CENTRAL NORTH PACIFIC ALBACORE SURVEYS JANUARY 1954 - FEBRUARY 1955 SPECIAL SCIENHHC report- fisheries no. 173 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERI3R FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE Explanatory Note The series embodies results of investigations, usually of restricted scope, intended to aid or direct nnanagement or utilization practices and as guides for administrative or legislative action. It is issued in limited quantities for the official use of Federal, State or cooperating Agencies and in processed form for economy and to avoid delay in publication. United States Department of the Interior, Fred A, Seaton, Secretary Fish and Wildlife Service, John L, Farley, Director CENTRAL NORTH PACIFIC ALBACORE SURVEYS, JANUARY 1954 - FEBRUARY 1955 By Richard S. Shomura and Temnio Otsu Fishery Research Biologists Pacific Ocejinic Fishery Investigations Honolulu, T. H. Special Scientific Report--Fi8herie8 No. 173 WASHINGTON: June 1956 ABSTRACT This report embodiea the fishing results from seven exploratory cruises in the North Pacific daring the one fall and two winter seasons between January 1954 and February 1955. These results are supplemented by Japanese commercial longline catch data for the same period. Albacore, Germo alalunga (Bonnaterre), were caught during all three seasons on longlines and were taken by trolling only during the fall and second winter. The longline-caught albacore covered a wider size range than did the troll-caught fish. There appears to be a parallel north-south shift with the seasons of the albacore population and the transition zone between the North Pacific Current and the Aleutian Current. During the winter both were located south of their fall positions. Also included in this report are discussions of the vertical distribution, sex composition, and tagging of albacore as well as data on the miscellaneous species of fish taken. , CONTENTS Page Acknowledgments 1 Description of fishing gear and operational methods 1 Weather 2 Albacore 2 Distribution and abundance 2 Environmental conditions •••• 9 Vertical distribution of albacore 12 Size of albacore 16 Sex ratio and maturity of albacore 17 Tagging of albacore 18 Other fishes 18 Other tunas 18 Sharks , 18 Miscellaneous species 18 Summary 18 L.iteratare cited 20 Appendix (tables 11-23) 21 ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE Page Frontispiece: Longline fishing for albacore in the North Pacific, John R. Manning cruise 19 1. Schematic view of one basket of the longline gear 2 2. Sunnnnary of POFI longline albacore catches 3 3. Summary of some Japanese longline albacore catches 4 4. Albacore catch per 10-line hours of surface trolling; surface temperature contours and Secchi disk readings 6, 7, 8 5. Vertical temperature sections and longline catch of albacore (catch/ 100 hooks) aJong 160 W. longitude 10, 11, 12 6. Calibration of chemical sounding tubes with bathythermograph on John R. Manning cruises 22 and 23 13 7. Length frequency of albacore 17 8. Summary of POFI longline bigeye catches ig CENTRAL NORTH PACIFIC ALBACORE SURVEYS JANUARY 1954 - FEBRUARY 1955 By Richard S. Shomura and Tamio Otsu Fishery Research Biologists Pacific Oceanic Fishery Investigations Honolulu, T. H, This is the first in a projected series of reports by the Pacific Oceanic Fishery Investi- gations (POFI) on the distribution of albacore, Germo alalunga (Bonnaterre), in the Pacific north of Hawaii. Financial support for the studies was provided under the Saltonstall- Kennedy Act (Public Law 466-83rd Congress). Albacore are widely distributed in the tropical and temperate Pacific. They are taken with longline gear along with yellowfin tuna in the central and western equatorial waters (Murphy and Shomura 1953b, Murphy and Otsu 1954) and support commercial fisheries in the North Temperate Zone. During the summer and early fall, albacore are taken in commer- cial quantities by trolling and live-bait fishing off the west coast of North America from south- er n Baja California as far north as British Columbia (Clemens 1955). In addition, there are the Japanese fisherieB--a pole-ajid-line fishery operating off the coast of Japan during the early summer and early winter and a winter longline fishery in the area from Japan east to Midway Island (Suda 1954). The present paper reports the results of three fishing cruises of the John R. Manning and the incidental catches of four hydrographic cruis- es of the Hugh M. Smith and the Charles H. Gilbert over the period January 1954 to February 1955 (table 1). Also incorporated are the catches of a portion of the Japanese albacore fleet that operated in the same or contiguous areas during the survey. The California Department of Fish and Game participated in the first series of alba- core cruises (January-March 1954, table 1), sur- veying west to 140 W. longitude; their results will be published elsewhere. Through this and subsequent reports we will use the vernacular names of the fishes. These, with their commonly accepted scientific najnes, are listed in the Appendix as Table 23. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We are indebted to fellow stJiff members and officers and crew members of the vessels for their part in carrying out the field work. We would especially like to thank Mr. Toshizo Nomura of the Kanagawa Prefecture Fisheries Experinnent Station for making available Japa- nese catch records. The vertical Jind surface temperature contours were prepared by Mr. T. S. Austin and the writers. Mr. Richard N. Uchida assisted in summarizing the data and Mr. Tamotsu Nakata drew the figures. DESCRIPTION OF FISHING GEAR AND OPERATIONAL METHODS Two types of fishing, longlining and trolling, were used to sample the North Pacific albacore. The longline method of subsurface fishing was developed by Japanese fishermen. Shapiro (1950) gives an excellent discussion of the history of the gear, and Shimada (1951) gives details on its construction. The gear used for this survey was essentially the same as that described by Mann (1955). A set con- sisted of about 60 "baskets" or skates of gear joined end on end, with 13 hooks on each bas- ket (fig. 1). One half of the gear was set with 5-fathom floatlines and the other with 15-fathonn floatlines. Frozen sardine and herring were used for bait on adl three longline fishing cruises. The gear was set at daybreak in a little over an hour. Hauling commenced at Table 1 . --Operational data on POFI cruises in the North Pacific, January 1954-February 1955 Vessel Cruise Period of operation General area covered Type of operation J. R. Manning 19 25 22 17 23 18 27 Jan. -Mar. 1954 Jan. -Mar. 1954 Sept. -Nov. 1954 Sept. -Nov. 1954 Dec. 1954-Feb. 1955 Dec. 1954 Jan. -Feb. 1955 22°.36°N. 22°-40°N. 22°-47°N. 22°-45°N. 22°-37°N. 22°-40°N. o o 22 -37 N. 145°W.-160°W. 140°W.-165°W. 159°W.-177°W. 160°W.-171°E. 157°W.-180° 157°W.