UC San Diego Library – Scripps Digital Collection

Catch Bulletins provide records of California's commercial fisheries and their value to fishermen. They also summarize the marine party boat anglers' sport catch.

This report for 1961 is the 21st in the series. Prior records have been published regularly beginning with those for 1926 and 1927. In recent years, a need for faster publication of catch statistics has made it desirable to publish annually instead of biennially.

There has been a change in the title of the bulletin series from The Marine Fish Catch of California to The California Marine Fish Catch.

Each wholesale fish dealer or processor completes a record in quadruplicate of all fish received. The triplicate copy of these receipts is sent to the Department of Fish and Game. Party-boat operators record each trip's catch and these records are also sent to the Department. These data are edited and subsequently processed by electric accounting machines.

Published figures are of national and international concern, but they are used primarily by fisheries scientists and legislators to manage and regulate California's important fisheries. Chambers of commerce, members of the fishing industry, educators, and others also find the catch statistics of value in meeting their respective needs.