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DEPARTMENT OP FISH AND GAME 



Fish for tagging and for laboratory study are caught in beach seines by the staff of the Surf 



Fishing Investigation, Dingell-Johnson Project F-5-R. Unwanted specimens are returned to the 



water alive. A tagging table stands in the left foreground. 



and their comings and goings make it difficult to collect catch statistics 

 or to follow the progress of the fishery. As was pointed ont before, they 

 may be scattered along a thousand miles of coast which adds to the 

 difficulties of an inventory. 



We know very little about the quality or quantity of the catch. We 

 know very little about the biology of the major surf species. Until we 

 gain a better knowledge of these and the influence of environmental 

 conditions on the catch, we are in no position to evaluate the fishery or 

 to recommend measures for improvement. 



The principal species sought include: California corbina (Menh- 

 cirrhus undulatus), yellowfin croaker (TJmbrina roncador), spotfm 

 croaker (Roncador stearnsi), opaleye (Girella nigricans), and barred 

 perch (Amphistichus argenteus). The project plans to study the life 

 histories of these and other species and to determine their abundance. 

 Catch statistics will be obtained and fluctuations in fishing success will 

 be measured. Of necessity, such statistics will have to be obtained largely 

 through voluntary returns from individual fishermen and clubs, and 

 so far the response has been excellent. Several hundred record books 

 have been distributed and good returns are coming in. 



Through such studies as these and an attempted correlation with en- 

 vironmental conditions, we may be able to provide answers to the 

 problem. 



