tons of sardines--better than the almost zero mark of the last decade, but much less than the 37,000 tons in August 1945, the last good year of the California sardine fishery. Up to September 12, he pointed out, Monterey Bay itself has been yielding little or no tonnage and the processing plants along "Cannery Row" have had to depend on the 200-400 tons a day trucked in from Avila and Morro Bay. By contrast, in 1945 the September tonnage from Monterey waters alone reached a peak of 49,000 tons-then dropped off to the vanishing point in later years. This year's August tonnage handled by Monterey canners totaled 4,200 tons, with Morro Bay and San Simeon waters producing most of it. This figure, the Marine Resources Chief explained, was little more than a one-day catch when sardines were plentiful in Central California. "In former years, too," he said, "canners would not accept the small fish they're glad to get now. This year's sardine catch has been averaging a bit over eight inches (mostly year-old fish). "A normal fish population includes many age groups so that one or two poor spawning years would not greatly harm the fishery." "Now, however," he reported, "the sardines need a chance to rebuild their numbers in Central and Northern California waters without being exploited the moment they show signs of revival. "There is some concern among informed fishermen and canners," he warned, "that by heavily harvesting the year-old sardines we may be 'killing the goose' before it has a chance to lay its golden egg." Shrimp THREE TYPES OF SHRIMP NETS TESTED OFF CALIFORNIA AND OREGON COASTS (M/V N. B. Scofield Cruise 58-S-4): An exploratory survey of the continental shelf from Coos Bay to Winchester Bay, Ore., and from Trinidad Head to Redding Rock, Calif., was made by the California Department of Fish and Game research vessel N. B. Scofield from June 16-July 19, 1958, to test the incidental fish catch made with three types of shrimp nets: (1) semi-balloon trawl having 60-foot head rope, furnished by the Oregon Fish Commission and the Washington Department of Fisheries; (2) flat trawl having 40-foot head rope, furnished by the States of Oregon and Washington; and (3) beam trawl having 20-foot beam, furnished by California. Other objectives of the cruise were: (1) to take a systematic series of bathythermograph casts coincident with trawling; (2) collect live ocean shrimp, Pandalus jordani, for observation and experimentation; and (3) collect specimens as requested by other departmental investigations. Areas of Study: Two general study areas were established. The initial area was situated northwest of Coos Bay, Ore. This site was chosen for two reasons: (1) the Coos Bay area approximated the geographical center of distribution of the ocean shrimp (P. jordani); and (2) this region represented a centrally-located working area for the three state agencies of Washington, Oregon, and California participating in the study of the ocean shrimp fishing-gear problem. The second study area was situated off Trinidad Head, Calif. Each area of study was divided into a series of numbered blocks which were constructed to include an area inshore of the shrimp grounds, the shrimp grounds, and an offshore area. The Oregon shrimp grounds were divided into a series of 10 blocks, each five nautical miles square. The California shrimp area was divided into 24 blocks, each 2 nautical miles square. The block plan was designed to facilitate assessment of the most diverse shrimp-fish relationships as possible. It was not anticipated nor intended that shrimp would be captured in every tow. Gear Operations: For the net tests to be considered comparable the following criteria were used: (1) within each block area the fishing sequence for the three types of shrimp nets was randomly selected; (2) within each block all three units of gear were fished on the same date; (3) the fishing sequence for the blocks within a general study area was determined by random selection; and (4) the course heading, depth, and distance each net traveled was reasonably approximated. Catch Records: The catch of each tow was segregated by species. Weights were then taken of three general groups--shrimp, fish, and miscellaneous invertebrates. Fish specimens were enumerated and measured. Samples of shrimp were taken for study ashore. Work Summary: A total of 83 tows was made, 8 of which were considered not comparable; thus, there were 25 comparable tows made with each type of shrimp gear. Comparative tows were made at depths ranging from 36 to 110 fathoms. Over 90 miles of ocean bottom was covered in the 83 thirty-minute tows. Over 48,000 individual fish were captured and of this number 23,700 were measured. Of the total number of fish taken, 18,750 were slender sole, Lyopsetta exilis, a commerciallyunimportant species. Seventy-six of the 83 tows contained shrimp. The calculated catch per hour ranged from zero to 640 pounds. Seventeen sample tows captured shrimp in quantities greater than 100 pounds per 30 minutes of fishing time. Preliminary examination of the data indicates that the catch composition of the three gear types was similar with the exception of groundfish (rockfish, Sebastodes sp., hake, Merluccius productus, and sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria). The semiballoon trawl captured a higher proportion of these fish than did either of the other two types of gear, probably because the mouth of the semiballoon trawl had a greater fishing height and thus captured more of the fish that lie just above the bottom. Five of the 10 Coos Bay shrimp area blocks were completed. Twenty of the 24 California