California. Dept. of Fish and Garre. Biennial Report 1952-1954

California. Dept. of Fish and Garre. Biennial Report 1952-1954.

I California. Dept. of Fish and Game. Biennial Report 1952-1954.

(bound volume)

JCalifornia. Dept. of Fish and Game, n Biennial Report 1952-1954.

(bound volume) -i

California Resources Agency Library

1416 9th Street, Room 117 Sacramento, California 95814

FORTY- THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT CALIFORNIA Department of FISH^ndOAME

^'» ,^^jf% FOR THE YEARS i 1952 - 1954

m/^m^M STATE OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME / FORTY-THIRD

BIENNIAL REPORT

of the

DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

November, 1954 STATE OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

GOODWIN J. KNIGHT, Governor

FISH AND GAME COMMISSION

William J. Silva, Chairman, Modesto

Lee F. Payne, Los Angeles Carl F. Wente, San Francisco Harley E. Knox, Son Diego Weldon L. Oxiey, Redding TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Letter of Transmittal 4

Report of the Director 7

Water Projects 1 7

Wildlife Protection 2 1

Inland Fisheries 2 7

Game Management 45

Marine Fisheries 5 9

Appendices 79

[3] Goodwin J. Knight COMMISSIONERS GOVERNOR Seth Gordon WILLIAM J SILVA, PRESIDENT DIRECTOR MODESTO LEE PAYNE LOS ANGELES

CARL F. WENTE SAN FRANCISCO HARLEY E KNOX SAN DIEGO STATE OF CALIFORNIA WELDON L OXLEY REDOING ai dxth (§nmt ^i>partxitatt ^xbI]

926 J STREET SACRAMENTO 14, CALIFORNIA

His Excellency, Goodwin J. Knight Governor of the State of California Sacramento, California

Sir:

A\'c have the honor to submit herewith the Forty-third Biennial Re- port, covering the period July 1, 1952, through June 30, 1954.

This report covers the period during which the department put into effect the decentralized reorganization plan established by the Legisla- ture on June 1, 1951, and the transfer of headquarters from San Fran- cisco to Sacramento, to create a more efficient operating agency.

In addition the report contains accounts of activities and plans of the Wildlife Conservation Board, the Marine Research Committee, and the various branches of the department in fostering the conservation and wise uses of California's wildlife resources.

A summary of important policy decisions of the Fish and Game Com- mission and important new legislation affecting fish and game also is included.

Respectfully submitted.

Director

a] REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR

I Hunfing, angling license buyers continue fo increase.

Deparfmenfal reorganization plan placed in effect.

Water projects added as staff function.

Ten-year plan presented to legislative committees.

Conservation education activity stepped up. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR

"Conservation Is the Triim/ph of Cormnon Sense Over Ignorance and Greed'" —California Junior Chamber of Commerce

Believing that an informed public is the best guarantee of wise use of California's wildlife resources, and fully able to judge the effectiveness of conservation programs to tiiat end, the department con- solidated and materially strengthened its program of conservation education during the past two years in an effort to keep abreast of the ever-increasing population pressures and the record numbers of anglers and hunters afield in California. At the same time the task of maintaining, protecting improvements, and- efforts to make available closed and increasing, where possible, fish and wildlife re- areas have made substantial contributions to the over- sources, consolidating gains effected by reorganization all wildlife picture. on a decentralized plan passed by the Legislature in The darkest picture, and one of constant concern 1951 and making long-range plans for the future, to the department, is the condition of the ocean fish- were major goals of everv department emplo\'ce. eries. During the biennium the State's commercial Indications are that the complexity of these tasks ocean catch dropped to a 20-year low. Sardines as a will increase rather than decrease or reach a plateau commercial catch have virtually disappeared from in the years to come. During the past two years the offshore waters. Alarming danger signals are being numbers of anglers and hunters increased at a rate observed in the anchovv and Pacific mackerel fishery. even faster than the tremendous population gains Warnings of this condition have been made repeatedly which show no signs of slackening. by department scientists. On the other hand ocean In 1952 the number of license holders was 1,600,000. sportsfishing has increased materiallv in recent years, As of the close of the biennium there were 1,871,000 and shows signs of matching inland angling in popu- in- Californians. or a gain of one-fifth in only two years. This larity with creased army of hunters and fishermen made their The responsibilit\' of the California Department presence known with continuing requests for more of Fish and Game in these significant times is clear. fish in the streams and lakes, more game birds and Its primary duty, in conjunction with its policy- mammals, and more places to hunt and fish. making body, the Fish and Game Commission, is to As cities grew larger and more and more lands perpetuate, manage, and, a\ here possible to increase were developed for intensive agriculture and industry, the wildlife resources of the State, consistent with resulting in material loss of wildlife habitat, need and their wise use and habitat needs. demand grew for assured public access to hunting and Appreciation for Outdoors fishing areas heretofore unreachable. not Other lovers of the out-of-doors who do These responsibilities become greater and more hunt, but enjoy and make use of California's wild- difficult to effect, not only because of the increased life resources in other ways are also concerned with numbers of hunters and fishermen, but through pres- expanded access. sures of advancing civilization and growth. It has become a matter of integrating a sound wildlife Recreational Attractions management program with a burgeoning industrial so the citizen Ironically, one of the main factors in bringing to and agricultural growth, that California California this tremendous migration has been this of today and tomorrow can continue to develop an the character State's great and unparalleled year-long recreational appreciation for outdoor living and attractions, including its opportunities for hunting building values derived therefrom. have been in the and fishing. Thus the numbers of outdoorsmen who Encouraging signs developing become new residents of California add to the pres- philosophy of forward thinking Californians along sure on wildlife in greater proportion than normallv- these lines during the past two years. Planners are to find a for outdoor life and In spite of these conditions the Department of Fish beginning place of and Game was able to show substantial progress in recreational possibilities in their schemes future many wildlife management fields. Its hatchery and development. The Department of Fish and Game has this trend trout planting program, expansion of waterfowl and will continue to encourage important management areas where the public can hunt, more of thinking. is to our wild- cooperative pheasant hunting areas, big game man- Important as long-range planning of and agement, stream improvement, upland game habitat life resource, the problem meeting angling

[7] A stepped-up program of hunter safety was inaugurated during the latter part of the biennium as a result This of far-sighted action by the State Legislature. legislation required hunters under the age of 16 years, applying for a license for the first time, to show evidence of at least four hours instruction in handling firearms, and in the rudiments of hunter safety and courtesy. Plans were completed for a department-wide training program designed to increase the operating efficiency of Fish and Game personnel and thus save thousands of dollars of license fees and other funds which can be diverted to more productive channels. This is the picture of the past two years. It is a period of notable gains in many wildlife fields, reverses in some others. It is a period of constantly expanding hunting and fishing pressure, of lessons learned the hard way, and of lessons learned in the field of departmental research. It has been two years of new, bold steps by the commission and the department in the This icene on the Son Gabriel River on opening day of fhe J 954 Irout fields of fish and Above and be- svoson illusirolei Ihe kind of fishing pressure California's streams and game management. lakes are getiing. yond all of these things, it has been a "shakedown cruise" for departmental reorganization, and a period on a da\-to-day basis reaches pro- hunting pressure for ahead. the looking portions w hich are hard to visualize. In two years of licensed hunters and fishermen has in- number 10-year Estimate creased b\- 300,000. Many of them are trout fishermen Near the end of the biennium several legislative who expect to fill their creels in spite of the fact that groups, cognizant of all of these factors, requested that natural reproduction of wild fish has reached the the director prepare a 10-year estimate of future needs point of no return in many streams and lakes. Thou- of California fish and game. The estimate was pre-' .sands are pheasant hunters expecting success in areas sented at a joint meeting of the Assembly Subcommit- where agriculture and urban expansion have cut tee on Public Lands, Grazing and Forest Practice, natural habitat alarmingh". Duck hunters increase Lloyd W. Chairman; Senate while more and more marsh land, absolutely neces- Assemblyman Lowrey, Interim Committee on Public Lands, Senator Edwin J. sar\' to the species, is being reclaimed and developed. Regan, Chairman; Assembly Committee on Agricul- Habitat Improvement ture, Assemblyman George A. Clarke, Chairman; on and To keep apace with these pressures, the department Assembly Committee Conservation, Planning, has embarked on programs of habitat improvement in Public Works, Assemblyman Francis Lindsay, Chair- field and stream; game management to attain a balance man, on June 23, 1954. to discussed at in other between numbers of deer, existing range forage, and This estimate, be length parts and hunter harvest; a vast program of planting catchable of this report, poses problems implications directly be trout in roadside waters where fingerling planting has affecting millions of Californians, whether they students of reached the point of no return; constant efforts to hunters or fishermen, nature, photographers or improve streams through flow maintenance dams, of wildlife, disciples of Audubon, skin divers, clearance of obstructions, removal of trash fish and merely lovers of the out-of-doors. restocking with desirable species; a program of screen- Needless to say, a fish and game department which or ing irrigation water diversions to keep all fish in the confined its efforts to problems of the day, season, rivers, and ladders to preserve migratorv fish such as biennium, would not be properly discharging its trus- of salmon and steelhcad; watering devices for quail, main- teeship to the people. The California Department tained game farms, and developed waterfowl manage- Fish and Game has endeavored to, through research, ment areas. common sense and hard work, to meet and solve to- The problem of reducing waterfowl depredations on da>'s problems. At the same time it is attempting to the future. California's wildlife agricultural crops has been attacked with increasing anticipate those of of millions of success. Land and water development agencies now heritage of today is worth hundreds residents of the State. With are working more closely with the department in plan- dollars annually to present carried out ning for future water conservation structures and an intelligent program for the future, by value of that to developments. Lin enlightened citizenry, the heritage FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT generations of Californians yet unborn can be im- time to be properly spent in planning and research. measurable. The hunting and angling public now can call upon five regional operating staffs familiar with the prob- Departmental Reorganization lems of the locality, and coordinated \\'ith a head- During the past two years the Department of Fish quarters group responsible for state-wide planning and and Game has been undergoing a sweeping reorganiza- research. Through decentralization, local .supervisors tion, involving decentralization and reorientation of of the various functions are located in the field where functions and operations. As set up by the Fish and they can take action based on intimate knowledge and Game Reorganization Act of 1951, the former Division field work. Under the old s\'stem all of the top special- of Fish and Game became the Department of Fish and ists were located at central headquarters in San Fran- ith no field Game with a director, appointed by the Governor, in cisco w coordination on the level. full charge of all administrative operations and per- Administrativelx', streamlining of the Fish and Game sonnel. At the beginning of the biennium, there still accounting office has made possible better budgeting was much to accomplish in the implementation of the and distribution of budget status reports to the oper- reorganization act, such as appointment of regional ating and staff functions early each month. This fur- managers, heads of the various staff functions, setting nishes the various functional supervisors current infor- up of physical facilities both in the field and at central mation on expenditures and availability of funds, so headquarters. that programs can be carried out efficiently'. Through competitive examinations, interviews, and Among other major accomplishments of the reor- careful screening, the most qualified men available ganization on a line and staff basis -was establishment both in California and elsewhere were selected for on October 1, 1952, of a functioning conservation edu- new positions in the department. Former bureau chiefs cation section at staff level, of a separate business were assigned to staff duties as heads of four new function, a change-over to a central pay roll s>stem, branches. They were: Ben Glading, Game Manage- including the decentralization of personal records, de- ment; Alex J. Calhoun, Inland Fisheries; Richard S. centralization of the licensing functions, setting up of Croker, Marine Fisheries; and E. L. Macaulay, wild- a water projects and pollution section apart from the life protection. All are veterans of California Fish and branches, an engineering section centrally directed, Game. Regional managers chosen were James D. headquarters auto pool, central files, and a steno- Stokes, Region I at Redding; Robert D. Montgomery, graphic pool. II at Robert L. III Region Sacramento; Jones, Region The department's reorganization plan is the practi- at San William IV at Francisco; Morse, Region Fresno; cal application of policies and practices long adhered and F. V at Los Near John Janssen, Region Angeles. to by successful business organizations. In public af- the end of the biennium Phil of the Roedel, formerly fairs in general, and within the California Department Termmal Island became of Re- Laboratory, Manager of Fish and Game in particular, the aim is application gion IV. Primarily, the purposes of the reorganization were Game farms and most other management activities now are handled by to do a more businesslike to assure maximum re- job, the regions. This is a view of the pens at China Game Farm. sults for the funds expended, and to bring administrative responsibility as close as possible to the people being served. Physically, this entailed moving the headquarters from San Francisco to Sacramento, establishment of the five regional offices, and integrating the work and functions of the various field stations with their regional administration. Each regional manager has complete control of all operations, manpower and equipment under his jurisdiction, with the exception of Marine Fisheries and some research functions.

Policy-making Functions

Under the reorganization act, the Fish and Game Commission continued its highly important policy- making and regulatory functions, with the director administering the department in conformance with those policies. Regional offices have relieved the central staff of enormous volume of administrative work, allowing 10 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME of the same delegation of authoiity and fixed responsi- This closing of the gap between expenditures and bility for results. Especialix" important is the bringing revenue was accomplished during a period of rising of that delegated authorit\- close enough to those who revenue, true, but the increased number of dollars re- are served, to resolve on the local level many of the ceived was more than offset by the loss in value of frictions and niisundcrstandings which cause grief and those dollars resulting from inflation. loss of efficiencN", particularly in the field of wildlife Whether providing new services and absorption of conservation. new operations by the existing organization had Drain on Reserve Decreases reached its limit, and whether the point of maximum efficiency under the reorganization plan had been .\ major concern during the biennial period was the reached during the biennium could not be problem of bringing expenditures in balance with reve- definitely established. nue. Marked progress was made in this direction. .\n overdraft of S.HO.OOO for the Fiscal Year 1951-52 Fish and Game Commission was made on the Fish and Game Preservation Fund reserve of 56,124,499 which had been accumulated Importance of the five-member Fish and Game Commission as a in during war \ears. The overdraft occurred before re- policy-making body, and providing in the State's conservation organization was undertaken and generally resulted strong leadership program, was from expansion of maintenance, operation and service highlighted during the biennium by numerous decisions are in both activities outlined as essential to preservation, protec- which having far-reaching effects tion and restoration of California wildlife resources conservation and in providing better hunting and an- for b\' tiic Wildlife Conservation Board in its report of gling opportunities millions of Californians. .May, 1950. Probably the most important of these was the pro- Through the 1952-54 Biennium during which reor- mulgation of a new system of advance registration and ganization and decentralization took place, increases granting of reservations to hunt on state-controlled in maintenance, operation and service expenditures waterfowl management areas. This matter was studied continued with the opening of more new hatcheries, thoroughly by the commission, and later became estab- new \\aterfowl management areas, increase in cooper- lished policy and was placed in effect for the 1954 ative hunting acreage management, hunter safety pro- waterfowl season. Believing that the unattached hunter gram and other similar activities. Such increased ex- should have an opportunity for advance reservation of penditures were kept at a practical minimum and the hunting dates, the plan was studied from every angle, reorganized department was able to absorb much of and presented to various interested organizations for these activities with exi.sting personnel. Improved effi- review. Granting of reservations was to be made by ciency of operation also was credited with helping to lot, with any vacancies to be filled on a first come, reduce the overdraft of 5260,648 recorded at the end first served basis. of the 195.^ Fi.scal Year and the further reduction of Regulations governing cooperative hunting areas the overdraft to 5152,66.^ at the end of the 1954 Fiscal were streamlined to assume more efficient manage- ^'ear. ment, and to add areas which formerly could not qualify for lack of size. Sweeping amendments were made in existing pheasant policies and new^ ones inaugurated to improve hunting, and at the same rime to effect economies in pheasant planting. The commission set up a priority system for planting of birds raised on Department of Fish and Game bird farms, with top priority on the basis of access by the general public. A policy of providing as many shootable birds without expansion of the game farms was adopted.

Fighting for Existence

Recognizing that several species of important commercial ocean fish are literally fighting for their existence in the face of heavy pressure, the commission continued to press for a legislative program for authority to control the catch of sardines, anchovies, Pacific

An advance registration system for waterfowl hunting areas was set up by tfie Fish and Game Commission to eliminate long waiting lines like this one at Colusa Refuge. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 11 mackerel and jack mackerel as a fundamental resource management tool. Its program along this line failed to materialize by July, 1954. Public knowledge of the condition of these resources increased materially dur- SKY-SCHAPERS WAST€ I ing this period and interest in protecting and maintain- BIRDS ing the species intensified. AND AMMmirmI At the same time members of the commission stood firm on important policies designed to protect the ocean fishery offshore. Its policy on oyster bed allotments was as was the on strengthened, regulation SO YARDS- control of in oyster pests imports. /< VP BE YON P VOUR IS It denied for reduction of ocean fish as a SHOT permits 20% EFFECTIVE conservation measure, although permits for reductions OR. Less of specified ocean trash fish were granted. 40 YARDS- Continued scrutiny and strengthening of regulations YOUR SHOT IS concerning offshore blasting in seismic explorations 80* EFFECT I VE- were carried on during the biennium. In the implementation of its deer management pol- YARDS.. SKY-SCRAPERS icy, adopted the previous biennium, the commission 30 YOUk SHOT IS ANP DESTROY laid down rules and for deer WOUND regulations special hunts, 100« EFFECTIVE- MORE Birds than and decreed that various groups or individuals asking HUNTERS TAKE HOME for such special hunts prepare supporting evidence to back their requests at public hearings. As a result of a ruling by the Attorney General, the 12 GA A »5 SHOT WE commission abandoned its former policy concerning TUU CHOKe of state-raised / planting trout in certain private waters &$eRAPff? of the State. Previously the commission had required that owners of such private waters open at least a third of their shore line to public fishing after state fish were planted, but the opinion held that the commission was STATE without authority to impose this requirement. Two new members of the commission were appointed during the biennium, including Harley E. Knox, former Mayor of San Diego, succeeding Han-ey E. Hastain of Brawley, and Weldon L. Oxley, insurance executive of Redding, succeeding Paul Denny of Etna. William J. Silva of /Modesto served as chairman during 1953 and 1954. Other members of the commission at the biennium's conclusion were Carle F. Wente of San Francisco and Lee F. Payne of Los Angeles.

Conservation Education

An important step in strengthening wildlife conservation in California during the biennium was the coordination and realignment of the department's entire conservation education program. It is based on the concept that ignorance and greed are the two major enemies of wildlife, and an informed public is the surest weapon with which to defeat these twin enemies. The new conservation education program of the Department of Fish and Game is designed to make available comprehensive information on California's wildlife resources to as many people as possible, through funds provided by the users of the resource themselves. Although these funds come from hunting and angling license holders and from commercial fish- 12 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

Publications on Sale

Another major change was that of a revised distribution policy and reduction in size of the California Fish and Game scientific quarterly publication, and placing of many department publications on sale at cost. It was estimated that many thousands of dollars per year in new revenue will be realized from the sale of departmental printed materials. A portion of the savings realized by reductions and cutbacks in technical publications was placed into the new monthly bulletin Out- door Califor7iia. Total expenditures of the section during the first full 12-month period of full operation were $151,309, or 2 percent of the total department expenditure for the period. This represented a cost of about one cent per citizen. This percentage is the lowest of any com- parable states, whose -wildlife resources are far less valuable than those of California.

New Program Organized

the medio for conservation education. This omong hatchery the biennium the section and su- model was shown o* the California State Fair. During organized pervised a new program for hunter safety training pursuant to action by the California Legislature. The monthly bulletin Outdoor California to license agents, new law required that each hunter under 16 who had others officials of organized sportsmen's groups, and not previously held a license must obtain a certificate whose positions require an up-to-date knowledge of of competence in handling firearms by taking a course conservation matters, servicing of outdoor writers, of instruction supervised by the department. The providing abstracts of angling and liunting regulations, hunter safety training program of the National Rifle publications of angler's guides to promote fishing in Association was adopted and the NRA contributed its areas where heretofore pressure has been light, publi- services in developing the California program. cation of pamphlets on various species of fish and Efforts were continued to interest school administra- game, providing information to schools and civic or- tors and curriculum people in bringing conservation ganizations and explanation of various cooperative and instruction into the public schools of the State. At public hunting programs. present conservation is not recognized by state law as and there are In addition the section mailed more than 100,000 a subject required in the curriculum, few teachers trained to teach the pieces of literature in response to direct inquiries from relatively subject. director became an active throughout the State concerning conservation and The conservation education of the Conservation Education Committee of wildlife questions, and distributed nearly 2,000,000 member the of Education the biennium. pieces of literature through license agents and other Department during outlets. With California leading the Nation in rate of license and in decrease of \\ildlife habitat due to .Another development of importance was the visual increase, agricultural and urban encroachment, the need and de- aids program, in which seven motion pictures suitable mand for conservation education has spiraled for showing both at public meetings and for television activity since World War and will continue to increase if were produced. Old film alread\- on hand was revised II, the human on wildlife continues to increase. and edited and two entirely new films were under way pressure at the clf)se of the bicnnium. Other visual aids included WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD exhibits for use at fairs, sports shows, and organization gatherings. Also operated by the conservation section In accordance w ith a request of the Fish and Game is the library which contains conservation materials Commission in January, 1954, the Wildlife Conserva- for use of the staff, re.search people, and sportsmen. tion Board concentrated its activities on completion of new One basic change in the program was elimination of existing projects, and financing projects requiring and maintenance costs when a procedure under which conservation pamphlets were low operation completed. at that time that the produced for distribution, on request, to schools The commission requested throughout the State for elementary classroom use. board not approve additional projects which would This uas on the recommendation of the Senate Interim impose appreciable outln\s for operation and mainte- Committee on Fish and Game. nance until the Department of Fish and Game had FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 13 balanced its budget, or additional operating funds were better and more economically by the American River made available. Hatchery. During this biennium the last $2,000,000 appropri- San Joaquin Hatchery on the San Joaquin River Friant ated b\' the Legislature became available for expendi- below Dam and Cedar Creek Experimental in northern Mendocino were ture, making a total of $12,000,000 in capital invest- Hatchery County being ment for fish and game from the State's share of the constructed. After intensive search for an alternate site for the pari-mutuel Horse Racing Fund. San Gabriel Hatchery, the board decided to wait Eleven new projects were approved and allocations until contemplated and existing hatcheries were in full made. Of these two were projects previously ap- operation before further action would be taken. proved, from which funds allotted had been withdrawn. In addition funds were allocated for improve- Stream Flow Maintenance and Improvement ment, development, or expansion of six existing fish- While only two projects are recorded as completed eries projects and two waterfowl developments. Ten during the biennium, good progress has been made on projects were completed during the biennium. others and work is still proceeding. Initial allocations A second policy change was the decision to acquire of funds for such work in Fish and Game Regions II, property through negotiation, without condemnation, 1\', and Y were nearl\- exhausted and requests for ad- the of Fish and Game. This decision by Department ditional funds were to be made based upon recent was made after the General advised that such Attorney surveys. action was within the of the Wildlife Conserva- scope Waterfowl Projects tion Act. The Wildlife Board revamped its waterfowl man- Changes of Board Membership agement area development program. Because of an Vacancies on the Wildlife Conservation Board Joint excessive value placed upon San Luis Island by the this was Of the seven Legislative Advisory Committee caused by the deaths court, project dropped. key of Assemblyman Lester T. Davis and Senator George waterfowl management areas originally to the board filled of Butte Sink, Lower and San Joaquin J. Hatfield were by appointment Assembly- proposed, Upper Madera Waterfowl areas were canceled man Frank P. Belotti and Senator Ed. C. Johnson. \^alley, and and the balance of funds transferred to Other members of the joint committee were Senators unexpended in the San Ben Hulse and Charles Brown, and Assemblymen one authorized project Central Joaquin Thomas M. Erwin and Lloyd W. Lowrey. Department Valley. One new unit of the Waterfowl of Finance Director John M. Peirce replaced James S. Imperial Valley area, to lands inundated the continued rise Dean, retired, on the board, and Wm. J. Silva, Presi- replace by of Salton was authorized and funds for its dent of the Fish and Game Commission, served as Sea, acquisition allocated. Acquisition of the land is progressing. chairman of the board during the biennium. This reduced the key waterfowl management areas for the board to four. Fish Hatchery and Stocking Projects proposed purchase by See Appendix for status of Wildlife Conservation Darrah Springs Hatchery, among the largest in the Board Funds. United States, was completed and placed in operation. Mt. Shasta, Lake, Moccasin Creek, Fish Springs, Crystal Rearing ponds ai Darrah Springs Hatchery, largest trout installation in Hot Creek, and Mojave Hatcheries were in full pro- the Stale. duction. Hot Creek Hatchery and Black Rock Rear- ing Ponds were being further expanded to increase production with but small increase in operating costs. An allocation of $40,000 was made for land acquisition for a proposed hatchery on the American River below Nimbus Dam. Land is to be provided by the Federal Government and $10,000 of the |40,006 was authorized to enlarge the outlet pipe from Nimbus Dam to the federal salmon hatchery, to permit carrying adequate water for an adjacent state trout hatcher)', if and when it becomes desirable. There were no immediate plans laid to construct this trout hatchery until the actual need for an additional hatchery in this section of the State is fully demonstrated. Tahoe Hatchery expansion was held in abeyance pending the outcome of the present catchable trout program. Possibly the needs of this area can be served 14 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

STATUS OF WILDLIFE RESOURCES Good Populations have indicated During rwo years of tremendous, unprecedented Surveys extremely good populations hunting and fishing pressures, California's wildlife re- of quail, doves and pheasants. Ducks and geese resources appeared to be holding their own, and in some mained at high levels, and record bags were reported cases making numerical gains. In most cases encroach- during the biennium. and ment on natural habitat, pollution of streams, sky- In addition to the virtual disappearance of the sar- for water the threats rocketing demands posed greatest dine off California, weak spots developed in several \\'here natural conditions were the to wildlife. good, other categories of the ocean fishery. The take of inroads hunter or fishcmian did not make dangerous Jack and Pacific mackerel and anchovies declined on the supph". alarmingly, and only the younger fish predominated. effort As the new bicnnium started, however, every Sports fishing continued to grow, especially the salmon was being made to further improve efficiency of oper- sports fishery which is beginning to rival the com- ation to bring expenditures of the department even mercial catch in economic importance. Efforts of the with income. department brought about beginnings of new shrimp At the end of the biennium, the Fish and Game and oyster fisheries for California. Preser\ation Fund reserve stood at approximately During the two-year period the planting of catch- $.\3: 1.000. able trout in roadside streams and lakes reached new Another major factor in maintaining existing popu- highs, as did aerial planting of fingerlings, but at the lations of wildlife has been the work of the wildlife same time continued efforts were made to improve natural habitat for wild fish. protection personnel in the prevention of violations streams as Experiments for through conservation education of the public, and in were carried out to introduce new forage fishes the apprehension of violators. the warmwater species. Salmon and steelhead runs held and numbers of increased to The deer kill fell off after the severe winter of 1951- fairly steady, sturgeon the that an season was declared late in the 52, but during the 1953 season the bag climbed back to point open the first in 36 the second best >ear on record. biennium, years. At the end of the biennium deer numbers were on Wildlife of the Future the increase \irtually throughout the State. Two mild winters which made for good feed conditions w'as While the department was occupied during the factors in the increase. one of the major Special deer biennium with reorganization, meeting increased de- mate- seasons were held during the biennium where mands on wildlife by hunters and anglers, accelerating rial or was crop depredation pasture damage being the hatchery program, wildlife habitat acquisition and done, or where local interests requested special hunts, improvement, the problems of California's future fish their with evidence. In- and backed request proper and game needs played a highly important role in work continued on deer browse and vestigative range department thinking. conditions, and other matters to deer pertaining good As departmental reorganization freed headquarters manacement. staff members from various operation duties, planning for the future was crystallized into a 10-year plan for meeting future needs of both w^ildlife and holders of hunting and angling licenses. Improved research and intensified field investigations continued to point up new and better ways of further expanding wildlife production in its natural habitat. So far only the surface has been scratched; much more can be done.

