40 FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



The demand for canned sardines has increased, as the pack during 

 the past two seasons, 1938-39 to 1939-40 (see table below), shows. 

 Each of these two seasons closed with a shortage of canned sardines on 

 hand. Practically all of the output of the sardine canneries was sold 

 as soon as packed and if sardines of a size and quality fit for canning 

 had been available in southern California during the 1939-40 season, 

 the pack would no doubt have been much larger. It has been reported 

 to us that many plants in southern California could not fill their orders 

 for canned sardines. Some canned sardines were purchased in Mon- 

 terey by southern California canners, and more would have been 

 secured if they had been available. 



Cases other size 

 Amount received Cases of 1-H. cans equivaletit 

 Season for canning oral cans to l-Ib. oval cans Total 



1938-39 187,857 tons 1,490,739 1,083,037 2,573,776 



1939-40 225,357 tons 1,834,174 1,300,794 3,134,968 



Permits to use sardines for manufacture of meal and oil by a 

 reduction process were issued during the past two seasons. The fol- 

 lowing table show^s the amount of permit tonnage granted and the 

 number of tons used under permit. Also recorded are the number of 

 tons of meal and gallons of oil produced from fish received for use 

 under permit, which includes meal and oil produced from cannery offal 

 and overage from fish received for canning, as allowed under the law. 



Used for reduction 

 Season Permits issued under permit Meal producea Oil produced 



1938-39 485.704 tons 337,849 tons 86,213 tons 15,502,057 gal. 



1939-40 402,375 tons 303,426 tons 83,0.53 tons 17,389,992 gal. 



In the season of 1939-40 the oil yield was five gallons per ton 

 greater than in the previous season in the San Francisco area, and over 

 three gallons per ton greater in the Monterey area. In southern Cali- 

 fornia the oil yield per ton in 1939-40 was slightly lower than during 

 the preceding season. 



There is a continued tendency on the part of the fishermen to build 

 additional purse seine boats for sardine fishing. For some time there 

 have been more boats in the sardine fishery than needed, with the result 

 that the fishermen, particularly in the San Francisco area and in the 

 southern California area, did not do well individually, although the 

 canners had profitable seasons. In the Monterey area the number of 

 boats in the sardine fishery was limited during the past season. Con- 

 sequently, each fisherman's profits were greater there than in the other 

 ports. 



TUNA 



The amount of tuna delivered to plants in California is far below 

 the sardine tonnage but the case pack of tuna is about equal to the 

 sardine pack. In 1938, 2,527,498 cases of tuna were packed, and in 

 1939 it was 3,280,683 cases, an all-time high for the tuna industry. 

 Since 1932 tuna has been packed only in the San Diego and San Pedro 

 areas. During the past five years fair quantities of albacore (white 

 meat tuna) have been landed at Monterey but none had been canned 

 at this port until 1939 when one plant made a considerable pack. Pre- 



