KEENE and PEARCY: COMPARISON OF SUCCESS OF ALBACORE TROLL FISHERMEN 



length as it related to fishing power was consider- 

 ably less in 1969 and 1970 than in 1968, although 

 the 1968 and 1969 regression equations were 

 nearly identical. 



Fox (see footnote 3) reported that fishing power 

 of albacore troll boats was related to boat length in 

 a curvilinear manner for the 1961-70 period, with 

 boats of the length class 12.2 to 14.9 m exhibiting 

 the highest estimates of fishing power. There was 

 no clear indication of a curvilinear relationship in 



1968, 1969, or 1970, although several very long 

 boats (>22.9 m) generally did not have as large 

 fishing powers as the linear relationship predicted, 

 thus supporting Fox's conclusions. The sample of 

 boats used by Fox was considerably larger (10 yr) 

 and therefore had many more observations of 

 longer boats than used in this study. 



Large boats, moreover, make up a minor portion 

 of the albacore fleet. The average length (and 

 standard deviation) of the sample of boats in 1968, 



1969, and 1970 was 14.9 m (2.7), 14.9 m (2.1), and 

 15.2 m (2.7), respectively. Some fishermen feel that 

 larger boats are more successful because of their 

 increased seaworthiness and endurance, resulting 

 in fewer trips to port and permitting more time on 

 the fishing grounds. Fishermen also feel that 

 larger boats fish the lures better in rough weather. 

 Whereas smaller boats tend to jerk the lures as the 

 waves hit the boats, larger boats push smoothly 

 through the waves with less jerking of the lures. 



The reported number of lines trolled in 1970 was 

 not significantly related to fishing power. The 

 number of lines reported varied from 6 to 14, with 

 10 being the mean and mode. The standard devia- 

 tion was 1.0. The number of trolling lines reported 

 on log sheets bears little resemblance to the 

 number of lines used during varying periods of 

 fishing activity, according to fishermen. When 

 fishing activity increases, only two or possibly 

 three lines are pulled by each man. During periods 

 of intense activity, each man may only handle one 

 line, although periods of intense activity are 

 usually of very limited duration. When the catch 

 rate increases, the longest lines are pulled on 

 board first and only the short lines are fished. One 

 fisherman stated that the number of lines used 

 was determined primarily by the ability of the 

 crew in avoiding tangling of lines. However, over 

 90% of the 1968 logbooks (in which crew size was 

 recorded) indicated a crew size of two. It would 

 appear that the possible increase in catch as a 

 result of a larger crew size during the infrequent 

 periods of intense fishing activity are offset by the 



increase in financial cost of a larger crew size. This 

 is even more apparent considering that a daily 

 catch of 180 fish (i.e., about 5 fish per hour per man 

 for a two-man crew) is considered a very good 

 catch by an albacore fisherman. 



Comparison of Highliners and Lowliners 



Some comparisons of highliner and lowliner 

 boats are given in Table 3. Both groups fished 

 approximately the same number of days and in the 

 same period each season. The difference in boat 

 length was highly significant in all years, par- 

 ticularly in 1968 when highliner boats averaged 4.9 

 m longer than lowliner boats. In 1969 and 1970 only 

 1.5 m separated the average length of highliner 

 and lowliner boats. Seven of the 1968 highliner 

 boats were over 15.5 m, whereas none of the 1969 

 and only one of the 1970 highliner boats were over 

 15.5 m. Essentially the same proportions of 15.5 m 

 and longer boats made up the fleet samples in each 

 season. Lowliner boat lengths were consistently 

 short, between 14.0 and 15.2 m. 



Lowliners often fished along the trailing margin 

 of the fleet during all years as the fleet moved to 

 the north. Highliners were more centrally located 

 in the fleet and along the offshore or leading 

 margin, as shown in Table 3. In 1968 lowliners 

 were removed from the main body of the fleet, 

 generally located far to the south and inshore of 

 the fleet, whereas highliners tended to be slightly 

 to the south but offshore of the main fleet center. 

 In 1969 and 1970 both groups were located closer to 

 the fleet center, although the lowliners were still 

 three to four times farther away from the fleet 

 center than were highliners. Lowliners fished 

 consistently south of the center in all 3 yr. 



A detailed description of the location of high- 

 liners and lowliners is presented in Figures 2-4. 



Table 3.-Comparison of highliners with lowliners, west coast 

 albacore trollers. 



Item 



1968 



1969 



1970 



Average boat length (m): 



Highliners 



Lowliners 

 Average distance to fleet center 

 (miles): 



Highliners 



Lowliners 

 Average daily travel (miles); 



Highliners 



Lowliners 

 Average relative fishing power: 



Highliners 



Lowliners 



19.2 

 14.3** 



30 SW 

 104 SSE 



21 

 31** 



1.61 

 0.65 



15.5 

 14.0** 



5 W 

 22 SW 



26 

 29 ns 



1.57 

 0.46 



16.2 

 14.6** 



8N 

 25 8 



27 

 28 ns 



1.24 

 0.85 



** significant at the 0.01 level, Mest. 

 ns nonsignificant. 



977 



