REPORT OF THE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 59 



Albacore Investigations. 



The investij^ation work on the albacore or longfinned tuna has pro- 

 o^ressod under ^\r. W. P. Thompson and his assistants until now very 

 definite i-esults have been ol)t;iiiie(l and are bciiiir prepai'ed for publica- 

 tion. 



Very complete data liave hecii ir.ithered fi'om the very l)eginning of 

 the albacore indu.stry and lliis wealth of material, more extensive we 

 believe than that ever gathered from any one tisheiy, is in its final 

 analysis disclosing facts of great value to the fishery. As long ago as 

 1915, a paper was read l)efore tlie Western Division of the American 

 Association for Die Advancement of Science, at San Diego, by one of 

 the leading tuna packers, in which |)aper this packer stated tliat it was 

 feared the albacore even then might be undergoing depletion on account 

 of too intensive fishing. The denumd for canned tuna was so great 

 that the canneries were being enlarged at a reckless rate, the number of 

 albacore fishing boats was being rapidly increased mainly on capital 

 furnished by the canners. There was a growing belief that the schools 

 of albacore were not so extensive as a few years before and there was 

 a tendency to increase the price to the fishermen for the fish. The paper 

 voiced the sentiment of the packers at the time in a plea for a scientific 

 investigation of the albacore fishery for the purpose of determining its 

 limitations and to give the packers some idea of the permanency of the 

 industry and as to whether the expansion had reached the limit to which 

 it could be safely extended, or if it had already passed that limit. 

 These were practical and extremely important questions being asked 

 of the scientific investigator by an important industry, and the interest 

 created by the discussion which followed hastened the activity of the 

 state in its fisheries work, which until that time had not been taken up 

 by it in a serious manner. 



It takes time and accurate data extending over a period of years to 

 determine if depletion of a fishery is taking place. The total yearly 

 catch does not give an indication unless we also know the number of 

 boats and the kind of fishing gear used in making the catches. This 

 data has to be obtained. Fish are also subject to fluctuations in abund- 

 ance due to natural causes and not to fishing, so it is necessary in such 

 an investigation to get the data which will enable us, by methods known 

 to the science of fisheries consei-vation, to determine if periods of scar- 

 city are due to overfishing or to natural causes. 



Extensive data has now been gathered and will continue to be gath- 

 ered an analysis of which will show these very things which we wish 

 so much to know. While the data does not extend over a sufficient 

 number of seasons to enable us to be absolutely certain that depletion 

 of albacore in California waters has not taken place, it is sufficiently 

 extensive to enable us to say, with enough assurance to answer the 



