ALBACORA 113 



after Christmas and the name, I think, is connected with 

 the Nativity. 



The punctual phenomenon of El Nino is that the Hum- 

 boldt vanishes and a warm current, seventy-five feet 

 deep, appears in its place. No one knows where the warm 

 water comes from, or why it comes, or what lies at the 

 root of this recurrent catastrophe, but it, too, kills 

 numberless fish which are used to conditions in the 

 Humboldt. 



Dr. Smith has said, "It may be connected with the 

 weather, with meteorology; it may be connected with 

 the rotations of the earth. There are a dozen possibilities. 

 The final answer has eluded us all." 



Our expedition to Iquique was motivated by nothing 

 so grand as explaining El Nino, K we could simply find 

 some clues to the main breeding ground of Pacific 

 albacora and marlin we would be serving science well 

 enough. The plankton tows that trailed off the stem of 

 the Explorer like gigantic socks were there to catch what 

 floated in the waters about us. By examining the eggs, 

 the minute fish and infinitesimal sea life, University of 

 Miami scientists felt they could make strides in learning 

 more about the life histories of Pacific billfish. Are 

 they a migratory species? Are they a single species of 

 fish, or did many species intermingle over centuries until 

 the present specimen, a sort of superfish, came into 

 being? So far, no one can answer. It was our job to help 

 Luis Rivas find out. 



