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graphical distribution of the catch for each month of 

 the fishing season. These records provided catch 

 location for 3,923 fish, but the fishing effort ex- 

 pended in catching this amount offish is not known. 

 These catch distribution data and sea surface tem- 

 perature data derived from airborne temperature 

 surveys were used in the calculation of the average 

 or mean catch temperature off San Diego for all 

 striped marlin caught during the major months of 

 fishing for the years 1963 through 1967. 



The cooperation of the San Diego Marlin Club in 

 allowing use of its catch records is appreciated. 



Tackle Used: 

 3 Thread 

 3/6 . . 

 Light . 

 Medium 

 Heavy 

 Special 



Bait Used: 



D 

 □ 



□ 



• D 

 □ 



Flying Fish . . p 

 Live Bait . . . (^^ £ 

 Other 



J II 



% 



Weigh M«b 



Weigh Mister 



Figure 1. — Weight slip used by the San Diego Marlin 

 Club, San Diego, California. 



of water temperature on the distribution of scom- 

 brid fishes common to the water off southern 

 California and Baja California. 



There are many physical and biological factors 

 that can affect the distribution of fishes. Tempera- 

 ture, salinity, turbidity, and food supply (plankton 

 and forage species) are but a few of these factors. 

 However, knowledge of the precise degree to which 

 one or a combination of factors affect distribution is 

 not known. Temperature as one of the easily mea- 

 sured factors has been shown in some instances to 

 affect distribution of organisms. 



Observations of sea surface temperature prior to 

 and immediately after the start of good fishing might 

 give us some clues as to thermal conditions that 

 may be contributing to successful striped marlin 

 fishing. In this paper the temporal and geographical 

 distribution of striped marlin catches off San Diego 

 from 1963 to 1967 are described, and the relation of 

 surface water temperature to fishing success during 

 the period 1963 to 1970 is examined. 



Since more striped marlin were landed at the San 

 Diego Marlin Club than at any other location, I 

 used their catch records to determine the geo- 



CATCH DISTRIBUTION 



The temporal catch distribution for the 1963 to 

 1967 period is shown in Table 1. Catch records in- 

 dicate that August, September, and October are the 

 months having the major catches of striped marlin. 

 Few are caught in July, and usually the November 

 catch is minor. Most fish are caught between mid- 

 August and mid-October, with fishing during the 

 first half of September yielding more catch than any 

 other half-month period. Peak annual catches were 

 recorded for every biweekly period, 16-31 August 

 through 1-15 October, for the years 1963 to 1967. 



Table 1.— Striped marlin catch landed at the San Diego 

 Marlin Club during half-month periods, July-November, 

 1963-1967 



Month 



1st half 



2nd half 



Monthly total 



July 







31 



31 



August 



163 



841 



1.004 



September 



1,279 



612 



1,891 



October 



450 



250 



700 



November 



297 







297 







Total 



3,923 



For the months of August, September, and Oc- 

 tober, catch locations of striped marlin were plotted 

 on a chart divided into block areas of 10-minute 

 latitude by longitude dimension. These areas are 

 identical to the block area system used by the 

 California Department of Fish and Game for de- 

 termining catch locations for commercial and party 

 boat catches (Young, 1963). The total catch over 

 the 5-yr period by block area is shown in Figure 2, 

 and the catch for each month is shown in Figures 

 3-5. Figure 2 shows that the major fishing area off 

 San Diego outlined by a dark border can be de- 

 scribed as being within the boundaries of lat. 32°20' 



189 



