September 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



29 



1,160 fathoms with the 70-foot shrimp trawl 

 resulted in catches of 407 and 314 pounds in 

 1.0 and 1.2 hours of towing, respectively. 

 The tow at 1,160 fathoms was the deepest 

 made on the Columbia River trackline. A 

 scope ratio of only 1.4:1 was successful. 



The deep-water catches consisted largely 

 of rattails (Coryphaenoides acrolepis and 

 pectoralis ), longfinned cod ( Antiraora rostra- 

 ta), and channel rockfish (Sebastolobus al- 

 tlvelis ). An exception to this pattern was a 

 407 -pound catch made at 500 fathoms con- 

 taining 300 pounds of sablefish averaging 52 

 centimeters (21 inches) in length. 



Difficulty was experienced in retrieving 

 the 94-foot small-mesh fish trawl and 70- 

 foot shrimp trawl from deep water. On two 

 occasions ruptured hydraulic lines inter- 

 rupted the hauling operation. 



OTHER SAMPLING AND OBSERVATIONS: 

 Two tows of 1.0 and 1.5 hours duration made 

 withthe 70 -foot shrimp trawl at 122 and 98-101 

 fathoms, respectively, yielded catches of 

 less than 50 pounds. Pacific ocean perch 

 dominated those catches. Two other tows 

 with the same gear at 11-14 fathoms yielded 

 293 and 331 pounds in 0.3 and 0.4 hours of 

 towing, respectively. Hake was the princi- 

 pal species in the latter two hauls. 



Note: See Commercial Fisheries Review , February 1966 p. 27. 



Oceanography 



INTERIOR DEPARTMENT NAMES 

 RESEARCH OCEANOGRAPHER TO 

 COORDINATE EASTROPAC EXPEDITION: 

 Dr. Warren S. Wooster of the University 

 of California was named by the Department 

 of the Interior's Bureau of Commercial 

 Fisheries to coordinate the largest explor- 

 atory oceanographic expedition ever planned 

 in the eastern tropical Pacific (EASTROPAC), 

 it was announced July 14, 1966. 



Dr. Wooster, internationally recognized 

 research oceanographer, teacher, and ad- 

 ministrator, is a professor at the Univer- 

 sity's Scripps Institution of Oceanography 

 at La Jolla, Calif., and will continue some 

 of his academic duties while on special as- 

 signment with the Bureau. 



Wooster will be coordinator for EASTRO- 

 PAC, the designation for the coming multi- 



agency investigation of the oceanic region 

 stretching south from San Diego, Calif., to 

 northern Chile and westward for 2,000 to 

 4,000 miles, said Donald L. McKernan, 

 Bureau Director. The main purpose of the 

 project, which will begin in early 1967 and 

 continue for about 18 months, will be to gain 

 knowledge of climatic variations in the re- 

 gion and their bearing on fishery resources. 

 The Bureau Director said, "The solution of 

 many problems relating to fisheries, weather 

 forecasting, and defense depends on an under- 

 standing of the changing ocean environment." 



The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries will 

 be responsible for coordinating the oceanog- 

 raphic program. Participation is expected 

 from Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and the Inter- 

 American Tropical Tuna Commission. The 

 Smithsonian Institution, the Environmental 

 Science Services Administration (ESSA) of 

 the Department of Commerce, Texas A & M 

 College, Oregon State University and the 

 U. S. Coast Guard are also expected to par- 

 ticipate. 



Wooster received his doctor of science 

 degree from the University of California, 

 San Diego. He is a member of several pro- 

 fessional societies and serves on a number 

 of national and international committees con- 

 cerned with the marine sciences. He spent 

 a year in Lima, Peru, as the first director 

 of Peru's oceanographic and fishery research 

 laboratory, which he organized. He was in 

 Paris from 1961-1963 as Director, Office of 

 Oceanography, United Nations Educational, 

 Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNES- 

 CO), and Secretary of the Intergovernmental 

 Oceanographic Commission. 



***** 



NEWEST RESEARCH VESSEL 

 "OCEANOGRAPHER" COMMISSIONED : 

 The oceanographic research vessel, 

 Oceanographer , was commissioned on July 

 13, 196b, when it was turned over to the 

 Coast and Geodetic Survey of the Environ- 

 mental Science Services Administration 

 (ESSA), U. S. Department of Commerce. 



The Oceanographer is the largest, most 

 modern, and most completely automated 

 vessel built in the United States to probe the 

 secrets of the deep sea. The $9.2 million 

 "floating laboratory" will bring to 14 the 

 number of vessels operated by the Coast and 

 Geodetic Survey. 



