Sea, the Sulu Sea, the Celebes Sea, and, across the Equator, the coastal 

 waters of Papua and the Solomons. From the results of past surveys it 

 appears that the schools are most densely concentrated generally around 

 May and November, that is, just after the change in the seasonal winds. 

 The seasonal changes are, however, slight, and fish are taken the year 

 round with no great variation. 



The area within which fishing is carried on at present lies for 

 the most part between 0° and 10°N. If we compare, without regard to the 

 longitude, the catches made north and south of the line of 5° north 

 latitude, they are as shown in the following table. This table, however, 

 does not show the data from a single year, but is a summary of the re- 

 sults of surveys made in several recent years. 



Table 5 Comparison of Catch Rates North and South of 5°N 

 (Tlfithin South Seas Government-General) 



Note. The catch rate is the number of fish taken per 100 hooks. 



Table 5 shows clearly that the schools are denser in the waters of 

 the lower latitudes than they are in the higher latitudes. It is said 

 that in general yellowfin are abundant in the Equatorial Countercurrent, 

 but it can be seen that they are particularly numerous south of 5°N. 



The yellowfin of this area are generally small, averaging about 33 

 kg, about the same size as the yellowfin of the East Philippines Sea, All 

 species of spearfishes occur in this area, but the black marlin and the 

 sailfish seem to be especially abundant. 



(c) Sulu Sea 



There is very little data on this area, but judging by the activities 

 of fishing boats the schools are most concentrated in the early part of 

 the northeast monsoon, and besides yellowfin many broadbills and black 

 marlin are taken. 



(d) Celebes Sea 



Spearfishes are abundant in this area. Table 1 includes both the 

 Celebes Sea west of 125 E and the eastern sea area around 130°E. The 

 schools are clearly different in these two sea areas, yellowfin being some- 

 what fewer and the occurrence of spearfishes more conspicuous in the 

 eastern area than in the Celebes Sea. 



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