108 



FISn AND GAME COMMISSION 



of flsli iiK'al and 5.lL'r).'jr)l trallons of snrdiiio oil. In tlio season ]n20-:]0, 

 ihore ^vcrc oauLrht ;}2ll, ()()() tons of sardines, from whieli wore produced 

 3.514.210 eases of 1-lb. oval ean.s and 642,211 ca.ses of other size cans; 

 35,402 tons of fish meal and 6,359,777 pallons of oil. 



Althoufrh the amount of sardines eauirht has been inenasiup^ eaeh 

 season, the eateh has not increased in i)roportion to the fishiiif^ effort 

 expended, and there is every indieation that the waters adjacent to the 

 fishinpr ports have reached their limit of production and are already 

 enterinc: the first stapros of dei»lc1ion. The increase in the amount of 

 .sardines caus^ht is the result of fi.shin<:? farther from port with larger 

 boats and improved fishinj; pear. This overtaxing of the supply of 

 sardines is all the more regrettable when it is realized that the canners 



Fig. 43. Unloading sardines at the California Packing Plant, Terminal Island. 

 Photo by D. H. Fry, Jr., March 11, 1929. 



are not reaping the benefit. There has been an overproduction of 

 canned sardines, as well as of sardine oil, and the old evil of selling 

 canned sardines at less than the cost of production has continued, with 

 the expectation of making up the loss with the profits from the sale of 

 so-called byproducts — oil and meal. With this year's slump in the oil 

 and meal market, this hope has not been realized, and it is now being 

 proposed to reduce the price paid to fishermen from $11 to $8 per ton, 

 in order that the canneries may continue to operate the coming season. 

 The canners are also seeking, through organization, to limit the sardine 

 pack and thus prevent overproduction. 



The Fish and Game Conmiission has consistently endeavored, through 

 legislation and through cooperation with the canners, to restrict the 

 amount of sardines which canners are permitted to use in their reduc- 



