The word mackerel is a common one in every day conversation. Everywhere we can hear such expressions as, "holy mackerel," "dead as a mackerel," and "cold as a mackerel." Undoubtedly the fish called mackerel, from which these terms have arisen, must be universally popular and well known. It is hoped that the following pages will give some idea of the popularity and economic importance of this fish.

The irregular habits and the unheralded periods of scarcity or abundance of the common Atlantic mackerel are subjects of great concern to the fishermen of Europe and America. The occasional failure of the mackerel to appear spells hardship and privation for many fishermen and dealers, and when its does appear in the vast shoals that are eagerly awaited each spring, adverse economic conditions sometimes prevent the fishermen from making a living. In California the mackerel is always present, summer and winter, year in and year out, but because of economic factors the fishery is subject to sudden ups and downs.

As might be expected, the habits of the Atlantic mackerel have long been the subject of speculation and study, both by fishermen and scientists. Many stories are current about how the mackerel spends the winter, the time when it is absent from the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America. One of the most common stories is that the fish bury themselves in the mud at the bottom of the sea and that during this hibernation a film comes over their eyes so they are rendered blind. Some people claim that the mackerel go into the Arctic Ocean to spend the winter; others say that they go south into the tropics. The only certain fact is that nobody really knows where the majority of the mackerel spend the winter and that one guess is as good as another.

Mackerel occasionally appear in shoals so dense and extensive that the ocean is colored with them for miles. At these times it is said to be dangerous to enter the water. A story is told of a Norwegian fisherman who fell overboard into a school of mackerel and was torn to pieces by the savage fish before his comrades could pull him out. This story is probably somewhat exaggerated, but the thought of that luckless fellow would suffice to keep most people from diving into a swarm of hungry mackerel.

The idea has arisen in some places, notably Australia, that the flesh of the mackerel and mackerel-like fishes is poisonous. As a matter of fact, no food is more wholesome than fresh or properly preserved mackerel, tuna or bonito. However, all these fish spoil readily if not cared for, and stale fish can cause illness, and the illness can cause stories about poison.

The scombroid or mackerel-like fishes are of very great commercial importance throughout the world. The four most important groups of fishes are those comprising the herring, salmon, codfish and mackerel families. Of the mackerel family, the two mackerels (Scomber and Pneumatophorus) are among the most widespread and universally important, although the tunas, bonitos, seerfishes, and Spanish mackerels help to keep the family Scombridae in a leading position.

The fishermen of nearly every maritime nation in the temperate zones catch mackerel in large numbers. The annual catch (1928–1929) off the North Sea and Atlantic coasts of Europe amounts to 100,000,000 pounds. The fishermen of the Atlantic coast of North America catch 40,000,000 to 60,000,000 pounds of mackerel every year (1924–1930). The California fishery accounts for 15,000,000 to 60,000,000 pounds annually (1928–1931). Japan, with an annual (1923–1925) catch of about 150,000,000 pounds, is the largest consumer of mackerel in the world. In addition to the foregoing, there are important mackerel fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black seas, and lesser fisheries in Australia, New Zealand and South America.

The mackerel is everywhere primarily a fresh fish, that is to say, the greatest part of the world catch is consumed in a fresh state. Nevertheless, really enormous quantities are canned, salted or dried in many parts of the world. The canning industry is a recent development, dating back no farther than the nineteenth century. Salting and drying, however, are ancient methods of preserving fish so they can be sent to distant markets or held over from periods of abundance to times of scarcity. Before modern refrigeration methods made possible the transportation or holding of fresh mackerel in quantities, salted mackerel was by far the most important product of the world's mackerel fishery.

Since the mid-twentieth century, The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program (AP) has secured a reputation for being, in its own words, “the premier program advancing educational excellence in secondary schools across the United States,” and “the gold standard in American education.” Many analysts question whether this glowing characterization is justified, but most would agree that the perception of its truth is ubiquitous. Clearly, parents, policy makers, schools and colleges, and the public at large rely on AP classes and test scores to determine what is high quality coursework, who is most deserving to go to college, which secondary schools are doing the “best job” of educating youth, and more.

Thus, in many different ways, enrollment in AP courses gives students access to the knowledge and status that certify them as highly qualified for college enrollment. And it follows that students who do not successfully participate in AP courses will not have access to the knowledge and certification that open doors to higher education. It was the unequal distribution of these opportunities (ex., knowledge, extra “points” to raise one’s grade point average, meeting college admissions requirements) that prompted the American Civil Liberties Union to file a suit in 1999 on behalf of students at Inglewood High School alleging that their three AP course offerings (in contrast to other schools that offered 15, 20, or more) were inadequate.

Responding to that lawsuit, the California Department of Education initiated the AP Challenge Grant program, designed to increase the availability of and participation in AP courses for ethnic minority students in California high schools. This new UC ACCORD study, conducted by Professor Richard Brown, reports on how schools have responded and offers several important findings.

MORE STUDENTS TAKE AP TESTS, BUT THE “PARTICIPATION GAP” HAS GOTTEN WIDER – It is clear that all groups increased the number of tests taken between 1998 and 2003. However, the data also shows that the proportion of African-American and Hispanic students who took the tests increased at a substantially lower rate than the proportion of White and Asian-American students. Thus, as more students from all groups were tested, the gap in rates of participation among different groups got wider.

