THE PRESERVATION OF FISH 209 



Curiously most of the pilchards caught in the 

 waters along the coast of southern California are 

 captured at night. The schools of sardines are located 

 by the phosphorescent light produced by the move- 

 ment of the fish through the water. This light can be 

 observed only when it is very dark, for even a small 

 amount of moonlight or even bright starlight makes 

 it difficult to see. The running-lights of the fishing- 

 boats are even darkened by covering them with cloth, 

 so that they will give only enough light to be seen at 

 a short distance by other boats, but not enough to 

 obscure the evidence of fish. At night it requires great 

 skill to distinguish between schools of sardines and 

 schools of other small fish. The fishermen note the 

 differences in the trails of light as the fish swim away 

 from the boat. Sardines are powerful swimmers and 

 leave long slightly curved trails resembling the 

 luminous paths of skyrockets. 



The California sardines are caught in huge 

 lampara nets, which are laid out in a circle about a 

 school of fish. Occasionally as many as a hundred 

 tons of sardines are taken in a single haul. Such a 

 catch would fill a half-million quarter-pound cans of 

 sardines ! But the fishing business is a precarious one, 

 and for every time such an enormous catch is made 

 a hundred hauls are made in which none at all is 

 caught. 



Most of the California sardine canneries also can 

 tuna of which about fifteen million pounds is canned 

 each year in the State. At first only the albacore or 

 "white-meated tuna" was canned, but for the past 



