/~3o97 gallonsj^ or 800 — IjOOO sardines 3<.6 to Ao8 inches in lengthy In 

 actual practice shortages of bait bring about marked deviations from this 

 standard o 



The loading of ice for preserving the fish is another point which 

 requires careful attention <> When temperatures are hlghj it is hard to 

 maintain the freshness of the catch and one would like to load as much 

 ice as possible, but on the other hand the result would be to reduce the 

 quantity of fish which could be loaded, which would not be satisfactory. 

 This means that it is necessary to determine just the right amount „ 

 Allowance must first be made for loss by melting depending upon the quality 

 of the insulation of the fish hold and the length of the cruise., Ordinarily 

 a 30-ton boat carries 4- to 8 tons of ice, a 50-ton boat 10 to 20 tons, 

 a 70=ton boat 20 to 30 tons, a 100=ton boat 20 to 35 tons, and a boat of 

 around 150 tons carries 4-0 to 60 tons„ Since skipjack boats make relatively 

 Short cruises, they tend to skimp on iceo Particularly with the tight ice 

 situation which prevails in the fishing ports at present they are running 

 far below their minimum needs „ 



2, Choice of a fishing ground 



When one is going to engage in skipjack fishingj one first gets a 

 detailed knowledge of the migrations of the schools in ordinary years, and 

 then one obtains data from all areas in order to be able to make an accurate 

 judgement of the situation and set up a sound operating policy. One then 

 proceeds to take the following stepSo 



(A) Deciding on the area of operation 



The area is determined in accordance with the seasono Once the area 

 is decided upon, the boat moves to the port most convenient for operations 

 within that area and completes all preparations for its trip. During this 

 time the skipper continues tc collect information from all parts of the 

 areao By means of reports from the fishing grounds he arrives at a 

 knowledge of the number of schools and the direction in which they are 

 heading at the time of sailing, calculates the number of days the boat will 

 take to reach the grounds, and decides where within the area he will fish. 

 It is necessary to collate the bulletins of the Fisheries Experiment 

 Stations, ^ae reports of the various fishing boats, one's knowledge of the 

 habitual movements of schools within the area, and the opinions of ex- 

 perienced persons, and then to proceed confidently to the area which one 

 judges CO be most favorable o 



(B) Precautions to take on the way to the grounds 



After sailing for the fishing ground which has been chosen, close 

 radio contact should be kept with cooperating vessels at all times and 

 reports should be received from the baseo Attention should be paid to 

 changes and indications of change in the fishing situation, and plans 

 should be modified accordingly^ Wien the boat approaches the scheduled 

 fishing ground, constant attention must be given to the water temperature 

 and color in an effort to find a water mass of a suitable temperature. 



50 



