26
The Last Resource
suicient to alleviate or even eliminate the chronic protein deciency
at present suffered by the people living in the equatorial zones of the
world.
.
_
The potential supply of protein held in the seas and oceans 1s
enormous—the Atlantic Ocean alone could probably provide the
protein equivalent of 20,000 world grain harvests. The world catch
'
of sh has doubled since 1960 and is still rising (see gure 1). The
nal harvest, however, is a matter of some debate. Figures vary
gure 1 estimated world catch of fish,
_
crustaceans and molluscs*
"«?
.
2
5
C
8
C
0
€
4
Ë,
.
.:
8
3
=:z:::æ:a:z=e:z=æ:aæ:ä: s:s:e:z:æ:æ:æ:z:s=e:æ:æW
“
0
1954 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67
years
,
*except mainland China
from a total catch of about 200 thousand million pounds of sh to
over 260 thousand million pounds. Obviously the nal gure would
rely on advances in sheries equipment as well as the discovery Of
new stocks of sh. One must also bear in mind the possibility that
developments such as marine farming might curtail any nal full—
blooded assault on the sea’s larder. Nevertheless, it is worth
remembering that the catch of sh over the last twenty years has
increased at a faster rate than the world’s population.
If the whole of the present world catch were used directly by man,
it would only supply little more than an eighth of the total protein
needed by the world. In practice a large proportion, probably well
over a quarter, is converted into shmeal which is used as a high
protein source in animal feeds. It therefore adds only indirectly to
man’s food supplies and during the chain of events from sh, to
The Last Resource
suicient to alleviate or even eliminate the chronic protein deciency
at present suffered by the people living in the equatorial zones of the
world.
.
_
The potential supply of protein held in the seas and oceans 1s
enormous—the Atlantic Ocean alone could probably provide the
protein equivalent of 20,000 world grain harvests. The world catch
'
of sh has doubled since 1960 and is still rising (see gure 1). The
nal harvest, however, is a matter of some debate. Figures vary
gure 1 estimated world catch of fish,
_
crustaceans and molluscs*
"«?
.
2
5
C
8
C
0
€
4
Ë,
.
.:
8
3
=:z:::æ:a:z=e:z=æ:aæ:ä: s:s:e:z:æ:æ:æ:z:s=e:æ:æW
“
0
1954 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67
years
,
*except mainland China
from a total catch of about 200 thousand million pounds of sh to
over 260 thousand million pounds. Obviously the nal gure would
rely on advances in sheries equipment as well as the discovery Of
new stocks of sh. One must also bear in mind the possibility that
developments such as marine farming might curtail any nal full—
blooded assault on the sea’s larder. Nevertheless, it is worth
remembering that the catch of sh over the last twenty years has
increased at a faster rate than the world’s population.
If the whole of the present world catch were used directly by man,
it would only supply little more than an eighth of the total protein
needed by the world. In practice a large proportion, probably well
over a quarter, is converted into shmeal which is used as a high
protein source in animal feeds. It therefore adds only indirectly to
man’s food supplies and during the chain of events from sh, to