UC San Diego Library – Scripps Digital Collection

Since November, 1919, the California State Fisheries Laboratory has been gathering data to contribute to an analysis of the abundance of the California sardines. Because sardines are found along the entire coast of California and are taken in large numbers off San Francisco, Monterey, San Pedro, and San Diego, such an analysis becomes very complicated. Before this detailed study can be attempted some knowledge must be obtained of possible significant and consistent movements of the sardines and of the effect such movements might have on measures of abundance. The following questions should be answered: Do the sardines move in to or out of the specific fishing areas during any one fishing season and if such movements are evident do they show any relation to the size of the fish? Are such movements common to all fishing areas, and if so are there any similarities or differences in the nature of the movements in the different localities? If dominant groups occur in the sardine populations how will the detection and measure of this dominance be affected by the movements of the fish? In addition to the influence of the movements of sardines on studies in abundance, a knowledge of the effect of these movements on the industry is also of importance.