-162°W, 158°W. -170°E. Longline, trolling Hydrographic, trolling Longline, trolling Hydrographic, trolling Longline, trolling Hydrographic, trolling Hydrographic, trolling H. M. Smith J. R, Manning C. H. Gilbert J. R. Manning C. H. Gilbert H. M. Smith ,,3 PATH ^1 '4 PATH Figure 1. --Schematic view of one basket of the longline gear used in albacore fishing by POFI vessels. noon and was done in the reverse order of set- ting. The hauling time varied from station to station depending on the number of baskets fished and on the prevailing weather conditions (tables 14 to 16, Appendix) but usually took about 4 hours. Three types of trolling--incidental sur- face, deliberate surface, and experimental deep trolling--were used to sample the albacore in this survey. Incidental surface trolling was done at a vessel speed of about 8 knots on the hydrographic and fishing cruises during all day- light runs between stations. Two to five lines were fished, with a boom rigged out annidships when more than three lines were used. The trolling lines, of No. 261 hard-laid cotton line, trailed from 15 to 25 fathonns beyond the stern. The inboard end of the line was secured to a shock-absorber made of a pair of galvanized steel springs 12 inches long ajid 1-1/2 inches in outside dijimeter. The outboard end of the line was joined by a swivel to 1-1/2 fathoms of No. 18 stainless steel wire leader. During the course of each cruise, a variety of lures were used. These included red, white, and amber- colored plastic jigs and feather jigs with plastic or lead heads . Several combinations of white, red, green, and brown feathers were used. Deliberate surface trolling with five lines {three from the stern and two from the trolling boom) was done at each longline fishing station for 2 hours along the "soaking" line. The makeup of the trolling gear was exactly as described for incidental trolling, but the vessel was slowed to 6 - 6-1/2 knots. Deep trolling at a vessel speed of 3 to 5 knots was tried at seven longline stations on Manning cruise 23 {December 1954-February 1955). The gear had four 10-fathom branch lines {261 cotton line with 1-1/2 fathoms of No. 18 wire leader) spaced at 15-fathom intervals on a mainline of 5/32-inch cable. The main- line was weighted with either a 50-pound semi- depressor or a "kite-type" depressor. Both feather lures and fresh frozen sardine were used as bait, the latter being secured to the hook with linen twine, WEATHER The success of fishing depends to a certain extent on the prevailing weather condi- tions. Longlining becomes hazardous and therefore is generally not attempted in very rough seas or when the winds reach 20 to 30 knots. During the three longline cruises storms were encountered which interrupted fishing for I to 7 days at a time, and of a total of 91 days spent north of 30 N. latitude, 39 days {43 per- cent) were considered too rough for longlining {table 2). ALBACORE Distribution and Abundance Longline Catches. A total of 52 longline stations were fished during the three cruises. Albacore were taken at 20 stations but the catch on any one station was generally small {tables II to 13, Appendix). A notable exception was a catch of 42 albacore at station 8 {33 58'N. , o 159 44'W. ) on Manning cruise 19. Two things are apparent from the alba- core catch distribution {fig. 2). First, the northern limit of the albacore distribution was not defined because a combination of adverse Table 2. --Sumnmary of weather conditions encountered on POFI cruises north of 30 N. latitude Cruise Total number of days spent north of 30°N. Good weather Rough weather {seas > 5, winds over 20 kt. ) Number of days fished Days spent traveling Manning 19 25 41 25 12 14 15 1 9 1 12 18 9 Manning 22 Manning 23 Total 91 41 11 39 40° 30"^ 20° 40° 30° 20° 30° 20° , ->•£. _ __ — - — ■=^; — — - ,^= — - = — - — _- _ Xt\0 D _i_ _ _ -^nC° _ ! \ ^> D * \. D ) >_ — _ _ £5' — = ' ) D E — - - - — - - ~ -- — ^P ! D V- "~- — D E E ^^ ^^ _ ^" ""■ ' :dec EMBER 1954 -FEBRUARY 195511 r I70°E 180° I70°W 160° 150° 140° Figure 2. --Summary of POFI longline albacore catches in the North Pacific. weather and logistic limitations made fishing farther north impossible. Second, there was a seasonal shift in the southern linnit Of the alba- core catches, the winter limit being farther south than the fall limit. The magnitude of this shift was about equal to the movement of certain surface isotherms, e.g., the 60 F. isotherm located between 41 and 42 N. on 170 W. during the fall moved south to between 32 and 33 N. at the same longitude during the following winter (fig. 2). There are a number of records of Japanese commercial fishing in the general zone in which we took albacore during the winter of 1953-54. These are summarized in figure 3 and table 3. Most of the Japanese effort was concentrated to the west of 180 (fig. 3) whereas we surveyedthe areafrom 180 east to 150 W. (fig. 2). Japanese fishing was confined to the zone lying between 28 and 35 N. latitude. The best Japanese catches were made during December and January, when a number of areas showed catches of 5 or more albacore per 100 hooks. Longitudinally, their best area appears to have been immediately west of 180 longitude (170°E. to 180°), however, from table 3 it is apparent that significant catches were made as far west as 141°E. during December 1953. In POFI's fishing during January-March 1954 and 1955 at only one station was the albacore catch rate as high as those of the good catches (> 5. 0 per 100 hooks) nnade by the Japanese to the west (compare figs. 2 and 3). This does not mean that the area immediately north of Hawaii is less productive than the area to the west, since only limited experimental fishing has been com- pleted thus far, furnishing only a rough estimate of albacore availability. It should be added here that the catch rates of the POFI 13-hook gear may not be strictly comparable with the catch rates of the Japanese 6-hook gear. Although the relative efficiency of the two types of gear in taking albacore has not yet been determined, it has been shown for the central equatorial Pacific yellowfin tuna that 11-hook gear is less efficient in terms of catch per 100 hooks than 6-hook gear (Shomura cind Murphy 1955). 35° 30° 25° 30° 25° ^ ~ 1 - 0 - - ~ n ■^ ' —\ "^ B p /\ f^ ^ c c B j-i — 1 — 1— 1 — , 1 — 1 L—J ^ 1 — 1 -n DECEMBER 1953 _^ \ _j 1 1 1 M __^ _ — 1 ~ ~" - D c ^ — ' r ~ ^ -^ c c p p c D R P C c c c c p c p D D c p c c c c c c c D D D D 0 c D 0 D D 1 1 ^— i-^ 1—1^ JANUARY 1954 l| 1 1 1 1 M 1 1 —1 1 1 1 — ■~ — ^ ■n ' n " ~ ~ 1 c c iir*o D c c c c c c c c D c c c c D c c c D c C c c c C c c c c c c c c c c c c c 0 0 D D D D D( D u 0 ' — 1 1 — — 1— J 1— [— 1 — 1 — 1 — 1— 1 — H FEBRUARY 1954 CATCH/ 100 HOOKS [D] 0,1 - 1.9 [c] 2.0-4.9 H 5.0-7.9 El >8 25° 1 1 D 0 c 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 1 — 1 c 0 C 1 — 1 — 1 1 — 1 — 1 — 1 % : MARCH 195 'i 1 1 7 1 1 1 1 9RO 1 1 1 160° I70°E 180° 170°W 160° 150° Figure 3. --Summary of some Japanese longline albacore catches (data from individucil vessel reports transmitted to POFI by Mr. Toshizo Nomura). Table 3. --Summary of Japanese commercial longline albacore catches (catch per 100 hooks) in the North Pacific. Data taken from Nomura et al. (1953-54) Month Area of fishing Number of vessels Times fished Albacore per 100 hooks Latitude Longitude Sept. 1953 37°-39°N. 158°-170°E. 3 54 0.04 Oct. 1953 37°-38°N. o o 151 -152 E. 1 16 0.03 36°-38°N. 168°-174°E. 4 80 5.57 Nov, 1953 30°-35°N. 150°-159°E. 19 386 1.27 32°.35°N. 160°-161°E. 2 34 4.68 o o 28 -32 N. 173°-174°E. 1 18 1.31 33°-40°N. 150°-161°E. 6 106 1.34 o o 33 -38 N. 162°-172°E. 4 58 4.32 o o 32 -37 N. 174°-179°E. 1 23 2.84 31°-35°N. 150°-174°E. 22 438 1.58 25°-34°N. 179°-161°W. 4 100 0.65 34°.35°N. 180°-170°W. 1 14 2. 77 34°-40°N. 150°-169°E. 11 187 2.49 Dec. 1953 30°-34°N. 158°-160°E. 11 204 2.72 o o 31 -35 N. 160°-163°E, 7 131 3.82 o o 30 -34 N. 170°E.-180° 14 234 6.86 34°-35°N. 145°-147°E. 13 249 0,51 30°-32°N. 141°-150°E. 7 86 4,73 26°-31°N. 179°-168°W. 2 51 0. 