FORTY-FIRST BIEXXTAL REPORT T)!) 



KELP 



Of the several seaweeds occasionally jrathered. only one, the «riaiit 

 kelp, is utilized in qnantity. Two firms are en«ra^'.'d in jiarvestin*: «riant 

 kelp. One is located at San Dieg-o and prodnc.'s al<:inates whidi an* in 

 demaid for a mimber of industrial purposes. The second, at San Pedro, 

 produces some medicinal products but the bulk of its outi)ut is jjowdered 

 kelp used in mixture for stockfoods. t^sjiecially for j)onItry. lio-j-s and 

 dairy stock. 



The financial return to the State from tlie tonnajre tax on luirvest.-d 

 kelp and the leasing of beds is small. In recent years the harvest has 

 averaged about 57,000 wet tons of kelp per year. This is hut a small 

 fraction of the amounts cut during World War I. The iutei-ests of t In- 

 state are fully protected by detailed laws goveriiinti the Icasini: of beds 

 and methods of harvesting. It is noteworthy that through the yeai-s no 

 court actions have been necessary. 



The effects of kelp harvesting have been studied by various agfu.-ics 

 over the past 30 years and the results have been reported in Federal ami 

 State publications. This natural resource is unirpie in that utilization 

 tends to improve the original supply. Supervised harvesting results in 

 a more healthy growth in the beds with less breakage from wave action 

 and less litter to wash ashore. Valuable products are bein<: prodined 

 from this resource without injury to the beds, to the fisheries, or to the 

 recreational areas of Southern Califoi-nia. 



FISHERIES STATISTICS 



Accomplishment in the statistical unit dui'ing the jiast two years 

 has been possible because for the first time in many \eai-s tlie elei-ieal 

 staff quota was filled and there wei-e men placed in traininL' for the field 

 work Avhich had long been neglected. With the weight of detail lifted the 

 supervising staff' had time to devote to an overhaul of the tools for col- 

 lecting and the mechanics for handling the record of the billion |)ound 

 catch. Conditions had changed rai)idly in the fishei-ies, in the fleet ami 

 in the industry in recent years and the demand for statistical summaries 

 was increasing. 



After careful study revisions were made in most of the forms from 

 which the fisheries statistics are c<mi])iled. P>ecause these sim|»le forms 

 had been carefully planned they had met many of the gradual eliangcs 

 in conditions and given adequate information over a long period of 

 years. We were reluctant to make them more complex but the postwar 

 kdjustments in the fisheries and the industry had brouudit chancres that 

 could not be recorded on the simjjler form. On the fish re.-eipts, for 

 example, it was necessary to get a record f)f gear on every cHtch becHHse 

 the fishermen were using so many kinds and changing gear so often that 

 the yearly boat registration which i-ecorded gear for each vessel »'ould 

 not give sufficient information to enable us to follow these dianges. It 

 was also necessary to ask for three locality records; the water area where 

 the fish were caught, the place of first landing ami the fiiuil destination 

 of the fish. At times the vessels do not unload at the cannery <.r nutrket 

 dock as thev did in the past but deliver their catch hundn-ds of mdes 

 away to a "barge anchored on the fishing grounds or to a truck at a 