The best use of fish, game and other wildlife resources can be realized only if the people have the opportunity to get where these resources are located. The average citizen should have access to uncrowded places which he can enter legally to enjoy wildlife in the manner of his choosing, without too much cost and effort. On the other hand, an ample number of remote-hard-to-get-to wilderness areas should be re- served and maintained for those willing to exert themselves enough to reach them.

Observation by the department showed that there were enough sturgeon fo warrant an open season beginning in April, 1954. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT IS

Not All Available

Onlv 40 percent of California's land is readily available for use and much of this is public toda\', remote, LICENSED ^ToT8!c;So''''- rough countrw Similarly, onl\' a portion oi California's existing wildlife is available for wise use. The term SPORTSMEN "wise use" is not confined solely to licensed fishermen and hunters. All Californians, now and in the future, IN CALIFORNIA have the of their wildlife should opportunity enjoying ANGLERS IN 1965 resources. Students of nature, the the photographer, 2,094,776 skin diver, disciples of Audubon, and millions of other citizens who do not actually "harvest" wildlife, all have an equal right to share in this great heritage, and it should be made available to them. Today fish and game of California is sustaining a resource which at the end of the biennium was putting /HUNTERS IN 1975 an estimated $720,000,000 annualh- into California's ANGLERS NOW/ j 248 000^ economic bloodstream bv in their sportsmen pursuit 1,263, 000^/ I965>_X of wildlife. In addition commercial fishing, fur trap- VhUNTERSIN ping and allied industries were pumping another 936,025 /-^ $280,000,000 into California business life. Even the most conservative estimates show that ^ in 1965 the State will have 2,580,000 license holders. HUNTERS NOW But experience has shown that the number of license — 639,000 holders increase more rapidly than the population, and for that reason the number of fishermen and hunters ma\- reach 3,000,000 b\- that time.

Ceiling Not Foreseeable

These projections are based on estimates of popula- 1930 1940 1950 1954 1965 1975 tion increases, made b)' the Department fif Finance license huyer^ fiove heen increasing of a fa^ier raie than the popula- of increase in and on the historical average percentage tion. Above is a projection of what faces f/ie State's wi/diife resources license bu\ers over a 25-\'ear period. There is nothing in fhe future. in the record to indicate what the ceiling might be. 10 years with the relati\clv small investment now being Loss of fish and game, or lack of opportunity to make made to sustain it. The present investment will be wise use of the resource, are the only factors which absorbed simply in providing minimum services to the might materially change the above predictions. new customers at present levels, increasing numbers of Now as to the future, and expendi- past, proposed customers with the increasing hunting and fishing pres- tures, this is the situation. From 1945 through the fiscal sures will definitel>' result in demands and needs for of 1955 $62,050,000 will have been year approximateh' more and improved operation services— more fish and for \\ ildlife. spent game wardens, more \\ ildlife field men, more informa- connection it should be noted, that for In this except tion and education, more people to handle the house- made available from revenue, $12,000,000 pari-mutuel keeping chores of administration, plus additional of all of the above funds have come from buyers no equipment. Some of this increased operational load deer licenses, special tags (i.e., and pheasant tags), doubt can be readil\- absorbed b\' the income from etc.—none from tax commercial fishing taxes, general new customers. But there's no point in ignoring the revenues. fact that some of the present services of Fish and 10 If income for fish and game welfare for the next Game administration could well be further improved. sources at current rates, vears continues from present And as the population increases new services will be the line of license and is projected on accelerating buy- needed and demanded b\' the people. will be available from 1955 ing increase, there through Over the vears certain expansions in personnel have 1956 a total of $93,500,000. been unavoidable. For example, when federal aid funds Considering an average annual $9,350,000 income became available 1 5 years ago, a sizeable group of new foreseeable from the present rate base, the expenditure emploN'ees was added. Recently, with the addition of to service and sustain the billion dollar industry for the new functions, especiall>' operation of expanded facil- next 10 years is less than 1 percent annually. ities provided b\' the Wildlife Conservation Board that wildlife will funds, additional were to man All signs point to the probability cmplo\ecs necessary them. not hold up under the anticipated pressures of the next 16 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAAIE SUMMARY OF COSTS FOR 10-YEAR PROGRAM

Estimated annual Bstimated cost of operation and recommended project maintenance costs Marine fisheries __ $7,100,000 $65,000

Inland fisheries _ „ 11,500,000 795,000

Salmon and steelhead program 3,950,000

Subtotal for fisheries improvement $22,550,000

Hunting opportunities 20,000,000 2,700,000

Economic survey 15,000

Tota Is - - $42,565,000 $3,560,000

Average per year $4,256,500 $3,560,000*

* This represents estimated annual cost of operating fully developed program. During period of development, the operating costs will be approximately half of the ultimate cost of operation.

Xcar the end of the biennium a study of the work game program. However, attention is called to the load and operation of the warden staff was set up. The fact that the Fish and Game Commission has gone on shorter work week, new responsibilities such as the record as being opposed to further capital investments hunter safety training program, patrolling new public in new facilities, or expansions of services, until op- shooting areas, new legislation and the constantly in- erating funds are assured. creasing armv of anglers and hunters, as well as others In order adequately to meet and solve the problems who flock to the outdoors, have materially increased ahead, the people responsible for wildlife have out- each warden's daily task during the past 10 years. lined a series of steps which can be taken during the This is the one of fish and group specialized game next 10 years to perpetuate and make California wild- workers that has remained more or less static in num- life available to maximum numbers of its people. bers for more than a decade. The proposals summarized in the appendix, Table 6, represent the combined thinking of sportsmen, busi- No Cost Estimate for More Service nessmen and others vitall\' interested in wildlife, as No estimate of cost to raise the current level of well as the thoughts of the fish and game workers who service is included in the proposed 10-year plan, all of are hired by the people as custodians of California's which is outside of the presently scheduled fish and \\ ildlife resources. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 17 WATER PROJECTS

Alost people are gradually realizing the importanc-e of fish and game to the economy of California but it is more difficult to realize that this tremendous asset is completely dependent upon an adequate water supply. The future of these resources appears bleak unless their importance in future Cali- fornia water development plans is realized.

The Fish and Game Commission's water polic\' has The Grasslands Problem recognized that California's expanding population In 1952, for example, a serious crop depredarion must work and eat but that it is equally essential that problem developed in the lower San Joaquin \'alley. outdoor recreation be provided for the well-being of No relief was afforded b\' herding because the birds this expanding population. There also is a tremendous simply moved to another rice field and continued to food resource involved which can be self-perpetuating cause severe crop losses. In this case a small amount of if fisheries are \\ isel\- managed. water was secured from the Bureau of Reclamation Alany old water developments were constructed for flooding in the grasslands area. with no consideration for fish and wildlife and the

of Fish and Game is to Department actively trying State Economy Benefits rehabilitate streams which have been dried up for As soon as these lands were flooded the department many years, by securing flow releases. was able to herd the waterfowl off agricultural lands California's waterfowl are suffering in a similar man- into flooded areas. Cost of the water in ner and the millions of acres of natural marsh in the successfully this case was very minor compared to value of the Central \'alle\' have been reduced to perhaps 100,000 crops which were saved. By using this water for ducks acres. As a result, serious crop depredation problems the economy of the State received a much greater have occurred as these birds use agricultural land. benefit in agricultural production than the same Establishment of Water Projects Coordinator amount would have produced if used for irrigation. Early in 1953 a new function was undertaken by A major victory toward obtaining water for water- the department with a staff section being made re- fowl \\as the passage of the Grasslands Bill. sponsible for water problems relating to wildlife. During the past two \ears the Department of Fish Work of this section is largely planning for the future and Game has begun to activel\' participate in the of fish and game in California. It is also attempting to planning of water developments in cooperation with rehabilitate the many streams which have been affected the public and private agencies \\ho are now making by diversions which were built many years ago when the plans to meet the future water needs of California. no consideration was given to maintaining stream Under the terms of Public Law 732 (the so-called flows for fishing and recreation. Wildlife Resources Act of 1946), the department may In 1953 the department was successful, for example, submit recommendations to the Federal Power Com- in securing water release below Florence Lake Dam mission for protection of fish and wildlife resources on the South Fork of the San Joaquin River in Fresno affected by the construction of federal projects or County in cooperation with the Southern California projects under federal license. By working with the Edison Company. Ever since this dam was built in the public utilities it has been possible to have these rec- earlv twenties summer stream flow has been inade- ommendations included in all licenses for power de- quate to allow the development of a trout fisher\' for velopment which have been issued in the past two the many thousands of people who now visit this area years. These have included new power projects under yearly. Release of 10 cubic feet per second into this construction on the Feather, American, Stanislaus, stream will allow the Department of Fish and Game Kings, and San Joaquin River watersheds. are to develop this easily accessible area to meet increas- Of even more importance major developments in the which are under ing recreational need. proposed past two years now the of Fish and Game. Water problems are not confined to fisheries alone. active study by Department The future of waterfowl in the Pacific Flyway de- Major water projects have been proposed for nearly watershed in the State. pends to a large extent on securing land and water for every wintering areas. Concern of agricultural groups is well The department also conducts active programs in other conservation appreciated and crop depredations pose a constant cooperation with the agencies threat. Land which has formerly been used by water- working in California. The U. S. Fish and Wildlife fowl is being reclaimed for agriculture. This is an- Service, for example, has an active program as do other case where a relatively small amount of water many other federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Forest and can pay real dividends if it is available when needed on Reclamation, Corps of Engineers, Service, waterfowl management areas and other natural habitat the Soil Conservation Service. Nearly every land and areas. water development program has serious implications 18 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAAffi

for California's tisli and wildlife and it is essential that During the past biennium 1,055 applications have the protection of these resources be included in any been investigated by the department and 62 protests plan of development. were filed. Only one formal hearing was required and in all but 12 cases, which are still pending, the depart- Encouraging Development ment's protest has been upheld and the permits for di- One encouraging development of the past two years version contain a clause specifying that certain mini- has been the recognition of the importance of fish and mum flows will be bypassed below the point of diver- wild life b\- the Legislature and other state agencies. sion at all times. Sections In 195.^, for example, the Legislature added Pollution Control 526.> and 526.6 to the Fish and Game Code. These of California has continued measures insure that future water developments in Unprecedented growth and water control are faced with a Mono and In\o Counties will not jeopardize the fish- pollution agencies of the State's water from erics resources either by drying up the stream or by major problem protecting The in with the operating power generation facilities in such a manner pollution. department, cooperation as to fluctuate stream flows below the dams. other pollution control agencies, has continued its proof fish and wildlife and has investi- The department has been actively participating in gram protecting over 700 for waste Rec- the State's study of the feasibility of a salt-water bar- gated applications discharge. ommendations were submitted to the Pollution Control rier in the Delta. The proposal to build such a struc- Board in all cases. ture to prevent the intrusion of salt water and as a necessary interest in control has centered on water conservation measure may seriously jeopardize Major pollution the industries which are to locate the Central \'alle\- salmon, steelhead, and striped bass many new proposing in of these indus- fishery. California. Most new plants present trial to such It is possible that the barrier could eliminate these waste problems which are new California, fish entirely. \"alue of the fisheries must be included in as the pulp and paper industry. Importance of waste in industrial loca- costs of the project before such a barrier is built. The disposal has tended to be neglected department has made economic evaluations of these tion studies in the past and the department is actively a to out the fisheries resources and has been actively designing fish undertaking program point importance of, the industrial protective facilities in the event such a barrier is found protecting fish and wildlife before plants feasible. This is the first time that technical fisheries are constructed. personnel have been assigned to work with engineers Fortunately, no serious fish mortalities have oc- of the Division of Water Resources in such an investi- curred during the past two years. There are still many gation. locations in the State where additional waste treatment In addition, the department has reviewed all appli- facilities are needed before adequate protection can be cations to appropriate water filed with the State Divi- given to our aquatic resources, particularly in those sion of ^^'atcr Resources. Cases in which there is a areas where seasonal food processing wastes contribute definite threat to the welfare of fish, are protested by the major portion of the pollution load. Department of Fish and Game with a statement of The department also has intensified its program of conditions under which the protest can be withdrawn. law enforcement and technical investigations of water matters. For example, the San Francisco region has assigned one of its wardens to full-time work on pollution problems. Technical investigations have included long-range surveys to determine the effect of the increasing industrial waste load in the Carquinez Straits area and on the Central Valley salmon streams. The t-bntinuing pollution control program on the upper Sacramento River has been intensified. Drainage from abandoned copper mines and slag deposits poses a serious threat to the fisheries resources of the Sacra- mento River. An investigation of all possible sources of pollution has been completed and it has been found that these discharges do not pose a serious threat to the Sacramento River with the present flows. However, it is quite possible that serious fish mortalities could result if the flow was reduced at the time of high runoff in the Spring Creek drainage, in Shasta County.

An example of what pollution can do to the State's fisheries when left

. .i. ..'i. uncontrolled. WILDLIFE PROTECTION

"^ :?s::^ Arrests increase 27 percent over previous biennium.

Technical equipment increases effectiveness of warden staff.

Reserve warden program expanded.

Hunter safety training program carried out by brancfi. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 21

WILDLIFE PROTECTION

Of all the activities of the department, probably none was so directly affected by the huge increase in hunting and angling license holders during the biennium as was the Wildlife Protection function. The increased work load was brought about by the greater numbers of hunters and fishermen on almost every section of California's more than 150,000 square miles and its 1,200-mile coastline, and by the addition of a new activity, the hunter safety training program. Increased hunting and fishing activity was reflected in a 27 percent increase in the number of arrests over task of translating the measure into action. Administra- the previous biennium. Addition of patrol boats, com- tivelv, the function was assigned to the Conservation munications equipment and more use of aerial patrol Education Section, with the field work to be accom- and reconnaissance bulwarked operations of the plished by members of the warden staff. Work of branch. preparing the program began in the fall of 1953 and Departmental reorganization brought administrative some classes were graduated in iMarch of 1954. Leg- islation also that the could changes in that the assistant chiefs of patrol, fornierlv provided department cooperate with an\' in charge of six patrol districts, were assigned as ^\ild- reputable organization whose purpose is of life protection supervisors, reporting to the five re- promotion gun safety. gional managers. Marine Patrol, headquartered at Ideal Course Terminal Island, reported to Region V. All members Safety of with the of the of the Bureau Patrol, exception Consideration of material available showed that the Chief Staff Officer, Wildlife Protection Branch, one National Rifle Association of America hunter safety staff assistant, and a clerical assistant, were transferred course was ideal. It required only four hours of in- to the various in 1953. regions January, struction for the student, utilized the services of vol- HUNTER SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM unteer instructors qualified by NRA and approved by the department, and excellent textbooks, reference Faced with several of mounting hunting cas- years materials and charts were available at low cost and on and the of even more hunters in ualty lists, prospects short notice from the National Rifle Association. the field in the future, the 1953 California Legislature The the recommended course enacted a measure, now embodied in Section 424 of department approved of and an was made with NRA the California Fish and Game Code, providing that training, agreement * * * to and service instructors, provide materials at "no hunting license shall be issued to any per- certify * * * cost to instructors and report to the department the son under the age of 16 years unless he presents number of instructors and students trained. either evidence that he has held a hunting license in qualified to the new was immediate this State during a prior year, or a certificate of com- Response program ,and * * *" enthusiastic. and educational petency as provided by law. Sportsmen's organizations offered wholehearted from the start. Intent of the act was primarily to prevent hunting cooperation All Wildlife Protection Branch were casualties which annually mar the sport, to prevent personnel quali- hunt- fied as hunter safety instructors and instructional ma- many gun accidents not directly resulting from terials the conservation ing activitv, and secondarily, to instill in the young prepared by headquarters education staffs. hunter the principles of conservation, good sportsman- ship and proper conduct in the field. At the close of the biennium, when certificates of were first hunter Prohibitive measures designed to prevent accidents competence required, 3,195 safety instructors had been certified and about had long been on the books but still the number of by NRA, hunters trained and to evi- casualties increased in direct proportion to the number 1,000 junior ready present dence of as law for the 1954 of untrained people in the hunting field. However, in competency required by season. Indications were that 15,000 to 20,000 New York, where a hunter safet>' program based on hunting would be checked out the 1954 education and legislation requiring junior hunters to juniors during hunting season. present evidence of competency to handle firearms, a decrease in casualties of 75 percent was recorded dur- The junior hunter is taught reasons for the course, ing the five years prior to 1953. and is shown that all hunter casualties stem from either or carelessness. Next is the mechanics The original bill was introduced by Assembly- ignorance step and of a knowl- woman Pauline Davis of Portola, and a companion of shooting safely, acquisition working of and their care. measure introduced in the Senate bv Senator Pressley edge weapons proper Abshire of Sonoma. He also hears discussion of danger of becoming lost ^\ith in the woods and how to conduct himself if fish Under terms of the legislation, to go into effect lost, with the intent of con- issuance of 1954-55 hunting licenses, the Director of and game laws emphasis on the Department of Fish and Game was assigned the servation measures, safe hunting techniques, fire pre- 22 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

Average fine levied by the courts in fish and game violation cases was |37.09, or a total of 1598,588.14. Convicted violators were sentenced to serve a total of in the of 12,836 days jail. Significantly, percentage cases dismissed by the courts, or in which the defend- ant was found not guilty after a trial, was only .75 of 1 percent. (See Table 9, Appendix.) During the biennium three years of undercover work by game management agents of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department Wardens was climaxed with the conviction of 12 Sacramento Val- ley waterfowl market hunters and seven San Francisco Bay restaurant operators. In federal court they shared

sentences totaling six years and nine months in jail, 14,900 in fines, and seven years of probation. Federal Judge Oliver J. Carter, in passing sentence on the market hunters, stated that the violators were victims of the unwillingness of their communities to respect the fish and game laws, believing that the crime is in being caught, and not that a wrongful act had been committed. He further stated that the leader was Training and refresher courses are maintained for fhe warden staff. ring raised in an attitude of complete moral blindness on the question of game laws, a matter for which his commu- venrion, leaving a clean camp, and proper conduct in nity was partially responsible. the field. Also stressed is the need for improved rela- The arrest and violation figures tell only part of the tions between the sportsman and landowner, and story. Hundreds of thousands of miles covered by au- finally, the concept that the individual hunter alone tomobiles, boats, airplane and on foot checking hunters can prevent accidents. A final written examination and and fishermen are a part of it. Many day and night demonstration of safe gun handling completes the hours spent waiting for violators to return to their course. When possible the student fires 15 rounds of illegal nets, obtaining evidence, inspecting catches, .22 caliber ammunition under supervision of the in- arresting poachers, and countless other details com- structor. plete the major portion of the picture. Wildlife Protection Branch personnel made use of Wardens also have contributed major assistance in the department manual, hunter safety films, "Shooting the catchable trout planting program, followed in- Safets,'" "Trigger-Happy Harry," and "The Making by tensive patrol in the newly planted areas. The of a Shooter," and other materials. Wardens not only patrol has cooperated in fish rescue work, cleaning and in- contacted interested groups, but stimulated interest spection of fish ladders, inspection of stream flow where it was lagging, contacted instructors already maintenance dams and regulated the flows therefrom. certified, helped integrate the 3,500 license agents into Members of the warden staff have worked with the program, assisted in local publicity for the pro- other functions by reporting fish and gram, and worked with sportsmen's groups. suspected game diseases to local headquarters, and in census taking, To create a uniform system of training, an instruc- fish population trends, pollution control, public use, tor training course was developed by the department and success in hunting and areas. in cooperation with the .\lameda Adult School and the fishing worked with farmers the bien- western representative of the National Rifle Associa- They closely during nium on waterfowl tion. The State Department of Education approved crop depredation reports, herding and other activities to wild- the instructor training course for adult classes, and at relating crop damage by held life. least 30 communities hunter safety classes. Many But the of the warden's duties not be schools participated in tiic program. story would without mention of his service activ- Cooperation from every type of organization was complete public ities. Because of his of the terrain and forthcoming, and much of the credit of a successful knowledge experience outdoors, the warden is called into start of the program goes to these public spirited game almost search for a lost hunter or fisherman in people. every the mountains. He is constantly called upon to speak ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES before sportsmen's and other public gatherings to ex- .\rrcsts by Fish and Game wardens during the bien- plain the law enforcement program as well as policies nium totaled 16,271, or an increase of 27 percent over and programs of the department. the previous t\\o-year period, with more than one- Because of his qualifications and experience, other third relating to inland fishing. enforcement agencies look to the warden for assistance FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 23 in emergencies of all types. Work performed by fish Tulare, Merced, Stockton, Bakersfield, and Tulare. and game wardens in floods, fires, accidents and other Others were in the process of formation at the close emergencies has been notable and varied during the of the biennium. biennium. MARINE PATROL In addition wardens made contributions of heavy Aided by the addition of a new 35-foot motor patrol time and effort in to their with adding efficiency vessel Yellou-tail, a fleet of 12 patrol boats continued the medium of and rifle com- firearms through pistol the important Marine Patrol of California's 1,200-mile the State. At the same time these petition throughout coastline and its 1,500 miles of inland navigable waters matches to public provided opportunities acquaint during the biennium. This fleet consisted of the 83-foot with and with sportsmen safety measures, department Albacore, based at Sausalito and covering the coast and literature. These are activities, programs off-duty from there to the Oregon line; the 63-foot Bonito, wardens their own fees and with the paying entry based at San Francisco and working from there south their own ammunition. providing to Morro Bay; the 63-footers Marlin and Bluefin, based Normal duties of the warden .staff, as prescribed by at Terminal Island, whose assignments were from the State Personnel Board include responsibility for Morro Bay to the Mexican border and around south- patrol and investigation involved in enforcement of ern offshore islands. Besides these large, well-equipped laws for protection of wildlife, and in prevention of boats, the Marine Patrol operated eight others, ranging violations. from the 21 -foot Mimwu; at Antioch, to the 45-foot at San Francisco. Other regular duties are apprehension of violators, Tuna, boats finders and other service of warrants, making arrests, preparation and The larger carry radar, depth detection were 25 presentation of evidence in court, investigations and equipment. They supplemented by wardens based all the coastline who main- recommendations on requests for permits to keep marine along tained a constant of fish game birds in captivity, investigation of crop depre- patrol markets, canneries, and beaches. the biennium dations by game birds and animals, inspection of stor- piers, landing places During age plants, boats, restaurants and other places where fish and be seizure of game may stored, illegal bags, The radio repeater station at White Mountain, Inyo County, part of the and public information work. communications networft.

RESERVE WARDEN PROGRAM

During the biennium the activity of the reserve material assistance to patrol was accelerated, providing of the the regular force in meeting requirements growing army of hunters and fishermen in California. of the This was particularly true on opening days various seasons and heavy hunting and fishing weekends. Reserve wardens are expected to perform at least one tour of duty a month, generally on weekends. However, many of the reserves, who constitute an invaluable service to California sportsmen, put in additional time at night and on week days. Prospective members of the reserve attend regular weekly training sessions over a 10-week period, and must successfully pass an examination before receiving their appointments. They receive no salary or ex- with penses, and make their tours of duty in company a member of the regular staff. Reserve warden leaders were carefully selected dur- for effi- ing the biennium, and were held responsible ^ cient operation of their units. They have not hesitated to terminate appointment of any reserve warden who v m ' failed to meet the public with courtesy, consideration, and in a spirit of helpfulness. At the end of the biennium there were 246 active members of the reserve warden staff, with 12 units operating in the central and southern portions of the State. Units are located at Fresno, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sonora, Terminal Island (marine), 24 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

marine wardens devoted increasing time to the growing sports fishery as well as to the commercial industry. Causes for arrests during the biennium ranged from failure to hold a sports angler's license to illegal nets on a purse seiner, boarded at sea under cover of dark- ness. Checking of commercial landings and cannery packs was another important additional duty. Collec- tion of marine fishery statistics also was carried out by marine wardens during the biennium, assisting in gathering knowledge necessary for intelligent management of the ocean fishery.

TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT

An increase of radio communications equipment to 296 units during the biennium has added greatly to the patrol efficiency of Wildlife Protection. It has en- abled supervisors to contact and direct wardens in the field, wardens to communicate with each other and their headquarters, and patrol airplanes, boats and vehicles to work together as a team. At the close of the two-year period covered in the report, there were 207 mobile radio units installed in patrol cars, boats and airplanes. There were 52 Handie- talkie units used b\' \\ardens while on foot, in small boats or on undercover work where larger mobile checking suspicious nets in fhe Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is part of units would be impractical. Three portable land sta- the warden's routine. daily tions were available for temporary stations on special hunts, cooperative areas and rush periods. These are effective and practical because of small size and ease of transport and installation. One portable mobile relay station, equipped with its own po\\'er supply, wzs available for use in strategic areas where communications are needed for a limited period only. For location of the 22 permanent land stations, see Table 7, Ap- pendix. OTHER ACTIVITIES

During the biennium more than 119,000 was de- posited in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund as a result of sale of equipment used in illegally taking fish and game. Sales by sealed bid were held in the various regional offices. A total of 643 items, including guns, tackle, nets, spears, and other sports and commercial gear, was auctioned for 1 19,206, \\-ith sales being held at all five regional headquarters in Redding, Sacramento, San Francisco, Fresno and Los Angeles. Most illegal items were sold at the Los Angeles office of the department. Added investigative work by wardens resulted from 1953 lcgislati\e action relating to hunter casualties. These changes provided for permanent revocation of a hunter's license for killing or wounding a human being, and a five-year revocation in cases involving domestic animals. Wardens investigated these cases and woric is on the warden staff the week- Heavy pressure during opening made reports transmitted to count\' district attorneys ends of seasons like deer, pheasants, trout and waterfowl. Here deer tags are checked in the high Sierra. for action. INLAND FISHERIES

.j^ Emphasis placed on sound management of existing fisheries.