56 32°-34°N, 172°-170°W. 1 16 1.09 35°-37°N. I50°-174°E. 3 60 7.33 30°-34°N. 151°-179°E. 32 569 4.76 35°-38°N. 143°-148°E. 8 109 8.52 30°-35°N. 141°-150°E. 20 335 1.69 o o 30 -35 N. 133°-139°E, 152 762 0.09 Jan. 1954 28°-30°N. o o 141 -145 E, 40 732 2.81 28°-30°N. 150°-157°E. 2 38 3.07 28°-30°N. 170°-178°E, 2 33 1.38 30°-32°N. 151°-163°E. 6 123 2.29 30°-32°N, 158°-168°E. 30 595 5.42 30°-34°N. 175°-179°E. 7 123 5.30 29°-30°N. 179°-170°W. 1 20 2,34 o o 30 -32 N, 170°-l69°W, 1 18 0,72 22°-30°N, 132°-171°E, 109 1559 2.42 30°-34°N, 150°-178°E. 43 841 4.91 35°-38°N. 142°-144°E. 14 132 6.98 29°-35°N. 140°-I48°E, 51 743 2,69 Feb, 1954 28°-30°N. 150°-160°E. 11 224 3,26 28°-30°N, 160°-170°E, 13 265 3, 11 29°-30°N. o o 29 -33 N. I70°-179°E. 149°-164°E. 7 3 143 60 2,97 3,21 o o 29 -31 N, 160°-173°E. 10 203 3.59 o o 30 -31 N. 168°-179°E. 6 131 3.16 23°-30°N. 171°-158°W. 1 28 0.03 30°-32°N, 154°-179°E. 19 394 3,40 March 1954 23°-30°N. 152°-157°E. 14 241 1,48 29°-30°N, 160°-168°E. 5 97 3.21 30°-32°N, 149°-166°E, 6 131 1.65 29°-33°N. 160°-166°E. 7 156 3,43 27°-30°N. 179°-167°W. 2 40 0.66 30°-33°N. 150°-166°E. 13 287 2,82 Troll Catches. The albacore catches from both incidental and deliberate surface trolling are combined in figure 4. During Janliary-March 1954 no albacore were taken in the 1, 095 line- hours of trolling (fig. 4A), although albacore were talcen on the longline gear during thisperiod (fig. 2). During the fall of 1954 (figs. 4B and 4C), trolling yielded 56 albacore in 1,701 line- hours while during the following winter only 4 albacore in 2,911 line-hours. The highestcatch rate of 8.8 albacore per 10 line-hours was made during the fall at about 42 N. latitude on 172 E. longitude (fig. 4B). There is a striking contrast between the latitudinal locations of the fall and winter troll catches, for most of the fall catches were nnade north of 40 N. while the winter catches were all made between 30 £ind 35 N. latitude, a south- ward displacement roughly parallel to that of the longline catches. Albacore, however, were present below the surface in these waters as shown by the longline catch at five of the seven stations at which both types of gear were fished (table 4), We cannot yet consider deep trolling a complete failure, for only 7-1/2 hours have been devoted to this type of fishing. Surface Sightings. To evaluate the relative productivity of the different areas, observations were made on bird flocks, fish schools, and aquatic mammals. During the period of our observations, the results (table 5) show that birds were most abundant during the fall months. This is of interest since the trolling records (fig. 4) show that nnost of the troll-caught albacore were taken during this period. The majority of the birds occurred to the south, however, between 30 N. and 40 N. latitude, whereas most of the albacore were taken north of 40 N, latitude. No albacore or other fish were taken on the deep trolling gear used on Manning cruise 23. Figure 4A. --Albacore catch per lO-line hours of surface trolling; surface tem- perature contours and Secchi disk readings are indicated. Manning cruise 19 and Smith cruise 25, January-March 1954. Figure 4B. --Albacore catch per 10-line hours of surface trolling; surface tem- perature contours and Secchi disk readings are indicated, Manning cruise 22 and Gilbert cruise 17, September-November 1954. Figure 4C. --Albacore catch per 10-line hours of surface trolling; surface temperature contours and Secchi disk readings are indicated, Manning cruise 23, Gilbert cruise 18, and Smith cruise 27, December 1954-February 1955. Table 4. --Results of the deep trolling experiment and a summary of the longline albacore catches for the same days, John R. Manning cruise 23, December 1954-February 1956 Date Station Hours trolled Type of bait Catch Albacore catch on longline gear Dec. 9 5 Feather 0 7 Dec. 14 8 1.5 Feather 0 7 Jan. 16 12 Sardine 0 5 Jan. 17 13 Sardine 0 1 Jan. 27 16 Sardine 0 0 Jan. 30 18 Sardine 0 0 Feb. 1 20 Sardine 0 2 Table 5. --Observations of bird flocks, fish schools, and mammals sighted nnore than 80 miles from land in the North Pacifici.' Location | Nature of observation Latitude Longitude 1954 Jan. 24 38°35'N. 164°35'W. Flock (11-50 birds) of petrels and shearwaters working over unidentified tuna school Jan. 24 38°30'N. 164°50"W. Unidentified whale sighted Jan. 26 37°37'N. 160°09'W. Seal sighted Mar. 3 33°40'N. 143°05'W. 3 porpoises sighted Mar. 16 22°40"N. 155°33'W. Flock (11-50 birds) of terns working over unidentified, medium-sized tuna school Mar. 16 22°40'N. 155°33'W. Flock (200 birds) of terns working over unidentified, large- sized tuna school Sept. 20 27°01>N. 159°59'W. Unidentified whale sighted Sept. 22 32°40'N. 159°54'W. Four unidentified whales sighted Sept. 29 42°45'N. 159°40'W. Several albacore sighted breaking water Oct. 3 44°25'N. 168°30'W. Several albacore sighted breaking water Oct. 9 39°20'N. 169°20'W. Flock (< 10 birds) of petrels and/or shearwaters Oct. 10 37°00'N. 171°10'W. Flock (11-50 birds) of petrels and/or shearwaters Oct. 10 37°00'N. 171°10'W. Flock (> 50 birds) of petrels and/or shearwaters Oct. 11 33°20>N. 173°30'W, Flock (> 50 birds) of terns, petrels, shearwaters; some evidence of fish school Oct. 17 32°30'N. 176°20'W. Flock (200-300 birds) of boobies, petrels, and/or shear- waters; evidence of fish school Oct. 17 32°10'N. 176°30>W. Flock (75 birds) of petrels Oct. 17 31°30>N. 176°30'W. Flock (11-50 birds) of petrels and/or shearwaters Oct. 17 31°50'N. 176°30'W. Flock (200 birds) of terns, petrels and/or shearwaters working over unidentified tuna school Oct. 19 33°00'N. 176°00'W. Flock (100 birds) of petrels and/or shearwaters Oct. 20 34°50>N. 175°30'W. Flock (50 birds) of petrels Oct. 20 35°00'N. 175°30'W. Flock (100 birds) of petrels Oct. 22 37°30'N. 175°00'W. Flock (> 50 birds) of petrels and/or shearwaters Oct. 22 37°30'N, 175°00>W. Flock (> 50 birds) of petrels and/or shearwaters Oct. 24 44°55'N. 177°50'W. Flock (200-300 birds) of terns with few albatross Oct. 25 40°10"N. 175°00'W. Flock (> 300 birds) of petrels working over unidentified, large-sized tuna school Dec. 19 23°40'N. 158°00'W. Smedl school of medium-sized (approx. 7 lb. ) tuna; no acconnpanying birds 1955 Jan. 9 21°51'N. 168°46'W. 2 unidentified whales sighted Jan. 1 2 21°20'N. 178°45'W. Unidentified whale sighted Jan. 14 29°35'N. 179°40'W. School of small tuna (approx. 4 lb. ) sighted; no birds present Jan. 17 28°45'N. 169°55'E. Unidentified fish (30-40 lb.) sighted breaking water Jan. 18 35°48'N. 179°49'W. Smsdl, light brown turtle sighted near longline buoy Jan. 27 31°41'N. 176°29'W. Several killer whales sighted near longline set Feb. 6 36°25'N. 173°15'W. Flock (1 1-50 birds) of petrels with few Laysan albatross working over unidentified fish school Feb. 7 33°30'N. 173°06'W. Unidentified whale sighted — Observations have been listed chronologically and irrespective of locality or vessel. The numbers of birds sighted are estimates made by experienced fishermen. Envlronnnental Conditions In the North Pacific, north of the Hawaiian Islands, there is a transition zone between two currents which may prove to be the significant oceanographic feature influencing the distribution and abundance of albacore. A detailed description of this zone for the winter of 1953-54 has been given by McGary and Stroup (MS)1/. Briefly, it is an area of mixing created by shearing action between two easterly flowing currents, the Aleu- tian Current (relatively cold and low salinity water) to the north and the North Pacific Current (relatively warm and high sadinity water) to the — McGary, James W. cuidE. D. Stroup. Mid-Pacific oceanography, Part VIII, Middle latitude waters, January-March 1954. The authors point out that an ade quate name for this zone has yet to be found. It has at times been calledthe Arctic Convergence and the North Polar Front. south. The zone is characterized by abrupt changes in temperature and salinity and by an increase in inorganic phosphate as compared with the North Pacific Current (McGary and Stroup MS). Increased biological activity is suggested by somewhat lower water trans- parency values (fig. 4) than prevail to the north jind south. Nearly all of the troll-caught albacore were taken within the trcinsition zone (fig. 4), and the longline -caught albacore were taken either in the transition zone (fig. 5A) or just to the north (figs. 5B, 5C), suggesting a close 80 70 60 50 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 ^Approximate ^transition U// ZONE 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 o o X |i I III u I III I ! 