438 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



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115 



120 



140 



145 



150 



125 130 135 



CONDITION FACTOR 

 Figure 9. — Deviations of fecundity-weight regression plotted against condition factor (Sample SP-11). 



tionship. From an examination of weiglit-lengtli 

 data of commercial fishery sardine samples over a 

 12-year period, it is evident that tiie average K 

 value of the sardine population varies greatly 

 not only within a year but also from year to year. 

 Included in the data recorded in the course of 

 routine sampling of the commercial sardine 

 fishery are the individual lengths of the 50 sardines 

 that make up a sample and their total weight. 

 An approximate K value can be obtained for any 



sample by dividing the mean-sardine-weight of 

 that sample by the cube of the mean-sardine- 

 lengtli of that sample. An approximate K ob- 

 tained by this method for the 40 sardines used 

 for the weight -fecundity regression in this paper 

 is 128.87; the mean K value for these same fish 

 is 128.55. Approximate K values obtained from 

 the San Pedro commercial fishery samples for 

 January of various years illustrate how much 

 year to year variation can occur (table 7). 



Table 7. — Condition factors of sardines collected in January during 1941-42 to 1953-54 



