44 



FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



was almost a failure. The I!);")!) snninier fishery for bliiefin was equally 

 poor with practically no fish lauded by mid-siimuier. 



Because of better facilities and an enlarged staff we were able to 

 expand our tuna investigations. One trip with the M. V. N. B. Scofield 

 was made to the Hawaiian Islands where much material was collected 

 for an analysis of auy differences between the mid-Pacific populations of 

 skipjack and yellowfin and these fishes taken oft' the coasts . of the 

 Americas. 



Several trips were made offshore and along the California coast to 

 determine conditions which govern the presence or absence of albacore. 

 Fish were located offshore and just prior to the regular season but no 

 albacore have yet been taken during the winter months. On these cruises 

 gill net and long line fishing methods were used as well as trolling. 



A regular system of sampling the catch of albacore, yellowfin and 

 skipjack has been set up to determine the sizes of fish in the catch. Pre- 

 liminary studies of tagging methods have been made. In October, 1949, 

 a meeting of all investigations studying tunas in the eastern Pacific was 

 held at our Tei-minal Island laboratory. Similar meetings are planned 

 annually to coordinate the work of all the agencies working on these fishes 

 in the Pacific area. 



SALMON 



After the peak years of 1945-46, the salmon catches of California 

 have dropped. The commercial catches of 1948-49 have been about the 

 average of the periods since 1916 (Figure 8). The ocean catches of these 



Figure 8. California landings of commercially caugiit salmon, 1940-1949, showing 

 poundages tal^;en from the ocean and from the Central Valley rivers 