Greatest expansion of trout hatcheries in history recorded.

Stream and lake improvement program highlighted as management tool.

New forage fish introduced into California waters to improve warmwater fishing.

Branch surveys 142 streams and 321 lakes to obtain data for fisheries management. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 27

INLAND FISHERIES

the diffi- Intensified angling pressure and increased water utilization continued to aggravate already State's cult task of maintaining satisfactory angling for Oalifornia's growing population. The great natural fisheries of trout, steelhead and salmon, striped bass, and warmwatcr species are now and always will be the backbone of angling recreation. AND PLANTING Increased emphasis is being placed on their sound FISH PRODUCTION for it is above all else, to management, important, The major fisheries management activit\-, in terms maintain them in the best possible condition. The cost of annual expenditures, is the production and plant- of doing so is negligible compared with the cost of ing of hatcherv-reared trout. angling by stocking or stream improve- seen the improving The period covered in this report has ment. ever undertaken greatest expansion of trout hatcheries dams and water diversions for and irri- New power in California, and perhaps by any state in the Nation. gation continued to create serious fisheries problems. As a result of 14,300,000 made available for capital effort was to obtain Ever\' made adequate protection investment purposes by the Wildlife Conservation for the fisheries threaten as well as to take full ad- they Board over the past five-year period, California's huge vantage of any new fisheries possibilities they present. fish hatchery expansion program, which got under was slowed Programs which offer the greatest promise for im- way during the previous biennium but proving angling at a reasonable cost were expanded as down due to \sartime restrictions, got into high gear hatcheries rapidly as available funds permitted. Financial assist- during the latter part of 1952. Two new im- ance from the Wildlife Conservation Board and the were completed, two existing hatcheries were federal aid to fisheries program permitted a gradual, proved and expanded, construction of one additional orderly expansion of these activities. Special emphasis hatchery was started, and plans completed for two ad- was placed during the biennium on lake and stream ditional new hatcheries. The two new units are Darrah improvement of several types; and major expansion of Springs Hatcher>-, located near the Shasta-Tehama the the catchable trout program, coupled with an analysis count)- line, about 27 miles east of Red Bluff, and of its role in the California angling picture. iMoccasin Creek Hatcher\- at Moccasin, Tuolumne Count\\ Increased emphasis was placed on warmwater fish. Darrah Springs Hatchery, representing an invest- A series of carefully selected new species was intro- ment of 1765,000, is the trout duced into various waters as part of a broad program approximateh' largest hatchery in California. Approximately 30 cubic feet to evaluate the possibilities they offered for improving of water second, from at a tem- angling. per coming springs perature of 56 degrees, supplies 60 earth-fill, raceway- In the description of the departmental program dur- type ponds, 124 standard hatchery troughs, and 32 ing the biennium which follows, a broad separation has nursery tanks. Exceptional growth is obtained at this been made between management and investigational installation. Fish growing at the rate of one inch per activities. month permit production of two crops of catchable FISHERIES MANAGEMENT fish each year. Other facilities include a large food preparation In fisheries includes all of the general, management building with refrigerated storage for approximately of aimed at great variety operational projects improv- 200,000 pounds of fish food, a garage and shop build- based on facts obtained research. ing angling, through ing for truck and equipment storage and routine main- Thus, it encompasses such diverse activities as fish tenance work, and 12 houses for hatchery personnel. of stocking and rescue, barrier removal, construction of The hatchery has a potential output 2,000,000 flow maintenance dams, installation of stream improve- catchable trout weighing 300,000 pounds annualh. located in the hub of a ment devices, construction and maintenance of screens Being strategically very large fish distribution area, the results from catchable trout and ladders, rough fish control, and enforcement of produced at this new hatchery will be felt over a wide regulations. area in Northern California. Effectiveness of the department's fisheries management activities was greatly increased b\' the decentral- Lease Arrangement ization from and the attend- resulting reorganization, The new Aloccasin Creek Hatchery, located imme- ant of local strengthening supervision. dately below the Moccasin Creek powerhouse afterbay This management work is now a regional function, in Tuolumne County, was completed just at the close is located on although the various regional activities are coordinated of the 1953-54 Fiscal Year. The hatchery of San and is into broad state-wide programs. property owned by the City Francisco, 28 departjvient of fish and game

Ponds Doubled

Production facilities at the Mojave River Hatchery near Victorville, San Bernardino County, were doubled by increasing the number of ponds from 20 to 40, and drilling two new wells to supply water. A large i^ii *^ aerating tower for dissipating harmful gases from the water was installed, and a new food preparation and storage building and three new residences were built. This hatchery, which first became an experimental unit in 1947, received its entire water supply from four wells on the property. Each year its production has increased. During the past fiscal year 672,920 trout ^ weighing 80,220 pounds were produced and distributed in the Southern California area. The expansion

^wi«i'""Hw;j!«"" BJSiS S9S recently completed at this installation makes it the largest hatchery in Southern California. Other minor improvements to hatchery installations financed with Wildlife Conservation Board funds were made at Mt. Shasta, Black Rock Rearing Ponds, Fill- Aloccoiin Cree^ Hatchery, completed during the biennium. more and Hot Creek. Construction of the San Joaquin Hatchery, below on a occupied long-term lease arrangement. Water for Friant Dam at Millerton Lake, in Fresno County, is the unit is obtained bv flow from the well under and this unit will operating gravity way new be finished early powerhouse afterbay. in the 1954-56 biennium. The initial installation includes 24 rearing ponds, a Plans were completed for the new Cedar Creek hatchery building with 120 troughs, food preparation Experiment Station in Mendocino County and bids and refrigerated storage building, and six residences. were called for this project. Initially, work at this in- While the hatchery was completed during the period stallation will center around stocking experiments with covered by this report, it was turned over to the de- aged steelhead trout. partment too late to begin operation during the bien- As part of the salmon and steelhead restoration pro- nium. Its strategic location near important trout waters gram to compensate for loss of salmon and steelhead remote runs in the American River from other hatcheries makes it a particularly resulting from construc- valuable installation. tion of the Folsom and Nimbus Dams, plans were worked out in collaboration with the U. S. Bureau of Important expansion and improvements were made Reclamation and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service at several installations, particularly Crystal Lake for a salmon and steelhead to be con- Hatcherv' near Cassel, Shasta County; and Mojave large hatchery structed the Bureau of Reclamation and River Hatchery near Victorville, San Bernardino by operated the with the Reclamation Bureau County. Construction of the Crystal Lake Hatchery by State, reimbursing the State for costs. was actually begun in 1947, when 24 ponds with neces- operating sary water supply facilities were installed. Soon after The over-all hatchery expansion program provided the that as efficient ponds were placed in operation, serious disease new, hatchery facilities were com- and in problems developed and it became evident that water pleted placed operation, the older, outmoded from Crystal Lake itself was not suitable for fish cul- hatcheries would be abandoned. Accordingly, the tural Lake Mt. purposes. Pipelines were accordingly extended to Brookdale, Almanor, Tallac, and Feather in water River Hatcheries were closed bring from nearby Rock Creek, which proved permanently during the satisfactorv. biennium. Upon completion of the San Joaquin Hatch- ery, the old Kings River and Madera Hatcheries also New facilities at this installation represent an investment of will be abandoned. $208,000, and include a garage and shop build- food ing, preparation and refrigerated storage building, and four Increased employee residences. The hatchery, located Capacity to the north of the Lassen adjacent boundary Volcanic The hatchery expansion program has increased National Park area, has been an operating unit since catchable fish production from 539,554 pounds during 1948. the 1953-54 Fiscal Year it During produced 341,- the 1951-52 Fiscal Year to 796,384 pounds in 1953-54, 832 trout 64,515 These were weighing pounds. distrib- or a total of 1,631,688 pounds during the biennium. uted in Shasta, and mainly iVIodoc, Lassen, Plumas This created serious distributional problems. Fortu- Counties. nately, in 1953 it was discovered that the addition of FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 29

Fish and Game Commission's "Golden Trout one-half grain of sodium amytal per gallon of water Policy" would more than double the carrying capacity of fish- adopted on October 16, 1952. started at the Cotton- planting tanks. Egg-taking operations again wood Lakes, and a start was made toward Use of this drug, which decreases activity and hence procuring a broodstock from Golden Trout Creek. In former oxygen requirement, coupled with addition of three days most of the fish were planted as fry. Under the 150-gallon, six 500-gallon, and three 1,500-gallon tank new policy, the department started its attempts to trucks and operation of six fish-planting bases enable raise goldens to fingerling size. Plants under this pol- the planting crews to keep up with increased produc- are to be confined to barren waters and to a num- tion. icy ber of specially designated lakes in a limited program The new 1,500-gallon units are invaluable for long- of maintenance stocking. During the 1953-54 period, of of fish range highway transportation large quantities 201,295 golden trout were planted in lakes of the bases. from hatcheries to seasonal planting Throughout southern Sierra Nevada. the State, 40 smaller 150-gallon fish-planting tanks From the standpoint of numbers, fingerlings planted mounted on trucks are used for final dis- pickup-type during the biennium represented 73 percent of the tribution of the fish from both hatcheries and planting total plant. By weight catchables made up 94 percent bases to their final destination. tanks The 500-gallon of the total. are used for lake stocking, large streams, and smaller From July 1, 1952, to June 30, 1954, the department fish transfers. planted a total of 26,964,700 trout and salmon, with The stepped-up catchable trout program has also a total weight of 1,631,678 pounds. the of sufficient inex- aggravated problem providing For the first time, an adequate cost analysis study pensive fish food for the State's hatcheries. This chal- was made for the entire hatchery and planting pro- has been lenge met by improving methods of feeding gram, but results were not available at the close of fish in ponds and by using new products, which were the biennium. formerly wasted. Development of a method for proc- A complete summation of fish distribution will be fish frames a source of essing provided large good, found in Table 10, Appendix. inexpensive food. These frames include the remains of rock cod and sole after the fillets petrale have been TROUT PLANTINGS removed. 40,000,000 This material is ground at the source to the desired size and placed in moisture-proof paper bags, then frozen. is quick The product fed to pond fish by strip- ping off the paper bag and placing the block of food in the pond. This food has sufficient buoyancy to float, and is held in place in the pond by an anchored frame made oftwo-inch by four-inch material. 30,000,000 Fish nibble at the food from the bottom and sides and eat as it thaws. This eliminates a considerable loss of food in ponds, since small particles do not flake away and settle to the bottom. Usually, two or three feeding frames are used in each 100-foot pond. This method is highly satisfactory and does not result in any greater variation in size of 20,000,000 the fish than when food is scattered by hand.

Fingerling Production

Fingerling production has continued at about the level of the previous biennium, with a total of 26,964,- 000 planted during the two-year period. These fish ,000,000 were used to stock high mountain lakes in remote areas, and other waters where conditions, were especially favorable for fingerling survival. A major change in production during the biennium was the resumption of golden trout operations in 1952-1953. Golden trout had not been hatched by the State since 1941. The fresh start was a direct result of the 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 30 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

Fish Rescue 3. To improve the habitat in existing lakes and streams and to create new waters where it is eco- The effect of large multiple purpose dams on princi- nomically feasible to do so. pal river systems is reflected in the department's fish 4. To increase and improve spawning grounds. rescue operations. Each year, more runoff water is 5. To control undesirable species chemical treat- under control. The overflow areas in the by brought ment of lakes and streams. central vallev are reduced, and less fish rescue work 6. To improve forage conditions for sport fishes. becomes necessar\-. 7. To provide increased utilization of the resource Warniwater fish rescue operations centered mainly when it is safe to do so. in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley areas, while salmon and steelhead salvage work was carried on During the biennium the scope of this work was mainly in the north coast sections of the State. The carried out by the five regions and was materially in- latter takes place during periods of low water on creased by financial assistance from Wildlife Conserva- coastal streams, when steelhead and salmon fingeriings tion Board funds, Federal Aid Project F-4-D, and are trapped in pools or lagoons. Nearly 1,500,000 fin- county fine moneys. geriings were saved and transplanted during the p^t two years. Barrier Removal A tabulation of the fish rescued is found in Tables Major work on north coast stream clearance during 16 and 17, Appendix. the biennium was accomplished through the use of Federal Aid in Fish Restoration funds STREAM AND LAKE IMPROVEMENT (D-J Project F-4-D). Slides and waterfalls forming barriers were Restoration and improvement of environment is in- removed or altered in eleven streams from Monterey creasing rapidly in importance as a fish management County northward, allowing easier passage of steel- tool in California. There is growing emphasis on head and salmon into 1 30 miles of stream. stream and lake improvement of many sorts, aimed Removal of a barrier on Mill Creek, Tehama at more fish as well as more of those producing putting County, made some 35 miles of stream more readily already present into the creel. Increased emphasis also accessible to salmon and steelhead. is to of warmwater lakes being given improvement Log jams were removed from nine streams utilized new of or fish. by introducing species game forage by anadromous fish. The majority of these were in the of the stream and Major objectives department's north-coastal area where log jams are generally con- lake are: improvement program ceived as a by-product of logging activities. Benefits 1. To remove barriers to the migration of fishes, so derived by their removal are often transitory in na- that the adults may reach suitable spawning areas ture, being reaggravated by the next period of high or and the young may pass downstream. abnormally high waters. 2. To increase stream flows to aid fish migration, With the advent of enlightened watershed manage- and to keep streams from drying up. ment, the rate of development of log jams should decrease. All log jams removed by the department were those where the determination of the party responsible could not be ascertained. Most of this work was accomplished by Federal Aid crews. Minor log and debris removal was also done on various lakes to insure access of fish to and from spawning tributaries. An abandoned mining dam was removed on Cecil Creek, Siskiyou County, to allow passage of anadromous fish. Beaver dams on several streams were removed to prevent flooding and to allow spawning migrations of trout to pass. In most instances the game '^'''S manager live-trapped the beavers and transplanted them to more suitable areas.

Stream Flow Maintenance Dams

The department's stream flow maintenance dam construction program designed to improve natural trout habitat, has been continued under the auspices of

tog raft used in chemical treatment of Tamarack Lake, Mono Couniy. Materials at hand often are used in back country activities. the Wildlife Conservation Board, and a complete re- that port of these activities is shown under heading. Nine such dams were completed during the biennium, three were started but not completed, and one previously constructed dam was raised to increase the water storage. Other Flow Maintenance

Irrigation waters were channelized into Pine Creek, Lassen County, facilitating downstream migration of trout into Eagle Lake. Gravel wing dams were constructed with bulldozers on the lower Eel River, Humboldt County, to deepen the channel and minimize losses of anadromous fish attempting to enter the river. This was accomplished with Federal Aid funds.

Lake Construction and Improvement Work was begun on Indian Basin Lake, Fresno County, where a trout lake of about nine acres in size Board will be constructed with Wildlife Conservation creation of Typical rock deflecfors constructed for flow maintenance and funds. This work is being done by a contract with the natural pools for trout fiabitat. U. S. Forest Service. Various counties assisted through county fine Preliminary surveys have been made at several other monies. Many ^sportsmen and sportsmen's groups in sites to determine feasibility of constructing other the area gave generously of their time and effort. As trout and warmwater lakes. a result of the combined efforts, more than 650 such At Doane Lake in San Diego County, the marginal devices were installed. Unfortunately, flash floods pro- area was an old dam removed, and vegeta- deepened, duced by localized cloudbursts removed 92 in one tion controlled under a Wildlife Conservation Board drainage. project. Aquatic Plant Control The bed of Dry Lake, San Bernardino County, was treated with bentonite to eliminate water loss through Continuing its policy of improving lakes for fishing uses seepage. wherever possible, the department investigated A diversion ditch was opened from Little Kern Lake of new weedicides for control of aquatic plants. of Creek, Tulare County, to provide a constant flow Pilot investigations of weed control were continued water into Little Kern Lake. A more permanent head- at Twin Laks, Mammoth, Mono County, with sodium works structure is planned for the next biennium. arsenite, and the department did further work at In accordance with instructions from the Legisla- Doane Lake, San Diego County, and Crystal Lake, the and ture, the department made a survey of snags Los Angeles County. Experimental work with CMU to determine at Fresno and with logs in Lake Almanor, Plumas County, was carried out Lost Lake, County, them. The indicated at the Moon San Bernardino the feasibility of removing survey Borascu Lake, County. that their removal would cost about $1,600,000. Fish Population Control Stream Devices Improvement Chemical treatment continued to be the most useful Spearheaded by a Wildlife Conservation Board proj- tool in control of undesirable fishes and reduction of stream was ect, the department began a major improve- stunted populations. Rotenone-bearing powder ment program in southern California. Emphasis was the primary chemical used. Methods of application placed on pool building devices to provide sufficient varied from the use of a log raft in a back-country water and cover for planting of catchable trout. The lake to the dissemination of an emulsifiable rotenone Santa Ana River received the greatest number of compound by aircraft. Aerial observation also proved structures with installation of 252 devices. useful in the Grouse Ridge area lakes in Nevada and rock so that accurate determination of lake areas Log and rock deflectors; log, piled rock, County be made. Such information is needed to deter- masonry dams have been installed on 13 different could was determined mine the amount of chemical needed. streams. The type of structure used by proper the nature of the stream and the materials at hand, al- California's own "cubebeater," a self-propelled mix- device the was used though all are in experimental stages of design, location ing developed by department on one of the at Lake Merced, and feasibility. effectively big jobs ^.^^

^i^^->::

\-f#;e?s6^-:

used io of fishes, to determine and lor fropping fishes for £/ec(ro-fi$hmg, which harmlessly stuns fish, can be segregate species populations, egg taking.

which also assisted fine available San Francisco County. (This is the same device by making county money rotenone. Oregon made use of in its treatment of Diamond Lake for purchase of In 1953 was used for the first time in late in 1954.) electrofishing California to of fish in The department's rough fish control activities were segregate species population control. It was used in Pine Creek, Lassen to highlighted by the eradication of rough fish in Bass County, the Lake rainbow trout from its com- Lake, Madera Count}', and in 10 miles of its tributary separate Eagle t1ie eastern brook trout. streams. This 1,165-acre reservoir was treated when petitor, An was conducted the Pacific Gas and Electric Company drew down the experimental gill netting program at Convict Lake in Mono County in 1953 to remove lake to repair the outlet valves. Many of the game fish brown trout. These fish consumed were rescued and held for restocking the lake after large predatory many of the catchable rainbows which are stocked chemical treatment. The weight of carp killed greatly but are themselves almost invulnerable to exceeded the weight of game fish. annually, A total of 124 browns Twenty-four other lakes and ponds were also capture by angling. weighing 368 pounds was removed during the operation. The treated with rotenone to eliminate rough fish. Most of largest weighed over 20 pounds! Creel census records these \\aters have been restocked with game fish to from 1954 will be compared with past catch records provide improved fishing. Forage species have also on this lake to determine the effect of this been introduced in waters suitable for them. See Table experiment on survival of rainbow trout. Whether or not such 20, Appendix, for a tabulation of results. work is justifiable in view of the time and special still is uncertain. Chemical Treatment equipment required,

Permits Large-scale chemical treatment of streams was at- Carp Issued for the first time during the biennium. A pro- tempted Carp seining permits have been issued wherever was initiated in the Russian River drainage to gram practicable to reduce competition with game fishes conditions for steelhead trout eliminating improve by for living space. fish in several tributaries. Here a rough checkup During the biennium more than 651 applications showed that no more than 5 of the resident percent for the stocking of private ponds were processed, 282 fish were fish. About 87 miles of tributaries were game ponds were visited, and about 500 ponds were stocked treated in Dr\' and Maacama Creeks, in Sonoma with fish by the owners. See Table 21, Appendix. In most instances barriers were built or nat- County. It has been the policy of the Department of Fish ural barriers were utilized to prevent of re-entry and Game to supply an initial stock of fish of warm- fish. rough water fishes to private ponds too small to support pub- Santa Ysabel River and its San tributaries, Diego lic fishing and which meet certain other requirements. were also treated with rotenone to remove County, Trout for such ponds must be purchased from a undesirable fish before inundation by a contemplated licensed domestic fish breeder. water project. Largemouth black bass and bluegill have been the Numerous sportsmen's groups have assisted mate- usu^l species stocked. The department has been par- in the fish fish will rially department's rough control program ticularly anxious to find species of which by donating many hours of work. Various counties reproduce in the colder waters of coastal and North- FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 33 em California ponds. A few experimental plants of White crappie which were brought from San Diego yellow perch and Sacramento perch were made with County lakes to Coyote Reservoir, Santa Clara County, this in mind. and East Park Reservoir, Colusa County, in 1950, were found to be producing excellent fishing in 1954. FISH INTRODUCTIONS Good Kokanee The Department of Fish and Game has continued Spawns its work of introducing species whose establishment Spawning runs of Kokanee salmon, first introduced in fresh waters may be beneficial. into California in 1941, were observed in tributaries In 1953 the fathead minnow was imported from of Lake Tahoe, Shasta Lake, and Lake Almanor. The New Mexico and it spawned successfully in hatchery 1952 spawning runs in Tahoe were particularly grati- ponds during the same year. Experimental planting fying. They represented the first adults from the first has been carried out in several lakes in the hope that major planting of fingerlings in 1949. Runs in the it will be a useful forage fish.. tributaries of Shasta Lake were exceptional, since they occurred the summer instead of the In the spring of 1954 another forage minnow, the during during winter as plains red shiner, was brought to northern California expected. and is now being propagated at Cehtral Valleys In addition to the new introductions and checkups Hatchery. It spawned successfully there in June, 1954. on older ones, the department tried out several species of native fishes in waters where were not Outstanding introductions of the biennium con- they resident. sisted of the importation of the threadfin shad and the in the redeye black bass, also known as the Coosa bass, into Two native species of freshwater smelt found California. The threadfin is being introduced in the lower Sacramento-San Joaquin Rivers showed promise in hope that it will provide hitherto lacking forage for as a forage fish for cooler reservoirs. Early 1954, smelt freshwater black bass and other game fish in large reservoirs, these fish, the Sacramento and smelt, into three Central California Reser- while the redeye is expected to provide fishing in were introduced lowland foothill streams, too warm for trout and too voirs. small for other kinds of black bass. The native California killifish was introduced into in in an Following extensive negotiations and experiments Lake Elsinore, Riverside County, April, 1954, fish in this alkaline and with transportation equipment, the shad were seined attempt to establish a forage from the Tennessee River in Tennessee and flown to unstable lake. California. Despite adverse weather conditions, 357 of In an attempt to build up a run of steelhead in the the delicate shad survived and were introduced into Mokelumne River, steelhead from coastal streams were brood in San in 1953. ponds Diego County November, planted there in 1953. In Mav of 1954 they spawned prolifically. The first experimental plant from this spawning was made in San V^icente Reservoir, San Diego County, in June, 1954. The fhreadfin shad, a forage fish being introduced info warmwater fish. It was from Tennessee. Redeye Bass Imported reservoirs for forage tor game brought

Forty adult redeye bass were brought out from their native waters in Tennessee by the department's airplane in 1953 and all but one survived the trip. These fish were settled in a pond at Central Valleys Hatchery, where some of them spawned in the spring of 1954.'

Additional plants and checkups were made of several other non-native species which have been resident in the State for some time. Since 1950 there has been a concerted effort to establish the golden shiner as a forage fish in reservoirs throughout central and northern California. It has been found to have spawned successfully in some of them, and evaluation of its effect now is being carried out. Smallmouth bass were first recorded in the Colo- rado River below Parker Dam in 1952 from a plant made three years before, and a booster plant was made in 1953. The fish were taken by air from Cen- tral Valleys Hatchery to Blythe. 34 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

Mr; FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 35

Station Stream Klamathon Racks Klamath River Shasta Racks Shasta River Sweasey Dam Mad River Benbow Dam Eel River, Soutli F( rk

South Fork of the Eel River Year (Benboiv Da?n) King Silver Steel - salmon salmon head

1952-53 7,256 3,711 19,448

1953-54 ...._ 7,948 3,052 15,425 36 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

characterized a In addition to tliesc, spot censuses \\ere made of ables and the plant was by very high many individual waters. return to the angler almost immediately after planting. There was almost no carryover to the next year and Inland Trout Studies no natural propagation. W'itli the advent of reorganization, most of the Beginning in 1953, only brown trout have been previous trout investigations \\ere shifted to a new planted. These were catchables, and it was found that Dingeii-Johnson project, F-8-R, "Trout Management onh- 20 percent were caught in the first season. How- Study." Bv the start of the IQ.H fishing season, this ever, in the case of the browns, there is a very good \\as well under with six principal jobs or project way carryover and excellent natural reproduction. In 1954 subprojects: the wild browns dominated the catch.

(T) Casfle Lake, Siskiyou County (3) Feather River The rainbow trout phase of the Castle Lake investi- Proposed hydroelectric developments by the Pa- gation was begun in 1952, and since then only this cific Gas and Electric Company will divert most of has been Brook trout continue to species planted. the water from the Caribou-Gansner Bar section of maintain themselves without further stocking. Pre- the Feather River by 1956. By making a complete viously brook trout had been planted, and it was found creel census of this river section for three years prior that \\ hen they alone were present the return to the to the diversion and for about five years afterward, angler of planted fingerlings was 3.'i percent. Return the it is expected that effects of such a diversion on of catchable brooks was 43 percent. Prior to chemical fishery can be detected. This is one of the richest treatment of the lake in 1946, the brook trout were sections of rainbow stream in California and is com- pre\ed upon by browns and lake trout (mackinaw) contains an excellent pletely accessible by road. It and never attained the of more then three In age years. native rainbow population and the catch is high both the natural of the brooks is sur- addition, reproduction in numbers and pounds. prisingly successful. Prior to chemical treatment, the catch of naturally (4) Lakes Basin Recreation Area, Sierra and Plumas Counties spawned brooks \\"as insignificant, while now the wild creel census is made to test a fish dominate the catch. The carryover of fall-spawn- Here, a^partial being of ing rainbow catchables is reasonably good. A compari- large number management practices. Approxi- 18 natural trout lakes can be checked two son was made between rainbow fingerlings planted bv mately by but it is not known how of air and by truck. To date the angler catch of truck- attendants, yet many will be needed for Three lakes planted fish from Castle Lake is rvvice that of the these experiments. have been stocked with marked trout. Tests plane-planted ones. already will be made in the form of comparisons, and no at- (2) Rush Creek, Mono County tempt will be made to determine total catches. Prior to 1953 only rainbow had been in this planted Adequate statistical samples will indicate which of test stream. Most of these were catch- fall-spawning two or more contrasting methods is best. In one lake four strains of rainbow were planted in 1953 to see which is best for lakes of this type. In a second lake both catchable and fingerling browns are being planted to see which is better. In a third lake brook air and truck to fingerlings are being planted by by see which is better.