1 1 r T k -I i^i n — I — 1 — I — I — I — I — I — I — I — I — I — I — I — I — I — I — r J I I I I I L NORTH LATITUDE Figure 5A.- -Vertical temperature sections and longline catch of albacore (catch/100 hooks) along 160 W. longi- tude during the three survey periods, Manning cruise 19, January-March 1954. 10 relationship between the albacore and this oceanographic feature. The data from the three fishing cruises covered by this report give evidence that the transition zone undergoes seasonal meridional shifts, south in the winter and north in the fall. If the tuna are associated with this feature, they may be expected to show a similar seasonal shift in occurrence. In figure 5 the vertical tempera- ture sections and the longline albacore catches along 160 W. longitude are shown for the three survey periods. During the winter of 1953-54 (fig. 5A) the transition zone was located approxi- mately between 31 and 36 N. latitude, with the o surface temperature varying between 58 and 64°F. During the fall of 1954 (fig. 5B) the trans- ition zone had been displaced northward to between 41 and 46 N. latitude. The surface tennperature in the transition zone during this period ranged from about 59 to 68 F. During the subsequent winter (1954-55) the transition zone again moved south to between 31 and 36 N. latitude, with the o / *^ surface temperature varying from 58 to 69 F. (fig. 5C). The troll-catches of albacore, as shown in figures 4A-4C, show that the albacore were taken farther north in the fall thcin in the winter. The histograms in figures 5A-5C8how a similar meridional shift in the location of the longline-caught albacore with season. Thus, the albacore appears to make seasonal meri- dional movements similar to the movement of the transition zone. Table 6 shows the surface temperatures at which albacore were taken by trolling. Catches were most frequently made in tem- peratures between 59 and 61 F. These tem- peratures fall within the range which generally delineates the transition zone at the surface. However, it should be pointed out that surface tennperature alone cannot always be relied upon to indicate the presence of either albacore or the transition zone. This is clearly shown in the case of the high catch of 25 albacore NORTH LATITUDE Figure 5B. --Vertical tennperature sections and longline catch of albacore (catch/ 100 hooks) along 160 W. longitude during the three survey periods. Manning cruise 22, September -November 1954. 11 Table 6. --Trolling catch of albacore in relation to surface temperature O-O 1 — I — I — I — I — I — r J 1 L J I 1 I L 25° 30° 35° NORTH LATITUDE Figure 5C. --Vertical temperature sections and longline catch of albacore (catch/ 100 hooks) along 160 W. longitude during the three survey periods, Manning cruise 23, December 1954- February 1955. (8. 8 per 10 line-hours of trolling) made at 42 N. on 172 E. longitude during the fall period (fig. 4B). In spite of the unusually low surface tem- perature of 52 F, this area was within the transi- tion zone. This low temperature was probably the result of the mixing of surface and deeper waters associated with the recent passage of a low pressure cell with winds up to 65 knots. Vertical Distribution of Albacore Previous studies by POFI of the vertical distribution of tuna have been based on relative hook depth (Murphy and Shomura 1953a) because a method of routinely determining the absolute depth of the gear was lacking. On two of the three cruises discussed in this paper (Manning cruises 22 and 23) chennical sounding tubes were used to give direct measurennents of the depth of fishing. Surface temperature Number of albacore caughti' Catch Total Frequency of catch OF. 50 _ . ^ 51 - - _ 52 25.2 27 2 53 1 1 1 54 . - - 55 - - - 56 - - - 57 2 2 1 58 - - - 59 1, 2, 3, 6. 2. 1, 1 16 7 60 I. 2, 1 4 3 61 1. 1 2 2 62 - ~ - 63 3 3 I 64 1. 2 3 2 65 1 1 1 66 - - - Questionable 1 I 1 Total 60 21 — Individual catches are listed to show the frequency of catches made at the various ten-iper atures. in length with an inner chemical coating which dissolves upon contact with water. While in use, the tubes are encased in protective naetal cylinders. When subnnerged, water is forced up the tube by the pressure, leaving a line of demarkation which indicates the m^^ximum depth when the tube is read against a scale. The accuracy of the calibration of the sounding tubes under conditions of prolonged imnnersion (i.e., 5 to 10 hours) was checked by attaching thenn to the longline together with a bathythermograph. The results of 26 tests are shown in figure 6. The agreement between the sounding tube readings and the bathyther- mograms suggests that the former may be used to determine the depth of the longline with rea- sonable accuracy. Variation of the points about the theoretical line shown in figure 6 is within the range of error of reading the two instruments. The sounding tubes were of glass capillary To estimate routinely the fishing level tubing, 4 mm. in outside diameter and 640 mm. of the longline gear, sounding tubes were 12 t>uu 1 1 1 1 A >/ / 500 * JOHN R MANNING CRUISE 22 • JOHN R MANNING CRUISE 23 ***/ K A / UJ UJ *^^ * Ll ■z. - 400 X *yi 1— /* Q. /•* UJ O • / UJ /4 CD 3 / (— 300 o -z. Q z • / 3 O en •/ -1 ^/ < o 200 — S UJ I o 100 1 1 1 1 1 200 300 400 BATHYTHERMOGRAPH DEPTH IN FEET Figure 6. --Calibration of chemical sounding tubes with bathythermo- graph on John R. Manning cruises 22 and 23. Each point denotes readings obteiined frona one lowering of the BT with sounding tube attached. attached to the proximal end of the deepest branch line (number 7) on 2 to 4 baskets at 31 stations during Manning cruises 22 and 23. They were placed on centrally located baskets of the 5- and 15-fathom floatline gear in order to avoid atypi- cal measurements from the end baskets. Table 7 (a, b) gives the depths recorded on the two cruises for both the 5- and 16-fathom floatline gear. On^ cruise 22 the maxinnum depth for the 5-fathom gear ranged from 306 to 504 feet and averaged 405 feet. The 15-fathom gear fished deeper, averaging 432 feet with a range of depths from 336 to 450 feet. On cruise 23 the difference was more pronounced, principally because the 5- fathom gear was set without the usual slack. The 5-fathom gear averaged 328 feet and ranged from 222 to 504 feet. The 15-fathom gear fished about 80 feet deeper, averaging 410 feet and ranging from 288 to 522 feet. The sdbacore catches by relative depths of capture are given in table 8. In general, alba- core were caught in approximately equcil numbers throughout the range of fishing depths, a dif- ferent situation from that in the equatorial region, where they are taken in the greatest numbers on the deepest hooks (Murphy and Shomura 1953b). This difference in the ver- tical distribution of the North Pacific albacore and equatorial