Table 44. --Fishing situation in the East Formosa Sea 

 and the waters of the Okinawan archipelago 

 (20° to 30° N. , 120° to 130° E.) 



Note: Number of stations fished 20 N. to 25 N. =197 

 " " " 25° N. to 30° N. = 227 



Number of hooks fished 20° N. to 25° N. = 37, 290 

 " " " " 25° N. to 30° N. = 60, 694 



Because of the extreme paucity of the data, a thorough comparison is impossible, 

 however, tables 45 and 46 show the seasonal variations in fishing conditions. 



Black tuna are taken in May. Yellowfin are most abundant from October to December. 

 The spearfishes have a catch rate of about 1. throughout the year and show a potentiality for a 

 higher catch rate in June. 



Black tuna catches are centered around May, with fair numbers taken in April and 

 June, and sporadic catches from October through November. Yellowfin are taken in all months 

 except February, August, and September, and the catch rates increase from April through July 

 and in December and January. Bigeye tuna show about the same variations as yellowfin, but the 

 peak of their catch rate which appears in the summer is markedly lower than that for the yellow- 

 fin. Albacore are tjiken only in the winter, none at all having been caught in the summer. The 

 spearfishes show rather high catch rates from June through September, but the fishing for them 

 becomes remarkably poor in March and April, There are very few data for the southern part of 

 the area, as shown in table 45, so it is not possible to make a thorough comparison with table 

 46, however, it can probably be recognized that both the northern and southern halves of the 

 region show the same trends of rise and decline. In general, only a few of the summer months 

 can be considered superior fishing in this sea area, the winter fishing season being shorter and 

 having lower catch rates than the summer. 



In tables 44 to 45 the difference in location from east to west is not taken into 

 consideration at all. In the following table the fishing situation is presented with this area divid- 

 ed up by 2 of longitude without reference to latitude. 



Black tuna are taken only between 124 and 126 E. longitude, that is in the waters 

 around the SaJcishima Islands. Yellowfin are caught at almost the same rate throughout, except 

 for the most easterly area. There is some doubt however, as to whether this trend really exists 

 because there are few data for the region between 128 and 130 E. longitude. The bigeye tuna 

 appear comparatively close to the coast, and the spearfishes show a tendency for catch rates 

 to increase to the eastward. 



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