and from the fishing grounds, and fishing„ The best catch experienced 

 by POFI vessels in a single day's fishing at the Line Islands was approxi- 

 mately 10»46 tonSj mosxly yellowfin, caught off Christmas Island by the 

 1 ^1 gh Mo Smith in June 1951, whereas in the West Coast fishery^ Godsil 

 (1938"J writes, "On an average trip, a crew will count upon two or three 

 'good' days of fishing with a daily catch of 20 to 50 tons.," However, 

 he further states that, "It is far more common to get a ton or two from 

 the first attack into a fresh school, with returns dwindling upon each 

 successive tryo " 



A comparison of the catch rates of the Hawaiian commercial 

 fishery with the Line Island rates made by the Smith , 0' Mai ley, and 

 Tradewind indicates that on the average live^bait fishing for tuna is 

 better in the Line Islands, although higher catch rates are recorded 

 on occasion at Hawaii^ During the 1950 Hawaiian skipjack season, the 

 sampans caught on the average 2ol tons of skipjack per boat per fish- 

 ing dayo The tuna clippers Smith and O'Malley fishing in the Line 

 Islands during the summer months of 1950 and 1951 were able to catch 

 approximately 4„58 tons, mostly of yellowfin tuna, per 10 hours of 

 actual scouting and fishing. The 4c. 58 tons average surpasses the aver- 

 age catch per boat per day even during the peak month of the 1950 

 Hawaiian seasono (The average catch per boat per day during the peak 

 month was 3o7 tons„ ) During the 1950 Hawaiian skipjack season the best 

 catch made by a single boat in one day was approximately 18o5 tons and 

 that of the 1951 season (a very good season) was approximately 25oO tonSo 

 The best day's catch experienced in the Line Islands was 10„46 tonSo 



The catch rate of the sampan Tradewind during January and 

 February 1953 was not as good as those of the Smith and O'Malley „ There 

 are factors such as seasonality which may have caused this difference 

 in the catch rateso The Tradewind caught 13=1/2 tons of yellowfin in 

 71o9 hours of actual fishing and scouting. This amounts to approxi- 

 mately lo9 tons of tuna per 10 hours, a figure which, made during the 

 Hawaiian off-season, compares well with the 2,, 1-ton average per boat 

 per day of the 1950 Hawaiian season. 



The results of the explorations by the Smith , O'Malley, Pioneer , 

 and Calistar have shown that the tuna in the central Pacific can be 

 caught by tuna clippers » Although fair catches were made, most observers 

 question whether the clipper is the most efficient vessel to use in 

 harvesting these tuna. The moderately rough seas which occur quite 

 frequently in this area make fishing from the side racks of a tuna 

 clipper very difficult. Furthermore, the rapid and erratic actions 

 of the fish indicate that a faster and more highly maneuverable vessel 

 than the 100= or 128-foot clippers used in these investigations would 

 be more desirable. Bait is also not available in the central Pacific 

 area in the quantity that a tuna-clipper fleet requires. 



The sampan type of vessel appears to be the best suited 

 for this area, although it also has some shortcomingSo In the 



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