SCHOOLS CAN DRAMATICALLY AND QUICKLY INCREASE THEIR RATES OF AP TEST TAKING – Some schools showed exemplary growth in AP activity. For example, students in one Los Angeles school took only 12 tests in two AP subjects in 1998. Students at that same school took 273 tests in ten AP subjects just six years later. A “high desert” Southern California school accounted for just 53 tests in two subject areas in 1998, but produced 378 tests from 16 subject areas in 2003. And a San Diego County school generated 31 tests in two subject areas in 1998 as compared to 521 tests in twenty-one subject areas in 2003. Clearly, schools can make rapid and substantial progress in the number of tests taken and the variety of opportunities provided to students.

PREPARATION HAS NOT KEPT PACE WITH PARTICIPATION – In 1998, the average score on AP tests resulted in a passing grade. In 2003, the average score resulted in a non-passing grade. However, not all AP subjects declined; for example, Calculus AB, Spanish, and Statistics showed improvements along with a substantial growth in test taking activity.

SCHOOLS ARE NOT PREPARING ALL GROUPS EQUALLY WELL TO TAKE THE TESTS – While overall scores declined about a 5%, Hispanics’ average score decline was around 12.4%, African-American scores dropped about 6%, and White and Asian American students produced a 2-3% score decline.

MUCH WORK REMAINS IN ORDER TO STEM AND REVERSE THE TREND TOWARD UNEQUAL OPPORTUNITY -- The data in this study suggest three broad avenues for continued work:

- Support efforts by community members, educators, and policy makers to provide all students with rigorous, opportunity-rich courses that are taught by highly qualified, fully credentialed teachers. Closely monitor progress toward and distribution of these opportunities.

- Support all students with opportunities and resources to gain the skills and confidence for success with demanding coursework. To close gaps in the rates of participation and success in AP courses, new support resources can go to students who face the greatest obstacles in accessing opportunities.

- As recommended by the College Board, recognize multiple indicators of educational merit and competence to mitigate the disproportionate influence that AP has in determining access to high school and college opportunities.

The mackerel is one of the leading commercial fishes of California; its catch is exceeded only by that of the sardine. However, for many years prior to 1928, the fishery based on the Pacific mackerel, Pneumatophorus diego, was relatively unimportant. Since the turn of the century the mackerel had supplied a steady but limited demand for fresh fish, but at no time was any appreciable part of the great number of mackerel in the ocean utilized. In 1928 the first large scale canning of mackerel took place. The subsequent development of the mackerel canning industry provides one of the most spectacular pages in the history of the world's fisheries. Almost overnight the mackerel catch rose from tenth to second place among the fisheries of California.

Today ever-expanding fishing operations are endangering the supply of mackerel. In the not too distant future it will be necessary to impose restrictions on the industry so that it can continue to exist. At present there is no legislation in California pertaining to the mackerel specifically. Such legal protection as it receives consists of general gear restrictions, the establishment of areas closed to all commercial fishing, and the application of general laws prohibiting the waste of fish or the manufacture of fish into meal and oil.

The mackerel fishery, being new and still growing, is changing rapidly. Differences in gear and in boats are to be noted during the first few years of its development. It is the purpose of this paper to present a study of the fishery during its formative period, with particular emphasis on the boats comprising the mackerel fleet, in order to facilitate direct comparisons in future years. In this connection it can be said that the present account is a sequel to the general report issued as Fish Bulletin 40 (Croker, 1933). In the brief interval since the publication of that paper, a number of developments have taken place in the industry, illustrating the changing character of this fishery.

During this century, climate warming and altered precipitation patterns will lead to habitat changes that may be detrimental to long-lived tree species. Giant sequoia, Sequoiadendron giganteum, is an iconic Sierra Nevada tree species with populations that tend to be small and highly fragmented, making them especially vulnerable to rapid environmental change. For tree species like giant sequoia, long generation times can limit migration outside of current range boundaries to track climate change. Thus, attention needs to be paid to the risks of adaptative mismatches between a population and its environment. In the face of climate change, genetic diversity is the ultimate source of variation upon which selection can act to allow adaptive responses that mitigate this phenomenon. This dissertation is an investigation of the patterns of extant genetic diversity in giant sequoia at multiple spatial scales, and the processes that shape and move diversity, with a focus on the adaptive potential of populations. Specifically, the chapters of this dissertation will address the following topics in detail: 1) Patterns of range-wide population connectivity and estimation of recent and historic gene-flow; 2) Mating parameters and the dispersal dynamics of pollen and seed within giant sequoia populations; 3) Pattern and climatic drivers of local adaptation and identification of potential genomic regions of adaptive significance. The knowledge gleaned from this research will provide comprehensive background information for giant sequoia regarding the extant genetic diversity, the potential for diversity to spread through gene flow, and the risks of future loss of genetic diversity for a locally restricted species under a changing climate. By highlighting both populations of conservation need, (i.e. isolated or genetically depauperate populations) and those that may contain diversity that can serve as pre-adapted variation for future conditions, this research will be an invaluable asset to forest managers seeking to maintain viable giant sequoia populations into the future.