Table 10. — Number and size ranKe of larval Auxis thiizaril (:) mm or less) collected in 

 1-h horizontal hauls (three 1 m nets towed simultaneously at different depths) and 

 3U-min oblique hauls (surface to 200 m) by the KV Hugh M. Smith in Hawaiian and 

 equatorial waters (Matsumoto 1958). 



Figure 15. — Localities of capture of larval 

 and postlarval Auxis in Philippine waters 

 (wade 1951). 



it is reasonable to assume that Auxis spawning occurs 

 throughout Marquesan waters. 



The western Pacific also has a number of probable 

 spawning areas. Figure 15 shows the locations where lar- 

 val and postlarval Auxis (4.2-11.6 mm) were captured in 

 plankton tows in Philippine waters. Wade (1951) noted 

 that Auxis larvae were most abundant in January- 

 March whereas they were scaice the remainder of the 

 year. Furthermore, by examining the time of capture of 

 juvenile Auxis in fish traps and nets close to shore, 

 Wade determined that small juveniles first appear on 

 the market in late November, become abundant in 

 January-February, then become scarce so that after 

 May there were none. From these observations, he con- 

 cluded that adult Auxis spawn in protected, more or less 

 shallow areas, fairly close to land, that the main spawn- 

 ing season is during the winter months, and that 

 scattered spawning takes place the remainder of the 

 year. 



Other western Pacific spawning sites include waters 

 around Australia and Japan and the Celebes and South 

 China Seas. The Tasman Sea off Sydney, Australia, 

 where larval Auxis (sizes not given) have been captured, 

 is repKjrted to be a possible spawning site (Fig. 16). 

 Spawning also apjiears to be of significant intensity in 

 the Gulf of Tonkin (Gorbunova 1965b). Whitley (1964) 

 reported that larval and juvenile Auxis are common in 

 the Tasman Sea. Two types oi Auxis larvae were iden- 

 tified from the collection made by the Dana Expedition 

 in 1929 (Matsumoto 1959, append, table 2); these 

 specimens probably represent A. thazard and A. rochei. 

 According to Whitley (1964), similar specimens were 

 washed up on CoUaroy Beach in August-September 



1958. The presence of larval and juvenile Auiis in waters 

 of the Tasman Sea would indicate that adult Auxis also 

 spawn in this region of the Pacific. 



In Japanese waters, A. rochei with ripening gonads 

 are caught in April-June, whereas those with ripe and 



19 



