FISIffllG OPSRi^.TIONS 



Tho fishiiig opera-cions en the Makua£ / and on the Jorin R„ Manning 

 differed only in the amount of gear used and the method by •v.rh:.ch the 

 nets ware retrieved^ In all other respects the operations were 

 nearly identical, Tlie Ilakua., having an overall length of only L.5 

 feetj offered very little deck space for piling the net prep^J^atory 

 to setting it, Tne mimber of shackles in any single set was thus 

 limited to eight o line net was set from the stern of the vessel and 

 the floats ■were kept toweird the TrLnd --vhenever porssible to minimize 

 the chances of tangling. Sets "vtsre made tmder saa conditions 

 rangii-jg from calm tc moderat&ly rough (height of waves appro^dmately 

 2-5 feet) with a maximurA wind velocity of 2$ miles per hour. The 

 net was fished both durin.g the day and at night, and whenever the 

 weathsr and sea condition^ perno tted it was drifted free of the 

 vesselo When sea conditions were unfavorablSj the string of nets 

 was seciired to the bow of the vessel by the bridle line tc facilitate 

 the retrieve at nightj, if any emergency arosso 



The net was hauled in manually by two or Uii'ee men at the bow 

 as the vessel moved ahead parallel to itg and it was then passed 

 along the deck to the sterna where it was replied for the next set,. 

 Retrieving time for the eight shackles of gear averaged a little 

 over 2 hours ■when there was no catchc. The time consumed in remov- 

 ing the catch from the net prolonged this operationf especially 

 with the larger fish such as sharks and raysj, which became entangled 

 in the webbing o 



Fishing on the Malcoa was limited to the Kona .coast of the island 

 of Hawaii between Kolo~^d Kailua Cfigo 3)« A total of 11 setsj, I; 

 daylight and ? night, were made at distances ranging from l-3/li to 

 15"^ miles from the shoreline, All the night sets were made at 1 tc 

 2 hours before sunset and were picked up the following momingo 

 The actual fishing time for all the sets totaled 125 ho-ors^ 76 at 

 night and \^ during daylight , with an average of llo3 hours of 

 fishir/g per set. 



The John R, Manning ^ an 86|—foot purse seine vasssl^, afforded 

 ample working spaceo The net was arranged and piled in the net boxc, 

 which was of sufficient size to contain the entire gear. Each 

 shackle was tied to the succeeding one by the float line and by 

 the connecting straps which were placed along the breast lines o 

 The floats were arranged at one side of the box in such fashion as 

 to permit the setting operation to be carried out without tangling. 

 In settings "^^^ '"o-ao^ light and sea anchor c v?hich were attached tC' 

 the free end of tl'ie net^ were let out first and the rest of the 

 net was drawn out as the vessel moved ahead. The vessel drifted 

 with the net secured to the bow during the entire time the net fished. 



y Gear tscts and fishing operations on the Makj^c, May 22-2ii., ^r.i<i 

 J'jly 2-26, were conducted by Kalfred Yee.<,Tormerly Fishery 

 Methods and Equipment Snecialist, U, So Fish and Wildlife Sersrice, 



