48 FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



fish has resulted in as much freedom of movement for the fishing fleet as 

 is consistent with National safety. 



SARDINES 



Production of sardines and sardine products is calculated on a 

 seasonal rather than an annual basis and is tabulated in Table IV for 

 the biennium. Production figures summarized in Table IV are given 

 in detail in Circulars 15 and 16 reprinted in the appendix. 



TABLE IV 



19^0-1941 1941-1942 



Total tons landed 454,709 585,463 



Tons received for canning 226,188 366,292 



Total cases of all sizes packed 3,188,089 5,395,286 



Number of permits issued 70 74 



Permit tonnage granted 350,000 343,684 



Number of tons used under permits 228,587 211,356 



Tons of meal produced 71,122 85,103 



Gallons of oil produced 12,398,310 16,498,965 



The beginning of sardine fishing was delayed until October, 1940, at 

 Monterey and San Francisco because of disagreements as to price of fish 

 and fishing conditions. Activities in these two ports were again curtailed 

 in the latter part of the season by stormy weather. In spite of heavy 

 landings of sardines in southern California, the restrictions in the two 

 northern ports were sufficient to hold the landings down to the relatively 

 low figure noted. 



Profiting by the experience obtained in the previous season, prices 

 were settled before the 1941-42 season opened, and fishing began on 

 August 1st in San Francisco, and on August 14th in Monterey. In spite 

 of the closure of the San Francisco fishery on December 1, 1941, and the 

 very low catches made after that time in Monterey and San Pedro, the 

 catch, practically all of which had been landed before December 7th, was 

 large. 



Increased prices for canned goods stimulated the canning industry, 

 with the result that a higher proportion of sardines was canned during 

 this biennium than in previous years. In 1940-41, 50 per cent of the 

 sardine catch was received for canning, while 63 per cent was used for 

 this purpose in 1941-42, as compared with from 23 to 42 per cent in the 

 preceding six years. The emphasis given to canning, combined with the 

 heavy catch, resulted in a record pack of 5,395,286 cases of canned sar- 

 dines in the last half of the biennium. Failure of the reduction plants to 

 utilize the full tonnage allotted to them by the commission for straight 

 reduction was in large part due to the cessation of fishing in December. 

 However, all the canneries in Monterey and San Pedro packed more than 

 the required 13| cases per ton, and at least one canner in San Pedro 

 packed all sardines received during the last part of the season. 



Sardine investigations by the Bureau of Marine Fisheries have been 

 particularly concerned with the measuring of the abundance and the 

 fluctuations in this abundance from year to year. During 1941-42 the 

 investigation of the age of sardines was undertaken in cooperation with 

 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 