albacore may be associated with the difference in water temperatures between the two areas. The water temperatures which occur at the surface in the North Pacific are found in the deeper layers near the Equator; e.g., the 60 F. isotherm which is at or near the surface in the North Pacific is located at depths exceeding 500 feet in equatorial waters (Murphy and Shomura 1953a, b). Thus even near the Equator, where albacore exist in size- able numbers, they appear to occupy a similar environment temperature-wise as they do in the northern region. A comparison of the maximum depth of fishing, the depth of the thermocline, and the albacore distribution by relative hook depth indicates that albacore may possibly be foraging 13 Table 7a. --Depth of deepest fishing hook of the 5- and 15-fathom float- line gear as estimated by chemical sounding tubes John R. Manning cruise 22 Station 5-fathom floatline gear 15-fathom fl oatline gear Thermocline depth No fish on Fish on No fish on Fish on basket basket basket basket feet feet feet feet feet 1 384 534 - - 130 3 360 378 - - 140 384 - . - - 5 - - 450 - 130 - - 432 - - - - 450 - - 7 - 444 - - 90 - 552 - - - . 432 - - - 9 450 - - - 100 414 - - - - 432 - - - - 11 384 408 - - 120 408 _ - . - 13 462 . 450 - 70 14 504 - - - 90 408 _ . - - 420 - - - - 15 432 >600 - - 100 171/ 282 522 - - 120 1^/ 288 360 336 - 100 - 342 - - - 19 420 - 408 - 120 384 - - - - 21 384 396 - - 100 402 . - - - 24 306 336 - - 160 342 _ . - - 26 414 450 402 402 200 28 « 414 - 444 220 - - - 438 - X 405 432 — Not included in calculating the mean because of atypical setting prodecure. 14 Table 7b. --Depth of deepest fishing hook of the 5- and 15-fathom float- line gear as estimated by chemical sounding tubes (continued) John R. Manning cruise 23 Station 5 -fathom fl oatline gear 15-fathom floatline gear Thermocline No fish on Fish on No fish on Fish on basket basket basket basket depth feet feet feet feet feet 1 420 _ . 414 265 414 - - 402 - 3 378 - 468 - 325 336 - 474 - - 5 348 . - 450 260 318 - - 492 - 7 372 372 360 - 270 - - 492 - - 8 270 - 390 492 280 369 - - - - 9 252 330 - - 360 10 324 297 396 366 290 11 264 - 480 - 355 - - 342 - - 12 222 . 297 378 230 276 - - . - 13 414 252 522 - 240 . - 288 - - 14 360 - 390 - 260 249 - 342 - - 15 504 - 456 - 380 276 . 426 - - 16 315 - 372 360 470 255 - - - . 17 327 - 354 - 385 354 _ 522 - - 18 249 324 468 - 320 - - 360 - - X 328 410 Table 8.--Sunnmary of albacore catch by relative hook depth a. Gear with 5-fathom floatlines Cruise Hook number | 1 and 13 2 and 12 3 and 1 1 4 and 10 5 and 9 6 and 8 7 Manning- 19 2 1 4 3 2 1 4 2 2 3 3 4 2 1 4 7 4 4 1 3 (Jan. -Mar. 1954) Manning-22 (Sept. -Nov. 1954) Manning-23 (Dec. 1954- Feb. 1955) 15 Table 8. — Summary of albacore catch by relative hook depth (continued) b. Gear with 15-fathom float lines Cruise Hook number | 1 and 13 2 and 12 3 and 1 1 4 and 10 5 and 9 6 and 8 7 Manning- 19 (Jan. -Mar. 1954) 2 4 2 5 2 4 2 Manning -22 (Sept. -Nov. 1954) 4 6 1 - 2 2 - MaLnning-23 (Dec. 1954-Feb. 3 2 2 6 5 6 4 1955) below as well as above the thermocline in north- ern waters. It may be calculated from table 7 that on Manning cruise 22 the average maximum fishing depth of the 5-fathom gear was 405 feet, which was considerably deeper than the average thermocline depth of 124 feet, while on cruise 23 the average maximunn depth of fishing (328 feet) was approximately at the depth of the ther- mocline (321 feet). On both cruises the 15- fathom gear was well below the thermocline, with an average nnaximum depth of 432 feet on cruise 22 and 410 feet on cruise 23. If it is accepted that the deeper hooks were fishing below the thermocline, the vertical distribution of the albacore catches (table 8) shows that some of them were caught below the thernno- cline. We cannot as yet accept these findings as final in view of the small catch and the pos- sibility that all of the albacore could have been caught at shallower depths during the retriev- ing of the line. This question can only be settled with nnore data than are presently available. Size of Albacore The size distribution of the albacore taken in the North Pacific during the three sur- vey periods is shown in figure 7 in which catches fronn longline and trolling gear are treated separately. It is seen that the longline- caught albacore had a wider size range than the troll-caught albacore. During the fall, troll catches ranged in size from 52 to 74 cm. (7 to 20 pounds) while the longline -caught albacore ranged from 54 to 114 cm. (8 to 68 pounds). This indicates that the trolling gear samples chiefly the smaller albacore, while both small and large fish are taken on the longline. We do not as yet know how efficiently the longline gear samples the snnaller fish, nor whether or not the small fish were chance captures at the surface during the hauling of the line. But if small alba- core were being taken only during hauling, then they should cdl have been alive when landed. However, only 1 7 of the 30 small albacore (less than 80 cm. )£' taken were landed alive, while among fish larger than 80 cm. , 62 out of 88 were alive (table 9). The implication is that small albacore are not being taken only at the surface during the hauling of the gear. Table 9. • -Summary of longline-caught albacore landed alive Cruise Total number of albacore < 80 cm. Number taken alive Total number of albacore >80 cm. Numbei taken alive Majining- 19 (Jan. -Mar. 1954) Majming-22 3 21 6 12 5 41 4 43 30 3 29 (Sept. -Nov. 1954) Manning-23 (Dec. 1954- Feb. 1955) Total 30 17 57% 88 62 70% A majority of the longline-caught albacore taken during the first winter (January-March 1954) were large, 93 percent of the catch measuring over 80 cm. (25 pounds). During the fall (September -October 1954) the reverse was true, with the catch made up nnostly of small fish and with those larger than 80 cm. constituting only 19 percent of the catch. Finally, the results fronn 2/ — All troll-caught albacore measured less than 80cm. (fig. 7) therefore it is assumed provisionally that 80 cm. is the approx- imate size at which "small" and "large" fish are separated. 16 o (A) JANUARY- MARCH 1954 LONGLINE (N = 44) 1 O s O i^ (B) SEPTEMBER -NOVEMBER 1954 (N = 51) LONGLINE (N = 26) J L ■ ■ ■ L s 3 1 (C) DECEMBER 1954 - FEBRUARY 1955 TROLL (N=4) -r I 1 r LONGLINE (N = 49 ■■■ ■ \ 70 80 90 100 LENGTH IN CENTIMETERS I L no 120 I I I 20 30 40 50 APPROXIMATE WEIGHT IN POUNDS 60 70 60 Figure 7. --Length frequency of albacore taken during the three surveys. A. January-March 1954, B. September -November 1954, C. December 1954-Februarv 1955. the second winter of fishing (December 1954- February 1955) again showed larger fish domi- nating the catch, with 88 percent of the albacore catch larger than 80 cm. The almost complete absence of small albacore (less than 80 cm.) from both the longline and trolling catches dur- ing both winters suggests that the small fish which were present during the fall had nnoved out of the area with the approach of winter. Sex Ratio and Maturity of Albacore The results of the albacore sex deter- minations are given in table 10. A paucity of Table 10. --Sex of albacore taken on Mannir cruises 19, 22, and 23 Cruise Total number observed Number of males Number of females Ratio (rf:?) Manning- 19 15 11 14 12 5 12 3 6 2 4:1 1:1.2 6:1 (Jan. -Mar. 1954) Manning- 22 (Sept. -Nov, 1954) Manning-23 (Dec. 1954- Feb. 1955) 17 data, further reduced by the tagging of viable albacore, precludes any analysis at this time. Field examination of the gonads failed to reveal sexually mature fish, most of them possessing