Placing the helmet on the diver. Note the weights on the diver's chest and back. The large black hose 



carries both the diver's air supply and his telephone line. Diver is in communication with the surface 



at all times via the two-way telephone. Photo by Gene Tupper, Palo Alto Times. 



A survey recently conducted by the Department of Fish and Game has 

 revealed some interesting information which throws a little light on this 

 problem. Briefly, the results are as follows : In 1951, approximately 4 

 percent of the 1,015,000 sport-fishing license buyers fished for abalone; 

 they averaged between 12 and 13 abalone per fisherman or approximately 

 513,000 abalone. No single year's total commercial catch from 1938 

 through 1946 exceeded this figure. Furthermore, this sport catch is equal 

 to more than half the commercial catch for 1951. When the limited 

 area fished by the sportsmen is considered, the question becomes, not 

 where have the abalone gone, but how have they managed to last as long 

 as they have. 



Because of the interest in the abalone, both by the commercial and 

 sports interests, the Department of Fish and Game intensified its abalone 

 program and obtained two vessels, complete with crew, to expedite the 

 project. The untimely death of Paul Bonnot, the biologist originally 

 assigned to the project, delayed this expansion. A new biologist was 

 appointed who had to learn the skills of deep-sea commercial abalone 

 diving so that he could observe the abalone in their natural habitat. This 

 man has developed underwater diving techniques and has spent consid- 

 erable time on the bottom of the sea making observations and surveying 

 much of the coastal area previously unexplored for abalones. 



