An Investigation of the Skipjack Fishpry in the TTaters of Woleai, 

 With Notes on the Bait Situation at Lamotrek and Puluwat Is. 



Introduction 



Although the skipjack fisher/ in the islands has recently made 

 remarkable strides forward, in the outlying areas where facilities for 

 transportation and communication are inadequate this fishery is in a state 

 of complete neglect. For this reason it was planned at this time, in order 

 to develop the industry in the outlying islands, to use the Zniho J.'iaru 

 and the Hakuo Mani to make an investigation which would ascertain the 

 value of the fishing grounds and provide data for reference in the planning 

 of commercial developments. The waters around the Puluwat Is. were the 

 scheduled area of operations, however, there was no suitable bait in that 

 group and the fishing experiments could not be carried out. Consequently 

 the base of operations was shifted to -Voleai, v;here an investigation was 

 begun July 7 and concluded July 22. 



Since a certain amount of time was taken up by the operations at 

 Puluwat, mal<:ing the period o" the investigation brief, and because the 

 technician in charge vias not aboard, it was not possible to come to any 

 definite conclusions about the value of the fishing grounds. However, the 

 following is a record of the progress of this investigation. 



Particulars 



Research vessels Zuiho Maru (183.5A gross tons, Mitsubishi Pikkado 



360 HP airless injection Diesel engine) 

 Hakuo Manx (10 gross tons, Niigata 25 HP semi- 

 Diesel) 



Area of investigation seas adjacent to Woleai Is. 



Period of investigation July 7 to 22 



Personnel Assistant technician in charge Zuiho IVIaru (Captain and 



21 men) Hakuo Maru (11 men) 



Fishing gear used skipjack pole-fishing gear 



Bait used Aoe sa ( Baren.-^nlaris Schrarnmi (Bleeker) /I probably 



Harentiula schrarnmi /and akaesa (young tenjikudai 

 Z Apogon spT_/)taken with a stick-held dipnet in 

 the bays at Woloai were used. 



Method of investigation Experimental fishing was done using single- 

 pole gear. Oceanographic observations were made 

 on the fishing grounds, end the distribution of 

 schools, the suitability of fishing g'^ar and methods, 

 and the relationship between sea conditions and 

 fishing conditions were studied. Marked fish were 

 also released. 



Outline of the pro press of the investigation 



The Zuiho Maru with the Hakuo Maru in tow departed Palau June 7 to 

 make a survey of the skipjack fishery of the Puluwat Islands, hoxvever. 



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