of these studies lead, we will be able to expect an improvement in the 

 stability of this fishery. 



Up to the present, the work of compiling these charts of the 

 average year's fishing conditions has not been taken up as a part of the 

 regular work of the Nankai Regional Fisheries Research Laboratory. 

 The main reason why we have hesitated to make it a part of our regular 

 work has been our lack of confidence in our ability to turn out something 

 worthy of being called "charts of the average year's fishing conditions" 

 because of our inadequate personnel and financial support. These fears 

 of mine hav6 been realized in the form of the poverty of the data. This 

 poverty of the data is most conspicuous in the case of the fishing grounds 

 in home waters where small vessels operate with a strongly local character. 

 This fact largely reflects deficiencies in the network for the collection of 

 data. However, we have no way of telling when, if ever, we will be per- 

 mitted to strengthen our personnel and financial resources and consequently 

 we are connpletely unable to predict when we can collect satisfactory data. 

 For my own part, I expect that there may be dissatisfaction and general 

 criticism, but my concept of a fishery research laboratory is such that I 

 am prepared to accept in good part any sort of criticisms that will lead to 

 progress, and therefore I have gone ahead with the publication of this 

 volume. It will be a source of the greatest satisfaction if our ideas are 

 understood, if budgetary measures are taken which will permit us to in- 

 tensify our research activity, if we gain the general cooperation of the 

 fishermen, and if we can have our errors and shortcomings pointed out 

 to us. 



For the reasons set forth above, the preparation of these charts 

 has not been carried on as a regular work of this laboratory, but the per- 

 sonnel of our High Seas Resources Section, even though engulfed in their 

 regular research work, have pitched in and worked together using every 

 bit of leisure time, working until late at night in their spare time. The 

 work of organizing the data and writing the explanatory material has been 

 divided as indicated below; I have revised and edited the manuscripts. 



In gathering the data, we have enjoyed the cooperation of the Tohoku 

 Regional Fishery Research Laboratory and the Fisheries Experiment Sta- 

 tions of Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Mie, Kochi, and other 

 prefectures. We wish to express our deep thanks to them and to the fish- 

 ermen who have taken time out from their arduous work to prepare and 

 send to us reports, and we trust that in the future we may enjoy evencloser 

 liaison with thenn in order to work together for a healthy developnnent of 

 the fishery. 



