INVESTIGATIONS OF THE ALBATROSS. 
459 
The fishermen of San Pedro and adjacent places are mostly Scandin- 
avians, Portuguese, and Italians, with the Scandinavians in the major- 
ity. Many of the Italians fish about San Clemente and Santa Catalina 
Islands, while those of other nationalities pay little attention to those 
islands, resorting chiefly to South Bank. The Italians have a few fish- 
houses and a flake-yard on Santa Catalina, where they dry fish in sum- 
mer. No attempt is made to split and dry fish in the winter, and during 
that season the fishermen remain mostly on the inshore grounds. A 
favorite spot for summer fishing lies 1J miles from the eastern end of 
Santa Catalina Island. Large quantities of red rock -cod are taken there, 
and also whitefish ( Gaulolatilus princeps) and fat-heads ( Trochocopus 
pulcher) at certain seasons. 
Hand-lines only are used for bottom fishing in this region. Trawl 
lines would be of little service on the rocky patches, as the fishing areas 
are of small extent and much of the trawl would be spread out over 
barren ground. The gear is rigged in the same manner as that of the 
hand-line fishermen of San Diego. 
The San Pedro fishermen state that bonito strike this part of the 
coast the first of March and mackerel a month later. The method of 
catching them here, as previously explained, is by means of troll lines 
and gill nets. The fishermen also affirm that they have never seen 
mackerel schooling in the vicinity of South Bank, although herring and 
sea bass frequently school in large bodies. This is, however, the region 
from which most of the schools of mackerel have been reported by 
passing vessels. These reports are not unnatural in view of the fact 
that even an experienced eye is often deceived in attempting to distin- 
guish between schools of mackerel and herring, and it is sometimes im- 
possible to determine the species until specimens have actually been 
taken in the nets. Both mackerel and herring vary somewhat in their 
movements at different times. In the majority of cases, mackerel, when 
frightened, will “ rush,” as it is called, splashing the water with their 
tails in their haste to get away, but frequently they sink quietly below 
the surface. Herring, when schooling, on the contrary, often make a 
noise like falling rain upon the surface, which gives the fishermen a clew 
to the species, but this habit is far from universal. These deceptive 
appearances, misleading at times even to old fishermen, make it diffi- 
cult to distinguish the composition of a school of fish from the deck of 
a rapidly passing vessel, and, until more authentic information is ob- 
tained, little credence can be given to the numerous reports concerning 
the abundance of mackerel off the southern part of California. 
Santa Barbara Islands and Channel . — After leaving South Bank the 
ship was headed for Santa Barbara, where she arrived ou the morning 
of February 6. At this place we took on board Mr. A, Larco, an ex- 
perienced fisherman, as a guide to the region, and immediately pro- 
ceeded to Santa Cruz Island. A sh^rt time was spent in trying to locate 
a shallow spot of fishing ground off the eastern end of the island near 
