Experimental Statloni In line with a proapeetlve prograa of intensive research oa the commer- 

 cially Important epedee. made a special sarvny of the fisheries. As a resulti catch fig- 

 ares, which are considered hy fishery workers to he rellahlcf although they differ from those 

 published 'by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestxy. are available for the years 1936-40 

 'Table 6). Moreover, the total tuna catch can be broken down by species and by amount taken 

 in each area fished by Japanese vessels. It le this material that has been useful in deter- 

 irlning the fishing grounds for each of the commercially Inportant species (Figures 6t 8, lO* 

 and 12). 



In this survey the tuna catch (Table 6) l-ncludes not only the flah taken In Jspa,- 

 nese waters but also those taken in the former Mandated Islands from 1938 to 1940 by vessels 

 operating from Mlaaki and, to a lesser extnnt, from other home ports BJ, The amount of fish 

 delivered by these veeselB to Misaki port was, at most, 8,500 metric tons 9/. The catch 

 obtained by vessels based In the southwest Pacific region le not Included In the Central 

 Fisheries Jfxperl mental Station tabulation and will be discussed later. 



Comparable etatlBtics by species for 1941-45 axe not available, because tuna fish- 

 ing operations were virtually suspended and the surveys discontinued. Catch records for 

 1946 (Table 8) have been compiled by the Japanese Tuna Fishermen's Association. The marked 

 decrease In tonnage Is attributed to the shortage of fishing vessels immediately after the 

 cessation of hoetllltles, a lack of experienced fishermen lO/ , a severe shortage of Ice, and 

 a decline In the availability of live bait owing to material shortages euid the failure of 

 sardines of proper size to appear In the localities where the skipjack fisheries are central- 

 ized. 



I 



3. Colonial Catch 



The Japanese colonial posseselons produced a comparatively small catch of tunas and 

 related species despite the fact that several were situated in excellent fishing areas. 

 The Japeuese Government did not offer much encouragement for the development of extensive 

 colonial fisheries. Fishing operations were organized by small companies with Japanese 

 capital, utilizing, for the most part, imported Japanese or Oklnawan fishermen. The greater 

 part of thje skipjack catch landed at colonial ports was processed into kateuobushl (dried 

 skipjack stick) and exported to Japan Proper. The other species of tunas were mostly con- 

 ftumed fresh by the local Inhabitants. An unknown but small part was shipped frozen to Japan. 



Korea: The prewar catch of tunas by boats operating from Korean ports was Insig- 

 nificant, since the commercial fishing grounds for these species were located In waters east 

 of Japan. Thus Korean-based vessels oould not compete with those operated from Japan Proper. 

 Catch figures are available for 19.T5-42 in the Fishery Statistic Yearbook of Korea, published 

 \y the Korean Government General (Table 14). The species of trae tunas taken are not In- 

 dicated. The spearflshes were primarily marlins, with a few swordfish and sailfish occasion- 

 ally caught. Skipjack fishing was not practiced by the Koreans. 



Formosa! Tuna fishing from Formosan ports was at first carried on In the seas to 

 the east of Formosa, primarily for skipjack. As boats became larger, operations were grad- 

 ually extended to the waters around the northern Philippine Islands, where long line opera- 

 tions for the black tuna were eepecially successful. In 1928 vessels based at Takao began 

 to operate in the South China, Sulu, and Celebes seas for yellowfin tuna and marlln. During 

 the early part of the 1930' s, operations became more intensive, and increasingly larger catches 

 were made by long line. This trend is shown in the records of landings of tunas (excluding 

 skipjack) and spearflshes at Formosan ports for the years 1927-36 (Table 15). Catch statis- 

 tics after 1936 are not available. A breakdown of the 1936 catch by types of fishing gear 

 is posfiible (Table 16) and indicates that the pole and line (for skipjack) and the long line 

 (for other tunas and for spearflshAs) were the principal methods used, as In Japan Proper, 

 for catching these pelagic species. 



Bj See pp 51 and 52 

 9/ See Table 20 

 10/ Most experts etate that It requires three years to train an experienced eklpjack fish- 

 erman. 



50 



P-6307 



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