Chapter IV 



An Examination of Skipjack Fishing Methods 



Section 1 A Critique of Pole Fishing for Skipjack 



Paragraph 1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Pole Fishing 



From ancient times do;™ to the present day the skipjack fishery has 

 changed very little, and the start of the saason still sees the same brave 

 bustle of activity a^ all of the fishing portSo If we consider the fishery 

 from the point of view of methods, we find that down through the ages 

 there have been limited changes in the gear and, of course, in the methods 

 of operating the boats, but in its essentials the fishery is no different ' 

 from what it was in ancient times. Let us try to analyze this situation 

 a little. 



The fishing method in use at present, insofar as it applies to skip- 

 jack, represents an extraordinarily wonderful discovery, and admits cf no 

 rivalry by ooher methodSo 



Contented with the results obtained by the traditional methods and 

 unwilling to run the risk of trying to force a change, we have fallen into 

 complacency and have failed to devote our energies to research. Leaving 

 that out of consideration for the present, let us try to investigate the 

 methods now in useo In the first place, the points of superiority of the 

 pole fishing method are the following: 



(1) This method makes the best use of the habits of the skipjack. The 

 schools which migrate into Japanese waters are mainly hunting for food and 

 are in a half-starved condition^ The method takes advantage of this 

 fact, and by using bait which suits the taste of the fish they can easily 

 be taken „ 



(2) The schco'':^ which migrate into our waters every year are far greater 

 in numbers than the catch which is made, and it is the perpetual 

 abundance of this stock which makes it possible year after year to take 

 quantities of fish much greater than would be expected from the rule of 

 one fish to one hook which is the basic concept of pole and line fishings 



(3) Tne fishing grounds are rather far out at sea, and in the past it has 

 been regarded as technically impossible to operate with netSo At the 

 present time, no method has appeared which can rival pole fishing, and the 

 number of vessels suitable for deep sea operations is smallo Consequently, 

 the fisheiy is dominated by a small number of specialized vessels which 

 can operate economically and profitably without forcing themselves to 



any undue exertions. The natural result has been to follow the path of 

 least resistance ^ to neglect study and efforts to devise new methods, and 

 to operate on a hand to mouth basis, and this is the condition which has 

 obtained down to the n-er;^:nt day,, In spite of this, the fishery has, 

 even in the form of ios operations, reached a point of superiority high 

 above that of any other fishery, 



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