o o 



Table 64. --Fishing conditions by sections (25 - 30 N, 



150° - 180° E.) 



As nnentioned earlier, data for the southern part of the area are almost limited to the 

 vicinity of Marcifs Island. Data for the northern part are generally distributed, however, 

 seasonally they are restricted to the winter. Consequently we are not able on the basis of these 

 data to clarify connpletely the total significance which the central subtropical Pacific sea aiea has 

 as a fishing ground. Nevertheless, if we tally all the facts recorded above, it is clear that the 

 whole area to the east of 150 E. longitude in the western Pacific subtropical zone may have a 

 uniform significance and value as a fishing ground. As was stated earlier, the subtropical con- 

 vergence runs east and west through this axea, and north and south of that convergence the 

 current systems Jind the significance of the fishing grounds are quite different. That is, to the 

 south the principal components of the catch are yellowfin, bigeye tuna, and spearfishes, while 

 to the north the main catch is albacore. However, at some seasons bigeye tuna may also be 

 extremely important. 



For the western Pacific subtropical sea area as a whole, -it appears that there is, in 

 addition to the north-south difference on either side of the subtropical convergence, a difference 

 from east to west. This east-west difference is largely determined by the topography or the 

 presence of islands, and in this sense the area may be divided into the Okinawa- Og as awara- 

 Volcano Islands region cind the waters to the east of it, each having its own characteristics as a 

 fishing ground. As will be related later, the distributional patterns of tunas and specirfishes quite 

 definitely differ around the Izu 2ind Ogasawara islands, and it is known that for some species 

 the fishing conditions may differ nnarkedly in the waters to the east ajid west of these islands. 



11. Nankai sea area (30° to 35° N., 1 30° to 140° E, ) 



The waters from south of Kyushu to off the BoBo Peninsula, from 30 to 35 N, , will 

 be described under the provisional designation of Nankai sea area. 



This area is almost entirely within the Kuroshio current, with the current flowing 

 constantly east or northeast along the cocist of Japam, The so-called Kuroshio Countercurrent 

 appears off the Kii peninsula and east of the Izu Islands. 



97 



