The Catalina islander. : (Avalon, Calif.) 1918-current

              —m —^•~l"i"w-— I THE mm^fyw Published Weekly at Avalon, Santa Catalma bland* Lo« Aagclet County, California. A publication coataUmg local happening* on this wonderful Mand world of moaataiiu, sea and alcjr. Deicribe* in detail many of the thrillmg fighta between the great game-ftth and the aaglera of the world who uie Kght or heavy tackle for sport and pleam'e. nice, Five Centi .'.r".. 1. ,v NFISH Bulletin No. 2 of theCalifornia Pish and Game Commission, there are set forth thi^cotfceptions whieh underlie the pres-' ent scientific work being done by the Cqmmissionin Southern^California. This is obtainable upon request at any of its offices, or from" the office in the Postal Telegraph Building, San Francisco. The Bulletin is intended as an exposition of the known principles of. fishery science in so far as 4hey indicate the immediate research necessary for thg conservation and proper use of our fisheries: It is offered/with a vivid realization of the chaos in which the subject ex •ists. and with th^ lraailits^of spirit which acknowledges that ..some of the most fundamental principles are poorly known. It is also offered with the knowledge that years must elapse before such a program can become of the greatest valoe however great the interest of the results obtained in the meantime. basis for the interest of Fish and Game Commission is (the Bulletin explains) that the enactment and enforcement of laws regulating the fisheries of California are duties of the State, hot of the Federal Government, except in interstate commerce and in relations with foreign governments. This fact is not, in general, Well understood. If it had been, there-would have come into being at a much earlier date a demand that this important duty be properly performed on a basis of well ascertained facts. Nor has there been in the past, on the part of the State authorities, 5"clear recognition of the necessary preliminaries of really effective legal control over the fisheries. "The knowledge upon which legislation must be based has been lacking more frequently than it has been present, a statement true not only of California but of other States as well. It has become obvious that an organized 'body of knowledge con^cerning c&re; oi the fisheries of the State must be collected and also that it will be absolutely necessary for Ihe State, through its agents, to gather its owq facts and formulate its own TUESDAY. MARCH 16, 1920 SANTA CATALIN A ISLAND: 'IN ALL THE WORLD NO TRIP LIKE THIS' The Scientific Investigation of Marine Fisheries. By WILL F. THOMPSON systems of conservation, for knowledge of the characteristics of depletion are Jacking, just as are the records necessary to prove it, and the Says are nearly gone when laws restricting the $sheries will be passed without' a thorough basis of proved facts to enforce the demand for them. There is no organizar tion. which can or will take from the'-should? ers of the State the burden of providing these facts and formulating the principles of such knowledge.^ The earlier t£fbse thingsare understood by' everyone interested in fisheries, and the mote earnestly the attempt to obtain R. WILL F. THOMPSON, who for the past two years has made a special study of the sardine .and the albacore situation, in Southern California, and Who is now in charge of the sci«itific laboratory at Long Beach, which is doing excellent research work in the study of our game and food fishes, says: "The enactment and enforcement of laws regulating the fisheries of California are duties of the State, not of the Federal Government, except.in interstate commerce and in relations with foreign governments. This fact is. not, in general, well understood. If it had been, there would have come into being at a much earlier date, a demand that this important duty be properly performed on a basis of well ascertained facts.". adeq oate knowledge is supported, the sooner will there be competent laws of conservation, and the, less fear there will be of laws blindly throttling legitimate utilization. NATURALLYour enough, in seeking this knowledge, first care must be for" data which bear on the maintenance of $ :v the species. To us, looking from a .standi edge it seeks, responsible as it is for the prospoint of practical or ..sporting use of the fisheries! the present scientific knowledge- of fishes is an unorganized chaos, however advanced it seems to theembryologist or the systematise We must deal with such primary facts-as the characterists of depletion, of the nature of great fluctuations in abundance, of the effect of 4he fishery on the stock of fish according to the age of the fish or the season 5. hC:' 'k '$* $*- .•—ft" ,.V i~V. 1 .tf I .i-j.v.f' -, t" Avalon: thejrear-ioundmeccafaf tounat* fromallpaitoof thewodd. Attradiona and other aport*. A plea«rcre»ort with VOL. Vtf No. 9 .. JU Our researches should no longer be monographs.upon the natural history of various animals, but should be pointed and prolonged investigations of the necessary phase)!, of the fishery and of the fish concerned. Then, of c&urse;, the prosperity of the fisheries, as pipvpding food for the public,- should be promoted whenever possible. without dagger of depletion. The facts have been summarized in the program which has been laid oat for the scientific investigations of the Fish and Game .Commission. To quote: '. "Hence, in forinttlating plans for research on various fisheries, it has seemed necessary that the Fish and Game Commission seek a knowledge of those things which will: V% 1. Indicate the presence or ab- N senceand extent of overfishing, explain it and provide proper_corrective measures. 1 2.' Give an understanding of fluctuations in supply other than —those of depletion, and. provide if possible a basis for their elimination and anticipation in order that the yield may be constantly at its of the available supply with the greatest good to the industry and the .public, and with the danger of incurring depletion." THIS program is possible to the State alone, having power as it has to .collect adequate data throughout periods of years and it, alone, is the best judge of what knowl- of the year, and not upon the more, genieral tics that discount these various factors are laws of embryology or the facts of. anatomy. CONTINUED ON PAGB TEN perity and continuance of the fisheries. Such a program implies, above all other things, adequate: statistics. It is plain enough' that a great yield does not mean great abundance if the number of boats has been vastly increased, nor if anew method of fishing has1 been devised, nor-if the fishery has moved to anew locality. In fact, depletion might actually exist and the yield increase. So statis- A Ji­ ll fJ 3. Aid the fishermen, dealers and canners in the useand increase fl