REPORT ON OCEANOGRAPHY 87 



Survey work currently assigned to the boat is confined to sheltered 

 coastal areas, the seats of the principal fisheries of the Philippines. 

 Water samples are collected at different standard levels and measure- 

 ments of temperature, chlorinity and nutrient salts contents are taken. 

 Subsurface plankton hauls are occasionally made, but surface plankton 

 tows are a regular part of the hydrographic work. 



Of the five areas surveyed since the work commenced in February, 

 1951, Manila Bay in Luzon Island has been the most comprehensively 

 studied. The area was visited every month for one year, occupying a 

 total of fifteen stations whenever weather conditions permitted. A 

 total of 3,115 measurements of physical and chemical properties of the 

 waters of Manila Bay were taken during the year's survey. Processing 

 of the data has already been completed and a report on the inter-rela- 

 tionships between the physical and chemical parameters and the exter- 

 nal factors affecting them is forthcoming. 



For the purpose of determining long range variations in the pro- 

 perties of the waters fringing the island archipelago, we have estab- 

 lished a number of fixed collection stations ashore at strategic places 

 in the Philippines. At this writing we have one on the Pacific side 

 and two on the South China Sea side. It is our intention to increase 

 the number of these collection stations later on. In this type of work 

 only surface samples are collected at a fixed hour daily and measure- 

 ments of temperature and chlorinity are taken. In addition, hourly 

 measurements in a 24-hour cycle are made twice a month at each sta- 

 tion. 



In cooperation with the Philippine Weather Bureau, our oceano- 

 graphic staff is charged v/ith the processing of observational data turned 

 in to the Weather Bureau by ocean going liners. Water and air tem- 

 peratures form the principal part of these data. 



OCEANOGRAPHIC ACTIVITIES IN SOUTH AMERICA 

 By B. F. Osorio-Tafall 



ECUADOR 



In 1951 FAO sent on request a Fisheries Biologist to make a brief 

 survey of the sea fisheries in the territorial waters of Ecuador. The ex- 

 pert conducted concurrently fishery research work, oceanographic and 

 rneteorological observations including collection of sea-surface tempera- 

 tures, not only along the continental coast, but also in the waters of 

 the Galapagos Islands, and on his way hence and back between the 

 continent and these islands. 



