108 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
University, and Dr. William E. Ritter, professor of zoology in the 
University of California. ; 
The investigations were begun at San Diego March 1, 1904, and 
were carried on in that vicinity for more than one month. Various 
localities on that part of the coast were examined, especially Cabral 
Bank and vicinity and the deep water beyond the 2,000-fathom curve. 
La Jolla submerged valley and the region about Coronado Island 
also received attention. In all, 82 dredging and 12 plankton stations 
were occupied, and plankton work was done at many of the other sta- 
tions. Considerable attention was given to certain hydrographic mat- 
ters, and current observations were continued for several days on and 
in the vicinity of Cabral Bank with interesting results. Numerous 
soundings in this locality resulted in establishing the extension of 
Cabral Bank several miles farther northward than it appears on the 
Coast Survey charts. As this bank is the chief fishing ground in the 
San Diego district, this discovery is regarded as one of the most 
important results of the month’s work. 
The few dredge hauls made beyond the 2000-fathom curve proved 
of much interest. The abundance of life and the character and con- 
formation of the bottom indicate this to be a field promising very 
rich results. Mention should also be made of the few hauls in the 
1000-fathom sink between Point Loma and Cortez Bank. These 
mark a locality which also promises interesting results for future 
examination. 
Certain areas, particularly the Coronado submerged valley, were 
found to be very rich in bottom life, while others proved rather bar- 
ren. One of the interesting problems for future inquiry in this 
region will be to determine accurately the areas of distribution and 
to correlate this distribution with the conformation of the bottom and 
the character of the bottom deposits. 
The groups of animals most abundantly represented, both as to 
species and genera, and individuals, were found to be the glass sponges, 
the actinians, all the classes of echinoderms excepting the crinoids, 
and the crustaceans. The fish fauna is not particularly rich nor varied. 
A large quantity of plankton material was collected, though the work 
in this field was less satisfactory than the bottom collecting. 
After the completion of the work about San Diego, some investiga- 
tions were made off the Santa Barbara Islands in order to connect the 
San Diego work with the investigations which were to be taken up at 
Monterey Bay. 
The survey of Monterey Bay was carefully planned, and occupied 
the remainder of the fiscal year. The Coast Survey signal stations 
were reestablished, thus making it possible for all dredging and other 
stations occupied by the A/batross to be accurately indicated upon 
the chart. The geographic distribution of the various species inhab- 
