380 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1935 



Exact studies are being made of the depths at which the halibut 

 eggs float, and a more exact examination of the currents and their 

 rate of flow is also under way. Judged from the consistency in the 

 distribution of the eggs and young already found, it may well be 

 that the deeper waters here do not move any great distance during 

 the time of the development of the young halibut. That, however, 

 remains to be shown. Plainly the currents and physical conditions 

 must be known before the characteristics of each stock can be made 

 out with any certainty. 



From all these facts regulations have been devised separating the 

 coast into areas, limiting the intensity of the fisheries in each area, 

 and closing nurseries and spawning seasons. On the walls of the 

 Commission laboratories are kept charts showing the changing abun- 

 dance of the halibut in its different areas; the great decline in 

 abundance from the earliest days until the year 1930 is shown ; where 

 once 300 pounds of fish were taken on the standard unit of gear 

 it is shown that on the southern grounds the yield had fallen to 

 35 pounds and on the western to 65 pounds, while the total catch 

 on the southern grounds had fallen from 60,000,000 to 22,000,000. 

 The Commission was organized in 1924. Under the observation of 

 its staff the later part of this decline from 1925 to 1930 occurred. 

 At that time the Commission had no powers of regulation. It 

 could merely study and analyze, but in 1930 it submitted recom- 

 mendations to the two governments, and a new treaty was adopted 

 giving the Commission proper regulatory powers. The result is 

 shown on the charts kept by the Commission. Beginning with 1931 

 the abundance has risen steadily on the banks to the south from 35 

 pounds to 60; on the banks to the west from 65 pounds to 90. The 

 Commission has made good use of the scientific instruments placed 

 at its disposal by its staff. 



Perhaps the most crucial part of this great experiment in con- 

 servation is still to come. Its final success depends upon whether the 

 character of its results thus far will be clearly understood and 

 whether the economic readjustments to increased abundance can be 

 made. 



The increased abundance of fish on the banks is somewhat dif- 

 ficult for the fisherman to understand. He cannot see why since 

 there are more fish he should not be permitted to take more. He 

 does not realize at first that the increased numbers of fish are 

 due to the greater proportion which the Commission has allowed to 

 survive by reducing the intensity of the fishery. He does not realize 

 that under present conditions he is taking a smaller proportion of 

 each year class of halibut but that in recompense a greater number 

 of year classes has come into being. From all of these year classes 