thin, ribbon-like gonads in the earliest stages of sexual development. Tagging of Albacore One of the aims of the albacore investi- gation is to determine the relationships of the albacore taken in different parts of the North Pacific, i.e., whether the albacore population of the North Pacific is composed of one or many races or stocks of fish. Recoveries made by the Japanese of albacore tagged off California (Ganssle and Clemens 1953, Blunt 1954) demon- strate ocean-wide migrations. Notable among these is the recovery made on June 23, 1953, by Japanese fishermen about 550 miles south- east of Tokyo (Ganssle and Clemens 1953). This fish had been tagged and released off Los Angeles Harbor, California, on August 4, 1952, 324 days before recapture. The albacore had traversed a straight-line distance of 4,900 miles. In order to define the relationship of the central Pacific stocks, we have tagged all viable albacore, thus far releasing 79 fish (table 20, Appendix). Tags (Type G) and tagging methods have been essentially the same as those used in California (Wilson 1953). OTHER FISHES Other Tunas Yellowfin and skipjack were sporadically taken on the longline and trolling gear and then generally south of the albacore, while the single little tunny was caught by trolling indefinitely tro- pical waters. As for the small catch of yellowfin, Nakamura (1951) says that this species ranges as far north as 35 N. latitude and is abundant in the North Pacific during the sumnner, a period for which we do not at present have data. Sharks The four species of shark comnnonly taken on the longline gear in the North Pacific were the bonito, great blue, thresher, and white-tipped shark. Of the four species, the great blue was by far the most frequently caught and is probably the nnost abundant species of shark in the area. It was taken at 50 of the 52 fishing stations, with the highest day's catch of 40 at station 28 (40 12'N. , 174 56'W. ) on cruise 22 of the Manning during October 1954 (tables 17 to 19, Appendix). The immediate importance of sharks to the tuna longline fishery lies in the amount of damage they inflict on the tuna catch. In the equatorial area shark-damaged tuna comprise as much as 20 percent of the catch (Murphy and Shomura 1955). In comparison, only 3 of a total of 262 tuna (1. I percent) t2iken on the long- line gear in the North Pacific were shark-bitten, in spite of the heavy population of great blue shark indicated by the longline catches. Miscellaneous Species In addition to the albacore, the species of tuna taken on longline (tables 11 to 13, Appen- dix) and trolling (table 21, Appendix) gear were the bigeye, yellowfin, skipjack, and little tunny. Of these, the bigeye, which is of commercial innportance in Hawaii and Japan, was by far the most abundant species in the longline catch. Bigeye appeared in the catch at 27 of the 52 stations fished, the biggest single catch (30 bigeye, or 3.85 fish per 100 hooks) beingmade on Manning cruise 19 at 30°54'N. . 159°54'W. , just south of the biggest albacore catch, which was made at 33 58'N. during the same period. The distributional pattern of the bigeye during the three survey periods (fig. 8) indicates a north-south shift paralleling that of the alba- core; during the fall bigeye were tJiken as far north as 40°N. , but during the winter they were taken only as far north as 34 N, (fig. 8). Bigeye and albacore were taken together at only 6 of the 41 stations which yielded tuna, and most of the bigeye were taken farther south than the alba- core, indicating a preference for a more tropi- cal environment. Among the miscellaneous species of fish taken on the longline gear were the lancet fish, broadbill swordfish, striped marlin, black mar- lin, short-nosed spearfish, sunfish, dolphin, wahoo, and a newly described species of pelagic sting ray (Ishiyama and Okada 1955). Only the lancet fish, among these, were taken with any regularity (tables 17 to 19, Appendix), and they were found to range widely over the areas fished. One pelagic sting ray was captured at station 15 (cruise 19) at 34°41'N. , 154°52'W. and another at station 13 (cruise 23) at 33 50'N., 179°44'W. Among the troll catches of fish other than tunas (table 22, Appendix) the dolphin was most frequent. It was taken in the southern sectors of the survey areas. SUMMARY 1. Albacore were taken on the longline geEir during all three surveys, with the highest 18 40° 30° 20° 40° 30° 20° "~ — — — " — — " ~~ — "~ ^ _ r :i to ~ =^ --\ ^= = 1;^:^^;:: = ~ — - - — — -— — — IS II E E C 0 -^ ^~^^^Z^ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ sli"- C D H)?=> 0 ^"* ^ D — ^ _ _ __ _ „ - _ - - CATCH/ 100 HOOKS D : JANUARY - MARCH 1954 . m 0 m 0.1 -0.9 m 1 ,0 - 1 .9 11 2.0-2.9 ffl >3.0 E E E ^-' -■'''' E ' ^^ — ■" .. ■ ^=^ . ^ — ^ E ^^ ^^^ ^D ^-' ^-^^ ^^ ° b J' — — ._ _ . -- ' E ^ c 50 ^■-' E ** ^ ^ --- "* E ^^^ E f J '- — — ~" E 0 D D D — _ _ _ _ _ — _ _ " SEPTEMBER -NOVEMBER 1954 ^ — — — — — — — — — 30° 20° — — — — — — — — — — — n — ~ — — ^ '^~ ~ — ^ *^ E ^r 0 E s^ -> E ^- ~- — ^ s, E _ _ ^ E _ _ ^ „ _ — — ^ — — — — — - - fi ^ >; - — ^ — - r D e" - - — — — - -— - — — — — — — 0— ^ D 0 D f^ ~- -, 7 0 ffi .^ __ ^ D 0 _^ _ _ _ ;:: ^ ^ _ — , _ _ D^ _ _ — — ^ - - - - - — — - — — - - — J — - — - -^ — s* ^ — — — — r = "- — — — — - — ~ E r' — ' — ' — ' — ^ — '— '— '—^ ' — 'l _ _ _ _ — _ — — — _ -A — — DECEMBER 1954- FEBRUARY 1955 |-| — — — — — — — — — — — ' — — — "^ — ' ~ - - — ' ^ ~^ _ _ _ I70°E 180° I70°W 160° 150° 140° Figure 8. — Summary of POFI longline bigeye catches in the North Pacific. 19 single catch of 42 albacore made daring the first winter of fishing. As evidenced by Japanese catch data, substantial nunn- bers of albacore were present as far west as 141 °E. longitude during the winter of 1953-54. 10. 2. Trolling for albacore was most successful during the fall survey, with the highest catch of 8,8 albacore per 10 line-hours of trolling made at 42 N, , 172 E. Troll- ing during both winter surveys was poor. No albacore were taken during the first winter and only 4 during the second winter of fishing. 3. The albacore population moves north and south seasonally. Fish were taken only north of 35°N. latitude during the fall but were taken as far south as 29 N. latitude during the winter. This shift in albacore distribution appears to be related to a similar latitudinal shift in the transition zone, which is a zone of mixing between two easterly flowing currents, the North Pacific and the Aleutian. During the fall the transition zone was considerable far- ther north than during the winter. 4. A study of the vertical stratification of albacore indicated their presence throughout the range of depths fished by the longline gear. 5. By means of chemical sounding tubes the average maximum depth of the 5-fathom floatline gear was found to be 405 feet on Manning cruise 22 and 328 feet on Manning cruise 23. The average maximum depth of the 1 5-fathom floatline gear was 432 feet and 410 feet for the two cruises respectively. 6. The albacore taken on the longline gear ranged in size from 54 to 120 cm. (8 to 79 pounds), while all of the troll-caught alba- core were smaller than 74 cm. (20 pounds). The majority of the small albacore (less than 80 cm.) were taken on the longline and trolling gear during the fall survey, and they were noticeably absent from both winter surveys, indicating a movement of small albacore from the area. 7. None of the albacore taken on the longline or trolling gear were in an advjinced stage of sexual nnaturity. 