MARQUESAS AREA FISHERY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DATA, 

 OCTOBER 1957 - JUNE 1958 



By 



Robert C. Wilson 

 Eugene L. Nakamura 

 and 

 Howard O. Yoshida 

 Fishery Research Biologists 

 Pacific Oceanic Fishery Investigations 

 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 Honolulu, T. H. 



The purpose of this report is to present 

 the record of observed data made during four 

 consecutive cruises in the part of the south- 

 eastern Pacific Ocean that is centered in the 

 Marquesas Islands. The cruises v/ere part of 

 a program undertaken by the Pacific Oceanic 

 Fishery Investigations (POFI) to study the tuna 

 resources of the southeastern Pacific. It is the 

 third POFI report which presents observed data 

 from this area. The first (Austin 1957) contains 

 the record of observed data made during cruises 

 in August and September 19 56. The second 

 (Wilson and Rinkel 1957) contains results from 

 cruises made during January-March 1957. 



In order to make these data rapidly 

 available to other agencies studying the Pacific 

 Ocean, they are presented here without analysis. 

 Descriptive and analytical reports will follow. 



The primary mission of the four expedi- 

 tions was to continue the surface tuna school 

 surveys in the Marquesas area, with the 

 cruises scheduled so that the season of greatest 

 availability of tuna schools might be revealed. 



Secondary missions were to continue the study 

 of the biology of the tuna and of live -bait re- 

 sources in the Marquesas area, to continue the 

 marking of tunas with the D-2 dart tag 

 (Yamashita and Waldron 1958) and to continue 

 studies of the abundance and distribution of tuna 

 larvae. 



Two POFI research vessels, the Charles 

 H. Gilbert and the Hugh M. Smith, were 

 assigned (fig. 1). In order to accomplish the 

 primary mission, two types of surface tuna 

 school surveys were carried out, the inshore 

 and the offshore (fig. 2). The cruise and survey 

 dates are listed in table 1. 



In addition, another important mission was 

 included in cruise 45 of the Smith. In coopera- 

 tion with the R/V Horizon of the Scripps Insti- 

 tution of Oceanography, a study of t h e Equa- 

 torial Undercurrejit was carried out during the 

 period April 4-29, 1958, as part of the Inter- 

 national Geophysical Year program. Prelimi- 

 nary results of this survey have been reported 

 by Knauss and King (1958). 



Table 1 . --Marquesas Islands cruises 



Vessel and cruise No. 



Cruise period 



Survey dates 



Inshore 



Offshore 



Charles H. Gilbert 35 Oct. 2-Dec. 14, 1957 



Hugh M. Smith 43 Jan. 3-Feb. 25, 1958 



Charles H. Gilbert 38 Feb. 7-May2, 1958 



Oct. 14-20 

 Nov. 24-30 



Jan. 18-25 



Feb. 27-Mar. 8 

 April 11-19 



Oct. 24-Nov. 6 



Jan. 27-Feb. 12 

 Mar. 26-Apr. 8 



Hugh M. Smith 45 Mar. 28-June 23, 1958 June 1-10 



May 14-29 



