PACIFIC SARDINE (PILCHARD) EGGS AND LARVAE 

 AND OTHER FISH LARVAE, PACIFIC COAST, 1953 



The results of quantitative sampling of fish eggs and larvae off the coasts of 

 California and Baja California during 1953 are given in this report, the fourth in a 

 continuing yearly series. The species reported upon are the following: Pacific 

 sardine ( Sardinops caerulea) , northern anchovy ( Engraulis mordax ), jack mackerel 

 (Trachurus symnetricus), Pacific mackerel ( Pneumatophorus diego) , hake 

 ( Merluccius productus) and rockfish ( Sebastodes spp.). 



The collection of the plankton material containing fish eggs and larvae was 

 done on biological -oceanographic cruises made by agencies participating in the 

 California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations. The investigations are 

 sponsored by the Marine Research Committee, and are carried out cooperatively 

 by the South Pacific Fishery Investigations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

 the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California, and the Bur- 

 eau of Marine Fisheries of the California Department of Fish and Game . A record 

 of all zooplankton collections made in 1953 is contained in "Zooplankton Volumes 

 off the Pacific Coast, 1953", Special Scientific Report: Fisheries No. 132. Included 

 for each haul are position of occupancy, date, hour, depth of haul, and volume of 

 water strained. 



In the present report, standardized haul factors for the 1953 plankton hauls 

 are listed in Table 1. All records of Pacific sardine eggs in 1953 (standardized 

 haul values) are given in Table II . The eggs are enumerated by age (in days) since 

 spawning. The larvae of four species are enumerated by size: Pacific sardine in 

 Table III, northern anchovy in Table IV, jack mackerel in Table V, and Pacific 

 mackerel in Table VI. The larvae of two groups are tabulated by number only: 

 hake, in Table VII, and rockfish in Table VIII. 



It is with deep pleasure that the authors acknowledge the cooperation given ■ 

 by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the California Department of Fish 

 and Game in the collection of data at sea. All personnel of the South Pacific Fishery 

 Investigations contributed to this project - many devoting their full time to it. 

 Robert Counts and James ThrailkiU aided in the identifications, enumerations, and 

 measurements given in this report. 