8. A total of 79 albacore, 54 bigeye, and I yellowfin were tagged with the California- type plastic vinylite tags. Bigeye tuna were regularly taken during all three survey periods, usually south of the area of albacore catches. The bigeye ranged in size from 82 to 180 cm. (26 to 265 pounds). Damage to longline-caught fish by sharks was negligible at 1. 1 percent even though shark populations were apparently quite large. Shark damage in equatorial waters often reaches ais high as 20 percent. LITERATURE CITED BLUNT, C. E. JR. 1954. Two mid-Pacific recoveries of California-tagged albacore. Calif. Fish and Game 40(3):339. CLEMENS, HAROLD B. 1955. Catch localities for Pacific albacore (Thunnus germo) landed in California, 1951 through 1953. California, Dept. of Fish and Game, Fish Bull. 100:1-28. GANSSLE, DAVID, and H. B. CLEMENS 1953. California-tagged albacore recovered off Japan. Calif. Fish and Game 39(4):443 ISHIYAMA, REIZO, and K. OKADA 1955. A new sting ray, Dasyatis atratus (Dasyatidae, Pisces), from the subtropical Pacific. Shimonoseki College of Fisheries Journal 4(2): 211-216. MANN, HERBERT J. 1955. Construction details of improved tuna longline gear used by Pacific Oceanic Fishery Investigations. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Comm. Fish. Rev. 17(12):1-10. MURPHY, GARTH I., and T. OTSU 1954. Analysis of catches of nine Japanese tuna longline expeditions to the west- ern Pacific Ocean. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci. Rept. : Fish. 128:1-46. , and R. S. SHOMURA 1953a. Longline fishing for deep-swimming tunas in the central Pacific, 1950- 51. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci. Rept. : Fish. 98:1-47. 20 MURPHY, GARTH I., and R. S. SHOMURA 1953b. Longline fishing for deep-swimming tunas in the central Pacific, January- June 1952. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci. Rept. : Fish. 108:1-32. 1955. Longline fishing for deep-swimming tunas in the central Pacific, August- November 1952. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci. Rept.: Fish. 137:1-42. SHAPIRO, SIDNEY 1950. The Japanese longline fishery for tunas. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Comm. Fish. Rev. 12(4): 1-26. SHIMADA, BELL M. 1951. Japanese tuna-mothership operations in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Comm. Fish. Rev. 13(6): 1-26. NAKAMURA, HIROSHI 1951. Tuna longline fishery and fishing grounds. Tokyo, Association of Japzinese Tuna Fish. Coop. (Trans- lated from the Japanese by W. G. Van Campen as: U. S. Fish and Wildife Service, Spec. Sci. Rept. : Fish. 112:1-168. 1954) NOMURA, TOSHIZO et al. 1953-54. Tuna fishing, published monthly by Kanagawa Prefecture Fisheries Experiment Station, 5:1-17; 6:8-26; 7:11-37; 8:6-39; 9:1-25; 10:1-17; 11:1-30. SHOMURA, RICHARDS., and G. I. MURPHY 1955. Longline fishing for deep-swimming tunas in the central Pacific, 1953. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Spec. Sci. Rept.: Fish. 157:1-70. SUDA, AKIRA 1954. Albacore (Thunnus germo). In: Average year's fishing condition of tuna longline fisheries for 1952: 2-31. Edited by Nankai Regional Fish. Lab. ; published by Nippon Katsuo-Maguro Gyogyokumiai Rengokai, Tokyo. WILSON, ROBERT C. 1953. Tuna marking, a progress report. Calif. Fish and Game 39(4):429-442. APPENDIX 1/ Table 1 1. --Sunnmary of the tuna catch, John R. Mzinning cruise 19— , January-March 1954 Station Date Noon position Catch per 100 hooks | Latitude Longitude Albacore Bigeye Yellowfin Skipjack 1 Jan. 16 23°36'N, 159°148W. 0.40 . . 2 Jan. 21 24°50'N. 159°40'W. - 0.26 0.26 . 3 Jan. 22 26°28'N. 159°39'W. - 0. 13 - . 4 Jan. 23 28°12'N. 159°44'W. - 0.40 0. 13 0.26 5 Jan. 24 29°44'N. 159°56'W. - 1.79 . - 6 Jan. 25 30°54'N. 159°54'W. 0.40 3.85 . 0.13 7 Jan. 26 32°29'N. 159°50'W. . 1.92 - - 8 Jan. 27 33°58'N. 159°44'W. 5.38 - - . 9 Jan. 28 35°27'N. 159°38'W. 0.26 _ - - 10 Feb. 19 29°07'N. 155°12'W. - 0.51 - - 11 Feb. 20 30°36'N. 154°50'W. - 1.03 . 0. 13 12 Feb. 21 32°12'N. 154°48'W. . 0.77 . . 13 Feb. 22 32°43'N. 154°50'W. - 0.26 . - 14 Feb. 25 33°46'N. 154''48'W. - . - - 15 Feb. 26 34°41'N. 154°52'W. - . . . 16 Feb. 27 35°16'N. 155°02'W. . - . - 17 Mar. 1 34°02'N. 150°26'W. - 0.26 . - 18 Mar. 3 35°57'N. 147°00'W. - _ - - — 13 hooks per basket; 754 hooks fished at station 1, 780 hooks at all others. 21 Table 12. --Summary of the tuna catch, Manning cruise 22, September-October 1954 Station Date Noo n position Nunnber of hooks Catch per 100 hooks Latitude Longitude Albacore Bigeye 1 Sept, 15 26°17'N. 159°13'W. 780 . 0.64 3 Sept. 17 30°I4'N. 160°05'W. 780 - 0,38 5 Sept. 18 31°26'N. 160°07'W. 780 - 0.64 7 Sept. 19 32°50'N. 160°05'W. 728 - 0,27 9 Sept. 20 34°25'N. 160°01'W. 780 - - 11 Set>t. 21 36°02'N. 160°05'W. 780 - - 13 Sept. 22 37°43'N. 159°31'W. 780 - - 14 Sept. 23 39°02'N. 159°38'W. 780 - 0.26 15 Sept. 24 40°45'N. 159°50'W. 780 - 0.64 17 Oct. 2 43°37'N. 159°43'W. 520 - - 18 Oct. 3 45°02'N. 159°40'W. 520 0. 19 - 19 Oct. 4 46°30'N. 159°18'W. 780 1. 15 - 21 Oct. 5 45°31'N. 161°16'W. 780 0.51 - 24 Oct. 21 36°22'N. 174°35'W. 780 0.38 - 26 Oct. 24 38°40'N. I75°27'W. 767 1. 17 - 28 Oct. 25 40°12'N. 174°56'W. 754 0.13 - Table 13. — Summary of the tuna catch, John R. Manning cruise 23, December 1954- February 1955 Station Date Noon position Number of hooks Catch per 100 hooks Latitude Longitude Albacore Bigeye 1 Dec. 6 29°32'N. 159°56'W. 715 . 0.70 3 Dec. 8 32°43'N. 159°54'W. 780 - 0.13 5 Dec. 9 34°23'N. 159°48'W. 780 0.90 - 7 Dec. 12 36°14'N. 159°54>W. 780 0.90 - 8 Dec. 14 35°35'N. 158°21>W. 780 0,90 - 9 Jan. 12 25°52'N. 179°26'W. 773 - - 10 Jan. 13 27°51>N. 179°30'W. 780 - - 11 Jan. 15 30°25'N. 179°42'E, 520 0.38 0,38 12 Jan. 16 31°49'N. 179°43"E. 520 0.96 - 13 Jan. 17 33°50'N. 179°44'W. 773 0, 13 - 14 Jan. 18 35°48'N. 179°49'W. 754 0,27 - 15 Jan. 20 31°25'N. 178°08'W. 780 0.64 0.13 16 Jan. 27 31°41'N. 176°29'W. 780 - - 17 Jan. 28 30°42'N. 175°01'W. 780 1.03 0. 13 18 Jan. 30 30°52'N. 173°10'W. 780 - 0. 13 19 Jan. 31 30°59'N. 171°14"W. 780 0.51 0.64 20 Feb. 1 29°30'N. I69°47'W. 780 0.26 0.13 21 Feb. 2 28°21'N. 168°08'W. 780 - 0.26 22 Table 14. --Time taken £or setting and hauling the longline gear, John R. Manning cruise 19, January-March 1954 Station Set Haul Fish- handling break Number of baskets set Time started to set Time taken for setting Time started to haul Tinne taken for hauling 5-fathom gear 1 5-fathom gear 5-fathom gear 1 5-fathom gear min. min. min. nnin. 1 28 30 0663 87 1236 129 108 30 2 30 30 0655 86 1229 119 130 27 3 30 30 0700 84 1229 111 122 28 4 30 30 0649 78 1257 96 100 27 5 30 30 0647 80 1230 102 105 33 6 30 30 0648 84 1228 110 110 31 7 30 30 0647 81 1228 109 113 31 8 30 30 0645 78 1239 94 120 37 9 30 30 0654 78 1225 111 108 31 10 30 30 0614 80 1220 106 137 32 11 30 30 0615 80 1216 119 137 28 12 30 30 0619 81 1220 104 120 - 13 30 30 0622 83 1211 140 176 - 14 30 30 0618 82 1213 111 110 33 15 30 30 0625 82 1208 106 119 36 16 30 30 0618 82 1213 125 125 33 17 30 30 0613 83 1302 135 113 - 18 30 30 0615 85 1209 126 130 20 Table 15. --Time taken for setting and hauling the longline gear, John R. Manning cruise 22, September-November 1954 Station Set Haul Fish- handling break Number of baskets set Time started to set Time taken for setting Time started to haul Time taken for hauling 5-fathom gear 1 5-fathom gear 5-fathom gear 15 -fathom gear 1 30 30 0532 min. 78 1213 min. 120 min. 135 min. 35 3 30 30 0538 77 1234 107 120 29 5 30 30 0540 79 1227 129 125 27 7 27 29 0544 74 1213 102 112 30 9 30 30 0546 74 1219 107 97 28 11 30 30 0540 74 1208 114 106 30 13 30 30 0543 77 1216 113 111 . 14 30 30 0544 71 1218 114 124 - 15 30 30 0602 73 1211 156 126 29 17 20 20 0618 68 1215 95 100 . 