although it is not known how many days are necessary for the maturation of the eggs, is that it 

 is known that in a single sea area over a period as long as 2 months fish with ripe eggs and those 

 with unripe eggs are found mingled together. 



As far as the life history of the shortnosed spearfish is concerned, i t is thought that it 

 will be comparatively easy to clarify the whole picture by means of large scale fishing experi- 

 ments and marine biological investigations. 



ni. FISHERIES 



It has already been stated that among the fishery products of Taiwan the spearfishes 

 occupy the first place after the cultivated milkfish. The amounts of spearfish handled at the 

 fish markets in the various governmental subdivisions in 1933 are as follows: 



Table 8. --Amounts of spearfishes handled by 

 governmental subdivisions 



1 kin = 1.32 lbs. 



Thus the spearfishes occupy a very important position among Taiwaua's fisheries, but 

 there appears to have been no particular fishery for these fishes before the Japanese occupation 

 of the island. Even after the Japanese occupation the development of this fishery has lagged far 

 behind that of the other fisheries. 



The spearfish fisheries may be generally divided as follows: 



a. Harpoon fishery 



b. Longline fishery 



c. Other fisheries 



(a) History 



A. Harpoon Fishery 



Before the change of regimes this type of fishery did not exist at all. The beginning of the 

 harpoon fishery in Taiwan dates back to 1923, when fishermen from Oita and Ehinne prefectures 

 came here to start this fishery. Since they had good results, the development proceeded rapidly 

 until the fishery reached its present flourishing condition. At present there are actually more 

 than 150 vessels engaged in this fishery. When the fishery was first being established, its opera- 

 ting area was limited to the vincinity of Suo, but as the number of vessels operating increased and 

 the vessels themselves were built larger the fishing grounds were gradually extended both north 

 and south until at present the operating radius is from off Taito on the south to the vicinity of 

 Hokasho on the north. However, the fishing grounds shift their position with the season, being 

 in the south at the beginning of the fishing season and nnoving north to the vicinity of Hokasho 



38 



