THIRTY-FIFTH BIENNIAL REPORT 



57 



Season Shore plants Floating plants Total 



1933-34 313,842 77,132 390,974 



1934-35 480,746 128,190 r>OS.930 



1935-36 407,166 158,754 565,920 



1936-37 488,141 239,257 727,398 



1937-38 345,834 74,334 420,168 



The sardines are used for eanninor, for reduction into oil and fish 

 meal and as bait for sport ano'ling and for commercial fishing. The 

 amount of sardines used for bait each year is not given in our records 

 but it is estimated at 25,000.000 pounds. The amount of sardines used 

 for canning and the number of cases produced during the past four 

 seasons is shown in the following table: 



Amount Equivalent 



received Cases lib. cases in other 



Season for canning oval cans size cans Total 



1934-35 13S.109 tons 1.486.343 390,279 1,876.622 



1935-36 237.537 tons 1,936,154 1,280,761 3,216,915 



1936-37 212,278 tons 1,647,332 1.341,714 2,989,046 



1937-38 160,028 tons 1,182,714 1,117,715 2,300,429 



Due to the lack of adequate control over the fishery, a much larger 

 amount of the sardines caught are used for reduction into oil and 

 meal than is used for canning. The folloMdng table gives the amount 

 of sardines used by shore plauts in the past four seasons for reduction 

 purposes, with the oil and meal produced from this amount and from 

 the offal and overage discarded by canning plants. The table does 

 not include the sardines used by floating reduction plants operating 

 off-shore beyond the State's jurisdiction. 



Received 

 for 



Season reduction Oil produced Meal 



1934-35 342,339 tons 16.870.565 jral. 77,651 tons 



1935-36 168,922 tons 13,200,692 '^:\\. 59,904 tons 



1936-37 274,272 tons 14.299,923 ffal. 75,115 tons 



1937-38 183,858 tons 9,175,277 gal. 52,981 tons 



The great expansion of the fishery has been accompanied by unmis- 

 takable signs of depletion in the sardine population and it is imperative 

 that the fishing intensity be brought under control and the present 

 large production be reduced, if we are to avoid the ruin of the State's 

 sardine supply. The expansion of this fishery has been brought about 

 by an increase in the number of fishermen and by a greater increase 

 in the number and efficiency of fishing boats and processing plants. 

 Our repeated warnings that we are draAving too heavily on our sardine 

 supply have failed to bring about legislative action until now we have 

 an industry with an investment in men, boats and plants which can 

 not be supported by the available supply of fish. 



It is inevitable that fishermen and plant operators must stand a 

 great loss in investment and occupation and that the State must 

 struggle along with a fishery resource to a point far below what it was 

 capable of producing if it had been wisely managed. As for the 

 future, we wall continue to have a sardine industry but it will of 

 necessity be reduced in size and be restricted to canning and the pro- 

 duction of high potency, vitamin fortified oil. 



