be slender and thin after July and August. It appears that the skipjack catch in 

 Palau decreases during the seasonal change from February to J.'arch or January to 

 February, Spawning of skipjack may be influenced by the weather. In ref^ard to 

 this, it is interestinfy to examine throughout the year, food ingested by skipjack 

 caught near the reefs. The amount of food taken in by skipjack is less in 

 February-March an^ August-September than in other parts of the year. I think that 

 skinjack spawn iiomediately prior to these two periods i Food consists chiefly of 

 sardines which closely resemble anchovies and have only a few scales. These fish 

 are referred to as tarekuchl In Palan. Tn reference to thf* stateiD^nt t*»<it sk1»^5<9i^k 

 approach the reefs in waters around Palau, bait fishennen once caught skipjack in 

 July or August at depths of 30-4.0 meters four to five miles ?;est of T'alakal Island, 

 I once traveled airouhd the Marshall Islands from July to September, 1935 and heard 

 natives say that using round haul nets, they often catch skipjack from June to 

 July hear Wille and Arno atolls. In January, 1933, I personally observed natives 

 removing from 2,000 to 3,000 kwi (16,5^0 to 2ii,?10 lbs.) of skipjack from a "corral" 

 at a depth of about 10 fathoms off the shores of the Sulu and Celebes Seas south 

 of the Philippines. It is apnarent that skipjack can be caught within the reefs 

 in a comparatively calm area. This had led me to believe that the selection of 

 such areas (vonl'^ expedite ecolop^icil studies of skipjack. 



Hatal ; Thank you very muc'". Small skipjack seem to appear near Koror at a certain 

 season. 



Marukawa ! J.'.r, Sumlno, what is the situation in the Philippines? 



Sumlno ; Skipjack and tuna fishing ceases In August and September in the Philippines 

 because of a shortage of bait and rough weather. Skipjack frequently enter the 

 numerous "corrals" built near Basilan Island off Zamboanga, particularly those on 

 the east side of the island. These fish generally are taken between "ovember and 

 March, euid it appears that greater catches are made during spring tides with as 

 many as 15,000 being caught at one time. A site directly In front of a protruding 

 sand bar and eight to ten fathoms deep is most suited for a construction of a 

 "corral", which may serve as a fish-pen. The natives sleep in an Improvised hut 

 near the mouth of the "corral" and when a school of skipjack approaches, the 

 natives get into seven or eight canoes called "pintas" and corner the skipjack by 

 beating on the gunwales of their boats. As soon as the skipjack enter the "corral", 

 the entrance Is closed by spreading a net. 



The offshore fishery is generally poor at this time of the year, so that 

 "corral" fishing, which requires small capital and little labor, Is profitable. 

 Offshore fishing, however, commences in Anril and f.'ay, and boats generally come 

 back with good catches. The best fishing grounds are located along the line ex- 

 tending from Sibuco Bay on Zamboamga to Cotabato in central Mindanao. Most of 

 these fishing areas are located in tidal zones. A hardy sar^^ine called tambantorol 

 approaches the shore and it is thought that the skipjack fono-.v these in. Fish 

 caught during the best season ars uniform in size and weigh about 3.2 to 3.5 kg. 

 These are lirgoly skipjack with :vell-deve loped eggs. In a normal year fishing is 

 poor in August and Septembor. Durinc this neriod tuna and skipjack are caught in 

 almost equal proportions, ^<T skinjack and UCfJ tuna. The size of skipjack varies 

 considerably, 'vith tha large.r ones weighing up to ''t kgs. an'^ the small ones weigh- 

 ing about 1 kr. The majority of these fish carry well-developed gonads and some 

 are about to spawn. Since our firm canned skipjack, vje were able to examine ski p= 

 jack ovaries, but I was not interested in the subject at the time so I regret that 

 I have no Information to contribute. At present, almost all the ovaries are being 

 discarded alt^'ouprh the "^'iliplnos relish salted skipjack eg^s. In general, the 

 ratio of females to males is greater and the females seem to carry eggs throughout 

 the year, 



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