74 REPORT OF THE PISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



this manner of fishing is chiefly done, from nine to forty-one. These 

 boats had a very profitable season, catching nearly eight million 

 pounds of blue-fin tuna, thus making up the partial failure of the 

 albacore catch. This resulted in a large tuna pack which the canners of 

 the district sorely needed. In 1920 the number of purse seine boats was 

 increased to 103. The purse seine fishermens' association demanded a 

 higher price than the canners believed they could pay. The canners 

 maintained that $125 per ton was the limit they could pay, and subse- 

 quent market conditions have shown that figure to be too high. When 

 the fishermen finally decided to accept this price they were unable to 

 find the blue-fin tuna in sufficient numbers to make their operations 

 profitable. The result of the season was that some of the boats did not 

 operate and scarcely a half dozen of them made their expenses. The 

 albacore catch by the hook and line method, however, was very good and 

 the canners on that account did fairly well. 



The presence of these purse seine boats, many of which have come 

 from the Puget Sound salmon fisheries, is a source of worry to us. They 

 have insisted on fishing within the prohibited area at Catalina Island 

 when tuna were to be found there and have had little respect for the 

 law which forbids their presence within that district with nets on their 

 boats. Our southern patrol boat has had to make numerous arrests. A 

 more serious result of the growth of purse seine fishing, however, is the 

 ill effect it may have on such varieties of fish as the barracuda and 

 white sea bass. These boats are engaged in fishing for tuna for only 

 about three months, the rest of the year many of them fish for ^he 

 markets. One of these boats is able in one haul of their net to take more 

 barracuda or mackerel than they can carry on their boat. The markets 

 which are not prepared to freeze and hold over large catches until the 

 time when fish are not plentiful, are easily swamped, and it often 

 happens that large quantities of these fish, caught in good faith for the 

 markets, have to go to reduction plants. The fishermen have shown a 

 willingness to cooperate with the Commission and at our request have 

 at times put limits on the amount any boat shall bring in. The losses 

 come, however, on days when, instead of only a few boats making 

 catches, a large number of boats fishing over a wide area make good 

 catches simultaneously. Provision should be made by the markets to 

 freeze and hold these over-catches for there are times in the winter 

 when the markets are practically bare of fish. 



The worst feature of purse seine fishing, which cannot very well be 

 remedied under existing laws, is the catching and killing of undersized 

 and young barracuda and white sea bass. It is possible the catching of 

 these two varieties of fish by means of purse nets should be prohibited. 



