Good season for whalers

The six catcher boats of

B.C. Packers’ whaling division

have returned to Vancouver after a six-month season off the
West coast of Vancouver Island during which 629 whales were
Killed, the largest an 86-foot blue whale. Photos show (left)
the harpoon gun on Polar 5 swinging into position as a whale
is Sighted, and (right) a 50-ton humpack being towed to the

ahmint’s side where tale flukes are lopped off to permit
_ fasier towing. More than 3,000 whales have been harpooned
by the whaling fleet since 1948.

anadian UE

gefs autonomy

Electrical, Radio and Machine

CLEVELAND

By unanimous vote the international convention of United

Workers of America, held here

iScently, adopted a constitutional amendment which complete-

Y €stablished the autonomous

rights of the union’s Canadian

*mbership. Sovereign independence of the Canadian _mem-

vestip will be governed by pro-
tigen of a Canadian constitu-
ny t

Action of the UE international
h Avention confirms what in fact
aS b
the international union and Can-
fan UE since its formation.
°Wever, the new feature of

arestition through constitution-

Portance in strengthening Cana-

on UE in its bargaining position
th the employers.
th also enhances and streng-
“ns the growing demand of
chadian labor for an all-in-
USive and independent Cana-
Cn trade union movement.
Gegtedian district secretary
ne Tge Harris said that
this Pet will be justly proud of
Sreat. and momentous act
tit dotdarity and working class
to ., Standing taken by delegates
© Cleveland convention.”
€ amendment to the consti-
©n reads:

Bene membership in Canada
Cae ate within the framework of
Scian law and have distinct
anq Separate national problems
Ritio 8spirations. In full recog-
Ship of this fact the member-
Love of the union in Canada is
dist eo through the Canadian
digg, council and by a Cana-
«, Soustitution. ‘
See decisions affecting the
be fs 1an UE membership shall
Rana, ade by the UE members in
ej 24 including, but not limit-
tip, 241 matters of administra-
gain Certification, collective bar-
Under? rights and contracts held
ca, he name of the United
Porc! Radio and Machine
im tS Of America (UE).
al S section of the Internation-
“enstitution shall have pre-

Th
tutj

€en the relationship between |

action is of tremendous im-|-

“UE:

|cedence over any other section|

‘in its possible application to the
Canadian membership.”

The amendment will now be
placed before all UE locals in
both the U.S. and Canada for
ratification. Voting will take
place at local meetings within
the next month. . Upon adopt-
tion by majority vote the con-
stitutional amendment will be-
come law.

“UE’s 19th Canadian conven-
tion will open on November 20

in Toronto,’ said Harris, “and
with the adoption of the new
amendment, the detailed work of
preparing and agreeing on a Can-
adian constitution will be a major
item of business before the dele-
gates.”

Effie Jones asks
charter amendment

Changes in property qualifi-
cations for Vancouver civic can-
didates have been proposed by
Mrs. Effie Jones in a letter to
city council, which is now
studying charter amendments
to go before the next legislature.

In her letter, the CRA president
said:

‘Members of council will re-
eall that during and after the
civic elections last December the
present property qualifications,
which are based on assessed
value, came under sharp criti-
cism and many voices were
raised for changing this iniqui-
tous section of the charter, in-
cluding among them, trade unions,
civic groups and daily news-

papers. Certainly the present
unfair qualifications must not
remain.”

‘out

Demand gov't

°

action

on Japanese fishing

WHITE ROCK, B.C.

Emergency action to block Japanese fishing interests from literally sweeping the
mid-Pacific of its valuable salmon resources was discussed by delegates representing 10
unions and fishermen’s cooperatives from the U.S. and Canada, at a conference here

October 5.

The conference produced two major recommendations to be sent back to the

organizations represented for en-
dorsation or amendment:

@® Oppose mid-ocean salmon
‘net fishery as being un-
scientific and uneconomic.

