Scale samples being taken during yellowfail tagging operations off 

 Guadalupe Island, Bo/'o California. 



ters this decision was regarded with gloom, but the 

 industry, engrossed in its own expansion, apparently 

 underrated its potential. 



The fleet operated at near capacity throughout the 

 biennium. The brief layover shortly after the period's 

 beginning was the one exception. Various members of 

 the fleet engaged in exploration for new fishing 

 grounds and experimented \\ith gear new to the tuna 

 fishery of the Eastern Pacific. Vessel loss was materi- 

 ally reduced over the preceding biennium. 



In r\vo instances old reliable fishing grounds failed 

 to yield as in the past. The failure of the equatorial 

 fishing grounds off Central and South America in the 

 winter and spring of 1952-53 is associated with the 

 phenomenon known as "El Niiio" (a change in ocean 

 currents caused by weather conditions), which is a 

 complete reversal of usual meteorological and oceano- 

 graphic conditions. On the other hand, there is no 

 ready explanation for the poor fishing experienced by 

 the purse seine fleet in the Gulf of California in the 

 spring of 1954. Compensating for these failures was 

 the discovery of a new fishing bank off southern Peru, 

 representing a southern extension of the South Ameri- 

 can fishing grounds. 



Experiments with new gear and fishing aids included 

 design of a rapid-closing purse seine net; use of suction 

 pumps for speed in transferring bait aboard bait boats; 

 trials with Japanese long-line gear for subsurface fish 

 in established fishing grounds as well as in new areas; 

 and the use of new electronic devices such as fish 

 scanar, fishlupe, etc., which enable the fisherman to 

 find and follow subsurface schools of fish. 



Tuna research forged ahead during the biennium, 

 using available resources to the fullest to meet the 

 challenge of a growing industry. A full scale tagging 

 program was inaugurated to stud\- the migratory pat- 



terns and rate of growth of yellowfin tuna, skipjack 

 and albacore. Results have been spectacular. The trans- 

 Pacific migration of albacore was revealed when an 

 albacore, tagged off Santa Catalina Island, was recov- 

 ered 324 days later 500 miles southwest of Tokyo, 

 Japan. Two tagged albacore, released off Guadalupe 

 Island, Mexico, in August, 1953, were recovered in 

 February, 1954, near Midway Island, in the mid- 

 Pacific Ocean, by Japanese long-line fishermen. The 

 growth potential of yellowfin tuna was demonstrated 

 with the recovery of a tagged fish at liberty for one 

 )'ear, which had gained 25 pounds. 



Picture Not Complete 



While some of the recoveries have been outstanding 

 in themselves, the over-all recovery rate is insufficient 

 as yet to give a complete picture of the migrational 

 patterns of the various species. In an attempt to in- 

 crease the returns, the tagging program was expanded 

 greatly ear the close of the biennium. 



Th; program of exploratory fishing and gear devel- 

 opment was channeled toward the search for subsur- 

 face stocks of tuna and the whereabouts of albacore in 

 the off season. The M. V. N. B. Scofield carried on 

 exploration in the equatorial waters off Central and 

 South America in cooperation with the Inter-Ameri- 

 can Tropical Tuna Commission and Scripps Institution 

 of Oceanography. A complete report was being pre- 

 pared for publication at the close of the biennium. 



The search for albacore with the M. V. N. B. Sco- 

 field in the off season (fall, winter and spring) demon- 

 strated that these fish are not off our coast during the 

 winter and early spring months. 



The studies on age and rate of growth of yellowfin, 

 skipjack, albacore and bluefin were continued through- 

 out the biennium. Analysis of the skipjack and albacore 

 length frequencies were started toward the end of the 

 period, with presentation anticipated in the near fu- 

 ture. 



SALMON 



Sport fishing for salmon in the ocean off California 

 has developed into big business within the past 10 

 years, and, according to estimates based on tagging 

 and sampling programs, rivals the commercial catch 

 not only in numbers of fish taken, but in economic 

 value to the State as well. The fishery is estimated to 

 be worth $8,000,000 annually. 



Salmon landings made by commercial fishermen in 

 California's ocean and river fisheries averaged 7.6 mil- 

 lion pounds during 1952 and 1953, representing an in- 

 crease of about 250,000 pounds per year over landings 

 of the previous two-year period. 



The increase was entirely due to ocean troll landings 

 which averaged 6.8 million pounds during the past two 

 calendar years. Decreases of about 240,000 pounds 



