62 



FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



The investigations in the 8an Joaquin Delta have been o-reatly facili- 

 tated by the construction of the new Fish and Game researcli vessel. 

 Striper. This vessel is owned by the Bureau of Pish Conservation and is 

 manned by a netman and boatswain employed by the Bureau of ]\Iarine 

 Fisheries. His time is divided about e(|ually between the two bureaus. 



Tlie Sf>-ipcr is a 28-foot Frazer River tyi)e <>ill-net boat witli a power 

 reel for windinji' up gill nets. Tt is equipped with bunks and facilities 

 for cooking'. When used by Fish Conservation, most of the Striper's 



KicJLKK 14. Fish and Game boat .s7;-(;jf)- jointly ii.'^ed liy tlie Bureau of ^Aiarine Fislieries 

 and the Bureau of Fish Con.servation for research in tlie Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. 



Photoyruph h>/ Ktamrr Adams. 



time is spent working on striped bass. Marine Fisheries uses most of its 

 share of the boat's time on salmon investigation but has done some work 

 on crabs. The boat has been used for tow net hauls, for the dragging of 

 small trawds and dredges, and for gill-netting to obtain striped bass and 

 salmon for tagging. The power-operated net reel makes this last opera- 

 tion far easier and more efficient. The use of this power reel makes it 

 possible for the operators to make as many as six comparatively short 

 gill-net drifts wdiere a crew w^ith a hand-pulled gill net would find it 

 possible to make no more than two long drifts. This means that the fish 

 spend a relatively shoi't time tangled in our nets, hence are much less 

 weakened by being held. A net is strung out in an appropriate place and 

 allowed to drift for wdiatever length of time seems most desirable, usually 

 about an hour, and then is picked up. To pick up the net, one operator 

 steps on a treadle in the rear of the boat. This starts the big reel turning 

 slowl.y and brings in the net until a fish is reached. One man can fish 

 with this type of boat ; two men can both fish and tag if the fish are not 

 very abundant. In the event of a heavy run of either salmon or striped 

 bass, three men are desirable. 



