W. H. Lenarz 



the estimates obtained from the combined data. 

 These estimates of p = 0.973 and L = 0.31041 

 are close to the estimates of Bayliff and Mobrand 

 (1972) of p = 0.913 and L = 0.278 for yellow- 

 fin tuna in the eastern Pacific. 



Acknowledgments 



We thank Drs. W. H. Bayliff of the Inter- 

 American Tropical Tuna Commission and W. 

 W. Fox, Jr. of the Southwest Fisheries Center 

 for reviewing an early version of the note, and 

 Mr. D. C. Simmons of the Southeast Fisheries 

 Center for providing his able assistance during 

 the tagging work. 



We also thank the National Oceanic and At- 

 mospheric Administration Office of Sea Grant, 

 Department of Commerce for grant number 

 GH-82. as well as A. Minis. Jr.. P. A. B. Widener, 

 the Charles W. Brown, Jr. Memorial Founda- 

 tion, the Sport Fishing Institute, the U.S. 

 Atlantic Tuna Tournament, Inc., the Associates 

 of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

 and several other individual sport fishermen 

 and sport fishing organizations for their gen- 

 erous support which made the Woods Hole 

 Oceanographic Institution's participation in 

 this work possible. 



Literature Cited 



Bayliff. W. H., and L. M. Mobrand. 



1972. Estimates of the rates of shedding of dart 

 tags from yellowfin luna. [In Engl, and Span.] Inter- 

 Am. Trop. Tuna Comm., Bull. 15:441-462. 

 Food and Agriculture Organization. 



1972. Final report of the working party on tuna 

 and billfish tagging in the Atlantic and adjacent 

 seas. FAO Fish. Rep. 1 18, Suppl. 1, 37 p. 



Siiiiiliui'M Fi\lu'iic\ Ccnicr 



Wiiioiuil Mciiiiw Fislwiii's Service, NOAA 



ImJoIIu. CA 92037 



Woods Hale Occumi^rapluc Insiiniiion 

 Woods Hole, MA 02543 



Fisheries Research Board of Canada 

 St. Andrews, New Brunswick 



F. J. Mather III 



J. S. Beckett 



A. C. Jones 



SouihcaM Fisheries Center 



National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA 



Miami. FL 33149 



J. M. Mason, Jr. 



Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

 Woods Hole, MA 02543. 



DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF THE 



SAND DOLLAR, DENDRASTER 



EXCENTRICUS. OFF THE COAST OF 



OREGON AND WASHINGTON 



Doidra.ster e.rcentricn.s is one of two known 

 species of Clypeasteroid echinoids occurring 

 along the Pacific coast of North America from 

 British Columbia southward to Mexico. It lives 

 on sandy bottoms from the low water zone to a 

 depth of about 90 m' (Raup, 1956). Large beds 

 of these animals have been reported in southern 

 Puget Sound. Monterey Bay, Newport Bay, 

 San Diego Bay, and El Estero de Punta Banda 

 — just south of Ensenada. Mexico (Ricketts 

 and Calvin. 1952). Merrill and Hobson (1970) 

 made detailed observations on the behavior, dis- 

 tribution, and biotic relationships of D. excen- 

 triciix along the Pacific coast of California and 

 Baja California, Mexico. They remarked that 

 relatively little was known about the i)Oj)ula- 

 tions of sand dollars along the exposed outer 



' Richard J. Merrill, Department of Biological Sciences, 

 University of California, believes this is too deep for 

 D. excentriciis and may refer to D. laevis (pers. comm.). 



1105 