(5) State-wide Brown Trout Project In addition to the Rush Creek project, information jT- l ^^4i on that somewhat controversial species, the brown trout, is being gathered throughout the State. Part of the program calls for population studies based on suc- CHECKING STATION electro-fishing or shocking. These will show the cess of various methods of brown trout management ir\ and will indicate which types of streams are suitable for browns and which are not. Test waters are scattered throughout the State with both staff and regional personnel participating in the work.

Checking station lor Rush Creek Test Stream m Mono County. Tests determine relative merits ol brown and rainbow trout for this stream. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 37

(6) Brood Stock Selecfion The present strain of fall-spawning rainbow brood stock used in the California hatcheries is known to contain serious genetical \\'eaknesses, particularly physical abnormalities. In order to rectify this condition a program of selection was begun in the fall of 1953 at the Alt. Shasta Hatchery. Some females were taken at random from the stock, and in each case the fish's eggs were divided into two parts; one part was fertilized by one male and the other part by another male. In turn each male was used to fertilize the eggs of two females. These lots of eggs, 69 in all, were held in separate trays until hatched. Twenty-four of the best appearing lots were then retained for future brood stock. Data on fertility, viability, appearance, growth rate, etc., were kept on each lot.

Several special studies were carried on in several areas. Among these was a marked fish experiment on Brush Creek, Tulare County, which showed the usual This which will small was small returns from stream-stocked rainbow fingerlings, pond, support trout, created by a rock dam on McGee Creek, Mono County. a large return to the angler from catchables, and an even larger return from wild fish. able to handle the with the tools at hand. Most Studies were started in Region V in an attempt to job of the consisted of stream discover what happens to "catchable" trout which are improvements consolidating channels, rock or barriers to not caught by the angler. The same experiments are removing log spa\\ning areas, out sod blocks in lake and con- designed to show the effect of stream improvement digging inlets, struction of rock dams. on catchable trout fishing. While this of work was incidental to the Trial plants of eastern brook fingerlings in Lake type field considerable benefits to the Merced, San Francisco County, had only small returns regular activities, lakes and streams were realized these (although the fish grow well) by the close of the by improve- biennium. ments. For example, the removal of a log barrier in one lake inlet, which required two hours' work, Back-country Fish Management Study opened up 600 yards of spawning area to the lake rainbow population. It is very likely that no further A total of 247 lakes, all lying in back-countr\' areas planting will be needed to maintain a satisfactory of the Sierra Nevada and Siskiyou Mountain Ranges, population in this lake. were examined as part of a Dingell-Johnson project On two occasions rotenone was used to treat back- (F-3-R). Principal objectives were to evaluate current country lakes. One 10-acre lake was treated to re- management practices, to work out rapid evaluation move eastern brook trout and fish systems, and to put new or modified procedures into rough preparatory to rehabilitation with trout. effect. Special efforts were made to obtain data on golden fish populations, spawning success, and angling use. In order to determine effects and desirability of im- devices for use in mountainous The project crew made repeated eight- to ten-day provement possible 41 structures on the East Fork pack trips into back-country areas of the State, where areas, improvement Kaweah initial surveys and rechecks were made of lakes and River, Tulare County, were observed and evaluated. The structures were built in 1935 the streams to develop sound management programs. The by U. S. Forest Service. all problem of lake overpopulations by brook trout was Twelve, of log construction, remain in after investigated, and routine equipment and methods were operation 18 years. Those of earth, retested. Results of work were observed, and several rock, masonry, plank and crib construction had been evaluation chemical treatm.ent jobs were undertaken. destroyed. An report was submitted for this study. Findings were discussed with management person- Losses nel, and assistance was given them in revising man- Investigated allotments agement policies. Planting for back-country Reports of the loss of Piute cutthroat trout from waters were submitted annually as a part of this Cottonwood Creek, Mono County, due to floods were survey program. investigated. It was found that the trout were not only Experimental improvement work was carried on present, but they were well established as indicated by as a part of the field work wherever the crew was size range and abundance. 38 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

An jrriga/jon (J/fc/i js being tested to determine how many fish ore being drawn through diversions and lost in fields.

Several cases of winter kills were investigated in of spawning success were made each year. Much of the shallow high elevation waters. Losses were generally field data accumulated during the preceding five years attributed to shallowness, abundant aquatic plants or of intensive work was analyzed and published. A new lack of suitable inlets and outlets for circulation result- federal aid project was planned for initiation early in ing in oxygen depletion. the next biennium, to pick up and continue the former Observations were made to determine the extent of long-range striped bass program. losses of golden trout over a falls in the outlet of Alger Outstanding accomplishments in relation to this fish- Lakes, Alono County. Abundance of all sizes of golden ery during the biennium were made by other agencies in the lake without having been stocked for many in the field of screening large diversions. The depart- years indicated that losses have not been excessive. ment was associated with these activities in an advisory A study of the Shadow Creek, Madera County, capacity. drainage, containing eight lakes, were made to deter- Practical Effects mine the feasibility of reclaiming the basin for golden The fish preservation project at the Contra Costa trout. Due to a lack of spawning areas throughout the Stream Plant intake was successfully terminated by the region as a whole, it was considered impractical. One Bechtel and the Pacific Gas and Electric isolated lake has been recommended for chemical Corporation Company. Information gained from this project was treatment and rehabilitation of golden trout. applied by Bechtel Corporation to design of the new The project was terminated in June, 1954, and as Pittsburg Stream Plant. As a result, this installation an outgrowth of information gained a manual of back- should not present a serious hazard to the striped bass countr\' management covering all phases of the project population. activities is being prepared. Development of a new type of louver screen by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff to the Striped Bass assigned Tracy Pumping Plant also promises to resolve the ex- of work on the bass was tem- Scope striped fishery tremely difficult screening problems which have arisen reduced the biennium as a result of porarily during there. personnel changes associated with reorganization and Sturgeon no new work was initiated. However, the system of catch records so vital to understanding the status of It has become increasingly apparent to personnel this important fishery was maintained, and surveys working on the striped bass fishery in recent years that FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 39

such as of and of sturgeon are once again abundant enough to support periods operation, depth position since size and of etc. Notes were also a fishery. These fish have been heavily protected intake, type pump, 1917. On the basis of departmental recommendations made on whether or not the pump could be effectively the Fish and Game Commission adopted an open sea- tested for fish losses. Preliminary sampling was also son on sturgeon angling for 1954. done at several diversions. With this phase of the work completed, several rep- Sacramento-San Joaquin River Salmon resentative pumps are being tested with fyke nets and Steelhead Study through the 1954 irrigating season. Nets are placed in end of the sea- This important federal aid project (F-7-R), begun discharge outlets of the pumps. At the be made of total during the biennium, is presently aimed toward two son reasonable accurate estimates may of the of fish lost these important objectives. The first is an evaluation numbers and species through pumps. anadromous fish losses occurring at the numerous Similar pumps may then be evaluated on the basis of water diversions in the Central \^alley. Second is the these findings. and derivation of a sound practical management plan Results to date indicate that loss of seaward migrat- for the steelhead trout of the Sacramento River. Valu- ing king salmon fingerlings through diversions in the are also on salmon, as a able data being gathered king Sacramento-Redding area of the river is small, mainly the Marine Fisheries Branch. service to because the majority of the young salmon migrate Work on the diversions has thus far been confined from this area during January, February, and March. of the Sacramento chiefly to the 246-mile section Heavy irrigation does not normally begin until several River between the Cities of Redding and Sacramento, weeks later. Observation of one 20-inch pump in Co- in which there are more than 300 points of diversion. lusa County revealed that a loss of considerable mag- All but one are pumping diversions, consisting of from nitude can occur when there is early irrigation. At in from less than 1 to 13 pumps and ranging capacity this pump over 1,200 young salmon were captured one to more than 2,300 cubic feet per second. when the discharge was strained with fyke nets for 200 hours in March. This is a much During the 1953 irrigating season initial surveys early higher of this and several other were made of each pump. Included was all the basic figure than the combined take information on factors believed to influence fish losses, similar sized pumps during the entire month of May.

on numbers and of salmon and A steelhead is returned to the Sacramento River after being lagged near Fremont Weir. Inlormalion migrations steelhead are obtained. 40 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

Damage Assessed Success or failure of this program may be determined from the relative numbers of marked fish to Most of the sampling is being done on pumps in the wild adult steelhead found in the sport catch, in proj- 12- to 24-inch class. They are by far the most nu- ect operated river traps, at the Mill Creek Counting merous, and heretofore practically nothing has been Station, and at fish collection facilities of the Coleman done toward their to the fish popu- assessing damage Fish Cultural Station. lations. increase in the numbers of steelhead The apparent Fyke Nets Operated and steelhead fishermen on the upper Sacramento During the 1953-54 steelhead and salmon runs, seven River since completion of Shasta Dam raises questions large fyke nets were operated in the Sacramento River about the adequacy of present regulations such as bag near Knights Landing. These nets are used in coopera- limits, length of season, and closed waters. Another ex- tion with the Marine Fisheries Branch to capture adult tremely important question requiring an answer is fish for tagging and fin mark examination. whether or not it is economically feasible to improve All data pertaining to salmon were turned over to steelhead angling in the Sacramento River system by the Marine Fisheries Branch, while this project has stocking yearling hatchery fish. responsibility for the steelhead data. Between July 8, This project is working toward answering these 1953, and June 15, 1954, a total of 2,114 steelhead was questions b>" marking and planting hatchery reared trapped and examined for marks. Of this number there steelhead, tagging adults on their upstream migration, were 59 marked fish from the 1953 spring plant. Peter- creel censusing anglers, and checking upstream and sen disk tags were placed on 1,472 steelhead over 14.5 downstream migrations on iMill Creek, one of the more inches long. Anglers thus far have returned 301 tags, important tributaries to the upper river. showing a harvest of 20 percent. The steelhead planting experiment is being carried The counting station on Mill Creek is at the fish out in cooperation with the United States Fish and ladder over Clough Dam, five miles upstream from the ^^'ildlife Service and Kamloops, Incorporated, a sports- confluence of this stream with the Sacramento River. mens" organization with headquarters at Redding. The There have been 67 marked steelhead fish are raised at the Coleman Fish Cultural Station (9 percent) among the 715 that have been counted at this station. where eggs are taken from wild fish, trapped ascending During the steelhead fishing period between Octo- Battle Creek to spawn. A total of 215,438 marked year- ber 1953 and February 1954, 674 anglers were inter- ling steelhead were planted during the biennium. The viewed. Seventeen tagged fish (13 percent) were 63,590 fish released in 1953 were planted in Battle found in their total catch of 131 steelhead over 14.5. Creek, .Mill Creek, and the Sacramento River at Ord These high proportions of tagged fish clearly show and Princeton Ferries. Creel censuses indicated a large value of large fyke nets to determine the number of these fish were caught from Mill Creek and operating contribution being made by planting steelhead. Battle Creek before migrating seaward. Therefore, the Considerable work on salmon area entire 1954 release of 151,848 fish was made in the king spawning surveys and counts was performed during the bien- Sacramento River at Princeton Ferry, where the fish nium. This was done in cooperation with the Marine are not nearly as vulnerable to angling pressure before Fisheries Branch and the United States Fish and Wild- migrating downstream. life Service.

Wormwater Fish Studies

A new state-wide warmwater research program was organized early in 1953. One purpose of this program is to learn how to improve angling in the growing numbers of warmwater reservoirs and the many miles of California streams not now supporting a good sport fish population. Supervision of other studies such as those on catfish and striped bass also is a part of the program. Much emphasis during the biennium has been placed on providing forage for largemouth black bass. Studies of our warmwater reservoirs have shown that low production is often not due to poor spawning, but rather to a lack of suitable forage for the little bass. When they reach a length of about three inches, small bass

Tagging has provided much information on the Sacramento Delta catfish. Sportsmen have cooperated in the return of these tags. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 41 assume a fish diet and there are not enough fish of the n right size available in most California lakes. jMost native minnows, because of low productivity or natural and man-made environmental changes, have not been able to support the heavy predation required of a good forage fish, and attention has been directed to exotic species. The principal experimental introductions during the biennium have already been described under "Management." Lack of success of forage minnows in some water supply reservoirs is being investigated. The role of copper sulfate, a widely used algicide, as a limiting factor is being studied with promising result. Work also was begun to determine harvest rates of black bass. This knowledge is needed to increase understanding of black bass populations under Cali- fornia conditions, and for formulating sensible regulations. Tagging studies were begun at Clear Lake, Lake Count\', and on several Southern California reservoirs to discover how many of the bass are being caught each year. Control of rough fish such as carp is the most important management technique now in use. A program to develop new methods of control was begun. Promising preliminary results were obtained with the bait of this use of poisoned for partial control species. Catfish food studies being carried out at Carmichael Laboratory. Con- tents of stomacfi are being examined. Catfish Study would result in and an increase in Federal Aid project F-2-R was initiated in January, improved angling size of the individual catfish in the Delta. This recom- 1952, when there were indications that the Sacra- mendation was the 1953 with mento-San Joaquin Delta white catfish fishery was accepted by Legislature of Senate Bills Nos. 44 and 45. being depleted. Primary goal of the investigation was passage of the valuable Delta has con- to determine the rate of exploitation of the Delta Investigation fishery tinued to be one of the most activities catfish population and the factors affecting its appar- important of the Two have been ent depletion. A detailed study of the life history of project. tagging experiments conducted to 1 a suitable for the catfish was also planned. Knowledge about age ( ) develop tag catfish, determine and obtain in- and growth, food habits, size and age at maturity, (2) fishing mortality, (3) formation about the movements or of cat- reproductive characteristics, and migrations was migrations fish. sought, since this information is fundamental to wise management of the fishery. Tagging Study the Activities of the project were focused on study From these experiments, a dependable catfish tag, of the Delta fishery for the first year. A thorough the disk-dangler, has been developed and adequate study of the commercial catfish fishery was com- information about the movements of the Delta white pleted and was compared with the sport fishery. catfish has been obtained. A third tagging study is Results indicated that the catfish population was now in operation to determine angling mortality. This calcu- under heavy fishing pressure and that the commercial additional study was deemed necessary because lation of rates from studies was fishery, although a minor one in terms of average mortality previous the of the annual gross income, was taking a disproportionate complicated by presence commercial fishery share of the annual catch. It also was learned that a and lack of confidence in one type of tag that was number of commercial fishermen were wasting catfish employed. and, in addition, were illegally selling undersized fish. A total of 6,966 white catfish has been tagged in the In brief, the small commercial fishery was producing Delta since inception of the project. Anglers who conflict out of all proportion to its value. captured tagged catfish have responded well to re- for information to the catch of such By the end of 1952, the project had sufficient infor- quests pertaining fish with 620 returned 1954. mation to justify a recommendation that commercial tags by July, Foothill Club of con- fishing for catfish be banned in California. It was The Sportsmen's Oakland cam- predicted that elimination of this undesirable fishery tributed generously to the tagging publicity 42 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME paign by sponsoring semiannual prize drawings for heads are under study also. This work will, among persons \\ho returned tags. Merchandise and cash other things, define the degree of competition between prizes were awarded to anglers selected at random. catfish and largemouth black bass and the effect of the the food of the catfish. Considerable data concerning life history of the insecticide, TDE, upon supply This insecticide has been used in the control of the delta catfish is being collected at regular intervals. Clear Lake Although much laboratory work remains to be com- gnat. of the River pleted, this phase of the project is progressing well. A survey Colorado channel catfish A check is being maintained on the effect of the re- population was conducted in 1954 with several hun- moval of the commercial fishery and from all indica- dred fish tagged and released near Blythe. Tag returns tions the ban was a sound move. Angling seems to have been numerous in spite of the short interval since have improved and the average size of the catfish the catfish were released. Apparently the Colorado definitely has increased. River channel catfish population is under heavy fish- and results of this will the Since the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta supplies ing pressure study guide of Fish and Game in appro.ximately 50 percent of the catfish caught in Department recommending sensible limits. California, close contact with the fishery will be main- bag tained for the duration of the project. Information A survey of catfish populations in Northern Cali- provided by project investigations should enable the fornia will be made during the summer of 1954 in department to insure wise utilization of this important response to requests by sportsmen for more liberal resource by regulations based on facts. catfish bag limits in that area. Other important catfish areas receiving attention Fish Disease from the project were Clear Lake and the Colorado Studies River. In 1952, 1,500 white catfish and brown bull- In the spring of 1953 the fish parasitologist's head- heads wxre tagged in Clear Lake in order to determine quarters were shifted to the Berkeley Fish and Game the rate of Returns after one in- exploitation. year Disease Laboratory of the Game Management Branch. dicated a minimum annual fishing mortality of only Investigations on diseases of hatchery and wild fish 2.5 percent. continued. "Trouble shooting" at the hatcheries was Because of doubts as to the of these validity results, actively pursued, and a large number of visits were another tagging experiment is planned for the winter made to assist the regions with the prevention and of 1955. Food habits of Clear Lake catfish and bull- control of disease. GAM E MANAGEMENT

^'5^

S^' •^t.

W"}

^Ijsi^

f^. Record and near-record bags recorded for most species.

Four new waterfowl public hunting areas added.

Game habitat development emphasis placed on deer.

California receives largest Pittman-Robertson apportionment to date.

Game resources appear to be holding their own. FORT^'-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 45 GAME MANAGEMENT Game Management activities during the bienniijm were carried out by the department during a of record or near-record period bags of most game species, and constantly increasing hunting pressures in every part of the State. Through constant cflForts to provide improved habitat conditions and sound the resource to game management, appears he holding its own and in some cases showing gains. At the same time great strides were being taken feeding was authorized for duck clubs on a licensed along the hnes of keeping the game resource in sound permit basis. condition, w ere made to more equal steps provide op- THE GAME HARVEST portunities for public shooting for sportsmen of the State. During the biennium important additions and Game bags of most species showed a high level dur- the biennium and record kills were for improvements were made in the field of pheasant co- ing reported At the same time remained at operative areas, waterfowl management areas, public many. game population levels in of tremendous shooting areas for deer, and in winter deer ranges. good spite hunting pressure, which was an factor in the increased Following reorganization of the department, ef- important bag. fected during the biennium, the Game Management Statistics on the game bag were compiled from hunter Branch of headquarters staff coordinates the Pittman- questionnaire surveys and from a tabulation of deer Robertson federal aid in wildlife restoration program, tags. Indications directs research activities, keeps records and prepares are that despite the present high popula- statistics tion will continue to suffer from en- and acts in an advisory and coordinating ca- levels, game for croachment of and unless wildlife pacity regional matters. Preparation of policy rec- agriculture industry is its in for future ommendations on game management and regulation is given proper place planning develop- another function of the branch. ment of the State. Most likely to suffer a reduction in Operational functions of Game Management such numbers are waterfowl, whose habitat has been subject to constant decrease over the as maintenance df waterfowl management areas, pheas- years. ant With the most is a more ade- cooperative hunting areas, investigation and con- deer, pressing problem trol of use of the resource more animals. game depredations, predator control, trapping quate by harvesting Field the branch have that and transplanting beaver, game range examinations, investigations by shown deer in sections of the State maintenance of winter deer ranges, raising and stock- present populations many are their to the of dam- ing of game farm birds, operation of public hunting overusing range point seriously areas and numerous other miscellaneous activities were aging the food supply. Failure to harvest the annual in- conducted as regional functions. crease in deer population, which is the case today, will result in the deer herds their own numbers Other important activities of the branch during the adjusting and wasteful die-offs and herd increases— biennium included active participation in the work of by periodic a boom-and-bust routine. the Pacific Waterfowl Flyway Council, made up of representatives of the western states who make recom- For a better understanding of the total bag figures, mendations to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the essentials of the hunter questionnaire system are setting open seasons and attempting to solve various summarized. The hunter questionnaire has been stand- problems of the flyway; participation in an interstate ard procedure since 1948, and is a statistical process committee on deer browse restoration problems com- recommended by the Opinion Research Center of the to of mon most western states, and working closely with University Denver. Questionnaires are sent to a 2- Oregon and Nevada in management of deer herds percent random sampling of hunting license buyers. which have interstate migration patterns with Califor- Resulting data is considered typical of the entire hunt- nia. ing public and projected mathematically to get a state- wide results are The council, on which Chairman William J. Silva of figure. Exaggerated obtained through the California Fish and Game Commission was an ac- such a system, but the factors leading to the exaggera- tive member, and Game Management Branch Chief tions remain constant from year to year so that the indicated trends of Ben Glading, secretary, was instrumental in obtaining game bag are considered reliable. more liberalized seasons and bag limits for California Answers are checked with expected hunting prospects hunters during the past biennium. as determined by field surveys, and through combining the two sources of Through efforts of the council several special water- information valuable data is ob- fowl seasons were authorized as crop depredation relief tained. measures. these Among were the 1953-54 late winter More accurate figures on pheasants and waterfowl season in the widgeon Imperial Valley, late brant sea- bag were obtained by checking the questionnaire re- and a coot reduction son, season in the spring of 1954. sults with known bag on cooperative hunting areas and As a further relief measure season crop prehunting on waterfowl management areas. Interestingly enough 46 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME PHEASANTS BAGGED ON COOPERATIVE HUNTING AREAS

^; Q UJ O m

CO < UJX CL OLl_ cc mUJ FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 47

FUR RESOURCES WATERFOWL MANAGEMENT AREAS

not California still has a California is Although widely known, justly proud of the quality of shooting sizable and valuable fur resource. During the past on its public waterfowl hunting areas, which have biennium fur 1,851 trappers were licensed and took continued to expand during the past biennium. Ex- 199,000 fur-bearing animals with an estimated value amples of this are the average bag per hunter of four of 1196,000 for raw furs. Inasmuch as trapping is birds at Gray Lodge, Butte County, and 3.5 birds at closely linked with market demand, about 90 percent Grizzly Island, Solano County, better than reported of the animals were muskrats. Current fashions result from any other public shooting ground in the United in demand for the so-called short hair varieties such States. Four new areas were added during the bien- as muskrat, mink and river otter, and trapping effort nium, including Gray Lodge, Sutter National Refuge, is San Luis largel\- directed toward these species. Conversely, Wasteway, and Los Banos. Sutter Refuge is in Sutter such abundant species as gray fox, raccoon, bobcat County, and the latter two are in Merced and coyote have little value, and are virtually unused Count)'. Another factor in the expansion was the addition of the first on the present fur market. cooperative waterfowl hunting area, the Welch area in Colusa County. Additional shooting Cooperative Hunting Program w as provided by leasing at low cost 5,000 acres known as the Napa Marshes unit from the Leslie Salt Com- For the past two years there has been a steady up- pany. These units, covering 24,775 acres in swing in the department's cooperative pheasant pro- 1953, brought shooting to 37,000 hunters who 98,201 gram, from the standpoint of number of co-op areas, bagged waterfowl. These do not include the take at acreage involved, shooter number of hunters figures capacity, where the Napa iMarshes, no checking stations were main- using areas, number of pheasants bagged, and per- tained for accurate records. centage of hunter success. However, 1,650 permits for use of the area were sold. Since the was initiated in 1949 action of program by Public shooting areas are of three main types: state the Legislature, it has seen a steady grow th in popular- land such as Gray Lodge and Grizzly, Lea Act lands ity as a means of for the unat- providing shooting owned the Federal tached by Government with the hunting pheasant hunter. Crux of the program is supervised by the State, such as Sutter and Colusa agreement between private property owners and the Department of Fish and Game whereby the owner allows public hunting on his propert\' under the reg- GROWTH OF PUBLIC SHOOTING PROGRAM ulation and supervision of the department. Permits are PHEASANT COOPERATIVE issued at checking stations to the hunters on a first HUNTING AREAS come, first served basis. Cooperative areas are patrolled to insure Q by department personnel compliance with UJ the agreement and with the regulations. < By the 1953 season a total of 142,500 acres of land Q was O opened in 18 cooperative areas from Firebaugh in Fresno County in the south to McArthur in Shasta County in the north. That 72,841 or o year hunters, o about one-fourth of the total, were accommodated, o and 30,698 pheasants taken. Of these co-op areas, 16 < were free to the public, and two were charge areas, on CO which no more than |2 can be for the cr daily charged UJ hunting privilege. For a of number of complete listing areas, hunters, Z) and hunting success, see Table 31, Appendix. X

