neither the gross nor the selected data showed 

 the same order. Ranged as above, i.e., brown 

 rubber squid, metal squid with red body, and 

 feather lure, the catch rates were as follows: 

 0.35, 0.28, and 0.36 for gross data (table 2) 

 and 0.26, 0.18, and 0.26 for selected data. 

 There is no clear evidence that one lure was 

 more attractive than another with respect to 

 form. Similarly there is no significant indica- 

 tion that red lures were more attractive than 

 those of other color, as suggested by Welsh 

 (1949b). 



The number of fish caught according to 

 species and lure is shown in table 3 for the four 

 more important species and the three most used 

 lures. In the 1951 data there is the suggestion 

 of a differential attraction; for example, the 

 rubber squid seemed to catch relatively more 

 yellowfin than the other lures. However, the 

 interaction chi-square for the 4x3 contingency 

 table is not significant. Moreover, the rather 

 meager 1953 data give no hint of lure prefer ence. 

 Apparently all three lures were about equally 

 attractive to all four species. 



SIZE COMPOSITION 



The weight distributions of troll-caught 

 skipjack, little tunny, yellowfin, and dolphin 

 are given respectively in tables 4 to 7 and will 

 be discussed below. Formulae for the conver- 

 sion of weight to length will be given in a later 

 section. 



The weight distribution of the remainder of 

 the catch is dismissed with the following 



notations: 23 frigate mackerel averaged 1-1/2 

 pounds and ranged from 1 to 2-1/2 pounds; 9 

 wahoo averaged 26 pounds and ranged from 20 

 to 33-1/2 pounds; 2 jacks weighed 4 and 8 pounds. 



Skipjack 



During the 5-year period 288 skipjack 

 (excluding pole-and-line-caught fish) were 

 measured. They averaged 4.9 pounds (47.5 

 cm.) and ranged from 2 to 17 pounds (30 to 70 

 cm. ) (table 4). 



From the monthly weight frequency histo- 

 grams shown in figure 5 for the combined data 

 of all years, it is evident that the majority of 

 the fish ranged from 3 to 6 pounds with a pro- 

 nounced mode at 4 pounds. Modal groups of 

 similar size (varying from 44 to 50 cm., i.e., 

 3-1/2 to 6 pounds) were noted in the commercial 

 catch by Brock (1954), and were considered 

 most likely to be 1-year-olds, i.e., fish near 

 the end of their first or the beginning of their 

 second year of life. As Brock's data indicate 

 that spawning extends over a 7-month period 

 (February to September), a considerable size 

 range of the " 1 -year-olds" would be expected. 

 Presumably the majority of the troll-caught 

 fish may be placed in this age category. 



In figure 5 there is no apparent progression 

 of the modal groups from month to month. This 

 indicates that as the fish grow larger, they no 

 longer frequent the inshore habitat that was 

 fished. That they occur offshore is shown by 

 modal groups ranging from 3-1/2 to 29 pounds 

 (44 to 81 cm.) in samples from the commercial 

 fishery examined by Brock (1954). 



Table 3. --Number of fish of the more important species taken by each of the three most used lures 



