FORTY-FIKST BIENNIAL KKI'UKT 43 



TUNA 



Heavy exploitation of t lie 1 una resoui'ccs iii;ii-k('<l this hicniiiiiin. Tin' 

 general expansion of tlie tuna industry was on a cautious note, however, 

 as ]iriees to the tisliernien declined somewhat in .lanuary of lO.lO. After 

 reacliing ^'-IM) for yellowfin and H^.'!L?() foi- ski|)JMck, tlic pi'icc dropped to 

 $310 and $290 respectively Amounts \r,\\t\ for other species were reduced 

 proportionately This was caused by the large holdings of canned tuna at 

 the end of 1949. Appaivntly the fast expanding industry had at least 

 temporai'ily supplied the niftrket denuiiid for tuna. Some of the smaller 

 canneries fell victim to this situation ;iiid wei-e caught with no workintr 

 capital to continue operations until their case pack carry-over was sold. 

 Larger units in the industry with the advantage of nntional advertising- 

 had little difficulty. 



Other items contributed to the anxiety of the industry, such as : 

 relaxation of the Japanese fishing restrictions which permitted expansion 

 to practically the full area which that nation formerly exploited; ship- 

 ments of tuna and tuna-like fishes from Australia, South America and 

 the Central Pacific, besides those from Japan ; talk of canneries being 

 built on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico ; and threatened restriction of 

 bait fishing by Mexico and Central American countries. This was more 

 than a threat in Panama where our vessels were not allowed to take bait 

 for some months. 



The stocks of tuna held good, although long trips to Central America 

 and the Galapagos Islands Avere necessary as tunas on the banks closer 

 to California failed to su])ply a large quantity of fish. 



The size of the tuna bait fieet increased from 136 vessels and an 

 aggregate of 27,526 gross tons in 1946 to 225 vessels and approximately 

 45,540 gross tons in 1950. In addition to the purse seiners that fish tuna 

 during the spring and summer months, there were about 20 purse seine 

 vessels that pursued the tuna for the entire period. 



Throughout the biennium the skipjack and albacore landings in- 

 creased ; yellowfin showed a slight decline in 1949 and the bluefin fishery 



Figure 7. California landings of albacore, bluefin, skipjack and yellowfin, 1940-49 