Li_ Pheasant Hunting on Waterfowl Areas

An innovation during the biennium was opening of cc certain waterfowl UJ management areas to pheasant hunt- CD In ing. 1953 Gray Lodge provided shooting for 1,586 hunters and a bag of 872 birds; Los Banos, 215 hunters and a bag of 80; Grizzly Island, 147 hunters and a bag of and 85; Honey Lake, 838 hunters and a bag of 369 birds. Grizzly Island and Los Banos hunting was set aside for juveniles, 16 and under, who were accompanied by adults. 48 DEPARTA4ENT OF FISH AND GAME

of Sources areas; and leased lands such as the San Luis Wasteway, Variety from the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the Napa Funds for acquisition of the state and federal water- Marshes, from Leslie Salt Compan\'. fowl areas come from a variety of sources: from Pitt- Hunters most areas were using public shooting nian-Robertson federal aid in game conservation by a ex- S2 da>-, which goes toward defraying charged per tax on sporting arms and ammunition; from the Fed- of and the area. Madeline pense maintaining operating eral Lea Act which sets up funds for purchase of land and Hone\- Lake were free areas, and on that part of to prevent crop depredation by waterfowl; funds of area where blinds were available the the Imperial the Wildlife Conservation Board, which was allocated was $5 At Marshes a $3 seasonal charge per day. Napa funds from race horse pari-mutuel betting; and from was issued. permit the sale of hunting licenses. All w aterfow 1 areas have zones which management Each area has several purposes in the State's water- are closed to waterfowl feeding hunting, providing fowl management program. These lands provide feed- and areas. On all Lea Act lands and on some resting ing and resting areas, to prevent damage to nearby state lands such as Gray Lodge and Los Banos, hunting agricultural crops, to provide a sanctuary during hunt- usually is until harvesting on surrounding ag- delayed ing season, nesting areas, and as public shooting ricultural areas is as a crop depredation completed grounds for licensed hunters. Major purpose is perpet- relief measure. Total of both state-owned and acreage uation of a natural resource w^hose wintering grounds federally owned waterfowl areas showed big increases has been seriously depleted. the of this report. In 1951 the state- during period A large portion of Pittman-Robertson funds avail- owned or leased total was 33,584 acres, and by 1953 able for development work has been spent in water- total had reached owned water- this 45,457. Federally fowl management areas because waterfowl are in fowl areas, parts of which are opened to hunting, rose greatest danger of being adversely affected by the from 177,507 acres in 1951 to 180,190 in 1953 mainly continuing economic development of the State. addition to the Colusa and Sutter areas. These through Work at the various areas included land leveling, include all areas in addition figures federally operated ditch construction, levee construction, installation of to those operated partly as state-controlled public head gates, building construction, cultivation of water- shooting grounds. fowl food crops, and road construction. Following is a summary of the management areas GROWTH OF PUBLIC SHOOTING PROGRAM on which development work was carried out under WATERFOWL MANAGEMENT AREAS Pittman-Robertson funds: 1. Suisun Waterfowl Refuge: Encouraging the of native for waterfowl feed 40,000 growth aquatic plants was the purpose of P-R Project W9-D in the develop- OD^^fel ment of this 1,887-acre salt-water marsh area in Solano UJ I- The area does not lend itself readily to culti- < 35,000 County. Q vation of food crops of domestic varieties. No public O -^ hunting is provided, as the area's function is solely that of a 30,000 refuge. O 2. Gray Lodge Waterfo-wl Management Area: Cul- o tivation of waterfowl food crops was a major activity o on this located in the heart of California's rice- < ^^^ 25,000 area, in the upper Sacramento Valley. Pro- tn ^ growing region ir duction of food crops is important in relieving crop UJ 20,000 depredations by holding peak waterfowl populations 3 on the management area. Development of the crops, X carried out under P-R Project W13-D, saw 1,500 acres out of of rice, milo, millet, barley and wheat grown, a total area of 2,542 acres. Public hunting was pro- tr vided on a portion of the area beginning in 1953. UJ 10,000 3. Waterfowl Area: Size and 03 Imperial Management effectiveness of this area in providing waterfow 1 feeding grounds and public shooting areas has been re- 5,000 duced due to the rise in elevation of Salton Sea waters, and its encroachment on the waterfowl area. Most of the area was lost to flooding, leaving less than 1,000 acres. of the area w as done under P-R 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 Development Project W3f)-D. Because of the importance of having HUNTING SEASON waterfowl feeding and resting grounds in the intensely FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 49 WATERFOWL MANAGEMENT AREAS farmed Imperial Valley, an alternate site is being obtained through use of Wildlife Conservation Board Funds. 4. Honey Lake Waterfowl Management Area: De- velopment of this 4,820-acre area in Lassen County !^ was carried out during the biennium under P-R Proj- ect W38-D. It is an important nesting ground for ducks and Canada geese. About 800 acres of waterfowl food crops were under cultivation, mainly wheat and O Public is

UPLAND GAME BIRD PRODUCTION

During recent years virtually all suitable ring-neck pheasant habitat in the State has been adequately stocked, and the biennium saw game farm birds used for stocking for the gun. Stocking to extend the pheasant range no longer is the prime purpose of the farms, and most birds are held to maturity and released just prior to or during the pheasant season. During the two-year period covered by the report the department's game farms released 191,772 upland game birds, of which 187,485 were ring-neck pheasants, 1,955 Reeves pheasants, and 2,332 chukar part- ridges. The department's facilities for holding birds are supplemented by sportsmen's pens located throughout the State. During the biennium 62,366 pheasants, both male and female, were released from pens maintained by sportsmen's organizations. Policy for release of game farm birds has been to release most on areas for public hunting, with a consid- ^ ^*'-i

'—'KZ^r Ift ^^ ¥ ?'•« J "->

Numbers of /he imported chukar partridge increased so much that the first open season was authorized in 1954. Chu/cors are shown at the lip of a quoil guzzler.

Best habitat for this steadily increasing game bird is on, mainly in the southeast desert mountains. Quail, in the arid mountain country east of the Sierra crest, doves, chukars, and bighorn sheep are the principal the southeast desert ranges and the barren hills sur- beneficiaries of this work. Activity consists primarily rounding the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley. of surveying water sources and developing by bo.xing, Although game farm birds were used to a certain ex- piping, and cleaning those springs which show promise tent in the southern part of the State for transplanting, of furnishing year-round water. More than 100 springs much of the success in spreading birds has been done were improved. by trapping and transplanting wild chukars. 3. Brush Removal on Deer Ranges: California has vast acreages of mature, dense brush stands which are GAME HABITAT DEVELOPMENT low in game productivity. By clearing and opening up Under the Pittman-Robertso,n Project W26-D most these stands to permit deer access they can be made of the major habitat improvement work of the depart- into good habitat. In addition to providing access, the ment for species other than waterfowl was accom- new sprouting growth on the cleared areas provides plished. The project is state-wide in scope with work increased feed for deer and other game. done in all of the five regions. Methods developed by the department's brush re- During the preceding Biennium 1950-52 this proj- moval P-R research studies are being employed in this ect was concerned primarily with restoration of quail work. Mechanical removal and controlled burning of range. Activities included food and cover plantings, brush are the two methods in most common use. Burn- are in erecting artificial roosts and construction of "gallina- ing and mechanical removal done small patches ceous guzzlers" or artificial watering devices. During and strips so that the area benefited is actually many the past biennium emphasis was shifted to deer habitat times the acreage of the cleared land itself. improvement although the quail work continues, but During the biennium over 3,000 acres were cleared on a reduced scale. The program receives help through mechanically and nearly 1,700 acres were control financial aid from county fine moneys and physical burned. Nearly 800 acres have been chemically treated labor from sportsmen and other interested groups. to retard growth of undesirable species or fertilized to of Listed below are the major activities of the project. promote growth desirable species. Chemical treatment of brush lands is in an at 1. Artificial Quail Watering Devices (Gallinaceous experimental stage but of more use in the future. Guzzlers): These rain catchment basins have proved present, gives promise effective in furnishing water for quail. As a conse- 4. Reseeding of Deer Range Lands: During the bi- quence man>' areas formerly deficient in water are ennium nearly 5,000 acres have been seeded, mainly to now productive hunting grounds. During the biennium grasses and other herbs such as filaree and clover. Some 239 guzzlers were installed bringing the total to 2,016. experimental reseeding of desirable browse species has Although primarily for quail these watering devices been done also. Range reseeding is done on controlled have proved beneficial to chukars and doves. Most of burns and on wild fire burns. In addition to the feed the guzzlers are located in the central and south coastal provided it has been found that a good growth of counties and in the southeast desert areas where water grasses and herbs on a new burn has a tendency to re- deficiencies are most prevalent. Plastic has been substi- duce the amount of reinvasion of brush on the area tuted for concrete as construction material in more in- by choking out the seedlings. accessible areas. 5. Shrub Plantings: More than 50,000 shrubs were 2. Spring Development: A continued program of planted in Siskiyou, Modoc, and Lassen Counties in spring survey and development work has been carried range improvement work. Bitterbrush, multiflora rose, FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 51

authorized for the foot- wild rose, willow, and other species have been used. Coloma Hunt: This hunt, Local ranchers and sportsmen have taken an active hill area of El Dorado County around Coloma, re- in 191 antlerless deer taken. Its part in the program in the form of furnishing tractors sulted being purpose and labor for the work. was to give relief to orchard and pasture land which 6. Deer "Guzzlers": Two deer-watering devices had been suffering from deer damage. have been constructed in the Andesite area in Siski- Barton's Flat: (Fresno and Tulare Counties) No- November 15 to you County. The locality is in an excellent stand of vember 16 to November 29, 1952; choice hunts bitterbrush which is at present little utilized by deer November 29, 1953. These two hunters' because of a lack of water in the area. It remains to be were authorized in order more adequately to harvest the Barton's Flat winter seen whether these guzzlers will accomplish their pur- the deer that winter on range. these animals summer in the pose. Many of King's Canyon SPECIAL DEER SEASONS National Park and are usually unavailable to hunters during the regular season. During the two seasons 319 Ten deer hunts were authorized by the Cali- special males and 329 females were bagged; total 648. Hunter fornia Fish and Game Commission, with a variety of success was good with 89 percent successful the first objectives. Some were for relief of farmers who had season and 56 percent the second. suffered some to winter crop depredations, protect Glenn-Colusa Area: This antlerless deer hunt was from over-browsing, others to provide better ranges conducted from October 31 to November 16, 1953, in harvest of deer herds which were unreachable during order to relieve crop damage in the Stonyford area. the regular season, and still others to provide hunting A total of 271 deer were bagged. Hunter success was in areas of fire hazard during the regular season. a high 82 percent. hunts be by local groups, or Special may sponsored Camp Pendleton Marine Base: This hunt November by the department, but in each case open public hear- 28 to December 5, 1953, was on Marine Base property ings are conducted and if local opinion is favorable, for service personnel. Hunter success was 100 percent for the season are drawn up. Commission policy plans as 102 antlerless deer were taken. has been to authorize special hunts only if they have local backing. A total of 2,776 deer were taken in the Licensed Game Bird Clubs special hunts held during the biennium. A summary of Originally the plan for these areas was adopted by the special hunts: the 1939 State Legislature to stimulate the landowner's Los Angeles Archery: These hunts, held from July interest in the game crop. Through this plan it was 26 to October and from 8 to Decem- 19, 1952, August intended to foster and increase the supply of upland ber 31, 1953, were set up for the purpose of allowing game through land management and stocking of pri- deer hunting in the heavily populated Los Angeles vately raised game farm birds. area where rifle was felt to be too dangerous. hunting Backers of the plan believed that the income derived With either sex 16 males and 14 females provisions, from the game crop would provide an incentive to the were archers last No data was avail- bagged by year. landowner to manage his land for game production, able on the previous season's hunt. in in Southern California Winter Season: Fire closures clearing stripi of brush allows access by game, and provides food the of new Southern California national forest areas for many form sprout growth. years have denied a major deer territory to Southern California hunters. In January of 1953 a 16-day season for either sex was set up, with a kill of 700 males, 427 females and 26 unclassified for a total of 1,153. The following special season, for bucks only, saw a kill of only 191. The second season was for 11 days only, and was held during a period of high winds and fire danger. Because of postponements, interest lagged. There was an antler drop during the period, further cutting down the number of animals taken. Hunter success was low for both years, with a 13 percent success ratio in 1942 and only 6 percent the following year. Despite these figures, the majority of sportsmen participating appeared to favor continuing the winter seasons. Fillmore-Ojai Hunt: This hunt for antlerless deer was authorized as a result of local crop depredations by deer. During the 15-day hunt in September, 1952, 190 deer were bagged in the Ventura County areas. 52 DEPARTiMENT OF FISH AND GAAIE

Since priniaril\- pheasants. these areas \\ere to be open Those steps included anticipating epidemics and to an\' licensed hunter the income from the game pro- devising effective methods of control prior to the out- duced to was be obtained by charging hunters up to a breaks; gathering facts and observing the natural designated maximum fee for shooting privileges. In history of diseases as they occurred in the wild; and actual practice the income produced from hunting maintaining close coordination with other state could not compete with farm crops being produced. agencies in order to prevent or limit transmission of In addition the landowners found it difficult to control communicable diseases between domestic stock, wild- hunting on these areas. life, and the public at large. A portable laboratory is In 1947 the Legislature modified the plan to allow maintained for on-the-spot investigations. As an illus- noncommercial or private clubs to be set up where the tration of these points, the following examples may general public could be excluded. These private areas be cited. are now supported b\- season memberships or by a Botulism: Excessively heavy snowfall in the Sierra share the cost arrangement \\ith the operator. In 1951 Nevada iVIountains during the winter of 1951-52 the Legislature established the name Licensed Game promised flooding of the Tulare Lake Basin. Through Bird Clubs for these areas (formerh' they were known a knowledge of past conditions,, it was anticipated as Game Management Areas) and made modifications that botulism would exist during the following sum- in the law in regard to season, license fees and size of mer. The most feasible procedures were put into areas. effect to control that disease during the biennium. Since the law was changed to permit noncom- They included a coordinated effort to (1) herd ducks mercial or from affected areas air-thrust and private clubs the system has shown a steady by plane, boat, growth. In 1953 the season extended from October through the use of pyrotechnics, (2) maintain water moverr v-nt the co- 31, 1953, to January 13, 1954. Seventy-two game bird by pumping operations through clubs in of the farmers in the and 3 distribute were operation, liberating 43,721 birds and operation area, ( ) feed elsewhere the of the U. S. bagging 28,375 birds in 14,053 man days of hunting. through cooperation These clubs now control 62,208 acres of land. Fish and Wildlife Service to hold the waterfowl in a Of the 72 clubs non-toxic area. Evaluation of this work indicated a now in operation 70 are private to a and tAvo commercial. Sixty-six of these clubs are lo- reduction from a past 20 percent mortality cated in Region II with the remaining six scattered mortality of about 1 percent. of fowl in the other four regions. All are pheasant clubs with Fowl Cholera: There were two outbreaks the exception of one operated for both pheasants and cholera during the biennium, neither of which grew quail. to epidemic proportions. These occurred in the Alva- Disease Laboratory rado area of Alameda County, in March, 1953, and in the south San Francisco in December of the same Ultimate Bay objective of the disease prevention phase year. Around Alvarado about 1,000 dead birds, mostly of game management is the control of disease occur- and coots, were found. The south bay toll in- in wildlife gulls ring throughout the State. Positive steps cluded ducks, coots, and gulls. Less than 200 ducks have been taken to realize that this objective during died. biennium. To prevent further spread of the disease, the department cleaned up the carcasses to prevent feeding on them by gulls, believed to be one of the carriers of the disease. To confirm this theory, gulls and coots were inocu- lated with virulent organisms. A million times as many organisms were required to kill gulls than coots, tending to show that gulls were resistant carriers of fowl cholera. As a result of this experiment, it is believed that control of gulls at the outbreak of fowl cholera will limit spread of the disease to epidemic proportions. Stomach Worms: The prevalence of round worms in the intestinal tract is considered as one of the more important factors limiting the number of deer in the north coastal counties, although there were no severe outbreaks during the biennium. A survey concluded during the biennium determined the relative incidence

The dspartment'i disease laboratory, which allows on-the-spot investigation of wildlife diseases. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 53

of the various species of worms (helminths), and ostensibly confirmed the theory that younger animals are more susceptible to infection and therefore more apt to succumb to the efi^ects of these parasites. A study of the relation between various nutritional states and intensity of infection is now underway. Deer suffering from malnutrition are more susceptible to the disease. Cooperative Disease Studies: Investigations have been made in cooperation with other state agencies and institutions on diseases related to the welfare of M ildlife species as well as to domestic stock and public health. Blood samples obtained from wildlife species have been submitted to the State Department of Public Health for a determination of the presence of diseases transmissible to man, with all results to date being negative. Sera of wild avian species have been tested for virus diseases transmissable to poultry. In cooperation with the State Department of Agriculture and the University of California, diseases capable of passing from livestock to wildlife have been investigated An evaluaiion of deer foods is made with this jointly. As a result, serious threats to wildlife have experimentol feeding pen. Native browse and artificial foods are mixed in the diet. been averted by the prompt and combined action of the interested agencies. In addition, Pittman-Robertson Project W35-R is Predatory Birds devoted to of \\ ildlife diseases which can investigation During the biennium the State paid a bounty of 15 be controlled management practices. by cents per bird for crows and 10 cents per bird for black-billed 1,681 crows and 191 Mountain Lion Control magpies. magpies were bountied during the period. I During the biennium 355 mountain lions were Board to bountied, 89 by State lion hunters and 266 by private Wildlife Conservation Projects (related game) individuals. Of this 174 were taken in 1952 and total, Activities which have received the benefits of Wild- 181 in 1953. The bounty is |50 male lion and $60 per life Conservation Board programs to date include the per female. Table 26 of the Appendix is the county constructon of game farms, quail habitat improvement, breakdown as to the mountain lion kill. of acquisition of deer winter range, and acquisition Department policy in regard to taking lions is to waterfowl management areas. The bulk of the funds maintain a control over their numbers rather than for wildlife have been directed toward the acquisition to eradicate the State lion hunters hunt trying species. of w aterfow 1 management areas. areas ^\'here sign shows the lions to be excessively numerous. SURVEYS AND INVESTIGATIONS

There were four Department of Fish and Game lion During the biennium California received $1,680,968 in and three in 1953. hunters 1952 from federal aid funds, the largest apportionment to date from the federal excise tax on sporting arms and Predator Control ammunition under the Pittman-Robertson Act. Cali- the amounted During the biennium 3,779 coyotes, 1,945 bobcats, fornia's contribution, as required by act, to for a total Pittman-Robertson Fund of and 8,685 lesser predators (skunks, opossums, rac- $560,322, coons, etc.) for a total of 14,409 were taken by $2,241,290. department predator control men. In predator control These funds were channeled into 22 projects, all resource it is the policy to trap predators where their removal of them aimed at improving the wildlife will afford maximum protection to the game crop. As either through research and investigation or develop- and shoot- a consequence, particular attention is given to trapping ment of habitat, management areas, public on known deer fawning areas, antelope kidding ing grounds. and nest- grounds, waterfowl nesting areas, pheasant Eight of these projects were in the field of surveys access is ing areas, especially where public hunting and investigations, aimed at acquisition of knowledge allowed. which will enable the public more fully to understand the Table 26 of the Appendix is a county breakdown the problems of its wildlife resource, and depart- of predator control activities. ment to more cfficicntl>- and intelligently manage it. W4rns<:f.u

Canada geese are banded by the waferfowi study team at Honey Lake, Lassen County. This is one of the State's major breeding grounds for the big ''honkers/'

Others are in development, land acquisition, mainte- This material, gathered painstakingly by department nance and coordination. Following is a summary of the field men, and correlated by the staff, is weighed each sur\-ey and investigation projects and their aims. De- year by the California Fish and Game Commission, the velopment projects are summarized under their various Pacific Waterfowl Flyway Council, other states on the management functions. flyway, and federal agencies in the formulation of Food Habits Investigations, Project W25-R: Food policies and regulations. habits information gained mainl\- through stomach As California is the main wintering ground of the analyses is an integral part of ^\ildlife management entire Pacific Flyway, data gathered here is of vital studies now being conducted by the department. In- importance to all western states. Main phases of the formation gained on nutritional value of native deer project are: browses and other deer food habits has been valuable 1. Winter Inventory of Waterfowl. An annual in helping formulate deer management plans for herds winter inventory is conducted in order to determine throughout the State, and in determining possible any rise or fall in over-all waterfowl populations. range improvements. Armed with this information, recommendations may Other species in which investigations have been be made for changes in seasons or bag limits. This has made included coyotes, bobcats, pigeons, chukars, been a joint program of the department and the Fish quail and waterfowl. Knowledge gained in these and Wildlife Service. studies enables the department to recommend intel- 2. Breeding Grounds Survey. The major breeding ligent control measures against predators, and in the grounds within the State are surveyed in the spring case of game birds is used in de\eloping new food in order to determine the local production of ducks plants, in planning waterfowl management areas, and and geese. An aerial census of paired waterfowl and in determining possible new locations for introductions actual nesting studies are phases of the project. or of various planting species. 3. Banding Operations. An extensive waterfowl In the addition, food habits laboratory, as time banding program has been in progress. This study has done work for si.\ allows, other western states. yields data on migration patterns and mortality of The is department reimbursed for this work on a labor various species as affected by hunting pressure. Dur- cost basis. ing the two-vear period, 68,732 birds, including ducks, Study of Production, Migration and Wintering geese and coots, were banded. The rate of return Areas of Waterfowl in California, Project W3 0-R: averaged 15 percent. of \'alue information gained through investigations 4. Bag checks to determine the degree various spe-

and I sur\-eys of watcrfow numbers, scope and condi- cies of waterfowl enter into the over-all kill. tion of breeding grounds, resting areas, and degree of 5. Duck Club Surve\'. Annual records are kept on kill is tremendous in setting of seasons and bag limits. hunting success on the various duck clubs in the State. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 55

This \ields additional important data relative to deter- Effects of Economic Poisons on Wildlife, Project mining the over-all waterfowl hunting success b\- year. W45-R: Another project under service agreement 6. Wood Duck Nest Boxes. A study is in progress with the University of California, its purpose is to in order to determine the feasibility of putting up arti- determine beneficial and detrimental effects of those ficial nesting sites for wood ducks as a luanagciuent chemicals and methods of application used in agricul- aid in increasing this species in California. ture, forestry and other related fields. Big Game Studies, Project W41-R: Development of Particular attention is being paid to chemicals hav- management techniques for sound management of ing toxic eff^ects on wildlife, and in developing safe California's big game species is the aim of this study. practices in use of these agents. 1. Deer Herd Studies. This phase of the project Project W46-R Game Range Restoration: This conducts studies of deer in areas populations specific project is being conducted under a service agreement throughout the State. The scope of the studies include w ith the California Forest and Range Experiment Sta- population numbers, herd composition counts, herd tion. effects of productivity, migration patterns, hunting Its purpose is to develop practical means of increas- use and methods, pressure, range condition, trapping ing desirable deer browse species on depleted ranges. food and and habits, predator relationships, agriculture Particular emphasis is being paid to east side Sierra livestock conflicts. Successful of the herds management areas where problems of deer browse shortages are would be without the information in impossible gained especially acute. Propagation of range plants by seed- the studies. ing and cuttings are under experimentation. Bitter- increase 2. Antelope. Studies on methods to pro- brush, an important and highly palatable range plant, is a of the duction of antelope herds new phase proj- is receiving special attention. The possibility of intro- is directed ect. Particular attention toward evaluating ducing new species into the area is also being investi- the effects of predation on antelope kidding grounds gated. and determining other causes of kid mortality. An an- Effects of Brush Removal on Game Ranges in Cali- nual aerial count of antelope numbers is conducted to fornia, Project W31-R: Under a service agreement keep close tab on any rises or falls in the over-all pop- with the Universitx' of California, sound management ulation. of brush lands in California is being investigated, and 3. Bighorn Sheep. Preliminary work on determin- methods of improving deer and quail productivity on ing the population of bighorn in California is the in- these lands studied. Results of these investigations and itial phase of this study. Possible management of this experiments are a definite improvement of carrying species through spring development in desert mountain capacity for wildlife, not only on the burned and ranges where this species occurs is being investigated. cleared areas, but on surrounding territory. Increased

Results of a controlled burn in Tuolumne County. This area has been reseeded with orchard and Harding grass. The thicli stand of grass tends to retard re-invasion of brush. immediate result of this investigation was the determination that enough chukars are now present to call California's first chukar season for 1954. Continued investigations into the possibility of further expansion of chukars into suitable range not now occupied by the birds is being made. Wild birds trapped from established populations supplemented by game farm birds are used for stocking new areas. Other phases of the work involve nesting studies, brood counts, i>^^-^-C^' developing more efficient trapping methods, and food habits. 4. Band-tailed pigeons. A detailed state-wide study of the life history of the band-tailed pigeon is being made with special emphasis given to setting seasons, A cannon net trap, fired over pigeons watering of a spring, a successful limits, and agricultural depredation The method of capture for banding. bag problems. department has been very successful in trapping and banding this species. Band returns show an intensive with interstate movements between the numbers of deer, quail, and doves have resulted from migration controlled bums. three Pacific states. Experiments were made in controlled burning, Other Pittman-Robertson Projects mechanical clearing, chemical treatment, and in reseeding of cleared areas. Burning appears to be the Other Pittman-Robertson federal aid in wildlife cheapest and most effective method when followed by restoration projects in force during the biennium in- reseeding. cluded maintenance, land acquisition and coordination Project W47-R Upland Game Investigations: This projects. project has several phases as listed below. Generally, development and management projects 1. Pheasant. Studies involve evaluation of the ef- were carried out on a regional basis, while survey, in- fects of releasing game farm birds; brood counts to vestigation and coordination projects were the func- determine the yearly production of pheasants in the tion of the central office staff. wild; effects of agricultural practices on pheasant pop- Project W37-IVI provides for inspection and main- ulations; and investigations into effects of hunting tenance of quail guzzlers constructed under Project pressure. Hunting season controls as they apply to W26-D. Four land acquisition projects, initiated dur- hunters and land uses are being studied to facilitate ing the decade 1940-1950, provide for a small amount farmer-sportsmen relationships. A new phase of the of money to add to any of the following areas should project is concerned with evaluation of the effects of the need arise and land be available. the licensed game bird club system on pheasant hunt- Project WIO-L, Tehama Winter Deer Range—42,- ing. Studies already have indicated that where habitat 897 acres acquired. is suitable, planting of game farm birds shows small Project Wll-L, Honey Lake Waterfowl Manage- return in the matter of total increase. ment Area—4,820 acres acquired. 2. Quail. A general evaluation of the effects of Project W17-L, Madeline Plains Waterfowl Man- past development work on quail is under way in order agement Area— 5,176 acres acquired. to provide basic data for future developments. This Project W21-L, Doyle Winter Deer Range-1 3,503 is concerned mainly with the water development or acres acquired. "guzzler" program. Quail have thrived in areas for- A final project, W29-C, wildlife management co- merly without water as a result of this program. ordination, provides general direction and coordina- 3. Chukar partridge. The initial phase of this study tion by the central staff on all Pittman-Robertson was a state-wide surve\- of chukar populations. An projects. MARINE FISHERIES

I ! .,

V Sardines industry nears disaster during biennium.

Salt water sport fishery shows slight decline, although salmon sport fishery grows rapidly.

New oyster fishery established.

Fish screens and ladders program coordinated.

Anchovy canning replaces sardine packing to some extent. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 59

MARINE FISHERIES I As additional demands are placed on California's oceanic and inshore salt water natural resources, the value of more factual knowledge concerning them becomes increasingly important. A mushroom- for all ing population, greater pressures for recreation and use of ocean products food and industry hav^e had their effect on the sea and its inhabitants.

