160 CALIFORNIA FISII AND GAME 



will still have to dcpoiul on those two frroups. It is ocrtain that both groups have 

 been diminishinjc and will continue ^o diminish in lumdters fmni now on. 



San Fi-anfis<-o and .Mniitcrey Fall Fisiicry 

 (August to December) 



The outlook for the Monterey l^'^^'i fall fishery, therefore, is not promising. 

 Our studies show that no new abundant year class will enter this fishery this 

 season. The fishery will have to rely on the older year classes (groups entering 

 the fishery in 1i)2!) and 10.30) which have been the mainstay of the fall fishery 

 tliroughuut Calit'oinia for the past three and four yeai-s. These year classes can 

 no longer furnish a large supply of fish to the Monterey fall fisliery. Therefore, 

 the Monterey boats will have difficulty in obtaining fish in the Bay and will have 

 to go farther north for their fish. This Avill lengthen the trips, decrease the total 

 deliveries, and prevent the .smaller boats from jiarticipating heavily in the fishery. 

 San Francisco will have a fairly abundant supjily of large sardines and tlie boats 

 in that region will experience less difficulty in making catches than will tiif boats 

 in Monterey Bay. 



The bulk of the Monterey fall sardines for 1933 will be of large size, roughly 

 eleven inches in total length. San Francisco sardines will be the same or slightly 

 larger in size. 



San Pedro Fall Fishery 

 (November fo December) 



The prospects for the San Pedro fishery in the fall of 1933 are more promising. 

 In the spring of 1933 observations made at San Diego indicated a fairly abundant 

 group of quarter-oil sizes. These sai-dines should enter the San Pedro fishery in the 

 fall of 1933. If this group appears, the San Pedro fall fishery will be supplied by 

 moderately abundant fish of small size (S to 9 inches, total length). These sizes 

 will comprise the major part of the catch. 



If this year class does not enter the San Pedro fishery in the exi)ected magni- 

 tude, the fall fishery in this region will experience a scarcity similar to that for 

 Monterey. The fish will be irregular in size, varying from 9 to 11 inches in total 

 length. 



The abundant year class, which is expected to enter the San Pedro fishery in 

 the fall of 1933, will have to support the 1933 San Pedro fall fishery and the 1934 

 Monterey fall fishery ; possibly also the 1935 fall fisheries in all localities if no other 

 abundant group enters the fishery. For this reason the fish supplying the 1933 San 

 Pedro fall fishery should be relieve<l of as much strain as possible. To accomplish 

 this, the industry at San Pedro should be urged to concentrate on tiie winter fishery 

 (January 15-April 1). 



Winter Fishery for All Localities 

 ( January-February-March ) 



The abundance of the winter fish along the entire coast will presumably be 

 somewhat less than in the 1932-1933 season. This fishery is supplied by older 

 fish than the fall fisheries, and in 1933-1934 will chiefiy depend on the year classes 

 which entered in 1929 and 1930. As pointed out above, these year classes have 

 been subjected to heavy fishing in the past three years and they probably will not 

 be able to maintain an abundant w'inter fishery in 1933-1934. The sizes of sardines 

 in the winter of 1933-1934 will be large, the bulk of the catch exceeding ekvcu 

 inches in total length. 



It may be well to jioiut out at this time that because a high percentage of 

 the winter fish are quite large, at present, and are rapidly passing out of the 

 fishery, iilso because there have been only two comparatively abundant groui)s 

 entering the fishery in the past four years (and these two groups, 1929 and 1930, 

 have been intensively fished during this period), that two or three years hence the 

 winter fish will be rather seriously reduced in numbers. Perhaps this reduction 

 will be so great that the fishermen will not be able to supply the cannery demand. 



