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DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME 



while it is operating on the bottom. Various mesh 

 sizes were checked for escapement of small flatfish 

 during extensive mesh-testing experiments aboard the 

 survey vessel, .V. B. Scoficld, in the fall of 1952, off 

 the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. As 

 a result of these experiments the Pacific Marine Fish- 

 eries Commission recommended that a 4/4 -inch mini- 

 mum mesh regulation for otter trawl nets be adopted 

 by the three Pacific Coast states. 



The recommendation presented problems when ap- 

 plied to certain types of specialized trawl netting, such 

 as "hog ring cod-ends" and "double cod-ends." 



The practice of stapling together strips of manila 

 line with metal hog ring clips to form webbing is a 

 recent innovation in California. The webbing is used 

 in the making of the cod-end or rear portion of the 

 trawl net— therefore the term "hog ring cod-end." 

 Double cod-ends are composed of two walls of web- 

 bing, making it essentially a cod-end within a cod-end, 

 instead of the usual one wall of mesh webbing cod- 

 end. Both types gf webbing give greater strength and 

 wear resistance, but due to their additional bulk and 

 reduced flexibility, the size of the fish retained by the 

 gear is smaller than that retained by the conventional 

 single mesh cotton web cod-end. 



These additional problems warranted joint action by 

 the States of California, Oregon, and Washington 

 through the auspices of the Pacific Marine Fisheries 

 Commission, and steps were undertaken to solve them. 



Net Mesh Experiments 



The survey vessel, N. B. Scofield, completed exten- 

 sive mesh-testing experiments during the spring of 

 1954 during which time a comparison was made in size 

 of fish retained between conventional single cotton 

 web cod-end and the hog ring and double cod-end. 

 Results of these tests are being analyzed and will be 



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used as the basis for future regulations to protect im- 

 mature fish. 



Extensive experimental commercial fishing gear de- 

 velopment work has been conducted by the bottom 

 fisheries staff during 1953. Development was begun on 

 a new mid-water trawl and preliminary tests on this 

 gear were made in 1953. This gear, which is similar to 

 an otter trawl, opens fishing in the mid-depths of the 

 ocean, an area heretofore not extensively fished. 



The study of trawler boat logs was continued to en- 

 able the bottom fishery staff to follow the changing 

 trends in species caught, location of fishing areas, and 

 the poundages landed. This information will aid in the 

 adoption of constructive trawl fishery legislation. 



NEW SHRIMP FISHERY 



A new commercial shrimp fishery for California has 

 been established since the 1950-1952 biennium. This 

 new fishery is the result of exploratory work by the 

 survey vessel, N. B. Scofield, in 1950, 1951, and 1953, 

 during which time the quantity and extent of the 

 shrimp beds off the California Coast were mapped. 

 Shrimp beds were found off Pt. Buchon, Bodega Bay^ 

 Shelter Cove, and Pt. St. George in 1950 and 1951. In 

 1953 additional exploratory work revealed a southern 

 extension of the Pt. Buchon bed, and small beds of 

 shrimp were located off Gaviota and Santa Monica. 



The first year of commercial ocean shrimp fishing 

 (1952) saw 206,000 pounds landed in California, of 

 which 198,000 pounds were caught off Pt. Buchon and 

 processed at Morro Bay. Processing the product to its 

 final cooked and peeled form provided employment 

 for as many as 65 people in this area. Catches at Bodega 

 Bay and Crescent City were only about 3,500 pounds 

 each, due to extensive problems in fishing techniques. 



The 1953 ocean shrimp catch increased to 295,000 

 pounds. Morro Bay landings were 199,000; Bodega 

 Bay, 51,000; and Crescent City, 45,000 pounds. Many 

 of the fishing and processing problems had been 

 solved, and the central and northern areas whose po- 

 tentials are by far the greatest were showing signs of 

 extensive production possibilities. 



The 1954 season opening on May 1st saw fishing 

 activity on the beds off Morro Bay, Bodega Bay, and 

 Crescent City. The total catch of shrimp to June 30, 

 1954, was 106,000 pounds, with shrimp production 

 abnormally low at Morro Bay, good at Bodega Bay, 

 and the majority of the State's 1954 production landed 

 at Crescent City. 



THE SALTON SEA 



The Salton Sea, California's largest inland body of 

 water, long has been considered a potential fisherman's 

 paradise, but sporadic fish plantings beginning in 1929 



A beam trawt net, used in the bottom fishery loaded with shrimp^ 



