Number of vessels by tonnage classes (as of December 1950) 



Fishermen on the tuna long-line vessels all have tuna fishing as their 

 sole occupation, but of the fishermen on the skipjack and saury vessels 

 over half engage in fishing only seasonallyo ( Translator's noteo °"The 

 Japanese draw a sharp distinction between what they call the "tuna** fishery, 

 which employs long lines to catch large tuna of several species, as well 

 as spearfishes and shark, and the "skipjack" fishery in which skipjack, 

 albacore, and occasionally other small tunas are taken on pole=and=line 

 gear using live bait„ There is no general term including both of these 

 groups of fish as does our word "tuna^o ) 



Employment of tuna fishermen in 1949 



Catch 



Since the war the skipjack pole-and=line fishery has been adversely 

 affected by cold water resulting from abnormal currents, the fishing 

 season has been about 2 months late, and the fishery has not yet recovered, 

 the catch being only about 33 percent of prewaro The catch in the tuna 

 long-line fishery has grown steadily from year to year and catch efficiency 

 is now close to what it was before the ware 



(a) Species» --The fish being taken at present are as follows? 

 skipjack, black tuna or bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, albacore^, big-eyed 



tuna, broadbill swordfish, 

 sailfish, and sharkc 



striped marlin, black marlin» white marlini, 



