occur in this area from May to August because of a lack of measurement 

 data. 



o 

 3. Albacore of t he equatorial areas south of jO N. 



In general, these fish are very scarce, but some are taken at all 

 times. In May cases of catch rates as high as 1.0 appear, but from June 

 to August it appears that catch rates even as high as 0. 3 are extremely 

 rare, the fish being broadly but sparsely distributed. The question of 

 the effect produced on the occurrence of albacore in this sea area by those 

 fish which separate from the fishing grounds of the North Pacific and appear 

 in the waters of middle latitudes is one which will be very importeint for 

 future study. 



The size composition, as shown by the following table, is made up 

 of fish smaller than those found north of 10 N. 



Table 3. --Length frequency of albacore taken in the tropical 

 Pacific, 0°-10°N. , 140°-l60°E. (actual numbers of fish) 



As has already been noted, the larger albacore show a considerable 

 difference in size composition with sex. The following causes can bethought 

 of for the difference in the size composition north and south of 10 N. 



1. A difference in sex ratio. 



2. The occurrence of albacore of different age groups. 



3. Occurrence of albacore of completely different stocks. 



There is a necessity for further study of these points in the future. 



131 



