southern California, or if the demand exists for bonito and yello-w- 

 tail they may make a trip or two to banks off Lower California for 

 these species as well as for the various species of tuna. 



With -the decline in the availability of sardines and Pacific 

 mackerel during the past six or seven seasons, combined -with com- 

 paratively poor runs of bluefin tuna in local -maters, the fishermen 

 of the tuna purse seine fleet have had to rely much more on tuna 

 fishingo 



Duplication With Bait Lines, Yelloivfin and Skipjack 



Table 57 reveals that only 13 vessels of the clipper fleet 

 fishing primarily for yellowfin and skipjack with bait lines, were 

 duplicated in fisheries other than tuna fishing during 1950. These 

 with one exception, were vessels in the lowest tonnage categories. 

 However, a greater number, 31 including some craft up to medium size, 

 also made trips primarily for albacore, Sinc^Tn^aft used the same 

 gear for albacore as for yellowfin and skipjack, they are not dupli- 

 cated in the albacore fleet in any of the statistical tables. 



Fishermen of this fleet will at times when at anchor, and 

 usually for their own consumption, fish for other species of fish with 

 hand lines or pole and line, but may bring in any surplus of market 

 fish so taken. Similarly, when cruising for tuna they may endeavor, 

 sometimes successfully, to harpoon any swordfish that they encounter. 



Only foin* of the smallest of the fleet engaged in such otherwise 

 unprofitable incidental fishing. Two of these operated a modified 

 form of a purse seine for sardines, and two others operated their 

 bait seines commercially for bait fish at times when no tunas were 

 within their limited cruising range. These four, perhaps, should be 

 more rightly classified with the albacore fleet. 



In general, it may be said that the vessels of the clipper fleet 

 are not adaptable to other types of fishing, since the removal of 

 bait tanks and other conversions required for other types of fishing, 

 except on the very smallest craft, is too expensive and time consuming. 

 Consequently, whether the vessels of this fleet operate at a profit 

 or loss depends solely upon their tuna catch. 



Duplications With Lines, Albacore 



In this phase of the report the operation of the albacore fleet 

 will be divided into three groups on the basis of their home port; 



198 



