SARDINE EGGS AND LARVAE AND 

 OTHER FISH LARVAE, PACIFIC COAST, 1954 



One of the major lines of research being carried out under the California 

 Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations is a study of the abundance and 

 survival rates of sardine eggs and larvae. The Material is collected by means of 

 quantitative plankton hauls at an extensive grid of stations off California and Baja 

 California. The basic data on abundance of sardine eggs and larvae in 1954 are 

 given in this report, together with records of abundance of five other species: 

 northern anchovy ( Engraulis mordax) , jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus) , 

 hake ( Merluccius productus) , Pacific mackerel (Pneumatophorus diego) , and rock- 

 fish (Sebastodes spp.). This is the fifth in a continuing yearly series which places 

 basic data on record for use by scientists studying variations in abundance of 

 important commercial species of the Pacific coast of the United States . Previous 

 reports in the series are listed in the Bibliography. 



The data are presented in eight tables . Table I contains a tabulation of 

 standardized haul factors for all oblique hauls made with plankton nets during 

 cruises 5401-5412. Other pertinent data concerning the 1954 plankton hauls are 

 given in "Zooplankton Volumes off the Pacific Coast, 1954", including location, 

 date and time of collection, volume of water strained and the estimated depth of 

 haul. 



The data on fish eggs and larvae are given in Tables II- VIII. The numbers 

 of eggs and larvae given in the tables are "standard haul" totals . Collections 

 containing Pacific sardine eggs are listed in table II; the eggs are enumerated by 

 age (in days) since spawning. The larvae of four species are enumerated by size: 

 Pacific sardine in table III, northern anchovy in table IV, jack mackerel in table V, 

 and Pacific mackerel in table VI. The larvae of two groups are tabulated by number 

 only: Hake in table VII, and rockfish in table VIII. 



It is with deep pleasure that the authors acknowledge the cooperation given 

 by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the collection of data at sea. All 

 personnel of the South Pacific Fishery Investigations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service contributed to this project, many devoting their full time to it. Robert 

 Counts and James Thrailkill aided in the identification, enumeration, and measure- 

 ments given in this report. 



