i J. • 



^ a*^ • TXT K'>V.rr7>. T 



50,000 POUNDS 



Figure 24„ Distribution of Skipjack Catch Around the 

 Hawaiian Islands „ Skipjack form the basis for the principal fishery 

 of the Hawaiian Islands. We are studying the distribution of skip- 

 jack in the Hawaiian area to ascertain whether or not the skipjack 

 are confined to the immediate vicinity or whether there are worth= 

 while concentrations beyond the limits of present fishing. The 

 above figure shows the location of the skipjack fishery during the 

 5 years, 1948 to 1952. The concentration of dots northeast of Oahu 

 is near the major live bait source in Kaneohe Bay, the concentra- 

 tion southwest of Oahu is near the major landing port of Honolulu, 

 and the cluster of dots northeast of the island of Hawaii is just 

 outside of the port of Hilo where a small fleet is locally based. It 

 is obvious that the present fishing is concentrated near the ports 

 and near major baiting areas. This suggests that the fishery is 

 limited by the range of the fishing boats rather than the range of 

 the skipjack. As already noted the catch is also limited by the 

 scarcity of bait. 



25 



