9. Special characteristics of the tuna fisheries 



(1) As operations are entirely on a share basis j there is a 

 strong spirit of cooperation between the boat owner and 

 the crewo 



(2) The fishing involves extremely hard labor for long hours 

 at seao 



(3) Periods spent at sea away from the base are the longest 

 of any maritime occupation (in the tuna fishery each 

 cruise lasts about 60 days), 



(4) As fishing is good just before and just after storms, 

 there are cases in which it is impossible to avoid 

 staying at sea during rough weather^ making this the 

 most dangerous of the fisherieso 



(5) This is a fishery in which it is necessary on each trip 

 to search for schools of fish which migrate widely in 

 the open seao 



(6) Fishing grounds and bases shift with the seasonso 



(7) This is a fishery in which, because of the conditions 

 cited above,; the consumption of fuel and fishing gear 

 materials is comparatively great, 



(8) The catch in this fishery is mixedj, several species of 

 tuna and spearfishes being taken at one timoo 



(9) There is a strongly rooted custom of handling the tunas 

 principally as high-grade merchandise for the big city 

 trade o 



(10) Where the edible portion of fish in general averages 

 about 50 percent „ it is almost half again as much in 

 the case of the tunas,, and the nutritional value of '"^■ 

 these fish is the greatest among all marine productso 



(11) Because of the large size of the tunas, their form and 

 weight change between the time they are produced and 

 the time they are consumed^ and when they are cut up^ 

 it is difficult for the consumer to distinguish between 

 them because of the similarity of the quality of their 

 flesho 



Noteo— Medium sizes range from 85 to 250 pounds in 

 the case of striped marlin, broadbill^ and black tunaj 

 42 to 165 pounds in the case of yellowfinj 40 to 85 

 pounds for big^eyed tunaj 25 to 40 pounds for albacorej 

 and 4 to 8 pounds for skipjacko 



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