Unloading part of a day's catch of ocean shrimp of Bodega Bay. 



(,Fish and Game Photo by D. \V. McFadden) 



polluted conditions of much otherwise usable area. 

 Only in the last decade has it been revived. 



OCEAN SHRIMP 



The infant ocean shrimp fishery of 1952 continued 

 to grow this biennium. This relatively new commer- 

 cial fishery was established as a result of exploratory 

 and development work of the Marine Fisheries Branch. 



Production grew from 206,000 pounds in 1952 to 

 300,000 in 1954. In 1955 a total of 855,000 pounds of 

 ocean shrimp \\ as taken in California waters, of which 

 501,000 pounds were landed in Crescent City. Bodega 

 Ba\' shrimpers brought in 330,000 pounds but only 

 1,446 pounds were delivered in iMorro Bay. 



The shrimp yield through June 30, 1956, was 419,- 

 000 pounds, which represents a 22 percent increase 

 over the amount landed in a similar period in 1955. 

 The Crescent City shrimp fleet again led production 

 w ith 308,000 pounds, whereas Bodega Bay fishermen 

 caught 111,000 pounds. As a conservation measure the 

 Morro Bay area \\as closed in 1956 to commercial 

 shrimp fishing b\^ the Fish and Game Commission 

 until such time as the shrimp stocks in that area reach 

 a safe harvestable level. 



Alesh Experiments 



Shrimp net mesh testing experiments were con- 

 ducted at sea aboard the N. B. Scofield in 1956. Fur- 

 ther mesh size testing is scheduled in 1957 to obtain 

 sufficient data to establish the optimum mesh size for 

 commercial shrimp net regulations. 



Through the cooperation of commercial fishermen, 

 man\' samples of the shrimp catch were taken in the 

 Bodega Bay and Crescent City areas for size composi- 

 tion anahsis. 



A study of the grow th rate and sexual maturity of 

 the ocean shrimp has been completed under direction 

 of the department. 



PISMO CLAMS 



From the annual Pismo clam censuses conducted in 

 the winters of 1954 and 1955 at Pismo Beach and 

 Morro Bay, it has been determined that the number 

 of clams available to the average digger will be in 

 short supply within the immediate forseeable future. 



From these and previous censuses it is obvious that 

 clam recruitment at Pismo Beach has been extremely 

 poor since 1947, while at Morro Bay no \\orthwhile 

 sets have occurred since 1944. 



Because it takes from 7 to 10 years before most of 

 the clams from any particular year class attain the 

 legal size of five inches, there will be a period of sev- 

 eral \ears (from the time the present supply runs out 

 and until a new set attains legal size) when clam dig- 

 ging will result in an extremely poor yield. 



At no time during the history of the Pismo clam 

 census (since 1923) has there been such a prolonged 

 period of poor setting. 



Causes Unknown 



Cause or causes of poor survival are unknown but 

 could be attributed to a number of factors such as 

 ad\erse currents, rapid temperature changes at a criti- 

 cal period in larval development, salinities unsuitable 

 for successful setting, and extreme predation during 

 larval stages. 



PELAGIC FISHERIES 



California fishermen exploiting the tuna resources of 

 the eastern Pacific Ocean range from British Columbia 

 to Peru in quest of their quarr\'. The fishermen utilize 

 three tvpes of gear in taking four different species of 

 fish. 



Albacore, erratic in occurence and numbers, are 

 taken seasonally from June to November by small 

 \essels using trolling gear in the temperate waters 

 from central Baja California north to British Colum- 

 bia. Yellowfin and skipjack are fished throughout the 

 \-ear by long ranging bait boats and purse seiners from 

 Baja California south to Peru. 



Bluefin tuna are sought commercially only by purse 

 seiners because of their dense schooling habits and 

 reluctance to bite at lures. Bluefin tuna are the mys- 

 tery fish of the group, for the least is known about 

 them. 



TUNA PRODUCTION 



Prior to 1924, the industry averaged about 25,000,- 

 000 pounds annually. Since that time there has been 

 a stead\ increase as markets developed with greater 

 acceptance of the product. 



The problems of the tuna industry during the bien- 

 nium were of a complex nature, centering primarily 

 about the high cost of domestic production and stiff 

 competition from foreign producers. Readjustments 

 were manifest in cutbacks in the price of raw fish and 

 in the over-all reduction in volume. The latter was 

 accomplished by intricate rotation systems for vessel 



