THIRTY-SIXTH BIENNIAL REPORT 41 



viously all albacore landed in northern California had been shipped or 

 trucked to the southern California plants for packing. 



MACKEREL 



Mackerel landings continue to hold third ])]ace in the fisheries of 

 California, both in quantity of catch and pack of canned products. 



In 1938, 79,848,015 pounds of mackerel were delivered and 958,890 

 cases packed ; and in 1939, 80,908,851 pounds of mackerel were caught, 

 resulting in a pack of 968,529 cases. Although these figures are larger 

 than the totals for 1937, they are less than for the three high years 

 of 1934, 1935 and 1936 when the pack each year exceeded one million 

 cases. In 1938 and 1939, the canners and fishermen agreed to impose 

 a closed season on mackerel fishing during April and May. Again in 

 1940 a closed season of April, May and June was agreed upon in order 

 to give the mackerel some respite from overfishing. This closed period 

 has been strictly adhered to by both parties, even though there were no 

 penalties involved in case of infraction of the agreement. Their adher- 

 ence to this closed season was very commendable and while it will no 

 doubt benefit the mackerel fishery somewhat, we feel that it is not suffi- 

 cient protection to the fishery in its present condition. Mackerel fish- 

 ing for canning purposes was formerly done by boats using round haul 

 nets. However, scarcity of mackerel has brought about a major change 

 in the fishery. During the fall of 1939 very few mackerel were taken 

 with round haul nets because the fish were so scattered and in such 

 small schools that it was unprofitable for round haul net boats to engage 

 exclusively in mackerel fishing. Large numbers of small boats, using 

 chum bait and dip nets, have been doing most of the fishing and have 

 made consistent but not large catches. With this great number of 

 small craft engaged in the fishery and putting forth additional effort, 

 the total catch has remained high as far as poundage is concerned. It 

 is very apparent that the mackerel is being heavily overfished and is in 

 need of additional protection. 



CRAB 



In the past two years, many changes have occurred in the State's 

 commercial crab fishery. Price disputes, due to the influx of large, 

 graded crabs at a lower price shipped from Oregon, Washington, and 

 Eureka, have caused considerable economic trouble to the local San 

 Francisco crab industry. For a great many years, the San Francisco 

 Crab Union, a cooperative association of 250 to 300 members, has had 

 a noncompetitive market on crabs in California. By taking advantage 

 of the provisions (Section 460) of the California Fish and Game Code, 

 fishermen in Eureka during the last two years were able to ship crabs 

 from Humboldt, Del Norte and Mendocino Counties to other districts, 

 upon presentation of an affidavit showing the crabs had been taken 

 outside of the three-mile limit. These activities added an impetus to 

 the crab industrv in these northern counties — the catch increasing from 

 150,000 pounds "in 1937 to 530.000 pounds in 1938, and to 2,200,000 

 pounds in 1939. This increased catch will not affect the crab popula- 

 tion as long as the laws are observed. Male crabs, seven inches across 

 the back (which is the minimum legal size) have passed through one 

 or more spavwiing seasons, and as female crabs are fully protected at 



