78 FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



of Sardines. These inspectors have been available for other patrol 

 work than cannery inspection during a good part of each year. 



The duties of the patrol force at San Pedro and San Diego have 

 been greatly increased during the past two years by the passage of the 

 new laws by the last Legislature. A closed season and size limit were 

 placed on white sea bass ; minimum and maximum size limits were 

 placed on albacore, bluefin and yellowfin tuna and a minimum limit 

 on skipjack. Santa Monica Bay and a district at San Juan Capistrano 

 Point were set aside as territory where netting is prohibited. To 

 enforce these new laws entailed much extra work with only one addi- 

 tional patrolman to do it. The size limit law placed on the different 

 species of tuna made it necessary for our deputies to meet all incom- 

 ing tuna boats and remain at the canneries during the time the fish 

 were unloaded. A great deal of work was also necessary in the 

 enforcement of the minimum size law on barracuda and the law 

 which prohibits anglers from having in possession more than five 

 undersized barracuda. 



For some reason, the tuna fishermen, many of them, believed that 

 the tuna size limits would not be enforced during the latter part of 

 the 1931 season, just after the law went into effect, and many fish 

 both over- and undersized were brought in from the long trips south 

 of the international boundary line. It was considered sufficient 

 penalty for the fishermen to lose these fish and they were not prose- 

 cuted. During the season of 1932 so far, the violations of the tuna 

 size limit laws have been very greatly reduced. A number of the 

 fishermen and one canner have been prosecuted. 



Good work has been done by all deputies in seeing that all boats 

 are properly registered and numbered by this bureau, and in checking 

 up all fishermen for commercial fishing licenses. 



It has been the policy of this bureau to, as far as possible, get 

 the cooperation of fishermen in getting just conservation laws passed 

 and in enforcing them. Patrolmen are not rated on the number of 

 arrests they make, and by this policy we have gained the confidence 

 of most of the fishermen. H. B. Nidever, while supervisor of fisheries 

 patrol, put into practice a system taken from a similar one used by the 

 Royal Canadian Mounted Police, under which patrolmen reported 

 violations of the law where arrests were not made. These we called 

 " nonprosecution cases." This system was adopted as an experiment 

 but it has worked out so well we believe it should be used by all 

 enforcement officers of the Division. Patrolmen hesitate to report 

 all nonprosecution cases, but this hesitancy would be overcome if 

 the system were officially adopted. Reports in such cases would give 

 the supervising officer information as to whether any patrolman is too 

 severe or too lenient in handling his cases. 



It is interesting to note that the Michigan Department of Con- 

 servation has adopted a similar system, in which "Apprehension 

 Reports" are made. In their Monthly Bulletin for March, 1932, we 

 learn that, just as we have done, they are attempting to distinguish 

 between deliberate violations and those which are unintentional and 

 done through ignorance of the law. It is stated in their bulletin that 

 this system was put into effect in 1931 and has reduced the number of 

 court cases 22 per cent. In justification for this system, it is stated 



