HEAD OF NET 



8AIT WEBBING ( 36 WIDTH ) 

 3-18 FATHOM SECTIONS 

 2 - 16 FATHOM SECTIONS 

 2 - M FATHOM SECTIONS 

 2-12 FATHOM SECTIONS 

 2-10 FATHOM SECTIONS 



20 FLOATS HUNO ON 

 HEAD OF NET 



NET IS CUT TO FORM 

 A BAG AS IT IS HAULED 

 TO THE SURFACE BY 

 LIFT ROPES AND DIVERS, 



LIFT EYE FOR ATTACHING 

 ROPE WHICH IS HAULED 

 FROM SKIFF 



LIFT EYE AND 

 10 POUND LEAD WEIGHT 



l/e" LEAD LINE 



LIFT EYE AND 

 10 POUND LEAD WEIGHT 



BOTTOM OF NET 



eries of Micronesia very early and started the 

 development of this resource for their own 

 benefit shortly after taking the islands from 

 Germany at the beginning of World War I. In 

 the 1920's they initiated an investigation of the 

 skipjack resources and started commercial 

 fishing in Palau in 1925. It was not until 7 years 

 later that the production of skipjack became 

 sizable and in 1937 it reached its peak when 

 a total of 33,000 metric tons of skipjack was 

 landed in Micronesia. During this year Truk 

 landed 12,433.5 metric tons of fish and Palau 

 landed 13,774.7 metric tons. Ponape landed a 

 total of 4,064.0 metric tons and Saipan 2,697.3 

 metric tons. 



Truk's production was processed into katsuo- 

 bushi and exported to Japan. The processing 



was done in a series of small plants scattered 

 on various islands throughout the lagoon. These 

 plants and boats were reportedly based in the 

 following areas: 



Dublon 



Moen 



Fefan 



Uman 



Param 



Eot 



Udot 



Fala-Beguets 



Tol 



8 boats 

 2 boats 

 7 boats 

 1 boat 

 1 boat 

 1 boat 

 1 boat 

 6 boats 

 12 boats 



Izumi reported that about 40 skipjack boats 

 were operating in Truk during the prewar years. 

 The above listing should be considered as an 

 approximation of their number and location as 

 there is some conflict on the actual number of 

 boats reported fishing during this period. 



The Truk boats were not able to take bait at 

 night as is done in Palau as the baitfish in the 

 lagoon were not attracted to a light. For this 

 reason they baited during the daylight hours 

 prior to going out fishing for a day. When bait 

 was abundant, an hour or two was all that was 

 required for baiting. The vessels then left for 

 the fishing grounds. The boats based on Moen, 

 Dublon, and Fefan would usually fish out of the 

 Northeast Pass and the South Pass. They would 

 also fish out of the North Pass but never out of 

 the Piaanu Pass owing to the distance. 



The Tol boats always fished out of the Piaanu 

 Pass, the North Pass, and the South Pass, but 

 never out of the Northeast Pass owing to the 

 distance and the lack of refrigeration. Accord- 

 ing to Izumi, the best fishing grounds were ap- 

 parently to the east and south of Truk. 



The skipjack fishing season in Truk is long. 

 The best months are October and November, 

 with a decline in December, probably due to a 

 shortage of bait. January is also considered to 

 have good fishing, but February, March, and 

 April are poor. During the later part of April, 

 fishing is supposed to start improving and it 

 gets better in May and good in June, July, Au- 

 gust, and September. The size of the skipjack 

 is about the same as the Palau fish, running 

 around 10 pounds; but the 15-pound fish and the 

 undersize fish that are common in Palau are 

 seldom seen in Truk. 



The fishing vessels used by the Okinawans 

 during the prewar years ranged in size from 13 

 tons up to 20 tons. (The Van Camp boats now 

 fishing in Palau are in the 30-ton class.) A 20- 



