FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 73, NO. 2 



Table L— Age composition (percentage) of hake taicen off Washington, Oregon, and California in 1965 by 



research vessels (adapted from Tillman 1968). 



50r 



— California 



— Oregon 



— Washington 



T 1 1 1 1 I 



4 5 6 7 8 9 

 AGE (years) 



Figure l.—Age composition of Pacific hake collected off California, Oregon, and Washington in 



1965. 



for research vessel samples taken off Washington, 

 Oregon, and California in 1965. These samples 

 were used because they provided the best 

 geographic coverage and were taken with similar 

 trawl gear, equipped with small-mesh cod end 

 liners capable of capturing juvenile hake. The age 

 composition of the California sample probably 

 does not truly reflect the relative abundance of the 

 age groups. The southern distribution and abun- 

 dance of adult hake was a primary consideration 



at the time of sampling and, because the very 

 young hake normally are not found associated 

 with the adults, they probably were not taken in 

 proportion to their abundance. Figure 7 shows, 

 however, that samples taken off California 

 included 1-, 2-, and 3-yr-olds, which did not occur in 

 Washington and Oregon samples. Washington 

 and Oregon samples composed of fish 4-yr-old and 

 older were considered to be representative of the 

 population in those areas. There is a smaller per- 



344 



