent on these countries for both bait and tuna. Canada sought the protection of her salmon industry from the Japanese. Alaska, Washington state, Oregon, and California implored the U. S. State Department to protect the tuna, salmon, and mackerel fisheries from Japanese encroachment. These problems are now being considered in Tokyo and Washington D. C..
The greatest blow sustained by the albacore fleet occurred on the fateful morning of AUGUST 21st when the San Diego UNION newspaper broke the story of the thousands of tons of DUTY-FREE albacore that Japan was sending to our Pacific Coast. This data had been compiled by Dr. W. M. Chapman, Research Director of the Tunaboat Association. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 albacore boats were operating out of San Diego harbor at the time.
NEWS BLARED
The news literally stupefied the fishermen who sensed something was wrong, but didn’t know the cause. Stark drama was enacted along the waterfront as news of The Union’s disclosure blared from radio loud speakers on the jig boats! Off Baja’s Cedros Island where 500 boats were fishing it was reported that the noise of the radios outlining the news could be heard for miles. Then followed refusal of some of the canneries to purchase albacore! First to close was the WESTGATE-SUN HARBOR unloading station on the Embarcadero here!
Veterans of World War II who had invested their life savings in an albacore boat saw both their investment and their means of livelihood swept away. Their vitriolic statements against the Washington D. C. administration would have shocked the nation had they been published. Their rage was understandable. It was summed up by a statement of a veteran who had fought at Iwo Jima and Tarawa and in other battles of the Western Pacific, “I fought through 3 hellish years to help make America secure and now I find that the – – – against whom I had to fight have stripped me of everything,’ he said.
FLEET SCATTERS
The albacore fleet, by late October, had scattered from Bristol Bay to the Gulf of Panama. It may be years before San Diego harbor once more becomes the operating base of the colorful and picturesque 1,000-boat fleet. October also witnessed the unprecedented spectacle of 190 idle clippers moored to docks and piers, at boat yards, and at the Embarcadero. Adding to the confusion were reports of masters of two inter-coastal steamers calling at San Diego that they had sighted huge schools of fish from Panama to Cedros Island. But not a single vessel had left port for the schools were reported as skipjack, and canneries were not accepting this species of seafood. Today 45 of the clippers have returned to the fishing banks, but this port’s five canneries are virtually IDLE and are not expected to resume operations until February, at the earliest.
January of 1952, will be a fateful month for the tuna industry. The House has passed a bill imposing a $60 tariff on imported tuna. The Senate is scheduled to act on the measure next month. On the Senate action hinges the possible fate of a $90,000,000 (equivalent to $1,042,133,179 today – ed.) industry. Local tuna officials reiterate they simply cannot compete against Japanese fishermen who receive 30¢ per day in wages, or Peruvian fishermen whose wage is 20¢ per day.”
(*Source: San Diego Union & DAILY BEE newspaper – Sunday, December 2, 1951 – Pg. 29)