If it were possible to get data from surveys evenly- 

 distributed throughout the year in a comparatively limited area^, 

 the seasonal variations in fishing conditions would become much 

 clearer o Unfortunatelyj however j, data of this sort are almost 

 comnletely lackingc Only from the area of 0° -=5° No 5 150 - 

 160° Eo do we have data which to some extent fulfill these 

 requirements o Fishing conditions for yellowfin^ big=eyed tunap 

 and spearfishes in this area in each month of the year are 

 shown graphically in figure 25 A, B, and C„ The number of 

 experimental operations and the number of hooks fished are 

 shown in table llo 



Figure 25A shows that the yellowfin fishing is extremely 

 slack in January and Februaryo In March the catch rate rises 

 sharply, but it drops again somewhat in April., No conclusions 

 can be drawn as to the situation in June as there are no data 

 at allp however, judging by the trend of the curve,, it would 

 appear that the catch rate reaches it maximum in about that 

 montho From July to December there is no great change in the 

 catch rate which remains between 4 and 5 percento 



For the big^eyed tuna (figure 25B) the catch rate is at 

 its lowest in March and reaches its peak a half year later in 

 September r 



Figure 25C shows the spearfish (chiefly black marlin) 

 catch conditionso As the graph shows, the catch rate is lowest 

 in March and highest in August,, but the variation is not as 

 marked as in the case of the big-eyed tunao 



Table 11 



Number of Times Fished and Number of 

 Hooks Fished by Months /o^=-5° Nc „ 150°-160° eJT" 



89 



