ABSTRACT 



This report embodiea the fishing results from seven exploratory cruises in the North 

 Pacific daring the one fall and two winter seasons between January 1954 and February 1955. 

 These results are supplemented by Japanese commercial longline catch data for the same period. 



Albacore, Germo alalunga (Bonnaterre), were caught during all three seasons on longlines 

 and were taken by trolling only during the fall and second winter. The longline-caught albacore 

 covered a wider size range than did the troll-caught fish. 



There appears to be a parallel north-south shift with the seasons of the albacore population 

 and the transition zone between the North Pacific Current and the Aleutian Current. During the 

 winter both were located south of their fall positions. 



Also included in this report are discussions of the vertical distribution, sex composition, 

 and tagging of albacore as well as data on the miscellaneous species of fish taken. 



