24 FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



Routine sardine investigations were continued throuj^hout the bien- 

 nium. These comprise analyses of the size and age composition of the 

 catch, and a measure of the average catch of the fishing fleet. For all of 

 California, the monthly catch of an average vessel in 194(>47 was 50 per- 

 cent below that of the previous season, and in 1947-48 again dropped 

 almost 50 percent below 1046-47. The greatest decline occurred off San 

 Francisco where fish were so scarce the fleet could no longer operate. 

 At Monterey the decline was almost 80 percent in 1946-47, and in 1947-48 

 not enough boats were fishing to permit calculations of an average. 

 Fishing in Southern California was relatively successful, but there also 

 the average monthly catch in 1946-47 was only 65 percent of the previous 

 season, and in 1947-48 dropped to 45 percent. 



Not only did tlie tonnage landed by the fishermen decline, but the 

 larger fish became less and less abundant on the fishing grounds. This 

 was a continuation of a trend which has been going on for some years. 

 In the early history of the fishery, sardines as old as 15 j^ears were 

 frequently taken, and the industry depended largely on fish of four to 

 10 years. In the past two seasons fish of five j'ears and older comprised 

 only about 5 percent of the total, and over 65 percent were one and two 

 3"ear-olds. The results of the age composition studies carried on in cooper- 

 ation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been summarized and 

 published in Fish Bulletin 69. 



The M. V. "N. B. Scofield" made one trip into Mexican waters in 

 March and April of 1948 to check reports that sardines were abundant 

 south of the usual fishing grounds. Waters were surveyed as far south 

 as San Domingo Point. No great abundance of fish was found north of 

 Point San Eugenio. Former studies and tagging experiments have 

 indicated that sardines from these northern Mexican waters mingle with 

 the California population. A greater abundance of sardines was observed 

 southward between Point San Eugenio and San Domingo Point. Counts 

 of the vertebrae of fish collected in this area confirm former studies that 

 this more southern sardine population makes little if any contribution 

 to the California fishery. 



Realizing that some sort of regulation would be necessary if the 

 sardine fishery were ever to recover, the industry chose a Sardine Indus- 

 try Advisory Committee to work with the bureau and advise the Fish 

 and Game Commission. Two objectives were set up : A temporaiy pro- 

 gram of regulation for the 1948-49 season within the framework of 

 existing legislation; and a long-range legislative program of conserva- 

 tion. Real progress was made in reconciling divergent ideas, and the 

 temporary program embodying a size limit and a limitation in the number 

 of fishing days was presented to the commission and adopted innuediately 

 following the close of the biennium. Work on the legislative program is 

 continuing, with most of the industry now aware of the uncertain future, 

 and realizing that only by taking drastic measures can the fisher}- survive. 



In view of the expanded fisheries for anchovies and herring, the 

 sardine staff extended their work to include the collection of length 

 measurements and scale samples from these two species. This constitutes 

 a start toward lifo-historv and abundance studies. 



