sets were made outside the areas 

 where the comraercial boats were con- 

 centrated because of the dcinger of 

 vessels tangling in the gear. Only 

 once was an albacore taken on 

 trolling gear while the long line 

 was soaking and this set produced 

 nothing but blue sharks. At the 

 time when the single tuna was taken 

 on long line, none were caught 

 trolling in the vicinity. This 

 fish was taken on a hook fishing 

 near the surface with only one 

 fathom of float line and was alive 

 when landed, possibly striking as 

 the gear was being hauled. Fran 

 seven to nine blue shark were caught 

 in each set, and several lost hooks 

 were attributed to these fish. 



FIGURE 15 - IN HAULING THE LONG LINE REGULAR 

 HALIBUT ROLLERS WERE USED. THE SHEAVE ON 

 THE LEFT IS POWERED BY A TAKE-OFF FROM THE 

 MAIN TRAWLING WINCH. 



In hauling the gear, ordinary halibut rollers were used, with a power 

 take-off from the main trawling winch. Average haxiling time for the 1,009 fath- 

 oms of line was 45 minutes, with about 30 minutes required to set the gear. As 

 the gangions (branch lines) came over the rollers, they were unsnapped from the 

 main line and the hooks clecired of bait or the fish removed. Some trouble re- 

 sxilted from the tendency of the longer gsingions to snarl and wrap around the main 

 line. As a corrective measure, the gangions were finally all shortened to one 

 fathom with two feet of stainless steel leader joining to the hook. The one al- 

 bacore taken was caught on a short gangion and a Japanese-type hook. 



No comparison can be made in the effectiveness of different baits due 

 to the fact that only one tuna was taken. It is likely that some other bait 

 would be superior to the frozen herring, which tends to be rather stiff and comes 

 off the hook quite easily. The firozen squid appeared to have characteristics of 

 a good long-line bait, such as freshness, durability, and a pliable, wavy motion 

 in the water. Perhaps some of the difficulty in the gangions snarling the main 

 line could be eliminated by use of a swivel connection in the main line at the 

 point of gangion attachment. Success of the Japanese in taking albacore with long 



line at depths of 100-20C feet sug- 

 gests the possibility that this gear 

 might catch tuna when surface trolling 

 produced nothing. However, the rela- 

 _^^^^^ tively shallow layer (usually less 



»/ ^^ ^"^^^^ than 100 feet) of warm surface water 



*^ --^^"^j^iiiife.. — A, I^MtoK^ existing in the northeastern Pacific 



probably keeps the albacore closer to 

 ,^.g^ -jn^ ^a..^, ^^^^^^^^^^^H the surface than in the more southern 



■K IHH^^^^f^ Jl^^^^^^^^^^^l ^^*^ mid-ocean waters where the thermo- 

 ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ cline is much deeper. 



FIGURE 16 - CLOSE-UP OF HALIBUT ROLLER USED IN 

 HAULING THE SURFACE LONG LINE. 



19 



