C/5 

 O 



O 



a. 



X 



o 



250 



200 



150 



100 



50 



I n m 



AGE GROUP 



12 



Figure 29. The Growth of Yellowfin . The local Ha- 

 waiian longline fishery affords information on the growth of the 

 yellowfin caught near the Islands. The fish are brought into the 

 market and weighed individually. From the records kindly made 

 available by the marketmen, we have been able to follow size- 

 groups in weight-frequency diagrams as they advance with growth 

 through the months. The above curve represents the estimate by 

 this method of the rate of growth in successive years of life. The 

 tuna grow very rapidly during the early years of life, increasing 

 more than 50 pounds a year in middle life. This is a very rapid 

 growth rate but is consistent with knowledge of tuna growth obtained 

 in other parts of the world. We expect this knowledge to help in 

 the understanding of the peculiarities in prevalent sizes that we 

 are finding in different parts of the Pacific. 



30 