18 20 20 0646 60 1226 85 95 - 19 30 30 0546 76 1205 116 109 . 21 30 30 0601 78 1217 132 126 - 24 30 30 0635 85 1210 102 111 . III' 30 29 0627 78 1225 136 117 24 30 30 0620 80 1203 - - - — Gear picked up in severe storm, 2 baskets lost, hauling times for some baskets not recorded. 23 Table 16, --Time taken for setting and haaling the longline gear, John R. December 1954-February 1955 Manning cruise 23, Station Set Haul Fish- handling break Number o i baskets set Time started to set Time taken for setting Time started to haul rime taken for hauling 5-f athom gear 15 -fathom gear 5-fathom gear 1 5-fathom gear min. min. min. nnin. 1 25 30 0648 82 1156 125 129 32 3 30 30 0612 86 1217 127 128 36 5 30 30 0605 83 1223 126 118 33 7 30 30 0700 82 1217 119 117 27 8 30 30 0606 81 1205 242 134 23 9 30 30 0612 96 1130 118 142 23 10 30 30 0615 87 1154 114 121 27 11 20 20 0700 65 1200 87 73 26 12 20 20 0742 59 1202 72 93 - 13 30 30 0642 94 1155 114 103 23 14 28 30 0630 85 1201 94 109 24 15 30 30 0632 90 1153 113 119 19 16 30 30 0615 91 1135 108 119 31 17 30 30 0620 > 1150 116 126 23 18 30 30 0620 1154 118 100 21 19 30 30 0624 86 1155 100 100 40 20 30 30 0619 77 1147 94 122 26 21 30 30 0610 81 1145 105 110 27 — Includes 15 minutes spent in repairing a line-break during setting Table 17a. --Complete catch records, John R. Manning cruise 19, 5-fathom float line gear Station Baskets set Alba- core Bigeye Yellow- fin Skip- jack Broad- bill Dol- phin Lancet fish Great blue shark Others 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 28 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 3 22 1 1 1 1 3 15 5 3 2 2 2 1 1 _ 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 5 8 1 1 2 3 13 2 9 2 1 5 2 6 3 2 2 6 6 1 1 6 4 11/ Total 26 33 2 2 0 1 53 47 6 ■J, Sunfish — Bonito shark — , Striped marlin 4 / — Thresher shark 24 Table 17b. --Complete catch records, John R. Manning cruise 19, 15-fathom float line gear Station Baskets set Alba- core Bigeye Yellow- fin Skip- jack Broad- biU Dol- phin Lancet fish Great blue shark Others 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 20 1 2 1 3 11 15 10 4 5 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 5 " 1 10 4 5 5 3 5 3 11 1 2 2 5 2 5 1 7 6 4 2 2 5 Total 21 57 1 2 2 1 55 44 14 — . White -tipped shark ■zr. Wahoo, white-tipped shark — Bonito shark 4/ — . Thresher shark -7-. Sunfish, bonito shark — Sting ray, thresher shark Table 18a. --Complete catch record, John R. Manning cruise 22, 5-fathom float line gear Station Baskets set Alba- core Bigeye Spear- fish Dol- phin Great blue shark Mako shark Lajicet fish Others 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 14 15 17 18 19 21 24 2&2.' 30 30 30 27 30 30 30 30 30 20 20 30 30 30 4 2 4 2 3 3 1 4 2 1 2 4 1 1 1 1 1 4 4 3 1 4 8 6 6 11 8 4 14 20 1 1 1 1 1 4 2 9 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 Total 10 13 4 12 95 4 26 2 — . Black marlin — . White -tipped shark -' Wahoo 1/ 6/ Striped marlin Catch of 1 albacore and 3 great blue 8harks--type of gear undetermined Lost 2 baskets of gear 25 Table 18b. --Complete catch record, John R. Majining cruise 22, 15-fathoni float line gear 1 Station Baskets set Alba- core Bigeye Spear- fish Dol- phin Great blue shark Mako shark Lancet fish Others 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 14 15 17 18 19 21 24 26 28 30 30 30 29 30 30 30 30 30 20 20 30 30 30 29 30 1 5 2 3 5 3 2 2 1 1 ;i' 4 2 7 2 1 2 2 1 7 3 4 1 3 6 4 8 3 7 4 1 4 17 2 1 2 5 5 4 1 2 1 3 6 1 1 1 - Total 16 9 2 18 75 2 33 0 ^ Broadbill — Black marlin Table 19a. --Complete catch record, John R. Manning cruise 23, 5-fathom float line gear Station Baskets set Alba- core Bigeye Spear- fish Dol- phin Great blue shark Mako shark Lancet fish Others 1 25 2 3 30 - - - _ 2 . 3 \y 5 30 5 . - - 5 . 3 7 30 4 - - - - . 5 - 8 30 1 - - - 9 - 5 . 9 30 - - - - 3 - . . 10 30 - - - 1 19 - - - 11 20 1 2 - - 3 . 1 - 12 13 ^Si' 3 - - - 3 3 1 2 \y 14 28 - - - - 2 . . . 15 30 2 - - _ 1 . . . 16 30 - - - . - . 2 - 17 30 3 . - - 1 - - - 18 30 1 - . 3 - - - 19 30 2 4 - - 1 1 . - 20 30 1 1 \±l _ _ . - . 21 30 - - - 6 - 1 - Total 22 10 1 1 61 2 22 2 — Thresher shark — . Lost half a basket of gear (6 hooks) — . Pelagic sting ray — Shortnosed spearfish 26 Table 19b. --Complete catch record, John R. Manning cruise 23, 15-fathom float line gear Station Baskets set Alba- core Bigeye Spear- fish Dol- phin Great blue shark Mako shark Lancet fish Others 1 30 3 ISM . 3 . 3 30 - 1 - . - - 2 - 5 30 2 . . - 8 - 3 - 7 30 3 . - . 1 - 3 - 8 l>' 6 - - 6 - 2 - 9 - - - 14 - 1 - 10 30 - - - - 11 - - - 11 20 1 . - - 2 - - - 12 20 2 - - - 3 - - - 13 30 1 - - - 1 - 4 - 14 30 2 - - _ 2 . . - 15 30 3 1 - - 2 - - - 16 30 - - - - 4 - 2 . 17 30 5 1 . - 1 - 1 . 18 30 _ - . - 2 _ 2 - 19 30 2 1 - - 1 1 - 20 30 1 - - - 1 - 3 - 21 30 - 2 - - 11 - 1 - Total 28 9 1 0 70 0 28 0 — Lost half a basket of gear (6 hooks) Table 20. --Record of tuna tagged during John R. Manning cruises 19, 22 and 23 Species JRM 19 JRM 22 JRM 23 Total Albacore Yellowfin Bigeye 26 0 41 18 1 6 35 0 7 79 1 54 27 Table 21. --Summary of dates, locations, and surface water temperatures for troll catches of tuna other than albacore Species and cruise Date Position Surface temperature Latitude Longitude Yellowfin °F, Manning 22 10/13/54 Off Midway I. - 11/1/54 31°38>N. 176 39'W. 72,6 Gilbert 17 11/7/54 It 21°23'N. 158°35'W. 79.9 11 Skipjack Manning 22 11/4/54 26°32'N. 173°44'W. 75.0 Gilbert 17 10/28/54 34°33'N. 171°32'W. 68.7 Manning 23 Smith 27 1/26/55 1/18/55 30°23'N. 32°00'N. 176°50'W. 178°37'W. 65. 1 63.4 2/1/55 28°59'N. 179°19'W. 68.0 2/2/55 rt 32°03'N. M 179°35'E. II 64.8 2/8/55 30°04'N. 172°50'W. M 62.9 2/13/55 31°10'N. 166°45'W. 62.3 Little tunny Manning 22 10/16/54 Off Midway I. - 28 Table 22. --Summary of data on troll captures of miscellaneous species Cruise Date Species Position Surface temperature Latitude Longitude JRM 22 9/15/54 Dolphin 26°20'N, II 159°12'W. II o_F. 76.9 II II II 9/23/54 II 39°07'N. II 159°50'W. II 71. 7 11 9/24/54 II 40°44'N. 159°53'W. 69.9 II II M II JRM 23 11/1/54 II 11/2/54 11/4/54 12/6/54 Wahoo Dolphin II Barracuda Dolphin II 31°38'N. II 28°59'N. 26°52'N. 29°32'N. " 176°39'W. II 177°12'W. I74°14'W. 159°56'W. II 72.6 II 74.0 76.4 70.3 II CHG 17 9/19/54 II II II 25°13'N. II 159°53'W. II II 77.2 II 9/24/54 11/1/54 11/2/54 II 11/3/54 II II II II Wahoo Rainbow II 39°25'N. 28°03'N. 27°02'N. 26°53'N. II 160°08'W, 179°10'W. 175°27'W. 175°02'W. 70.5 77.0 77.5 77.6 HMS 27 II II 2/19/55 2/20/55 fl runner Dolphin M 25°55'N. 28°00'N. 26°03'N. 172°09'W. 159°03'W. 158°45'W. 78.5 69.6 70. 5 II Table 23. --Vernacular names of fishes and their commonly accepted scientific names Albacore, Germo alalunga (Bonnaterre) Bigeye tuna, Parathunnus sibi (Temminck and Schlegel) Yellowfin tuna, Neothunnus macropterus (Temminck and Schlegel) Skipjack, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus) Little tunny, Euthynnus affinis (Cantor) Black marlin, Makaira ampla (Poey) Striped marlin, Makaira mitsukurii (Jordan and Snyder) Shortnosed spearfish, Tetrapturus angustiroatris (Tanaka) Broadbill swordfish, Xiphias gladius Linnaeus Dolphin, Coryphaena hippurus (Linnaeus) Wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri (Cuvier and Valenciennes) Barracuda, Sphyraena sp. Great blue shark, Prionace glauca (Linnaeus) Bonito shark, Isurus sp. Thresher shark, Alopias sp. White-tipped shark, Carcharinus longimanus (Poey) Lancet fish, Alepisaurus sp. Rainbow runner, Elagatis bipinnulatus (Quoy and Gaimard) Sunfish, Mola mola Linnaeus and Ranzania ap. Pelagic sting ray, Dasyatis atratus (Ishiyama and Okada) 29 BL who; Library ■ penals 5 WHSE 01704