NOTES ON THE FISHERIES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 
229 
small enough for use iu quarter-pound cans were obtained, but during the last two 
years of the cannery’s existence no sardines of size suitable for ‘^quarter oils” could 
be had. This was tlie chief reason for closing the Avorks. 
Sardine fishing and canning at San Pedro . — In June I made a Ausit to a sardine 
cannery at San Pedro, in Los Angeles County, which had been established in Decem- 
ber, 1893, and is now the only cannery of the kind on the AA est coast. Sardine-canning 
is a part of the business of the California Fish Company, of Los Angeles. Through 
the courtesy of the officers of the company I was enabled to inspect the factory, obtain 
full knoAAdedge regarding the methods pursued, and gain much Amluable information 
relating to the tishery carried on for sup])lying the raw material to the cannery. 
Fishing for the San Pedro cannery is carried on by a vessel of 22 tons’ burden, the 
motive power of which is furnished by ga.soline. The engine has 24-horse power, which 
is produced by the hourly consumption of one dollar’s worth of gasoline. The Amssel 
is sloop-rigged, and Avhen on the fishing- grounds jogs along under sail Avhile looking 
for fish. Its Amine is $5,000. SeAmn men constitute the crew, including a cook. 
The vessel carries two purse seines, one of which is used for sardines, the other 
for mackerel; it is by this apparatus that all the fish are taken. A seine boat and a 
tender form a part of the equipment. The sardine seine is 120 fathoms long, 50 feet 
deep, and has a 1-inch (stretch) mesh; its value is about $800. 
The fishing-grounds resorted to by the Amssel are San Pedro Bay, off Eedondo 
Beach, and around the Catalina Islands. The last named are tiie best groAinds, and 
fish are there often found in large quantities close inshore in sheltered places. 
After the sardines are imrsed up in the seine they are bailed into the vessel by 
means of a hand windlass. They are not dumped in the hold, but are retained on 
deck by means of a gunwale 12 to 10 inches high. Pending their discharge at the 
cannery a little salt is spread over them. 
The lay on the vessel is as follows: Tlie owners furnish proAusions, fuel, apparatus, 
etc., and meet all running expenses, and pay 1 cent a pound for the fish deli\mred 
at the cannery. The captain and cook are paid salaries of $20 and $15 per month, 
respectively, and the value of the fish is divided among the entire crew. The Amssel, 
hoAvever, draws half the share, so that the price actually paid for the fish is one-half 
cent a pound. In May, 1894, the crew shared about $75 each. 
In this region sardines are found throughout the year. They “shoAv” at the sur- 
face at times, and thus iiermit the use of the purse seine. They sometimes go in 
immense schools. Single hauls of several tons are often made, and 10 tons have on 
seAmral occasions been taken at a single set of the seine, such a catch being obtained 
about May 1, 1894. In December, 1893, several A^ery large bodies of sardines were 
observed, and a haul of 10 tons of small-sized fish was taken. From January to June 
the fish appear to gradually increase in numbers. Some schools are made up of 
fish of uniform size, while in others they are mixed. The smallest fish caught are 4 
inches long, the largest 12 inches, the average 7 inches. 
The-conditioii of the fish as regards fatness varies considerably Avith the season. 
Mr. J. H. Lapham, the president of the fish company operating the cannery, states 
that iu December, 1893, Avhen the canning began, the smaller fish were poor while the 
larger ones were fat. In January and February the conditions were about the same. 
In March the smaller fish began to improve, continued to grow fatter through April 
and May, and in June sardines in excellent condition suitable for “ quarters oils ” were 
taken. In May, 4 or 5 tons of large fish that were very poor were seined on one occa- 
