percentage of fish of Iii0-l50cm. for a 

 sequence of years beginning 1952-53 in the 

 Lesser Sundas and Timor being U7 percent, 

 36 percent, 13 percent, 11 percent, and 13 

 percent respectively. For the Banda - 

 Flores Sea the percentages of these large 

 fish are respectively 39 percent, 21 percent, 

 11 percent, and 3 percent beginning 1952-53. 

 Indian Ocean trends are shown in figure 23 

 and illustrate the decline in large-sized 

 yellowfin. With respect to the Atlantic, 

 the previously mentioned news article in the 

 Commercial Fisheries Review noted that the 

 average size of the longline yellowfin was 

 125 - 139 pounds but that it appeared to be 

 declining. 



OUTLOOK 



Various opinions can be obtained from 

 Japanese literature for the future outlook. 

 For example, in the "State of Tuna Fisher- 

 ies," obtained by the author in the form of 

 a manuscript credited to the Japanese Fish- 

 ery Agency, it is stated, "In October 1952 

 tuna fishing operations in the Indian Ocean 

 was started, but this hit a brick wall three 

 years later with the tuna resource in this 

 area all but gone... The Nation's (Japanese) 

 skipjack and tuna fishing industry faces a 

 grave issue which is the withering of the 

 tuna resource..." 



Other comments worthy of note are in 

 "State of Japan tuna fisheries." "There can 

 be no further increase in the amount of tuna 

 that can be caught by fisheries based in 

 Japan." With tuna fishing at its near end 

 in the Indian and Western Pacific Ocean, 

 tuna fisheries have begun to operate in the 

 Eastern Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans". 



Little has been said to this point as 

 to outlook for increasing Japanese skipjack 

 production. While the home island skipjack 

 fishery is enormous, distant skipjack fish- 

 eries lie undeveloped. "The (Japanese) 

 Government considers that it is not wise to 

 encourage further development of the skip- 

 jack fishing industry." Elsewhere in this 

 article we find the comment, "the fishing 

 grounds for skipjack have thus far been in 

 waters near Japan, but after 1956 some fish- 

 eries have been sent to operate 1500 miles 

 from Japan." 



The Inter-American Tropical Tuna 

 Commission has published information which 

 indicates that the Eastern-Pacific yellowfin 



catch approached the maximum sustainable 

 yield during the periods of highest produc- 

 tion, it has indicated that the skipjack 

 catch is no where near its maximum sustain- 

 able yield. The research of the California 

 Department of Fish and Game has indicated 

 that the albacore fishery of the Eastern 

 Pacific is almost certainly part of a much 

 larger albacore population that, at least 

 in part, has trans-Pacific migrations. 



With respect to Japanese fisheries, 

 the home island skipjack fishery appears to 

 be somewhat near its maximum and under heavy 

 exploitation. Based on Japanese comments, 

 there is no particular reason to believe 

 that significant increases in any tuna 

 catches can be expected near Japan. In re- 

 gard to mid-Pacific albacore, it has been 

 doubted that significant increases in pro- 

 duction can be expected; on the other hand, 



o 

 a. 



UJ 



a. 



TOO 



no 



120 130 140 150 



LENGTH IN CENTIMETERS 



160 



Figure 23. — Indian Ocean yellowfin size 

 frequencies, 10°-130 a East, by time 

 periods (Nov. 1952 - Dec. 1956). 



33 