The Marine Fisheries Branch is concerned with the fishermen optimistically hope that they will do so continued conservation of these resources. Many diverse and im- again. Surveys by the department, during that there are not portant commercial and sport fish activities are under the past two years show, however, the administration and study by the branch, and enough fish in these southern waters to support a needed for a Cali- through constant contact with the complex ocean fishery of the magnitude healthy the conservation and fornia industry. As a \vhen and if Mex- fishery, branch recommends consequence, ican sardines should move north could not management practices. they bring restoration of the The branch conducts investigations on the import- about a complete sagging fishery. ant segments of marine fauna with tunas, salmons, sar- Much Below Average dines, sport fishes, bottom fishes, oysters, abalones, and is directed other shellfishes of major concern. Work During the 35 years in which studies have been the field laboratories lo- from headquarters through made on sardine populations, survival from each sea- cated at Terminal Island and Stanford. Fisheries inves- son's spawning has varied markedly. Outstanding con- tigations centered in the Southern California region tribution of young fish to the population and to the is the are under the Terminal Island Laboratory as fishery occurred every two, three or four years. Since and statistical operation. Fisheries studies of Central 1939, no group of young fish exceeded average abun- Northern California are directed by the Branch Lab- dance and several were much below average, notably with oratory located at Stanford University, accessory sardines resulting from the 1944, 1945, 1949, 1950, facilities for investigations located at Pacific Grove 1951, 1952, and 1953 spawnings. Thus for 7 of the and Eureka. last 15 years nature has not restored to the population fish rec- the which have been lost man's ac- I The collection and processing of landing numbers through ords is one of the most important phases of marine tivities and through natural causes. of these management, as only through the collection Explaining the lack of sardines on the California basic can of what is to re- records knowledge happening fishing grounds, nature's failure to provide new of branch the fisherv be obtained. This phase the cruits to the population, and the part man has played of work is the keystone upon which understanding in bringing about this lack, is the task of the Marine the entire marine resources is based. Fisheries Branch and of the other agencies working in a cooperative investigation of the sardine and its en- DECREASING SARDINE FISHERY vironment.

In spite of danger signs over the years, repeated The Marine Fisheries Branch lias continued its as- warnings from the Department of Fish and Game, sessment of sardine population abundance in Baja Cali- and requests by the commission and the department fornia as well as in California waters. Cruises in the for regulation and management of the fishery, all of last half of 1952 showed a scarcity of all such fish off which went unheeded, near collapse came in 1953 to California and no increase off the Mexican coast. the California sardine industry. During each of the Young fish resulting from the 1952 spawning were past two seasons scarcely 5,000 tons were taken, a more numerous than in 1949, 1950, and 1951, but were total equivalent to only an average day's fishing for not found in great numbers. In 1953 sardines again any of the State's major ports during their heyday. were very scarce off California, nor were there any of survival of the from the Causes of this catastrophe, resulting in heavy finan- indications good young An additional is the cial loss to the fishermen, the failure of many process- 1953 spawning. disturbing factor almost absence on the ing plants and a general economic disturbance in the complete of spawning offshore in Southern ivhich in whole industry, are twofold; heavy mortality among grounds California, forjner years source new recruits to the Cali- the older sardines, and failure in recruitment of young were the major of fish to the population. fornia popidation. Sardines in fishable numbers were not to be found Studies of size and age composition of fish in the have been continued in on the California grounds. The only fisheries extant cannery catch cooperation S. and Wildlife Service. In both sea- at the close of the biennium were those operating out with the U. Fish biennium the remnant of the Baja California ports of Ensenada and Cedros sons of the fishery depended Island. Sardines from these iMexican waters have chiefly on sardines four to eight years old and In these older fishes moved to the California grounds in former years and spawned prior to 1949. 1952-53 60 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

comprised 85 percent of the catch, and in 1953-54 one- eries. The plan, which would have authorized seasonal half. .Mature fish which did appear off California were catch limits to be set by the Fish and Game Commis- wherever the sea- sion caught possible before spawning on the basis of abundance of the viarious species, sons. This reflects nature's failure to restore to the was not adopted. Thus the industry, not entirely ready population new recruits in sufficient numbers to main- to accept conservation measures, continues to operate tain a healthy fishery. on a day-to-day basis, unregulated, and fast fading into memories of what was, and what might have been. Explanations Sought SPORT FISHING E.xplanations of why survival from each season's has in last five the California oflF-shore catch spawning been poor the years, why Although sport fishing there is practical 1\- no spawning on the Southern Cali- declined considerably during the biennium, the salt fornia grounds, and whv there has been little apparent water angler still can choose a fishing boat from a movement of sardines from Mexican to California fleet of 1,000, and he can find a sport boat landing in waters, is being sought by all the agencies working every major California port and most of the minor under the direction of the Marine Research Com- ones. mittee. Fishing accommodations range from small commer- Either one of two conclusions or a combination of cial craft with room for one or two anglers to luxuri- both appears inescapable; that there has been an un- ous boats with staterooms and galley service available. precedented series of years of unfavorable oceanic A4ost of the sport fishing fleet is concentrated in South- conditions, or that the sardine breeding stock has been ern California waters and the greatest catch is made hea\-il%" impaired b\- past heavy catches. there. In addition, there is an almost equal fishing ef- Because the part man has played in the serious re- fort from private boats and piers. duction of the species is the only factor which can Private ownership of skiffs and small boats is in- be controlled, the Department of Fish and Game is creasing rapidly and may be contributing to an ap- deeply concerned with the human phase of the fishery. parent stabilization of growth in the sport boat fleet. It has regularly, but unsuccessfully, recommended In 1953 sport boats reported a reduction of 70,000 regulation of the sardine fishery. Although the im- passenger days from the 1952 figure of 563,000 pas- portance man has played in the fishery still is a matter senger days. At least part of this reduction can be of dispute in some quarters, the department feels traced to poorer fishing. Following is a table showing strongly that the sardine resource cannot wait until all comparative commercial sport boat catches of the the facts are available, and that commercial extinction three most important game fish species: of the species is likely unless action is taken. Numbers of Fish Failure of the industry has been so that the complete Year Albacore Yellowtail White seabass danger of continued overfishing cannot be ignored 1952 187,000 59,000 41,000 either or the citizens of Cali- by responsible agencies by 1953 - 23,000 26,000 28,000 fornia. Accordingly, the department, after consulta- Offsetting these decreases, jack mackerel were taken tion with leaders of the industry and with sportsmen's Southern California fishermen in num- organizations, presented to the 1953 Session of the by sports great bers, 195,000 in 1953 as to 4,500 the Legislature a management plan designed to restore the compared during This created for thousands of sardine industry as well as that of the Pacific mackerel, previous year. fishing and marked the first instance that these fish and to maintain the anchovy and jack mackerel fish- anglers, assumed any importance in the sport fishery.

Sordine eggs being artificially ferlilized aboard the research vessel Yellowfin. The larval Fish are kept alive lor several days for research Removed From List purposes. An important development during the biennium was the removal of the kelp bass, a highly important game fish, from the commercial fish list by the 1953 State Legislative Session. At the same time a minimum size limit of 10 J inches was imposed. Both moves, based on research facts, were widely endorsed by the sports fishing industry and contributed directly to sound conservation of this fishing. Tagging and life history work with the kelp bass was continued, with more than 3,000 fish tagged during the two-year period. An important development was the use of monofilament nylon, which was found to be superior to stainless steel or silver for tagging certain kinds of sports and commercial fishes, and

1 which has been used exclusively since 1953. Three hundred kelp bass were transplanted from San Cle- mente Island to Santa Catalina Island in November, 1953. More than a quarter of these fish were recovered at the latter area, with no recoveries from the transplanted group at San Clemente Island. An experiment, conducted beginning in September, 1953, on removal of starfish from the outer break- water of Los Angeles harbor, revealed several beneficial developments. Twelve tons of starfish were removed with the aid of more than 200 skin divers. The fish were found to yield a meal product of some value, and could possibly form the basis of a new fisherv. Later observations in the area indicated among other benefits a heavy survival of young mussels. Development of underwater breathing apparatus, for observation of fish in their native environment, has contributed much basic knowledge and facts about the life history of sports fish. Some o/ the electronically equipped bait vessels of the Bait Haulers' in Los Harbor. LIVE BAIT FISHERY Co-op Angeles

fish and smelt, occur in the fishery, but anchovies con- As pressures in marine sport fishing continue to tinue to dominate the catch. In 1952 and 1953 it com- grow, the demand for live bait increases correspond- prised 95 percent of the take and during the past seven ingly, especially in Southern California. Boats devoted years has supplied over 80 percent. The anchovy pop- almost exclusively to supplying this bait have met the ulation in Southern California waters has so far been increased demand not by expanding in numbers but able to supph' a demand that has increased almost two- through increased efficiency. During the past two fold in seven years. years at least 10 new boats have replaced older craft. In the sheltered waters of Los Angeles-Long Beach THE TUNA PICTURE Harbor, lights suspended from skifl^s and powered bv Growth was the dominant characteristic of the tuna gasoline generators are anchored at nightfall. When the biennium. of this sufficient fish, measured by the use of echo sounders, industry during Signs growth were evident in all of the have collected under these lights a bait net is set around segments industry throughout the An milestone was the the school, pulled by a power gurdy, and the bait period. important open- of the world's tuna at tanks and receivers filled. Thus a steady supply of bait ing largest processing plant Terminal Los in is available to the party boats of Los Angeles Harbor Island, Angeles Harbor, November, 1952. This has since its and vicinity w hich leave for the fishing grounds at or plant operated continuously before dawn. dedication. To keep pace, other companies modernized their or for Prior to these innovations the bait fishermen located plants regrouped strength. the of the is best reflected the fish visually about daybreak, and pulled the nets Perhaps growth industry in the statistics of the A new in by hand. Many times the part\' boats had to wait for period. high production was attained in 1953 and for bait and could not leave for the fishing grounds until preliminary^ figures the first six months of 1954 indicate that the case long after daylight. pack is 22 percent above the like period of 1953. The Cali- Operate in North fornia fleet contributed the major portion of the raw product but importations steadily in volume with Until 1952 the live bait fishery was confined to the grew no of a at the biennium's close. waters south of Ventura. Then with the expanded use signs let-up The price of raw fish, further exemplifying growth, of live bait on the sport fishing boats of. Santa Bar- increased from 1320 to 1350 per ton for bara and northward, a fishery developed to meet the yellowfin, from 1350 to $400 for albacore, from 1310 to 1350 for new demand. Now live bait fishermen are operating as bluefin, and from $260 to $310 for skipjack. In each far north as Morro Bay. instance the latter price was being paid at the end of Anchovies have been the of the live always mainstay the biennium. bait fishery, but prior to the catastrophic disappearance Potential Not Realized of the sardine, 15 to 20 percent of the bait consisted of sardines. In 1952 less than 2 percent of the catch was This growth of the tuna industry followed the U. S. of this made up species and in 1953 less than 1 percent. Government's decision not to increase the tariff or Other species, such as white croaker, kingfish, queen- import duties on raw or processed fish. In some quar- terns and rate of growth of yellowfin tuna, skipjack and albacore. Results have been spectacular. The trans- Pacific migration of albacore was revealed when an albacore, tagged off Santa Catalina Island, was recovered 324 days later 500 miles southwest of Tokyo, Japan. Two tagged albacore, released off Guadalupe Island, Mexico, in August, 1953, were recovered in February, 1954, near Midway Island, in the mid- Pacific Ocean, by Japanese long-line fishermen. The growth potential of yellowfin tuna was demonstrated with the recovery of a tagged fish at liberty for one )'ear, which had gained 25 pounds.

Picture Not Complete

While some of the recoveries have been outstanding in themselves, the over-all recovery rate is insufficient as yet to give a complete picture of the migrational of the various In an to in- Scale samples being taken during yellowfail tagging operations off patterns species. attempt Guadalupe Island, Bo/'o California. crease the returns, the tagging program was expanded greatly ear the close of the biennium. ters this decision was regarded with gloom, but the Th; program of exploratory fishing and gear devel- industry, engrossed in its own expansion, apparently opment was channeled toward the search for subsur- underrated its potential. face stocks of tuna and the whereabouts of albacore in The fleet operated at near capacity throughout the the off season. The M. V. N. B. Scofield carried on biennium. The brief layover shortly after the period's exploration in the equatorial waters off Central and beginning was the one exception. Various members of South America in cooperation with the Inter-Ameri- the fleet engaged in exploration for new fishing can Tropical Tuna Commission and Scripps Institution grounds and experimented \\ith gear new to the tuna of Oceanography. A complete report was being pre- fishery of the Eastern Pacific. Vessel loss was materi- pared for publication at the close of the biennium. ally reduced over the preceding biennium. The search for albacore with the M. V. N. B. Sco- In r\vo instances old reliable failed fishing grounds field in the off season (fall, winter and spring) demon- to yield as in the past. The failure of the equatorial strated that these fish are not off our coast during the off Central and South America in the fishing grounds winter and early spring months. winter and spring of 1952-53 is associated with the The studies on age and rate of growth of yellowfin, phenomenon known as "El Niiio" (a change in ocean skipjack, albacore and bluefin were continued through- currents caused by weather conditions), which is a albacore out the biennium. Analysis of the skipjack and complete reversal of usual meteorological and oceano- length frequencies were started toward the end of the graphic conditions. On the other hand, there is no period, with presentation anticipated in the near fu- for the ready explanation poor fishing experienced by ture. the purse seine fleet in the Gulf of California in the spring of 1954. Compensating for these failures was SALMON the discovery of a new fishing bank off southern Peru, Sport fishing for salmon in the ocean off California a southern extension of the South Ameri- representing has developed into big business within the past 10 can fishing grounds. years, and, according to estimates based on tagging Experiments with new gear and fishing aids included and sampling programs, rivals the commercial catch design of a rapid-closing purse seine net; use of suction not only in numbers of fish taken, but in economic pumps for speed in transferring bait aboard bait boats; value to the State as well. The fishery is estimated to trials with Japanese long-line gear for subsurface fish be worth $8,000,000 annually. in established as well as in new fishing grounds areas; Salmon landings made by commercial fishermen in and the use of new electronic devices such as fish California's ocean and river fisheries averaged 7.6 mil- scanar, fishlupe, etc., which enable the fisherman to lion pounds during 1952 and 1953, representing an in- find and follow subsurface schools of fish. crease of about 250,000 pounds per year over landings Tuna research forged ahead during the biennium, of the previous two-year period. available using resources to the fullest to meet the The increase was entirely due to ocean troll landings of a challenge growing industry. A full scale tagging which averaged 6.8 million pounds during the past two was program inaugurated to stud\- the migratory pat- calendar years. Decreases of about 240,000 pounds FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 63 were shown in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River gill Men stationed at coastal ports from Monterey, Cali- net fishery- landings during the period of the report, as fornia, to Pelican, Alaska, search for marked fish in compared to the years 1950 and 1951. Curtailment of the catches landed b\' ocean salmon troUcrs. This pro- is coordinated the Pacific the area open to gill netting, imposed b>' the State Leg- gram by Marine Fisheries islature, was responsible for the smaller landings. Re- Commission with which British Columbia and Alaska strictions created bv the law affected an entire season voluntarily cooperate. Activities of this commission for the first time in 1952. are more full\' discussed in another section of this At the same time shipments of salmon into Califor- report. nia by common carrier averaged 770,000 pounds per Pertinent data is summarized regarding each mark- made the since 1950 in year during 1952 and 1953, a decrease of 140,000 ing experiment by department pounds under the two previous years. Most of the the table entitled "Salmon Marking and Recovery," shipments are bound for Los Angeles. Appendix Table 40. Marking experiments conducted by Oregon and Washington are not included; re- Sport Fishing Study coveries of California marks made by them, as well as British Columbia, are included for 1952 and 1953. Because of the ever-increasing pressure on the sal- by No California marks have been recovered off Alaska to mon population by the new sport fishery, it became date. apparent that more factual knowledge of its methods, catch composition, and economic as well as recrea- A word of explanation is necessary in regard to the tional value would be required to assure proper man- higher survival rate of hatchery fish as compared to fish in of agement regulations, thus assuring safeguards for wild captured the release 1949 brood year future abundance of the salmon resource on which it king salmon in the Sacramento River. depends. Because of difficulties in capturing wild salmon Plans formulated and approved in 1953 for a fed- fingerlings without injury, only "cull" fish were taken. eral aid project will supply the necessary minimum Fish hatched at Coleman Station, a salmon hatchery of California's ocean salmon investigation sport fishery. operated by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, were bigger and in better condition than the wild fish when and Mark Marking Recovery released. In 1950 an interstate salmon marking program \\as Results of the experiments to date show that in 1952 started on the recommendation of the Pacific Marine the 1949 brood year king salmon from the Sacramento Fisheries Commission to determine, among other River were taken in greater numbers by the combined things, the contributions made to the ocean fishery in ocean troll fisheries of Oregon, Washington, and Brit- in various river different areas by salmon originating ish Columbia than by the California fishery. Final systems of the Pacific Coast. The actual marking was analyses will demonstrate whether or not this hap- described in the last biennial report. pened again in 1953. Conversely, the majority of sil- An obvious corollary to a marking experiment is a ver salmon taken by the California fishery originated coastal streams. carefully planned mark recovery program. California, in Oregon's Hence, when something in cooperation with Oregon, Washington, British changes the salmon producing potential in one state, Columbia, and Alaska, has such a recovery program. the economy of other states will be affected.

Parf of the California salmon fleet anchored at Point Reyes, where as many as 300 boats sometimes anchor during the run.

%ft

tZ38r f

'^.

safc." 64 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

Demonstration of this one fact alone would be 19S2 1953 enough to make these marking experiments a success; King Silver King Silver however, a great deal of additional data is being col- Number e.vamined lected, the anal\'sis of which may well prove to be of 63,361 9,111 165,346 25,628 even greater value to proper management of this re- Percent of catch newable resource. sampled „.- 12.8% 33.3% Average weight 12.2 lbs. 8.2 lbs. 12.8 lbs. 7.9 lbs. Ocean King Salmon, Tagging Percent of catch

by weight ..... 88.5% 11.5% 91.6% 8.4% During the 1952 season, 1,318 king salmon were tagged, all off San Francisco from boats furnished by Additional material collected has included random the Golden Gate Association. The Sportfishers coop- length measurements, scale samples and lengths for eration of this association of boat not party operators age analyses, sexual maturity data, and data regarding saved the State several thousand dollars, but only weather and prices and their effect on fishing effort. assured a catch of fish and a better good produces An unusually large number of pink or humpback of the fish taken the fleet than could sample by sports salmon were taken off California as far south as San have been obtained by any other method. The San Francisco during July, 1953. Based on sampling data, Francisco Club, a of Tyee group sportsmen organized it is estimated that about 700 were landed. This is the for the purpose of conserving the salmon, has con- first time in recent history that this salmon has ap- tributed to our program by posting over 1 1,000 for peared in such large numbers in the California fishery. the return of certain lucky salmon tags. These bonuses In conjunction with ocean catch sampling. Marine have been a great help in assuring the return of tags. Fisheries Branch personnel sample the catch of the gill Returns of king salmon during the biennium which net fishery operating in the Sacramento-San Joaquin were tagged in 1952 are shown in the table the by River delta. Marks recovered here serve as a valuable area of The reflect the fact that most recapture. figures check on ocean recoveries. king salmon are now^ taken in the ocean and that nearly all the salmon taken off San Francisco come from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta King Salmon Sacramento-San Joaquin River system. mi 19S3 The principal purpose of this cooperative program Number examined 10,391 17,192 Percent of catch .- is to determine the best size limits for the ocean sal- sampled 27.4% 43.7% Average weights 19.5 lbs. 20.3 lbs. mon fisheries.

Catch Sampling Spawning Area Surveys In addition to obtaining reliable figures on the pro- Annual inventory of the spawning populations utiliz- portion of marked fish in the ocean catch, the depart- ing the spawning areas in California's rivers is made ment's are samplers getting valuable information for each fall and winter. During their survey trips crews detailed analyses of the fishery and the two species examine thousands of salmon that have died after of salmon supporting it. A summary of fish examined spawning, and while examining these carcasses find during the ocean catch samphng program is presented many marked or tagged fish. The data collected on below: these surveys completes the cycle in the search for facts upon which to base wise salmon management regulations. An important demonstration of the homing instinct in silver salmon was demonstrated by mark recoveries on the north coast in 1953. Early in 1951, more than 16,000 marked silver fry were released into Lindsey Creek, the only one of several small tributaries to the Mad River that received marked fish. Because silvers

spawn and die at the end of their third }-ear, survey crews expected and found them back in the winter of 1953. During the fall of 1953, survey crews participated in redevelopment of a salmon population in Clear Creek, a tributary to the upper Sacramento River. This stream once had a run of king salmon that spawned above the site of a dam which since construction has barred its passage for years. The dam is

Departmeni crews checking ihe commercial salmon catch for ftn marks. Measurements are taken at the some time. at the head of a steep gorge and the problem of get- difficult one. ting fish by both gorge and dam was a Establishment of a run by transplanting ripe adults into such a stream was attempted. In cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Coleman Station personnel, 1,428 adult king salmon were trapped at released J 7 •* Keswick Dam on the Sacramento River, and W in Clear Creek above the dam. Survey crews observed later, and some were captured for identification. Complete results of this experiment will not be available until after 1957, when most of the fish that are going to return will have done so. By the time the fish return, the department plans to have an adequate fish ladder completed through the gorge and over the dam. JACK MACKEREL

The meteoric rise of the jack mackerel fishery in 1947 was attributable in a large part to the almost complete failure of the sardine fishery and the diminishing Pacific mackerel landings. A second important The Poiier seine, a new type of net used in daytime airplane fishing, is factor was the increased use of devices depth-sounding highly efFicient for catching anchovies, sardines and /acfc mocfcere/. Wings surface. of the net are hauled over the stern with vertical gurdies. for locating schools of fish not visible at the liieing power effort the After seven of fairly heavy fishing in the years For years the anchovy has been of importance is confined almost to Southern fishery now exclusively commercial and bait fisheries of California. From 1916 because the mackerel have California jack disappeared to 1946 most of the catch was used for bait purposes— from other waters. During the 1947 to 1950, years for live bait in the Southern California sport fishery, Monterey was a fairly important port of landing but for salted dead bait in both the sport fishery and in the has been of since 1950 the contribution from that area the albacore fishery, and for use as ground chum by little The catch since 1947 has fluctuated significance. Pacific mackerel fishermen. con- scoop almost yearly" with little correlation to observed During the period from 1916 to 1946 only small ditions. amounts of anchovies were used for food and for re- Preliminary age work completed during the bien- duction. In 1921 teeth were put into a law prohibiting nium indicates the commercial fishery is largely de- the use of anchovies for reduction purposes. It was felt pendent upon fish ranging from one to four years of that such was needed to safeguard the five to 14 protection age. Fish of this age vary in size from about stocks of this species, both because of its importance inches. Each year, however, several purse seine loads commercially and because of its importance as a forage of very large jack mackerel are taken and these fish, fish for sport and commercially important predatory ranging in length from 20 to 25 inches, appear to be species. from 10 to 20 or 25 years old. These very large jack Packs Made mackerel have become an important constituent in Experimental the Southern California sportfisherman's bag during From 1946 on, with the advent of the drastic de- late spring and early summer of the past two years. crease in sizes of the sardine and Pacific mackerel stocks along the Pacific Coast, there arose the immedi- THE ANCHOVY FISHERY ate need for packs of other species to supply domestic stocks Scientists, commercial fishermen and sportsmen have and foreign markets. Inasmuch as anchovy ap- be with current been keeping a close watch and are feeling some de- peared large enough and could taken were gree of alarm over the diminishing stock of anchovies sardine fishing methods many experimental packs off the California coast. This feeling reached a. climax made. They met with serious domestic sales resistance after the 1952 season of heavy pressure off Central but the anchovy "sardine style" pack in tomato sauce and California when the anchovy stocks reached a point of met with favorable response in several Asiatic then centered diminishing return to the fishermen, and there were South American countries. The industry its in that would sell not enough large schools of the species to make fishing activities processing styles readily of the market. profitable on a steady basis. Since the summer 1953 on export with the of can- all anchovies processed in Central California packing Coincident development anchovy the use of for foods ex- plants have been trucked from Southern California due ning, fishery products pet mackerel was the main constitu- to the lack of the once abundant stocks nearby. panded rapidly. Jack 4 i_i i;

Possibility of a future stable market for anchovy products is good if the stocks of anchovies hold up under the present fishing pressure. Investigations of the department are aimed at ob- facts on taining which management of the species can be based, and to inform the people of conditions in this important fishery. These investigations already have shown that the a anchovy, valuable forage fish, should be kept at high levels of abundance to provide feed for fish and larger bait for commercial and sports fishing. PACIFIC MACKEREL While the attention of the Pacific Coast fishing in- Pacific mackerel being bailed from scoop boat to conveyor belt at a dustry focused on the spectacular failure of the Cali- Newport Beach Note barrels of chum at the stern. cannery. fornia sardine, a similar decline in the Pacific mackerel fishery, although not unnoticed, failed to cause any ent of these but in a packs 1953 ready supply of this great alarm. species \\ as not available. This resulted in the increased In of increased spite fishing intensity, the catch of use of anchovies for food. Thus, the to- pet anchovy Pacific mackerel in the 1952-53 season dropped to the is the day primary species used in the bait and chum lowest total in 20 seasons. Continued heavy fishing fisheries of the State, in the export market of "sardine the 1953-54 season pressure during resulted in only style" packs, and an of the one-third of supplies important part the poor catch of the previous season and fishes used in pet food. a new record low during 26 seasons. Not since 1928, Rapid of the is shown development anchovy fishery when the Pacific mackerel first became prominent as a in the catch Since the clearly figures. 1945, year before cannery species, had the yield from California waters of anchovies was canning started, the catch has in- been less than 10,000,000 pounds. creased from about two million to pounds about 100 A successful fishing season becomes more and more million (including both commercial and live in classes. bait) dependent upon incoming year This is vividly 195.3. Total catch to 1948 do not illustrated figures prior include by the fact that for five seasons, 1948-49 estimates of the of anchovies taken for poundage live through 1952-53, two year classes (1947 and 1948) bait Since 1948 in some alone purposes. years the take of contributed more than 75 percent of the fish anchovies for live bait has been than more the take for caught. During two of these seasons these two year commercial classes made purposes. up more than 90 percent and during two others over 85 percent of the total catch. the 1953- Efficient Methods By 54 season these year classes had been almost completely With the exhausted development of the anchovy fishery there (contributing but 5 percent). They were has developed revolutionary and highly eflicient meth- replaced in importance by the mackerel hatched in ods of and which before capture processing. The anchovy is a deli- 1953, they were one year of age had cate!>- textured fish and care must be taken to make the yielded over 80 percent of the season's catch. pack presentable and to meet the stiff case re- pack Shift Is Reflected quirements put into effect in 1948 by the then Division This shift in of Fish and Game. percentage from old to young fish is reflected in the both A new stj'le lampara net called the Porter seine especially poundage yield. During the 1952-53 and after one of the 1953-54 seasons an identical (named principal inventors of the net) nearly number of fish were taken was in order to more (14,200,000 and 14,800,- developed efficiently work in the 000). However, in 1952-53 the fish five and six daytime in cooperation with aerial observers ^\ho di- years of in rect age (85 percent numbers) made 89 of the actions of the boat in the fish. This up percent catching the total method of poundage. On the other hand the 1953 year "airplane fishing" has been developed to its class which made up 82 percent of the 14,800,000 highest efficiency in the Port Hueneme-Santa Barbara Pacific mackerel area of Southern caught during 1953-54 actually com- California, where the bulk of the high prised but 57 percent of the 7.6 million pounds. catch of 1953 was made. The now limited amount of Routine sampling of the commercial catch con- anchovy fishing in Central California .still is con- being tinued whenever fish were available, and from this ducted by the boats using purse seines and Monterey- sampling much of the basic information for the nets. style lampara Fishing in this area still is carried numerous biological studies is acquired. on at for night, daytime airplane fishing is impractical The department recommended a management plan in the Central California area due to frequent periods for mackerel along with sardines to the 1953 of weather. Legis- foggy lature, but it did not receive favorable consideration. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 67

