fish harpooned but, unfortunately, they were never weighed before being 

 dressed. 



The black marlin, while present every month of the year, seem to pre- 

 dominate in the winter season, during the months from June through Oc- 

 tober. This is the windiest season of the year, having an average daily 

 velocity of 20 knots. Its prevailing direction is from south to southwest. 

 This course of the wind holds generally from northern Chile through 

 southern Ecuador. The black marlin seem to prefer to surface, traveling 

 with the wind when the weather is the roughest. In the calm summer 

 months, or on any relatively calm day few fish are seen on the surface. It 

 is interesting to note that this is the only part of the world where this fish 

 is seen on the surface in any great numbers. 



The striped marlin off northern Peru are much smaller than those off 

 Chile. The average is not more than 150 to 160 pounds. They appear in 

 the greatest numbers during the late summer; the months of February, 

 March and April appear to be the height of their season. During this pe- 

 riod there are also a few sailfish in the Cabo Blanco to Mancora area. This 

 point is probably the southern-most limit of the sailfish migration from the 

 north. As far as could be ascertained, there is no concrete evidence of the 

 so-called Pacific silver marlin being caught here, though the fish do occur 

 a relatively short distance north ofl" southern Ecuador. The entire catch of 

 these fish is exported, according to the records provided by the Wilbur- 

 Ellis Company. 



The principal commercial fish of Peru are the tuna and the bonito. The 

 greatest concentration of the yellowfin tuna is in the vicinity of Mancora 

 and the adjacent banks on the northwest. Farther south, from Paita to 

 central Peru, is the main range of the bonito, both the common and the 

 oceanic varieties being caught in quantity. 



The main bulk fish canned in Peru are the two varieties of bonito. This 

 production of canned fish is done by six domestic and two foreign com- 

 panies, both of which are American controlled and operated. Their yearly 

 production by the month is illustrated in the government Fisheries Reports 

 appended to this section on Peru. 



Geography. The area studied encompasses the northwest section of the 

 coast line of Peru (Figure 10). This area is the most westerly point of the 

 South American continent. It is bounded on the north by the Gulf of Guay- 

 aquil, the center of which is 3° south of the equator and extends to the 

 vicinity of Paita, 6° south. The principal commercial fishing ports are at 

 Mancora at the north end of the area and Paita on the south. The distance 

 separating these two points is only about ninety miles, but generally speak- 

 ing, they have opposite seasons and different fishing conditions in relation 

 to the production of swordfish. This is due, to a great extent, to the sep- 



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