that in 1963, the total Japanese catch in the Pacific of the 

 major tuna species was 420,600 tons, 64 percent of all Japa- 

 nese tuna landings. The U. S. Pacific total was 153,300 tons. 

 the Peruvian 180,900 tons. The Peruvian catches were 

 dominated by the tunalike bonito, which are not taken in 

 quantity by the United States and Japan. Thus about one- 

 half (704,800 tons) of the world's catch of tunas comes 

 from the Pacific Ocean (table 1 and fig. 11). 



At the BCF Laboratory in Honolulu, investigations are 

 now concentrated on two species, the skipjack and the 

 albacore. Honolulu is located a little to the south of the 

 North Pacific albacore fishery but within the spawning 

 grounds of the species. With regard to the skipjack, Hawaii 

 stands at what may be either the terminus of a migration 

 of enormous dimensions or merely the center of a commuting 

 web; or, like Grand Central Station, it may partake of the 

 nature of both. Within a few miles of its shores lie the 

 boundaries of two of the great water types of the Pacific 

 Ocean, and the State itself is bathed in summer by one 

 of the major oceanic currents, a circumstance that may have 

 a profound significance in tuna studies. The local fishery 

 affords scientists an opportunity e.xcelled nowhere else in 

 the world to collect living tunas and to observe the conduct 

 of a year-round fishery. And near Hawaii lies a hidden 

 tuna resource of immense potential value. 



The Skipjack Tuna 



The name "skipjack" has been applied to several species 

 of fishes that jump above or play at the surface of the 

 water. The tuna that is called "skipjack" is found and 

 fished in all the world's oceans except the Arctic. There 

 are names for it in at least 20 tongues.' In 1'.h;:'>, the 

 skipjack tuna outranked in weight all other tunas caught 

 in the Pacific (table 1). The skipjack is a short-lived 

 fish and has a dark blue back and a silvery belly. It 

 attains a length of about 30 inches. There are at least 



three cogent reasons for the study of the skipjack: the 

 commercial importance of the present fishery ; the much 

 greater potential commercial importance of the species; and 

 the growing possibility that elucidation of some of the 

 mechanisms that link the skipjack and its environment in 

 the central Pacific may give results that could be applicable 

 to fishery problems throughout the world. 



The Aku Fishery 



The Hawaiians have a name for the skipjack tuna that 

 is halfway between a cough and a sneeze — "aku." The aku 

 catch is by far the State's largest, accounting for 69 percent 

 of the total landings of 5,874 tons (about the average annual 

 catch) in 1963, according to the Hawaii Division of Fish 

 and Game. The skipjack are caught in Hawaiian waters 

 every month in the year, but the fishery depends heavily 

 upon the larger fish that are most often in evidence during 

 the summer. 



The Hawaiian aku fishery is conducted by the sampan 

 fleet, the size of which has been dwindling with the years, 

 although catches have not paralleled this trend. Fishing is 

 done by pole and line. Usually schools are located by observ- 

 ing bird flocks. The schools are chummed with live bait, by 

 preference the "nehu" or anchovy ( Stolephorua purpureus) . 

 Landings have varied from 29,000 pounds in January, tradi- 

 tionally one of the poorest months, to more than 3 million 

 pounds at the height of the season in July, according to 

 Richard N. Uchida, our Laboratory scientist who has made 

 a definitive statistical study of the 1952-1962 catch. 



'These ini'lude patois of ihe ItritUh West Indies (barriolcti ; Sinhale.se t ulai;utlura t : 

 Chinese (tow chun^i ; RnKlish (skipjack tunai ; Spanish latunl ; Danish (buKstribet 

 bimit) ; f reni'h (bonili- a ventre raye) ; tlerman (bauchstreifiirer I ; (ire<?k (l)elamy^t ; 

 Hiiwaiiiin laku) . Arabian ibnlanidal : Japanese ikatsuui : lndune»ian itjakalanKi : 

 NiTwivian ami Sw«lish ibonitl ; Ta^aluK (galyasani ; Portuguese (gayadu) ; Tunisian 

 ibiius^enui . VuKuslavian ilrup prutfavaci. The scientific name is almost equally vari- 

 ous, there are li» versions, of which Kat^uunnuH ^*-"umi,s is most generally usel. 

 ( Kosa, Horaciu, Jr. I'.TiO. Scientific and common names applied t<i tunas, mackerels. 

 ;ind spear fishes of ihe worhi. with notes on their j:e"krraphic distribution. KAO. 

 Washington. D. C.i 



IS 



