256 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



Table 1. — Data on 740 yellowjin tuna specimens from the central equatorial Pacific for which maturity determinations were 



made in the laboratory — Continued 



On several cruises, observations were made on 

 the state of maturity of ovaries which, with a few 

 exceptions, were then discarded. Although these 

 field observations were subjective and liable to 

 differences between observers, they were used to 

 supplement the seasonal and areal coverage. 

 After discussion with the various observers, and 



after comparisons of field observations with labor- 

 atory classifications, we were able to classify most 

 of the ovaries reliably into two groups, "inactive" 

 (immature and intermediate) and "active" (ma- 

 turing and ripe). Field classifications are given in 

 table 2. Questionable observations were not 

 considered, and are not included in the table. 



Table 2. — Data on yellowfin tuna specimens from the central equatorial Pacific for which maturity determinations were made 



in the fi,eld 



[A, active; I, inactive] 