NEW CLAM FISHERY period was the emergence of developments in the diving field, both with conventional gear and with the Possibility of a new clam fishery in Morro Bay has aqua-lung. These developments played an important developed as a result of the 1953 transplanting of part both in the commercial catch and in investigations Japanese littleneck clams from San Francisco Bay to being conducted by the Branch of Marine Fisheries. Southern California waters. Because of harbor dredg- In Southern California, where the industry is con- ing as well as clam digging, the various species of centrated in the Channel Islands, some of the commer- littleneck clams became quite scarce in Southern Cali- cial divers were forced to descend well over 100 feet fornia bays, and the department planted 6,000 of the to reach abalones of sufficient size and abundance. An Japanese littlenecks, 4,000 at Morro Bay and the re- interesting development as a result of this mainder at Newport Harbor. deep diving has been the appearance of a new species of abalone in At least half of those planted at Morro Bay lived the catches. So uncommon is this abalone that it has and showed remarkable growth during their first year. not been definitely classified. From all appearances these should spawn during 1954, The abalone has continued and if successful there may soon be a new fisher\' investigation operations the biennium with the area of effort con- where none existed before. Clams planted in Newport during major centrated the north coast. Since the Harbor were placed in deeper water and no observa- along greatest is to determine how the of tions on their progress have been possible. single problem population abalones in the Pismo clam censuses conducted at Pismo Beach and intertidal zone is replenished, principal efforts have been directed this line. The Morro Bay during 1951 and 1952 indicated a continu- along tagging which was an to this ing shortage of young clams at both locations, appar- program, attempt approach problem, is continued. ently the result of very poor sets during the past being several seasons. However, the number of legal clams North Coast in closed areas or clam sanctuaries has increased con- Survey each that short-term closures siderably year, showing A setback suffered by the investigation was the loss do assist in a of materially building up supply legal- of the mother ship, Broadhlll. This vessel sank during a sized clams. Information of the 1952 and 1953 cen- storm while tied to the dock. She was refloated but suses was in of 1953. published April had suffered considerable damage, and will be replaced with a larger and more seaworthy vessel. The depart- Clam Mortality Investigated ment has purchased the Nmitihis, a former 50-foot Department biologists investigated reports of an northern drag fishing boat which is being modified alleged set of Pismo clams in Morro Bay, the young for adaption to the needs of marine research. When of which were supposedly dying. People of the area were considering transplanting them to a more favor- The boat in able habitat, a project involving tremendous expense. diving Mollusk, used the department's abalone investiga- lioni. Bottles in foreground are used to re-KII aqua-lung tanks. Department biologists determined that the "baby Pismo" clams were not Pismo clams at all, but a variety having no common name, and which never attains a size greater than a quarter of an inch, and which never lives more than one year. During the fall and winter of 1953-1954 the laboratory was asked to identify a species of clams which was blocking irrigation pipelines in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys, and was incurring considerable expense to farmers. This was found to be the same species of fresh water clam, Corbicida flmnhiea, which had become established in the Sacramento-San Joaquin drainage within the past decade. An oriental species, its introduction into California can only be surmised. Its spread is best attributable to the army of small boat-owning fishermen and hunters traveling from one river system to another with bait buckets and bailing cans unknowingly filled with the microscopic larvae of this prolific clam.

THE ABALONE FISHERY

Although the commercial abalone catch dropped slightly from the previous biennium it still remained above 4.7 million pounds. Among the highlights of the weather suitable for diving. An average of perhaps three to four diving days per month during spring and summer was typical.

MARKET CRABS

Landings of market crabs, while subjected to a considerable increase in fishing pressure for the past several years, showed an abrupt drop from the high of 13,000,000 pounds in 1952, but still well above the 30- year average ending in 1945. In the San Francisco area the market crab A fishery young market crab, H of on mch in width. At this stage the young showed annual of 4,000,000 for the crabs are an important segment of the crab investigations. landings pounds past five years while the Eureka area brought in double the poundage of the Central California fishery. this vessel is placed in commission, it \\ill then be pos- The drop from the 1952 high to. about 8,000,000 sible to continue the survey of the north coast in an pounds in 1953 was due to a decrease in the north effort to evaluate the potential abalone resources of coast landings as shown in the graph (Table 51, Ap- the area. pendix). Since a rather complete harvesting of avail- In an to assess the attempt take of abalones by able legal size crabs occurs each year, the drop may a check set sportsmen, system was up whereby an be due t' a poor year class. It is also possible that this actual is count made of the number of sportsmen fish- mav be an indication that the fishery of Northern for abalones at a ing representative locality during California will level off at considerably lower annual of low tides. periods landings than the high peaks of recent years. Since abalones inhabit the shores from the rocky Intensive fishing with crab traps is accomplishing an zone of high tide out to well over 200 it is neces- feet, intensive harvesting of the available marketable crabs sary that the research team be to dive. In qualified during the first few months of the crabbing season. addition to the commercial regular type diving gear, At San Francisco 83 percent of the crabs landed in the members for the first time the bien- qualified during 1952-53 nine-month season were brought in during the nium in use of the the aqua-lung, having attended first three months of the season. The trend is the same U. S. School at the San Francisco Navy's Diving in Eureka where from 50 to 60 percent of a total Naval shipyard where received instruction in the they season's landings is accomplished in the first third of use of equipment used by the The Navy's "Frogmen." the season, compared to about 35 percent as recently frog-man of is valuable in type equipment especially as during the 1948-49 season. making exploratory- dives and underwater surveys. Specially designed crab traps with circular escape Since the diver does not have to clamber up and over openings are being demonstrated by the department rugged terrain, he can swim above such obstructions to show the value of in and observe improved gear allowing rapid a wider field than the diver using con- escapement of undersized crabs while the trap is ac- ventional gear. However, for tagging and several other tively fishing on the ocean floor. phases of the work, the use of commercial suit and of the life of the market crabs equipment has been found to be more desirable. Study early history in California waters was carried on to obtain data on Although sufficient evidence for conclusive proof the populations of crabs less than one year of age, was una\ailable at the close of the biennium, several since this supply of young will eventually replace the general statements can be made concerning the find- size groups thoroughly harvested the crab fishing ings of the investigation. by fleet. It is that the modem research vessel, Along the north coast where activities have been anticipated the Nautilus, using specially designed gear, will make conducted, the total population of abalones has been possible investigations of the crab fishery long desired found to be less than was at first suspected. In addi- but not heretofore tion, the greater number of these abalones are of small possible. size (i.e., less than 7% inches). There are locations in the OYSTER PROGRAM which general size appears to be larger than this, but these are not common. Preliminary investigations Unique in its outlook, the department's California on the of the quality meat have been made and it has oyster program is not confronted with over-exploita- been found that the of majority abalones obtained by tion of a resource, but in fostering establishment and have a dark meat. The ocean bottom this diving along growth of a valuable fishery in areas formerly non- area a and presents rough rugged terrain, dominated productive. With a firm oyster policy and with new by huge boulders, chasms, and rugged, rocky cliffs. regulations adopted in 1954 by the Fish and Game has the Especially disconcerting been scarcity of Commission to encourage full utilization of natural conditions, indications point to greater production BOTTOM FISHERIES and possible re-establishment of oyster culture in Cali- Trawl fornia waters. The otter trawl unit in California oyster industry' is aimed primarily toward fishery, leading producing of the Pacific Northern California, has registered new highs in bot- production giant oyster, which has tom fish the last biennium. Trawl yielded far less during the postwar years than before production during have risen to over of fish hostilities. Importation of seed from japan was cut ofT landings 30,000,000 pounds \'ear in of stiff from and the landings decreased accordingly. Expected in- per spite competition low-priced of fresh and frozen fillets. This increase in oystering activity after the war failed to foreign imports creased trawl the ultimate materialize, because large acreages of oyster land \\ ere production, Hearing potential of the makes of addi- being held and not planted, although sefed was then fishery, imperative adoption tional constructive conservation measures to insure its available. During the past biennium the more progres- future existence. sive oystermen have become active, augmented b\- the new additions to the field. In Northern California area 40 to 60 trawlers have fished each and in the Central California Since month, 1952 the importation of larger shipments of area the number fishing each month has increased from oyster seed from Japan has resulted in the enlargement about 8 to 18. In the Central California area bottom of oystering areas within California bays. Morro Bay fishing is undergoing a change from the historic long- operators have taken the lead in progressive ovster cul- line of to the use of the more efficient ture by the introduction of methods type fishing gear \ielding greater otter trawl. landings per unit of area. The most modern and effi- Dover sole leads in total cient again poundage landed, oyster handling plant in California now is located with sole and sole in im- there. English petrale following portance. ^ Many Young Oysters For many years several species of rockfish, hake, and were little utilized due to low market Oystering activity in Marin County has recently led skates, rays to the demand. This nonutilization has been a construction of several small oyster houses to long problem in the trawl but it is solved handle harvests from increased plantings. In Humboldt fishery, being partially by the use of several of these in mink cat County test plantings by oy.stermen have shown such species food, the use of and rapid growth that very complete allocation of available and dog food, and skates, rays, ratfish, fillet offal in a new fertilizer Several oyster lands has resulted. There are now young oys- liquid product. ters in California waters in sufficient abundance to species of rockfish are now being used in a new fried, frozen fishstick that has received nation-wide bring Pacific o\ster production \\ ell toward the degree product With the of these of opulence enjoyed during 1938-1941. acceptance. development new markets and the of selective utilization Consumer demand for oysters in San Francisco and products, practice is being reduced in this important of our Los Angeles represents the greatest in the West. These segment State's marine resource. demands are far from being met and a still greater market is for canned meats appearing oyster and oyster Conservation Method stew, leading to production attempts on all potential oyster lands. One of the most practical methods of conservation in the trawl fisheries is to allow the escape of under- Experimental plantings have yielded Pacific oysters sized and immature flatfish from the otter trawl net of marketable size within 1 1 months, a size normally attained in three to four years in Japan. A variety of oysters from Southern Japan was planted in several An oyster bed recently established in Morro Bay. Central California bays and the Salton Sea. This particular oyster, which produces a small meat suitable for the cocktail market, grew very well and produced marketable oysters 18 months after planting in the marine waters of bays and the Imperial Valley as well. Increased importations of Pacific oyster seed from Japan and of full-grown eastern oysters from New York have increased the possibility of infestations of oyster drilling snails. Loss of oysters attributed to oyster drills in other states amounts to millions of dollars each year. California law requires the inspection of all shellfish destined for planting in waters of the State. It was to condemn 500 cases of Pacific necessary oys- »v »*• ter seed imported during the 1952-1953 season because •" ^%.- Jrv' of the presence of drills in the shipment. t.

.*^ *-

4.1 *i 70 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME while it is operating on the bottom. Various mesh used as the basis for future regulations to protect im- sizes were checked for escapement of small flatfish mature fish. during extensive mesh-testing experiments aboard the Extensive experimental commercial fishing gear de- survey vessel, .V. B. Scoficld, in the fall of 1952, off velopment work has been conducted by the bottom the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. As fisheries staff during 1953. Development was begun on a result of these Pacific Marine Fish- experiments the a new mid-water trawl and preliminary tests on this eries Commission recommended that a -inch mini- 4/4 gear were made in 1953. This gear, which is similar to mum mesh for otter trawl nets be regulation adopted an otter trawl, opens fishing in the mid-depths of the the three Pacific Coast states. by ocean, an area heretofore not extensively fished. The recommendation when presented problems ap- The study of trawler boat logs was continued to en- plied to certain types of specialized trawl netting, such able the bottom fishery staff to follow the changing as cod-ends" and "double cod-ends." "hog ring trends in species caught, location of fishing areas, and The of of manila practice stapling together strips the poundages landed. This information will aid in the line with metal hog ring clips to form webbing is a adoption of constructive trawl fishery legislation. recent innovation in California. The webbing is used in the making of the cod-end or rear portion of the NEW SHRIMP FISHERY trawl net—therefore the term "hog ring cod-end." A new commercial for California has Double cod-ends are composed of two walls of web- shrimp fishery been established since the 1950-1952 biennium. This bing, making it essentially a cod-end within a cod-end, new is the result of work the instead of the usual one wall of mesh webbing cod- fishery exploratory by N. B. in and end. Both types gf webbing give greater strength and survey vessel, Scofield, 1950, 1951, 1953, wear resistance, but due to their additional bulk and during which time the quantity and extent of the beds off the California Coast were reduced flexibility, the size of the fish retained by the shrimp mapped. gear is smaller than that retained by the conventional Shrimp beds were found off Pt. Buchon, Bodega Bay^ single mesh cotton web cod-end. Shelter Cove, and Pt. St. George in 1950 and 1951. In a southern These additional problems warranted joint action by 1953 additional exploratory work revealed the States of California, Oregon, and Washington extension of the Pt. Buchon bed, and small beds of through the auspices of the Pacific Marine Fisheries shrimp were located off Gaviota and Santa Monica. Commission, and steps were undertaken to solve them. The first year of commercial ocean shrimp fishing (1952) saw 206,000 pounds landed in California, of Net Mesh Experiments which 198,000 pounds were caught off Pt. Buchon and at the to its The survey vessel, N. B. Scofield, completed exten- processed Morro Bay. Processing product sive mesh-testing experiments during the spring of final cooked and peeled form provided employment 1954 during which time a comparison was made in size for as many as 65 people in this area. Catches at Bodega of fish retained between conventional single cotton Bay and Crescent City were only about 3,500 pounds web cod-end and the hog ring and double cod-end. each, due to extensive problems in fishing techniques. Results of these tests are being analyzed and will be The 1953 ocean shrimp catch increased to 295,000 pounds. Morro Bay landings were 199,000; Bodega

! and Crescent 45,000 t X Bay, 51,000; City, pounds. Many of the fishing and processing problems had been solved, and the central and northern areas whose po- k tentials are by far the greatest were showing signs of extensive production possibilities. The 1954 season opening on May 1st saw fishing activity on the beds off Morro Bay, Bodega Bay, and Crescent City. The total catch of shrimp to June 30, 1954, was 106,000 pounds, with shrimp production -^^ r abnormally low at Morro Bay, good at Bodega Bay, and the majority of the State's 1954 production landed at Crescent City.

THE SALTON SEA

The Salton Sea, California's largest inland body of water, long has been considered a potential fisherman's paradise, but sporadic fish plantings beginning in 1929

A beam trawt in the with I net, used bottom fishery loaded shrimp^ FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 71 never have been really successful, and until recently done and more is planned to determine movements and no coordinated program of study to determine the po- migrations. Recently underwater observation has con- . tential has been made. tributed substantially to a better understanding of the However, in 1953 the Wildlife Conservation Board ecology and habits of the species, and of the design and authorized $86,000 for a three-year study, known as operation of beach seines. the Salton Sea was a Project. The study placed under Investigations are concerned with four species, all of service agreement with the University of California at which have been designated by law for sport fishing. Los Angeles in February, 1954. Active work began at In order of importance by numbers caught, they are Fish Springs late in Alarch after necessary personnel the barred perch, spotfin croaker, California corbina, was hired and basic equipment obtained. To date re- and yellowfin croaker. (North of Point Arguello the search people feel that the sea must be considered only barred perch may be taken commercially.) a temporary habitat for fishes, but believe it will be Statistics based on information supplied by surf productive for at least 30 years. fishermen in the form of daily catch records show that Situated in the Imperial Valley in Imperial and Riv- the barred perch makes up 78.5 percent of the catch. erside Counties, the sea is 235 feet below mean sea level The other three are taken in the following percent- with a surface area of some 280 square miles. Its aver- ages: spotfin croaker, 9.5; corbina 9.0; and yellowfin age depth is 10 feet with some spots more than 50 feet. croaker 3.0 percent. Other species of surf fish taken in Its salinity, which varies according to depth, currently order of their importance are white croaker, opaleye, is somew hat below that of normal sea water. Surface pile perch, and blactc perch. Several kinds of shark temperature varies from around 50 degrees in the win- also are taken incidentally. ter to about 100 degrees in the summer. Some Tagging Done Sporadic Plantings Biological material for the studies is supplied by beach the at six sta- First fish plantings (striped bass, silver salmon and seining monthly throughout year Barbara area to San Some mudsuckers) \\ere made by the Division of Fish and tions from the Santa Diego. has also been done and more is for Game between October 20, 1929, and late in 1934. tagging planned the future in order that movements and can Mudsuckers which now abound in the marginal areas migrations be learned. Returns to date indicate that two of the of the sea are presumed to have resulted from a No- croakers, the and yellowfin, move as much as vember, 1930, planting of 500 individuals. Nothing has spotfin 45 miles in three months. The other two species, cor- ever been seen or heard of the striped bass and silver bina and barred perch, have shown only minor move- salmon. Not until 1948 was fish introduction again ments no greater than two miles, recoveries being attempted and not until 1950 were these efforts any- usually at the point of tagging. thing but sporadic. Between 1950 and 1953 one kind of Data taken beach have been squid, four kinds of clams, three of mussels, two of routinely by seining at several derbies held sports- oysters, one of shrimp, and one of crab were intro- supplemented perch by men during the last two years. duced from California, Japan, and Mexico in attempts and studies of the to increase the food available to fish life. Of these Maturity fecundity egg-bearing croakers must be done measure- forms two of the four species of clams, both species of by microscopic egg ment and counts. Information about food habits oysters and the crab have survived from one to sev- by egg is learned from examination of eral years. being microscopic stomach contents. Age work is progressing on three Mangrove seeds brought from Magdalcna Bay, Baja of the four species. The barred perch, because of its California, in an attempt to modify the ecolog\- of Sal- is ton Sea did not survive. importance, taking priority.

Of numerous fish introduced this species during pe- Yellowtail Investigations riod two from the Gulf of California (a croaker and a More than 3,000 yellowtail were tagged during the corvina) are known to have survived and spawned, past two years to make a good start toward obtaining and the resultant offspring to have survived and the life history knowledge necessary for sound man- spawned. agement of the fishery. A boat catch analysis of the commercial yellowtail has been difficult be- SURF FISHING INVESTIGATIONS fishery cause of the economic uncertainty of the fishery. Boats Continued investigation of the surf fishing off South- landing these fish usually are after the more valued ern California, to determine information needed for species and take yellowtail only when the others can- proper management of the major species, was carried not be readily found. out as Dingell-Johnson Project F-5-R. Work consists Data for life history studies have been obtained from of studies on age and rate of growth, maturity and cannery sampling whenever possible. Among the ques- fecundity, and food analysis. Some tagging has been tions which need to be answered are whether the fish- —namely, that the greatest proportion of tag returns were from fish that were taken in the same general localities where they had been released. Studies of the abundance of this species, by analysis of fishing returns, indicate that the catch-per-trip appears to have remained constant since 1941 in California. Furthermore, the fluctuations in seasonal catches are quite closely correlated with economic factors. Inasmuch as the greatest portion of the catch along the Pacific Coast is placed in cold storage for future smoking, abnormally large cold storage hold- ings at the start of a year are associated with relatively low catches in the ensuing year, and vice versa. In addition, considerable life history information Typical gear used tor sablefish by commercial fishermen off the north was obtained the course of this coast. Fisherman is baiting a long-line set. The department conducted during investigation, tagging operations from this and similar boats. such as spawning season and size at maturity, growth rates, length-weight relationships, and relationship between size of fish and of water. ery is dependent on resident fish or whether they move depth To the of immature from areas of abundance to the heavily fished Cali- discourage landing small, fish, a minimum size of 25 inches total or three fornia grounds, where spawning and nursery grounds length dressed, head was as a are located, and relationship of oceanic conditions to pounds off, recommended regu- abundance. lation for the Pacific Coast, north of Pt. Arena, Cali- fornia. Current yellowtail investigations have been designated as Dingell-Johnson Project F-l-R, one of the RESEARCH VESSELS few D-J projects in the Nation devoted to the better- A^. B. Scofleld: Cruising Pacific waters from oflF ment of an ocean fishery and certainly one of the most Guayaquil, Ecuador, at three degrees south latitude, to extensive. The yellowtail, as well as being a commer- Neah Bay, Washington, at 46 degrees N., the de- cial fish, is one of the most prized ocean sport fish and partment's research vessel N . B. Scofield covered dis- sportsmen travel hundreds of miles in its pursuit. Once tances of 2,200 miles south of its home port, 700 miles plentiful along the entire Southern California coast, it north, and about the same distance west in a varied now is seldom taken except in the San Diego area. and versatile two-year program. No more graphic il- Other phases of the program include development lustration can be presented of the far flung nature of of marking devices, study of movements and measure- marine fish populations, and the vast biological re- ments for descriptive purposes, as well as population search necessary to administer these fisheries. studies. During the biennium the Scofield and her crew Sablefish spent 389 days at sea, with tuna research of various the most attention. Sablefish form the basis of a minor but steady fishery types receiving along the Pacific Coast, primarily because of the popu- Varied work done by this vessel is equally indicative larity of the product in a smoked form. Since 1946 the of how versatile marine research vessels and marine Pacific have been average annual Coast landings 10,- biologists must be. In southern and off-shore waters for 000,000 pounds, with California accounting about the Scofield operated longline gear to search deeper 2,000,000 pounds annually. The fishery is exploited by water layers for populations of yellowfin tuna, bigeye both and otter trawl fishermen. longline tuna and albacore. This experimental fishing made An investigation of the sablefish resources along the contributions toward delimiting the distribution of Pacific Coast was started during the previous bien- these species and aided fishermen in assessing use of nium, upon recommendation of the Pacific Marine longline gear in the eastern Pacific. Physical and chem- Fisheries Commission. Joint studies have been con- ical oceanographic data were also collected. On other ducted along the coast by trained biologists in Califor- cruises in Mexican and California waters albacore, yel- nia, Oregon, Washington, Canada (British Columbia) lowfin tuna and skipjack were tagged. and Alaska. Most phases of this investigation were Yellowtail completed during this biennium and the results are to Tagging be included in Bulletin No. 3 of the Pacific Marine One trip was made to the Southern California Chan- Fisheries Commission. nel Islands where kelp bass, caught at San Clemente Some of the results of this investigation in which Island, were tagged and released off Santa Catalina California participated are as follows: Island, a part of the ocean sport fishery studies. The Results of fish tag recoveries are in agreement with yellowtail program was aided by two trips along the the results of the racial study based on meristic counts coast of Baja California where yellowtail were caught, FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 73

tagged and released. On one of these cruises mangrove Additional gear is being installed on the vessel to seeds were brought back and planted in Salton Sea, broaden its scope and usefulness. Among the installa- one phase of the plan for developing a sport fishery tions are radar, enabling crews to take the boat close in this inland body of salt water. to shore in bad weather; a sonar "Sea Scanar" show- Two cruises in Central California waters resulted in ing size and depth of underwater obstructions, and the development of a mid-depth trawl that can be schools of fish within 1,600 feet; radio equipment; an operated from a single vessel. Shrimp populations in anchor winch; and crew facilities. It already is the area were also assessed and this fishery given addi- equipped with Loran, a Bendix recording depth finder tional stimulus. One other trip made in connection and two drag winches. with the trawl studies extended to the coastal waters The Nautilus will be based at Redwood City, clos- of Washington and comprised assessments of bottom est harbor to the Marine Fisheries Branch office at fish populations off Central and Northern California Stanford University. Storage located there consoli- and Oregon and Washington. dates equipment formerly kept at four scattered loca- Yelloivfiv: Although the work of the Yelloivfin was tions. not as varied as that of the N. B. ScofieUi, this vessel FISH SCREENS AND LADDERS kept equally busy, spending 373 days at sea during the A coordinated fish screen and ladder program, im- biennium. In the fall of 1952 she made four cruises proved in some respects through reorganization and along the coast of Baja California waters and three in decentralization of the department, resulted in several the fall of 1953. On these trips, covering the area be- far-reaching developments. These include new types tween Magdalena Bay, latitude 25 degrees N. and Pt. of screens, devices to prevent trash accumulation, and Reyes, latitude 38 degrees N., a census was taken of and of ladders. Added effi- the improvement remodeling abundance of sardines. Pacific and jack mackerel ciency through decentralization of repair facilities was and anchovies, and of the relative numbers of the year another major accomplishment. Assistance from the class of sardines resulting from the previous spring Dingell-Johnson Federal Aid Project F-4-D, on stream spawning, when these fish were about six months old. and lake improvement, came in the form of repair and One of the outstanding accomplishments resulting remodeling of several existing fish\\ays on coastal from the work aboard the has been the de- Yelloivfin waters. velopment in the past year of a blanket net for the Under regional organization a new machine shop rapid and efficient collection of fish samples. This net was established in Red Bluff. Besides servicing screens and its successful operation resulted from the ingenu- in Trinity County, the new shop maintained screens and of the vessel crew and illustrates the ity industry and ladders in the southern part of Region I, formerly importance of the contributions that every member handled by the Elk Grove shop. This eliminated much of the staff makes to the department's marine research travel time for employees of the latter shop in servic- programs. ing distant screens. The Yreka shop continued to han- Marine Research Cruises dle screen and ladder construction and maintenance in In addition to the census of fish populations carried the northern portion of the region. out by the Yelloivfin, she made three oceanographic Transferred to Region II from Marine Fisheries in cruises in Southern and Baja California waters collect- 1953, the Elk Grove shop has been engaged in devel- ing plankton samples and physical and chemical ocean- oping and testing new types of screens as well as in ographic data, a part of the cooperative investigations prefabricating conventional perforated plate models. being carried out under the direction of the Marine Research Committee. Five cruises were made in South- Newly designed fish screen for dfversjons, showing automatic gate in ern and Baja California waters the and during spring open position. The gate prevents loss of head in canal when debris has early summer to study abundance of sardines, jack accumulated on screen. and Pacific mackerel and anchovies. Two trips were made around the Southern California Channel Islands to determine the condition of abalones in these \\aters. Nautilus: Added to the department's research fleet during the biennium was the Nautilus, formerly the Sportfisher II, a standard northern drag boat, to serve as a mother ship for the abalone investigations. The new vessel, purchased in June, 1953, will serve as a base to dry and thaw out divers, for tagging and meas- uring abalones, and as a supply depot. It will be able to work in areas impossible for the 26-foot diving boat Mollusk, and will be available for many other investigations when not being used in abalone work. 74 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

A h\draulic drive mechanism for i', built at the Elk Grove shop, was tested at a crew, spring 1954, carried out some experimental work under special permit from the Fish and Game Commission. In addition to seismic permits which allow the use of black powder only, several permits were granted various construction companies for use of high explo- sives to remove pier structures, build sewer outfalls and control teredos. Few of these operations lasted more than two or three days but a department employee was on the spot to observe and oversee the operation and report all observed damage to marine life.

