at the head of a steep gorge and the problem of get- 

 ting fish by both gorge and dam was a difficult one. 



Establishment of a run by transplanting ripe adults 

 into such a stream was attempted. In cooperation with 

 the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Coleman Station 

 personnel, 1,428 adult king salmon were trapped at 

 Keswick Dam on the Sacramento River, and released 

 in Clear Creek above the dam. 



Survey crews observed later, and some were cap- 

 tured for identification. Complete results of this ex- 

 periment will not be available until after 1957, when 

 most of the fish that are going to return will have 

 done so. By the time the fish return, the department 

 plans to have an adequate fish ladder completed 

 through the gorge and over the dam. 



JACK MACKEREL 



The meteoric rise of the jack mackerel fishery in 

 1947 was attributable in a large part to the almost 

 complete failure of the sardine fishery and the dimin- 

 ishing Pacific mackerel landings. A second important 

 factor was the increased use of depth-sounding devices 

 for locating schools of fish not visible at the surface. 



After seven years of fairly heavy fishing effort the 

 fishery is now confined almost exclusively to Southern 

 California because the jack mackerel have disappeared 

 from other waters. During the years 1947 to 1950, 

 Monterey was a fairly important port of landing but 

 since 1950 the contribution from that area has been of 

 little significance. The catch since 1947 has fluctuated 

 almost yearly" with little correlation to observed con- 

 ditions. 



Preliminary age work completed during the bien- 

 nium indicates the commercial fishery is largely de- 

 pendent upon fish ranging from one to four years of 

 age. Fish of this age vary in size from about five to 14 

 inches. Each year, however, several purse seine loads 

 of very large jack mackerel are taken and these fish, 

 ranging in length from 20 to 25 inches, appear to be 

 from 10 to 20 or 25 years old. These very large jack 

 mackerel have become an important constituent in 

 the Southern California sportfisherman's bag during 

 late spring and early summer of the past two years. 



THE ANCHOVY FISHERY 



Scientists, commercial fishermen and sportsmen have 

 been keeping a close watch and are feeling some de- 

 gree of alarm over the diminishing stock of anchovies 

 off the California coast. This feeling reached a. climax 

 after the 1952 season of heavy pressure off Central 

 California when the anchovy stocks reached a point of 

 diminishing return to the fishermen, and there were 

 not enough large schools of the species to make fishing 

 profitable on a steady basis. Since the summer of 1953 

 all anchovies processed in Central California packing 

 plants have been trucked from Southern California due 

 to the lack of the once abundant stocks nearby. 





J 7 •* W 



The Poiier seine, a new type of net used in daytime airplane fishing, is 

 highly efFicient for catching anchovies, sardines and /acfc mocfcere/. Wings 

 of the net are liieing hauled over the stern with vertical power gurdies. 



For years the anchovy has been of importance in the 

 commercial and bait fisheries of California. From 1916 

 to 1946 most of the catch was used for bait purposes— 

 for live bait in the Southern California sport fishery, 

 for salted dead bait in both the sport fishery and in the 

 albacore fishery, and for use as ground chum by the 

 Pacific mackerel scoop fishermen. 



During the period from 1916 to 1946 only small 

 amounts of anchovies were used for food and for re- 

 duction. In 1921 teeth were put into a law prohibiting 

 the use of anchovies for reduction purposes. It was felt 

 that such protection was needed to safeguard the 

 stocks of this species, both because of its importance 

 commercially and because of its importance as a forage 

 fish for sport and commercially important predatory 

 species. 



Experimental Packs Made 



From 1946 on, with the advent of the drastic de- 

 crease in sizes of the sardine and Pacific mackerel 

 stocks along the Pacific Coast, there arose the immedi- 

 ate need for packs of other species to supply domestic 

 and foreign markets. Inasmuch as anchovy stocks ap- 

 peared large enough and could be taken with current 

 sardine fishing methods many experimental packs were 

 made. They met with serious domestic sales resistance 

 but the anchovy "sardine style" pack in tomato sauce 

 met with favorable response in several Asiatic and 

 South American countries. The industry then centered 

 its activities in processing styles that would sell readily 

 on the export market. 



Coincident with the development of anchovy can- 

 ning, the use of fishery products for pet foods ex- 

 panded rapidly. Jack mackerel was the main constitu- 



