After the second ten days of the month the water temperature rose to 

 28,5 degrees Co, and large skipjack appeared mixed with small tuna^ The 

 fish took the bait well. Almost all fishing was done out of 77est Passage 

 in the area between Konlei and Apurashokoru I, 



May 



During the first ten days of this month we fished near Apurashokoru 

 I,, but after the middle of the month large schools of skipjack and tuna 

 suddenly appeared outside Malakal Harbor y a phenomenon worthy of note, and 

 the waters outside Tfest Passage became rath^^r inactive. Since the skipjack 

 had begun to take the bait well it had become difficult to make good 

 catches on artificial lures, but during this month more than 60 per cent 

 of the catch was made with such lureSo 



The akamuro which we were using as bait were becoming larger and more 

 difficult to catchj but they were, on the other hand, very effective as 

 baito 



The water temperatures of 2.8o5 to 29o5 degrees C. were thought to 

 be favorable for fishing o 



The skipjack fishery investigations were discontinued as of this year. 



The following is a brief summary of fishing conditions during this 

 year, Sodagatsuo /"probably Auxis thazard_^/ were plentiful, and although 

 they wore •=mall, it is worthy of note that they were taken in waters of a 

 low temperatureo The bait fish akamuro were more abundant than in previous 

 years and the skipjack schools came in large numbers„ The baiting grounds 

 were inside the reef near Apurashokoru Island and off Arakabesano Large 

 schools of akamur-p were also seen occasionally swimming outside the reef „ 



These fish occurred both inside and outside the reef„ After August 

 they were mature and did not grow any more.. Occasionally after Aug'jist 

 schools of juvenile fish which had been spawned at different times were 

 seen, but they were of rare occurrencCo 



Good results have been obtained ever since the inception of this 

 investigationj and three commercial boats have gone into operation, all 

 of which have been successful^ 



Conclusions 



A conclusive decision cannot be handed down en the basis of such a 

 short-term study as thiSj but the results indicate that the general situa- 

 tion with regard to the skipjack fishery in Palau waters is as followsi 



1„ Weather and sea conditions and the skipjack schools 



The skipjack a^e migratory fish which live in the open sea and follow 

 warm currents. They form large schools in their food-hunting and spasming 

 migrationSc. Leaving aside the problem of their spawning grounds, it is 



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