boat or on the beach. During a large fishing period a boat will catch as 

 many as three or four fish in a day. 



The size of the fishing fleet that operates in the vicinity of La Plata 

 Island and Cape San Lorenzo varies in size, depending on how good the 

 fishing is. In a very good marlin year, there will be about 25 to 30 boats 

 fishing in this area. It was recorded two years ago that this fleet, fishing off 

 La Plata Island caught 47 marlin in a single day. Of these, over 50% 

 were black marlin. Considering the size of the fish and the boats used, 

 this is remarkable, since this is an average of more than a fish and a half 

 per boat. Generally speaking, it was found that during a good run the fleet 

 caught between 15 and 20 fish a day. During our stay in these waters, the 

 fishing was very poor and the best day observed was a catch of eight fish, 

 with about ten or eleven boats fishing. Until the time we left Salango, 

 which was the 14th of October, no great concentration of fish had yet 

 arrived. This area was experiencing the coldest winter season in about 

 fifteen years and the worst billfishing in the last ten. 



The equipment employed by these fishermen is far from adequate. While 

 these marlin fishermen in an average year have the highest earning power 

 of any fishermen along the west coast of South America, very little of 

 their income is reinvested in improvement and the modernization of theii 

 gear. The hand lines used are about the same quality as the harpoon line 

 used off Chile. Most of it is handmade out of the strands of old rope or 

 line. Consequently, its strength is very low in comparison with the diameter 

 of the line. Much of it probably would test no more than the strength of 

 a new 39 strand fishing line. Because of this many of the very large black 

 marlin are lost. The leaders are constructed of old cable or heavy wire. 

 Most of the leaders are shorter than an average black marlin, being about 

 ten feet in length. This also contributes to the loss of many fish, since the 

 tail has the opportunity to chafe the line. The hooks are of any size and 

 type available. Most of them run from 10/0 to 14/0, the largest sizes being 

 preferred. Fishing gear is very expensive and not much is imported into 

 Ecuador. In consequence the fisherman generally has to beg and borrow- 

 most of his needs. 



American interests now established at Manta are bringing in modern 

 equipment, so in the future the area should see a steady increase in the 

 production of these fish. In all probability, we shall also see the intro- 

 duction of small engines in boats of a slightly larger size. This new equip- 

 ment, when it is in operation, could probably double or treble the yearly 

 catch. 



Economy. Unfortunately, Ecuador has no good production figures on 

 the catch of billfish at the present time. The best estimation, as has been 

 pointed out before, is the production of between 600 and 1,000 tons of 



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