From the Port of Talara to Cabo Blanco, a section of the coast line 

 controlled by the International Petroleum Company and the Lobitos Oil 

 Company, there is a serious shortage of food. Both companies subsidize 

 the local fishermen, providing them with living quarters and other neces- 

 sities of life. This is done at a considerable cost, without any attempt to 

 train the fishermen or provide them with modern equipment. The entire 

 operation of the fishing fleet from these various ports is by sail. It is ob- 

 vious that much can be done to improve the production and the efficiency 

 in this section. 



The expedition unfortunately did not have enough time, or the oppor- 

 tunity, to examine fully the commercial tuna industry of the country. The 

 results of the Wilbur-Ellis Company operation, both of swordfish and tuna 

 are in the appended figures. 



Experimental Longline Operations. Longlining operations were 

 conducted by the expedition from the Port of Mancora, aboard the motor 

 vessel Corsario, owned by the Wilbur-Ellis Company. The longline was 

 constructed and operated under the supervision of Mr. Donald Bates, Jr., 

 fishery technologist for the Company (Figure 5). The following informa- 

 tion has been prepared from periodic progress reports sent by Mr. Bates. 



The gear employed consisted of 8 baskets of Italian hemp Une, 3/8'' 

 in diameter. Oxygen tanks of 2100 cubic inches of capacity were used as 

 floats, 5 64" wire was used for leaders, and size 8/0 Japanese tuna hooks. 

 Each basket comprised 6 hooks with 7 on the end basket making a total 

 of 49 hooks fished. Drop lines were standardized at 8 fathoms, including 

 one fathom of leader wire. The mainline was made up of 20 fathom sec- 

 tions, with a total of 100 fathoms to each basket. 



Since the Italian hemp line is soft lay, setting and retrieving times were 

 somewhat slow, averaging one-half hour and one hour respectively. Fur- 

 thermore, the vessel's winch slowed the retrieving operations because of 

 the direct drive from the main engine. By allowing the Corsario to drift 

 during favorable weather, this handicap was somewhat overcome as the 

 engine RPM could be increased with the drive clutch disengaged. 



The gear, set downwind, floated well on all occasions, with little ten- 

 dency to bunch and tangle. A combination of a strong current setting to the 

 south with a strong wind from the southwest accounts for the baskets re- 

 maining in virtually the same positions. The entire gear, however, drifted 

 southward. In general, during the period of operations, winds were slight 

 during the night and early morning hours, increasing to about 35 knots 

 during mid-afternoon. The choppy seas would make retrieving the gear 

 extremely difficult for a small boat but not impossible. 



One problem in introducing new fishing methods into an area is the 

 fishermen acceptance and adaptability in handling it. The Corsario crew 



• 43 



