\ 



creased knowledge and understanding of the sardine. 

 Research techniques developed by the department's 

 Marine Fisheries Branch as well as the other cooperat- 

 ing agencies have begun to pay real dividends. A com- 

 bination of egg and larvae surveys as well as preseason 

 censuses on young and adult fish along the coast have 

 contributed to very accurate catch predictions for the 

 past three years. The research methods used in the in- 

 vestigation of the sardine have become models for fish- 

 eries investigators throughout the \\orld. 



Airplanes Aid Biologists 



In addition to the routine young and adult fish sur- 

 veys along the coast the Marine Fisheries Branch has 

 begun to use department airplanes to aid the ship- 

 board biologists locate and assess fish concentrations. 

 As a further aid in collecting fish samples at sea, the 

 branch has been developing electro-fishing devices for 

 the attraction and capture of samples of fish. Although 

 this Mork is still in the developmental stage, the results 

 thus far have been most encouraging. 



MACKEREL FISHERY 



During most of the biennium landings of Pacific 

 mackerel and jack mackerel were almost completely 

 respondent to market demand. Except for the first 

 few months of the two-year period when there was 

 an actual shortage of both species in local w aters, the 

 supply of mackerel seems to have exceeded the con- 

 sistently poor market demand. 



Before the opening of sardine fishing in October of 

 1954, and following two years of complete sardine 

 failure, fishermen \\ere receiving as high as 185 per 

 ton for Pacifies and ISO per ton for jacks. By 1955 

 the price had been reduced to |45 and $42.50 respec- 

 tively and landings were held down by lack of orders 

 and cannery-imposed tonnage limits for each boat. 



This failing market for canned mackerel is attribu- 

 table to several obvious factors. In former years the 

 product, inexpensively processed and marketed, pro- 

 vided a cheap protein food for the lower economic 

 groups in the United States and was well received in 

 many countries of the Far East and South America. 

 Since the steady rise of the American standard of liv- 

 ing those families who may have bought canned mack- 

 erel not out of choice but rather out of necessity can 

 now afford meat or more expensive fish products. In 

 the face of this diminishing domestic market has been 

 the steady rise in costs for the canner and a serious 

 increase in foreign competition for overseas markets. 



Competition Tough 



South African processors can deliver canned mack- 

 erel to the Orient at a much more attractive price and 

 the product is equal to the U. S. product in every re- 

 spect. Until U. S. canners can make canned mackerel 

 more attractive to the American consumer or devise 

 means to meet foreign competition the industry will 

 continue to be in a difficult condition. 



Blanket nef used by research vessels in obtaining samples of anchovies, 



sardines and mackerel. Used at night, the fish are attracted to the area 



by the suspended light. 



(Fish and Game Photo by Robert Collyer) 



In the case of Pacific mackerel, market conditions 

 have had a profound effect on survival of the small 

 one- to three-man scoop boats. This fishery which 

 once supported hundreds of independent fishermen 

 and from 1939 to 1952 supplied more fish than the 

 purse seine fleet, is virtually nonexistent. The market 

 is now casiK' supplied \\ith all the fish needed more 

 economically and often in better condition, from the 

 purse seine fleet. 



Prior to the 1954-55 season there was serious con- 

 cern over the diminishing stocks of Pacific mackerel. 

 The fishery was becoming more and more dependent 

 upon the success of incoming year classes. The back- 

 log of older mature fish in the population was at a 

 seriously low level. Since 1947, between one-third and 

 one-half of the total number of fish contributed by 

 an\- single year class were captured before they had 

 reached an age of two years and sexual maturity. Only 

 se\en-tenths of 1 percent of the 44,800,000 fish caught 

 during the 1954-55 season were older than 36 months. 



Market Decline 



The recent decline in market demand for mackerel 

 may well prove to be the major factor in any future 

 increase in the size of the Pacific mackerel population. 

 The 1953 year class, which has dominated in the catch 

 since before they were a year old, has been a rather 

 successful one. These fish, since the demand on them 

 is now low, are expected to reproduce successfully in 

 numbers for future generations. 



E.xpanding knowledge on the jack mackerel indi- 

 cates that this fishery is not now and has never been 

 seriously threatened by man's demands. It has long 

 been known that these fish which most commonly 

 enter coastal waters— the two, three, and four 

 year olds— represent only a fringe of the population. 

 Enough isolated catches of very large old fish were 

 taken annuall\- by both purse seiners and sport an- 

 glers to show that there is a residual stock of mature 

 fish be\ond the range of the fishery. Recent evi- 



