Nets used were of linen and 

 nylon of Vg-, 8f-, and 9a-inch 

 mesh (stretched measurement). 

 The nets were drifted free from 

 the vessel for an average time 

 ^ ^,^ , iiiin iiinii ■ °^ ''' 3/4 hours per set. Sets 



Z/ •'"»* ' -wl3 V \'^' ^ \^^^^P were made in the evening usually 

 Wt^M-M' "^ '^' 1 'JT-'S ' ^ ^ between 8 and 9 o'clock. Two 



^^KMM Jf \ ■-^'f^^ ' 1 '^ .. j i daytime sets caught nothing but 



^^^Ksk^^jf^ t \\ jflK ^ blue shark, indicating that 



I^^P^'^W*^^^! ^ .' i'^^ P^B ^'^® fish possibly could detect 

 ^'^'*" \ J^\^ >f ^b^ ># 1 the gear in daylight and avoid 



j^^. ~i? ^tuf^ \ ^_ ^J ^ ^|y^"';'M it. Gill nets were particularly 

 ^K''^' \%ftrt^ ^ -^rdKr effective in an area 35 miles 



P ^" "^^H southwest of Marble Island on 



August 19. The catch was I69 

 albacore and over 100 pomfret. 

 In this case the nets were set 

 under rather optimum conditions: there was little swell, albacore were caught 

 trolling just prior to setting the nets, and schools of saury ( small bait fish) 

 were seen in the area near the nets. Catch data for gill nets are presented in 

 table 3, which shows the number of albacore taken per hour, other fish caught with 

 the albacore, and some hydrographic data. 



FIGURE 20 - POMFRET ( BRAMA RA I I ) . A RATHER TASTY FISH 



WERE TAKEN IN SEVERAL GILL-NET SETS, OVE« 100 WERE 

 REMOVED FROM THE NETS ON AUGUST 19. 



From table 3, it is seen that miscellaneous fish may be caught along 

 with the albacore and sometimes in significant quantity. Of these fish the blue 

 shark (Prionace glauca ) seems to be omnipresent in the waters south of the Queen 

 Charlottes. Blue shark occurred in 12 of the 13 sets attempted and as many as 57 

 in one haul on July 7. The abundance of blue sharks did not seem to have a notice- 

 able effect on albacore catches other than as a nuisance factor in the net. They 

 will, however, prey on albacore caught in the net, and a number of partially eaten 

 albacore were removed from the meshes. Several pieces of albacore were also foxmd 

 in blue shark stomachs. On two occasions, July 13 and August 7, 33 and 25 albacore 

 were taken along with 17 and 26 blue shark, respectively. 



There were over 100 pomfret, Brama rail (many alive), intermingled with 

 the albacore in the gill nets on August 19. Pomfrets occurred in 3 other gill-net 

 sets but only in small numbers, 

 Clemens and Wilby (1946) re- 

 port that these fish were so 

 numerous off the Queen Char- 

 lotte Islands in the summer 

 of 1929 that they interfered 

 with salmon trolling opera- 

 tions. Pomfrets are also 

 reported from along the cen- 

 tral Oregon coast where they 

 are not uncommonly brought 

 in by the tuna trollers in 

 August and September. 



Besides the above 

 fish taken by gill nets, one 

 700-pound thresher sharic 

 ( Alopias vulpinus ) was taken 

 off Cape Flatteiy on August 7. 

 Four mackerel shark ( Lamna ditroyiis ) and one soupfin shark ( Galeorhinus zyopteinis ) 

 were also caught in the nets. The jack mackerel ( Trachurus synmietricus ) was also 



FIGURE 21 - JACK MACKEREL ( TRACHURUS SYMMETR I CUS ) . A 



SURFACE-SWIMMING FISH, WAS TAKEN IN THE NETS ON 5 

 Dl FFERENT OCCASIONS. 



26 