blocks were fished. Failure of the bathythermograph to record prevented completion of the bottom temperature series. Live shrimp and fish species were delivered to Steinhart Aquarium, Calif. Academy of Sciences. South Carolina FISHERIES BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROGRESS, JULY-SEPTEMBER 1958: Cyster Research: Seed oyster studies were an important part of the activities during this year's third quarter at the Bears Bluff Laboratories, Wadmalaw Island, S. C. The value of different types of cultch as collectors of seed oysters was reconsidered. Longevity of wire netting used in troughs and seed oyster baskets was compared with cotton webbing. An experimental shipment of finger-nail size young oysters was made to an oyster firm of Long Island, N. Y. These seed were shipped in a truck to New York and despite the mid-July heat plus an unscheduled delay arrived in good condition. Another experimental shipment of seed was made to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Excellent cooperation of a domestic airline made it possible to send the young oysters in a pressurized cabin. They with stood the shipment in good condition but unfortunately did not long survive predation in West Indian waters from oyster drills. A second shipment of seed sent as air freight in an unpressurized compartment did not survive transportation. Still other South Carolina seed oysters were shipped to the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory of Maryland where a biologist will recheck his earlier conclusions that South Carolina seed thrive best in northern waters when shipped early in the season. Under the impetus of the Hughes Foundation Grant, work is continuing on the pond cultivation of oysters. Plantings of seed under control and experimental conditions were carried out. The constant flight to control blue crabs and mud crabs--the most serious deterrent to pond cultivation--is never-ending. A careful survey of various diseases in pond-cultivated oysters was made during a visit to the Laboratories by an outstanding authority on oyster diseases. With his advice and cooperation new experiments in the ponds are being conducted which may shed light on the ageold question as to why oysters in South Carolina, Georgia, and northeastern Florida are almost entirely intertidal. In August leased and "wild" oyster beds in the Toogoodoo, Leadenwah, and Wadmalaw Rivers were inspected with an oyster biologist from British Columbia. The Canadian biologist, with years of experience in growing and importing seed oysters from Japan to the northwest coast of North America, expressed the opinion that South Carolina had a great potential as a seed-oyster producing State. Shrimp Research: Offshore exploratory work was limited during the quarter. However, one cruise made in July was very productive of rock shrimp from 2 to 6 inches in length with a modal length of 3.5 inches. Along the 20-fathom curve a series of 4 drags during the night of July 10 and 11 yielded 25 pounds of rock shrimp per 30-minute drag with a 20-foot net. Had full size commercial gear been available and drags made for one hour or so instead of 30 minutes, it seems likely that 6 or 8 boxes of shrimp could have been taken that night. Unquestionably much of the success of these drags were due to the new deep-water echosounder now in operation on the research vessel T-19. All regular trawling stations (established in 1953) at sea, in the sounds, and in the rivers were regularly visited again during the quarter. The index of availability of commercially-valuable fish, blue crab, and shrimp taken in experimental tows this year can be compared with those made from 1953 through 1957. Commercial fish such as gray sea trout (weakfish), king whiting, croaker, and spot are about as abundant this year as in previous years. Blue crabs, on the other hand, were almost twice as numerous during this 1958 quarter as they were during similar periods from 1953 through 1957. White shrimp are 4 or 5 times fewer and appeared much later this year. The number of white shrimp found in offshore waters was extremely scarce, and it was not until the latter part of July that tiny white shrimp made their appearance in the inshore waters. These shrimp were first found in water as low as 4 parts per thousand salinity, or about one-eighth sea strength. Brown shrimp were a little late in appearing but were about 3 times more numerous than in previous years. Not only do the Laboratory records indicate this, but shrimp landings in South Carolina as reported by the U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries show that almost a half million pounds more of shrimp were landed in July 1958 than in July of 1957. Pond Cultivation of Shrimp: In this quarter an inconclusive experiment was made to test the possibility of breeding shrimp in ponds. Seven female and 5 male brown shrimp, Penaeus aztecus, were introduced into a quarter-acre experimental pond which had been filled with strained and filtered salt water. Since no larval or post-larval shrimp have been found, it is clear that these shrimp did not successfully spawn in the pond. This is by no means offered as proof that shrimp cannot be bred in ponds, but it suggests that this method of stocking shrimp for cultivation will be quite difficult. Other pond experiments, some of which are still continuing, were carried out on the mortality of stocked shrimp; growth differences between fed and unfed shrimp; and differences of growth and survival of stocked shrimp in ponds with different substrata. All this adds to the growing collection of information on cultivating shrimp in