weight); therefore, they were tabulated with the 

 skipjack tuna catch. We considered that all 

 fishing effort was expended with the primary 

 purpose of catching skipjack tuna regardless of 

 the species actually caught. 



We agreed with the captains that the data 

 collected would not be traceable to individual 

 vessels so as to preserve anonymity; therefore 

 we grouped the data or identified them with 

 vessel code letters. 



BAITING 



The generalized block diagram in figure 1 

 shows the sequence of events which leads to a 

 catch of skipjack tuna by a vessel. Basically, 

 it -begins with a period of baiting. ("Bait" and 

 "baiting" are colloquial terms which refer to 

 the catching of bait.) Day baiting usually starts 

 at dawn and ends when sufficient bait has been 

 captured. If little or no bait is caught during 

 the day, the vessel may attempt night baiting; if 

 thatproves unproductive, day baitingis resumed. 



Within the Hawaiian Islands, there are sev- 

 eral baiting grounds, but two of the major ones, 

 which provide roughly two-thirds of the State's 



NIGHT BAIT 



DAY BAIT 



BAIT RESTING 



DEPART 



SCOUT 



NO SCHOOLS 

 SIGHTED 



SCHOOL SIGHTED 



PURSUED 



NOT PURSUED 



CHUMMED 



NO RESPONSE 



RESPONSE 



ABANDONED 



FISHED 



RETURN TO PORT 



Figure 1. — Block diagram of baiting and 

 fishing operation. 



bait production (Yamashita, 1958), are on Oahu. 

 There is Kaneohe Bay on the windward side of 

 the island and Pearl Harbor on the leeward 

 (fig. 2). A third site of some importance, par- 

 ticularly for night baiting, is Keehi Lagoon, 

 also on the leeward side. 



Having baiting grounds on windward and lee- 

 ward Oahu has certain advantages. When fish- 

 ing intensifies in windward Oahu waters, the 

 vessels bait at Kaneohe Bay and return there 

 after fishing to unload their catches, which are 

 trucked to leeward Oahu where the markets and 

 cannery are located. When fishing intensifies 

 in leeward waters, the vessels bait at Pearl 

 Harbor and at Keehi Lagoon and return after 

 fishing to Kewalo Basin, home port of Oahu 

 vessels and the site of the cannery. 



Figure 2. — Baiting areas on Oahu. 



In 1948-66, bait production ranged from 

 23,622 to 49,712 buckets with an average of 

 36,465 buckets annually. Contributing 93 per- 

 cent of the bait catch, the small (40-60 mm.), 

 fragile Hawaiian anchovy locally called nehu, 

 Stolephorus purpureus , is captured day and 

 night and is the species preferred above all 

 others by the skipjack tuna fishermen because 

 it possesses most of the qualities of a good 

 baitfish. Almost all the remainder of the bait 

 catch is made up of silverside or iao, Pranesus 

 insularum ; other species sometimes used as 

 bait constitute less than 1 percent of the bait 

 catch. 



Day Baiting 



Day baiting, which usually begins at daybreak, 

 frequently lasts for about 3 hours. The fisher- 



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