Urge U.S. and Canadian
governments to enact legis-
altion which will prevent
development of an off-shore
salmon net fishery, also
mother ship types of opera-
tion for salmon by _ the
_nationals of Canada and the

U.S. (Where such legisla-
tions already exists, its im-

mediate implementation to
prevent such developments). '

Organizations to bring maxi-
mum. pressure on respective
government authorities for a
sharp, substantial reduction
of the Japanese mid-Pacific
fishing effort through im-
position of a quota limit of

20 million salmon for the
1956 season. This quota to be
strictly maintained until such
time as full tagging programs
have definitely determined
the origin of this salmon.
A third suggestion advanced
by Homer Stevens of United
Fishermen and Allied Workers’
Union for a four-nation con-
ference of fishermen was re-
ferred back to the UFAWU for
further investigation as to pos-
sibilities.

Stevens told. the conference he
felt “it was time we not only
held out our hands across the
49th parallel but also across the
180th meridian. If it is possible
for Canadian .and American
fishermen to get together to work
satisfactory solutions to
mutual problems, then it should
be possible to meet with the
Japanese fishermen and _ the
Russian fishermen for a solution

-to this problem of a mid-Pacific

salmon fishery.”

The parley heard a report from
George Johansen, secretary of
the Alaska Fishermen’s Union
in which he stressed the dangers
of a mid-ocean salmon fishery
as presently practised by the
Japanese.

“The Japanese are taking
immature salmon, some of
which are only two or three
years old,” said Johansen. “Red
salmon caught by the Japanese
require 21 fish to make up a
case of canned salmon, com-
pared to 12 to 13 per case in
Alaska.

“The Alaska pack this year
was the lowest since the ‘turn
of the century. It was close to
a million cases below the 1950-
54 average pack and was only
about one-third of the pack that
existed in the thirties.

“The Japanese fishery in tak-
ing immature salmon represents
an appalling waste of valuable
food. Moreover, it threatens.to
completely destroy the future
supply.” : 5

Homer Stevens, speaking for
the UFAWU. referred to the
lengthy campaign which the
union had conducted to prevent
signing of the existing fisheries
treaty between Japan, the U.S.
and Canada.

“After the treaty was signed;
the UFAWU proposed very ex-
tensive tagging programs be put
into effect to determine the
origin of salmon caught by the
Japanese; secondly a quota limit
of five million fish per year; and
thirdly the final elimination’ of
the off-shore salmon fishery as
it represented: a threat to the
future of the industry.”

He stated that the UFAWU
welcomed the statements made
by the Alaska Fishermen’s Union
and was in accord with the main
suggestions made. :

Canadian fishermen could see
no gain for themselves in a leap-
frogging into the mid-Pacific in
competition with their U.S.
neighbors and finally finding
themselves in competition with

every other nation in the Pacific. |

The union had always taken the
position that the nation respon-
sible for the spawning streams
had a prior right to the stocks of
salmon.

Stevens quoted figures issued

by the
Pacific
which

North
Commission
showed that pre-war
average catches by Japanese
fishermen totalled 188,750,000
fish, of which about nine per-
cent came from Japanese fisher-
ies and the balance from territory
which was then, or is now,
under the control of the Soviet
Union.

In endorsing the suggestions
put forward by Johansen, the
UFAWU spokesman declared it
would be ‘“‘a good thing to have
an all-in Pacific conference of
fishermen which would include
at least the four nations which
are directly interested in the
salmon which are being caught
in the North Pacific.”

J. Betelli, representing the
International Longshoremen’s and
Warehousemen’s Union, said his
organization was in full ‘agree-
ment with the idea of control of
the off-shore salmon fishery.

Bud Bernard representing the
Fishermen’s Marketing Associa-
tion, and Bert Johnson represen-
ting the Fishermen’s Cooperative
Association, both spoke of the
need to have some clarification
regarding the problem faced by
salmon trollers. They pointed out
that there should be some dif-
ferential made between reference
to off-shore net fishing and off-
shore fishing by trollers.

Organizations represented from
the Canadian side were United
Fishermen and Allied Workers’
Union, Native Brotherhood of -
B.C., B.C. Véssel Owners’ As-
sociation, Prince Rupert Fisher-
men’s Cooperative’ Association.
From the U. S. were represen-
tatives from Alaska: Fishermen’s
Union (CIO), Fishermen’s Divi-
sion Local 3, International
Longshoremen’s and Ware-
housemen’s Union, Puget Sound
Gillnetters, Fishermen’s Co-
operative Association, Fisher-
men’s Marketing Association and
International Association of
Machinists (AFL).

International
Fisheries

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — OCTOBER 14, 1955 — PAGE 3