ponds. After a visit to Bears Bluff by the Director of Inland Fisheries Research for Indonesia and by the Director of Inland Fisheries for Thailand, certain structural changes suggested by these men are now being made to control ingress of shrimp into one of the Laboratory's larger ponds. Both Directors reaffirmed the fact that in many Oriental countries two crops of shrimp can be produced a year, and that a yield of 500 pounds of shrimp per acre was not impossible. (Progress Report No. 37, JulySeptember 1958, of the Bears Bluff Laboratories.) Standards MEETING HELD ON PROPOSED HADDOCK AND HALIBUT STANDARD: Frozen halibut steaks and haddock fillets may soon be added to those fishery products for which voluntary Federal quality standards are promulgated, according to the present plans of the U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. Laboratory research by the Bureau on the proposed standards has proceeded to a point permitting preliminary discussions with interested segments of the fishing industry, distributors, and consumers. These discussions were held in four key cities. Following the preliminary discussions the formal Notice of Proposed Rule Making will be issued. Such notice will provide for a 30-day period to permit further consideration by the industry and others, after which the formal standards and the effective dates will be announced. The cities in which the discussions were held follow: Boston, frozen haddock fillets, October 7, 1958; New York City, frozen haddock fillets and halibut steaks, October 8; Chicago, frozen haddock fillets and halibut steaks, October 10; Seattle, halibut steaks, October 15. Promulgation of voluntary quality standards and maintenance of an inspection service were transferred from the U. S. Department of Agriculture to the U. S. Department of the Interior on July 1, 1958. Previously standards had been developed by the Department of the Interior, but promulgation of the standards and the inspection of fishery products had been the legal responsibility of the Department of Agriculture. Standards already in effect apply to frozen fried fish sticks, frozen raw breaded shrimp, and frozen fish blocks (which are the raw material from which fish sticks are made). Fish sticks and shrimp which have been processed in accordance with these standards may be identified by the consumer as "Grade A" or "Grade B," both of which meet rigid standards of whole someness and workmanship and have been processed under sanitary conditions. There are many fishery products for which standards have not yet been established. These can not be given a "grade" designation, but if they have been processed under continuous inspection they are so marked. Since this inspection service is something for which the processor must pay, he has the choice of marketing his product with or without the inspection symbol. "Lot inspection" is available should a processor desire only occasional inspection of his product. In such a case the package may bear the following statement: "This package is one of a lot from which samples have been inspected by the United States Department of the Interior." Up to the present time, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries reports, 16 large processing plants are operating under continuous inspection, requiring the services of 22 trained inspectors. Tuna FROZEN TUNA TRANS-SHIPMENTS FROM PERU TO UNITED STATES: Transshipments of frozen tuna (some caught by United States flag vessels operating out of Peru) from Peru to the United States by specially-built or converted refrigerated carriers are being stepped up with the addition of a new vessel, the German-owned and operated Ingred Hern. The addition of the Ingred Hern, a modern 700-ton refrigerated vessel now on its maiden voyage, brings the number of reefer vessels operating to four: the Iceflower under the Norwegian flag; the Puerto del Sol under the Panamanian flag; and the Beatriz sailing under the Peruvian flag. While not identical in construction, each of these vessels carries approximately 700 tons of refrigerated tuna. They are Diesel-powered, with speeds of 10-11 knots, which enables them to make round trips from Peru to the United States west coast ports of San Pedro or San Diego every 30 days if sufficient fish are available. These refrigerated reefer vessels pick up tuna from various ports in Peru and Ecuador, where the tuna are held in shoreside freezers. Cargos are made up from tuna landed by Peruvian or Ecuadoran vessels, and tuna landed by American flag vessels based in Peru or Ecuador. These vessels land their catches at the freezers, where they are graded for quality, with the better fish consigned to canners in San Pedro and San Diego, Calif. From January 1 through August 31, 1958, these vessels delivered 7,680 tons of tuna to California canneries--2,634 tons of which was caught by United States flag vessels and 4,996 tons caught by South American vessels. Cargo vessels with limited refrigeration facilities, on regular runs, also carry frozen tuna, but their capacities are limited and if any volume is to be shipped the regularly-scheduled vessels cannot handle the fish. United States Fishing Fleet 1/ Additions JULY 1958: A total of 78 vessels of 5 net tons and over were issued first documents as fishing craft in July 1958. Compared with the same month of 1957, this was an increase of two vessels. The Gulf States continued to lead with 29 vessels, the Pacific area was second with 18, and the South Atlantic third with 15. documented for fishing, 40 percent were reported from the Gulf States. 1/Includes both commercial and sport fishing craft. |