Crob traps being set from a fypical crab boat off cenfral California. PACIFIC MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION

Continued strides in promoting better use of fisheries which are of mutual concern to California, Ore- gon, and Washington, and in development of a joint conservation program were made by the Pacific Ma- rine Fisheries Commission during the past biennium. Formed in 1947 as a result of an interstate compact between the three states, the commission concentrates on coordinating the research activities of fisheries in- vestigating agencies connected with the commission's staff.

All general and staff meetings are attended by research staff members from Canada, Alaska, and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Whenever possible these men have attempted to coordinate their own programs with those of the member states. A research coordinator employed by the commission devotes much of his time to help research agencies avoid duplication, eliminate gaps in the work, and develop joint programs to find answers which can be applied along the entire Pacific Coast from California north.

Cooperative Tagging

One such program was the troll salmon investigation, thousands of a cooperative tagging program involving Catching yellowtait for tagging purposes off Guadalupe Island. ocean salmon entered by all three states, Canada, and Alaska. Later the three states marked millions of young king and silver salmon in the streams, and the ocean but almost 90 are over that salmon catch was sampled from California to Alaska. inches, by July percent Thus the 22-inch limit serves to second- Although the tagging program has been concluded length. protect there will be marked fish at sea until 1956. year fish \\hich are actuallx- much smaller than 22 inches. Results so far obtained have conclusively shown that A sablefish started the commission king and silver salmon move such distances at sea that investigation by a disaster in the salmon streams of one state can affect has included racial studies, tagging, and boat catch

its borders. For This work has demonstrated that sablefish the ocean fishery far beyond example, analysis. wander relatively little and that California's stocks are the mark returns have indicated that in some years there may be more Sacramento River salmon taken in in reasonably good condition. Oregon and Washington combined than in the Califor- The commission was instrumental in obtaining SIO,- 000 for studies the U. S. Public Health nia ocean fishery. pollution by Service. An additional from the State of Wash- Prior to 1952 the commission's investigations, meet- $20,000 in went into this work which was conducted at ings, discussions, and recommendations had resulted ington Bowman's and which troll salmon laws which were essentially the same in Washington's Bay Laboratory, has been aimed at the effect of mill waste the three states. A further change in the silver salmon finding paper laws was then recommended and was passed by the on young salmon. One interesting discovery has been that of the utilized California Legislature, to become effective as soon as many food organisms by young Oregon and Washington make a similar change in salmon are killed at lower concentrations of sulfite their laws. A portion of the law recommended by the waste than are the salmon themselves. commission would delay opening of the silver salmon Research on albacore is being conducted by the season in California from May 1st to July 1st. three states and by some additional organizations on The commission did not regard any size limit as nec- the Pacific Coast. In October, 1953, the Fourth Pacific that Pacific essary, but instead of eliminating the size limit entirely, Tuna Conference requested the Marine the Legislature reduced it to 22 inches. Almost 100 Fisheries Commission assume coordination of this work percent of silver salmon taken are in their third year. and this responsibility was accepted at the December, In most of that measures under 25 1953, , May year's crop meeting. 76 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

STATISTICAL UNIT position among the more important commercial species in 1945 to third in 1953. Fish Bulletins Nos. Installations and procedures of the Marine Fisheries position 86, 89 and 95 the commercial fish statistical unit \\ere modified during the biennium to present complete catch for the years 1950, 1951 and 1952 complete more efficiently the task of gathering, compi- respectively. In addition, Bulletin No. 86 contains a historical record lation and publication of California fishery statistics. and a complete of current methods used in Among the modifications have been remodeling the description collecting and fisheries statistics. building at Terminal Island, departmentalizing the or- compiling ganization, basic reports revised to increase their util- MARINE RESEARCH COMMIHEE it^•, license and application forms redesigned, trawl sta- work of the Marine Research tistics for war >ears compiled and made available, ma- Investigative Commit- tee continued the ham- rine sports catch records retabulated, and the striped throughout biennium, although lack of funds as a result of bass catch logs have been tabulated. pered by failure of the sardine industry. The committee, consisting of nine mem- The staff issued five publications during the bien- bers the of nium. Of these, two are statistical circulars and three representing fishing industry. Department Fish and and of the ad- are catch bulletins. Statistical Circulars Nos. 27 and 28 Game, representative public, ministers funds from a special tax on processed sardine, present the annual statistics of fresh and canned fishery mackerel, herring and squid. It coordinates products for the years 1952 and 1953 respectively. Cir- anchovy, the work of five the California cular 28 contains revised tables of sardine landings and agencies, including of California production and a table showing the annual case pack Academy Sciences, Department of Fish and of anchovy. These tables reflect the decline in impor- Game, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Hop- tance of the sardine and the kins steadily increasing an- A4arine Station, and U. S. Fish and Wildlife chovy fishery which has risen from twenty-second Service.

Need lor access (o oceon fishing along the shoreline is demonsfraled by this crowded pub/ic pier in southern Caliiornia. Public access for rock and surf fishing is one of the major points of the department's ten-year program. APPENDICES %'^

FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 79

TABLE 1

FISH AND GAME PRESERVATION FUND

SUMMARY OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES AND SURPLUS

1952-53 1953-54 1952-53 1953-54 Fiscal Fiscal F'iscal Fiscal Year Year Year Year

Total state revenue— all sources 36,282,445 36,775,886 Sub-division of expenditures—Continued State Employees' Retirement 3317,244 3359,916 Total expenditures 6,589,227 6,976,929 Pittman-Robertson — (state funds) 183,853 203,381 Dingell-Johnson— (state funds) 23,077 36,617 Sub-division of expenditures: Board of control claims 7,758 106 Salaries and wages 3,277,204 3,625,210 Capital outlay 124,063 251,062 Number of positions: Pacific Marine Fisheries Commission 15,100 16,500 Support A^arine Research Committee 136,561 75,550 Filled (743.9) (769.2) Gross authorized (829.7) (829.2) Prior year adjustments to surplus -1-46,134 +48,380 Federal aid Filled (97.0) (112.0) Accumulated surplus—June 30 5,524,206 5,371,543 Gross authorized (97.0) (112.0) Operating expense 2,253,990 2,338,885 Operating deficit (includes prior year adjust Equipment 372,520 262,843 ments) 260,648 152,663 Less reimbursements _ —122,143 —193,141

TABLE 2

FISH AND GAME PRESERVATION FUND

STATEMENT OF REVENUE

1952-53 1953-54 1952-53 1953-54 Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal Fiscal Year Year Year Year

Department of Fish and Game, License Sales Less: Commissions retained by agents selling Angling 33,,475,822 33,776,546 licenses -3288,269 -3308,287 Archery—deer tags _ _ 2,595 3,316 Commercial hunting club 700 850 Net revenue from license sales 35,664,039 Commercial hunting club operator 250 310 Deer tags 374,419 375,407 Court fines Fish breeder 1,345 1,830 Taxes: Fish importer 50 20 Fish packers and fish dealers tax Fish dealers and fish packers 2,855 1,635 Salmon tax Fish canners and processors Kelp harvester tax Fish tags 10,818 11,943 Miscellaneous: Fishing party boat permit 955 2,342 Lease of kelp beds Boat registrations 33,120 Confiscated fish Salmon tags 336 231 Oil royalties Game breeders 6,820 8,020 Miscellaneous revenue Bird club license and tags 3,911 4,369 Game tags 1,959 748 Total Migratory game bird feeding 740 Marine Research Committee, Taxes: Hunting ,701,849 1,765,121 Sardine Kelp harvesters 30 30 Mackerel Commercial fisherman 115,870 121,622 Anchovie 908 950 Trapping . Herring Guide licenses 770 Squid Deer meat permits 9,108 9,373 Deer meat agents—wardens 1,362 1,793 Total, Marine Research Committee. Waterfowl shooting permits 21,277 71,877 Pheasant tags 205,016 214,743 Total, revenue excluding interest on Special big game hunts 14,053 8,692 investments Interest on investments Totals, license sales. 35,952,308 36,416,398 Total revenue _ 36,282,445 80 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

TABLE 3

FISH AND GAME PRESERVATION FUND 1952-53 FISCAL YEAR EXPENDITURES 1953-54 FISCAL YEAR EXPENDITURES

Total, Federal Federal Total, State state and State state and aid aid federal federal

Wildlife Protection. 31,634,088 31,634,088 Wildlife Protection. 31,773,941 31,773,941

Inland Fisheries 1,252,620 1,252,620 Inland Fisheries 1,381,389 1,381,389 Game Management. 1,196,719 1,196,719 Game Management- 1,132,888 1,132,888

Federal aid: research and de- Federal aid —research and development Game velopment: 183,853 551,558 735,411 Game 203,381 3610,142 813,523 Inland Fisheries _. 14,055 42,168 56,223 Inland Fisheries 26,403 79,208 105,611 Marine Fisheries 9,022 27,065 36,087 Marine Fisheries 10,214 30,642 40,856

Total—federal aid__ ?206,930 3620,791 3827,721 Total—federal aid.. 3239,998 3719,992 3959,990

Marine Fisheries' - 870,685 870,685 Marine Fisheries 829,511 829,511

Regional management 334,737 334,737 Regional management 542,511 542,511

Administrative services 516,905 516,905 Administrative services 417,805 417,805

Staff services. management 271,681 271,681 Staff management services. 289,545 289,545

Fixed charges: Fixed charges: General administrative General administrative charges 92,027 92,027 charges 87,160 87,160 Accident and death claims 28,617 28,617 Accident and death claims 56,560 56,560 Automobile insurance 22,479 22,479 Automobile insurance 24,438 24,438 services.. Attorney general 6,000 6,000 Attorney general services 19,799 19,799

Total fixed charges. 3149,123 3149,123 Total fixed charges. 3187,957 3187,957 Conservation Education... 128,661 128,661 Conservation Education 151,309 151,309 Commission 27,078 27,078 Commission 30,075 30,075

Totals 36,589,227 3620,791 37,210,018 Totals 36,976,929 3719,992 37,696,921

Includes Marine Research Committee Expenditures of 3136,561 and Pacific Marine ^Includes Marine Research Committee Expenditures of 375,500 and Pacific Marine Fisheries Commission of 315,100. Fisheries Commission of 316,500. TABLE 4 TABLE 5

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD—WILDLIFE RESTORATION FUND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION BOARD-WILDLIFE RESTORATION FUND 1952-53 FISCAL YEAR EXPENDITURES 1953-54 FISCAL YEAR EXPENDITURES

Support Support Salaries and wages.. 320,250 Salaries and wages.. 323,571 Operating expenses. 14,539 Operating expenses. 11,940 Equipment 293 Equipment 1,216 335,082 336,727 Claim of Secretary, Board of Control 927 Contribution to Retirement System.. 1,426 Contribution to Retirement System. 1,747 Total. 337,435 Total 337,435

Capital outlay projects Capital outlay projects Fish and hatchery stocking projects 490,371 Fish hatchery and stocking projects 884,216 Warm water and other fish projects.. 14,513 Warm water and other fish projects 54,311 Flow maintenance and stream im- Flow maintenance and stream improvement projects 30,369 provement projects 98,645 Fish screen and ladder projects 43,424 Fish screen and ladder projects —6,630 Game farm projects Game farm projects for habitat Upland game projects quail Upland game projects for quail habitat and pheasant development —492 and pheasant development - . 24,220 Waterfowl for and projects acquisition Waterfowl projects for acquisition and improvements of and shoot- feeding improvements of feeding and shooting - grounds 530,063 ing grounds 713,935 General projects of and acquisition General projects of acquisition and con- construction 1,155 struction 1,300 Toul..._ 31,109,403 Total 31,769,997

Total expenditures 31,146,838 Total expenditures.. , 31,808,471 FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 81

TABLE 6 MARINE FISHERIES

SUMMARY OF COSTS FOR 10 YEAR PROGRAM 82 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

TABLE 8

Type of violation FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 83

TABLE 11

FISH DISTRIBUTION AND RESCUE Fish Planted—July 1, 1952, fo June 30, 1953 (Inclusive)— Hatchery Reared Fish Planted in Each Caunty 84 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

TABLE 13

FISH DISTRIBUTION AND RESCUE

Fish Planted—July 1, 1953, to June 30, 1954 (Inclusive)— Hatchery Reared Fish Planted in Each Caunty FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 85

TABLE 14

HATCHERY REARED SALMON AND TROUT PLANTED

July 1, 1953, 86 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

TABLE 20 July 1, 1953, to June 30, 1954 (Inclusive)

CHEMICAL CONTROL OF UNDESIRABLE FISH POPULATIONS July 1, 1952, to June 30, 1954 (Inclusive)

Name of water

REGION I None noted

REGION II Summit Lake. Catfish Lake McMurray Lake Taylor Lake Beacon Road Gravel Pits (3) Round Lake

REGION III Merced Lake Dow Pond Dr>' and Maacama Creeks Pine Lake

REGION IV Snelling Dredger Pond Buttonwillow Lakes (2) .. Olsen Pond ._ Bass Lake _ Bass Lake tributaries Ruth Lakes (3) REGION V Tamarack Lake Tamarack Lake Eleanore Lake Crv'stal Lake* Santa Ysabel Creek Sutherland Reservoir O'Neil Lake Hansen Reservoir FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 87

TABLE 24 TABLE 25

CALIFORNIA ANNUAL DEER KILL (REGULAR SEASON NUMBER OF MOUNTAIN LIONS BOUNTIED BY DEPARTMENT DEER TAG RETURNS) OF FISH AND GAME

Yearly average of kill 1950 1951 1952 1953 County 1927- 1949

1 Alameda 336 386 580 627 763 2 Alpine 435 1,306 1,755 1,277 1,638 3 Amador 191 242 316 322 485 4 Butte 418 794 785 849 1,040 5 Calaveras 277 421 417 413 497

6 Colusa . 336 442 574 541 356 7 Contra Costa. 51 130 178 200 232 8 Del Norte.... 29 53 41 28 33 9 El Dorado... 786 863 1,071 937 1,185 10 Fresno L465 1,733 2,280 1,949 2,407

1 1 Glenn 635 719 712 740 606 12 Humboldt.. 1,163 1,770 2,313 1,792 2,323 13 Imperial 4 10 8 16 23 14 Inyo 417 303 718 308 593 1.5 Kern 355 558 558 655 1,032 16 Kings 11 31 38 29 30 17 Lake 1,319 1,942 2,155 2,0.56 2,146 18 Lassen 1,226 2,243 4,499 1,962 1,519 19 Los Angeles. 698 571 633 572 629 20 Madera 487 508 623 665 745

21 Marin 470 554 767 832 885 22 Mariposa... 221 202 240 232 248 23 Mendocino. 2,173 2,927 3,665 4,252 4,394 24 Merced 90 199 252 388 388 25 Modoc 1,728 2,230 6,077 1,794 1,076 26 Mono 455 1,494 1,973 1,442 2,098 27 Monterey. _ 935 1,705 2,057 1,825 2,023 28 Napa 659 952 983 1,220 1,161 29 Nevada 555 939 1,327 972 1.277 30 Orange 87 112 134 129 173

31 Placer 421 449 655 531 671 32 Plumas 1,461 1,820 2,255 1,671 2,285 33 Riverside 390 380 406 658 354 34 Sacramento 6 16 18 18 21 35 San Benito 405 861 1,217 1,174 1,408 36 San Bernardino 247 210 285 628 455 37 San Diego 429 767 734 719 792 38 San Francisco 39 San Joaquin 23 23 54 43 60 40 San Luis Obispo 623 ,103 1,389 1,115 1,503

41 San Mateo 108 144 135 167 139 42 Santa Barbara. 650 651 815 708 994 43 Santa Clara 590 763 939 1,051 1,172 44 Santa Cruz 111 106 101 118 166 45 Shasta 993 2,154 2,880 1,940 2,566 46 Sierra 625 947 1,126 795 1,032 47 Siskiyou 1,703 2,845 4,034 2,187 2,768 48 Solano 67 102 78 126 113 49 Sonoma 871 1,138 1,447 1,553 1,679 50 Stanislaus 136 221 311 371 471

51 Sutter 1 4 2 52 Tehama 1,241 2,060 3,710 1,623 2,932 53 Trinity 875 1,398 1,119 1,045 1,220 54 Tulare 1,169 889 985 1,087 1,174 55 Tuolumne. _ 601 569 998 956 1,447 56 Ventura 566 728 673 8.56 784 57 Yolo 234 269 264 334 349 58 Yuba 86 171 257 167 244 Not given. 3 200

State-wide totals 32,647 47,128 64,619 50,667 59,004 88 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

TABLE 26

PREDATORY ANIMAL CATCH BY COUNTIES FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 89

TABLE 27

PREDATORY BIRD BOUNTIES PAID BY THE DEPARTMENT 90 DEPARTMENT OF EISH AND GAME

TABLE 30

WATERFOWL MANAGEMENT AREA OPERATIONS

Area FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 91

TABLE 32 TABLE 35

GAME FARM UNITS AND YEARLY CAPACITY PACIFIC MACKEREL LANDINGS BY SEASONS

Game farm 92 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

TABLE 37

SEASONAL CATCH IN TONS OF SARDINES ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST- -EACH SEASON INCLUDES JUNE THROUGH THE FOLLOWING MAY

California Total California British Washing- Grand Season Oregon Pacific Columbia ton total percent northwest Floating San San San Total of total Monterey plants Francisco Pedro Diego California

1916-17. 7,710 17,380 2,440 27,530 27,530 100 1917-18. 80 80 70 23,810 41,340 7,360 72,580 72,660 100 1918-19. 3,640 3,640 450 35,750 32,530 6,810 75,540 79,180 95 1919-20. 3,280 3,280 1,000 43,040 16,580 6,410 67,030 70,310 95 1920-21. 4,400 4,400 230 24,960 11,740 1,520 38,450 42,850 90 1921-22. 990 990 80 16,290 19,220 910 36,500 37,490 97 1922-23. 1,020 1,020 110 29,210 33,170 2,620 65,110 66,130 98 1923-24. 970 970 190 45,920 35,040 2,780 83,930 84,900 99 1924-25. 1,370 1,370 560 67,310 96,330 8,820 173,020 174,390 99 1925-26. 15,950 15,950 560 69,010 61,990 5,710 137,270 153,220 90 1926-27. 48,500 48,500 3,520 81,860 64,720 2,110 152,210 200,710 76 1927-28. 68,430 68,430 16,690 98,020 67,900 4,650 187,260 255,690 73 1928-29. 80,510 80,510 13,520 120,290 119,250 1,420 254,480 334,990 76 1929-30. 86,340 86,340 21,960 160,050 140,540 2,620 325,170 411,510 79 1930-31. 75,070 75,070 10,960 25,970 109,620 38,490 80 185,120 260,190 71 1931-32. 73,600 73,600 31,040 21,610 69,080 42,660 260 164,650 238,250 69 1932-33- 44,350 44,350 58,790 18,630 89,600 83,600 60 250,680 295,030 85 1933-34. 4,050 4,050 67,820 36,340 152,480 125,050 1,750 383,440 387,490 99 1934-35. 43,000 43,000 112,040 69,000 230,860 178,820 4,860 595.580 638,580 93 1935-36. 45,320 10 26,230 71,560 150,830 76,150 184,470 138,400 10,650 560,500 632,060 89 1936-37. 44,450 6,560 14,200 65,210 235,610 141,100 206,710 138,110 4,590 726,120 791,330 92 1937-38. 48,080 17,100 16,660 81,840 67,580 133,720 104,930 109,950 380 416,560 498,400 84 1938-39. 51,770 26,480 17,020 95,270 43,890 201,200 180,990 146,400 2,780 575,260 670,530 86 1939-40. 5,520 17,760 22,330 45,610 212,450 227,870 101,820 110 542,250 587,860 92 1940-41. 28,770 810 3,160 32,740 118,090 165,700 175,590 1.200 460,580 493,320 93 1941-42. 60,050 17,100 15,850 93,000 186,590 250,290 148,910 1,580 587,370 680,370 86 1942-13. 65,880 580 1,950 68,410 115,880 184,400 201,510 2,870 504,660 573,070 88 1943-44. 88,740 10,440 1,820 101,000 126,510 213,620 135,310 2.690 478,130 579,130 83 1944-45. 59,120 20 59,140 136,600 237,250 178,290 2,770 554,910 614,050 90 1945-46. 34,300 2,310 90 36,700 84,100 145,520 173,110 950 403,680 440,380 92 1946-47. 3,990 6,140 3,960 14,090 2,870 31,-240 194,720 4,770 233,600 247,690 94 1947-48. 490 1,360 6,930 8,780 90 17,630 101,150 2,460 121,330 130,110 93 1948-49. 50 5,320 5,370 110 47,830 131,860 3,920 183,720 189,090 97 1949-50. 16,090 130,990 187,260 3,280 337,620 337,620 100 1950-51. 12,730 19,100 318,350 2,910 353,090 353,090 100 1951-52. 80 640 127,030 1,350 129,100 129,100 100 1952-53. 10 5,680 30 5,720 5,720 100 1953-54. 4,140 320 4,460 4,460 100

•Data for British Columbia were supplied by the Canadian Bureau of Statistics and the Province of British Columbia, those for Washington by the Washington Department of Fisheries and for Oregon by the Fish Commission of Oregon. Tonnages delivered to the floating plants were compiled by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from the books of the companies operating off the California coast. California landings were derived from the records of the California Department of Fish and Game. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL REPORT 93

TABLE 40

SALMON MARKING AND RECOVERY,' 1950-1954 94 DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

TABLE 45 TABLE 46

YEARLY LANDINGS IN POUNDS ANCHOVY LANDINGS, 1916-1953, INCLUSIVE Salmon ^

Sacramento- Ocean Other Total San Joaquin rivers- caught Rivers pounds

1916, 5,592,216 3,450,787 1,896,591 10,939,594 1917, 6,085,997 3,975.487 999,097 11,060.581 1918 5,933,346 5,938,029 1,221,813 13,093,188 1919 7,208,382 4,529,222 1,408,123 13,145,727 1920 6,066,190 3,860,312 1,207,317 11,133,819 1921 4,483,105 2,511,127 996,700 7,990,932 1922 4,338,317 1,765,066 1,131,741 7,235,124 1923 3,736,924 2.243.945 1,109,391 7,090,260 1924 6,374,573 2,640,110 1,000,586 10,015,269 1925 5,481,536 2,778,846 1,265,371 9,525,753 1926 3,863,677 1,261,776 958,626 6,084,079 1927 4,921,600 920,786 669,543 6,511,929 1928 3,444,306 553,777 480,483 4,478,566 1929 4.033,660 581,497 429,714 5,044,871 1930 4.085,650 1,213,698 703.546 6,002,894 1931 3,666,841 941,605 686,065 5,294,511 1932 2,649,194 1,264,987 703,990 4,618,171 1933 3,657,661 454,253 446,520 4,558,434 1934 3,921,530 397,572 4,319,102 1935 4,773,112 888,868 5,661,980 1936 4.093,475 949,179 5,042,654 1937 5,934,996 974,871 6,909,867 193S 2,170,921 1,668,376 3,839,297 1939 2,238,755 496,933 2,735,688 1940 5,160,403 1,515,588 6,675,991 1941 2,945,994 844,963 3,790,957 1942 4,063,306 2,552,944 6,616,250 1943 5,285,527 1,295,424 6,580.951 1944 7,021,848 3,265,143 10,286.991 1945 7,912,754 5,467,960 13,380,714 1946 7,134,472 6,524,991 13,659,463 1947 8,080,780 3,403,808 11,484,588 1948 5,829,377 1,932,493 7,761.870 1949 5,530,674 898,364 6,429,038 1950 5,856,850 1,150,313 7,007,163 1951 5,840,984 1,243,395 7,084,379 1952 6,500,390 702,352 7,202,742 1953 6,973,227 865,723 7,838,950

The commercial catch of king and silver salmon in California has not been sep- arated. Occasional samples and partial separation for a few areas are available for a few years. The recent samples indicate that the silver salmon constituted about 9 percent by weight of the ocean catch in 1939-1942. Silver salmon are not taken by the Sacramento-San Joaquin fishery. 'Eel. Klamath, .Mad and Smith Rivers were closed to commercial fishing in 1934. FORTY-THIRD BIENNIAL -REPORT 95

TABLE 49 TABLE 51

CALIFORNIA FISHERIES PRODUCTION MARKET CRAB, CALIFORNIA LANDINGS

1952 1953 Total Year

Total landings, pounds 694,978,340 617,329,389 1,312,307,729 Cases of fish canned 12,474,885 12,358,514 24.833,399 Tons of fish meal produced 33,324 25,121 58,445 Gallons of fish oil produced 1,092,992 814,221 1,907,213 Gallons of liver oil produced 19,570 5,330 24,900

TABLE 50

POUNDS AND VALUE ' OF COMMERCIAL FISH LANDINGS AND SHIPMENTS INTO CALIFORNIA

1952 1953

Species Pounds Pounds Value

Yellowfin tuna 185,517,690 )!29,336,957 140,544,952 822,423,325 Skipjack 88,891,667 11,424,498 130,653,919 17,999,161 Albacore 72,328,039 12,515,283 80,021,442 15,853,920 Salmon 8,127,061 2,109,056 8,775,383 2,192,383 Jack mackerel-. 146,521,673 4,754,969 55,750,855 1,993,198

Anchovy 55,782,870 1,153,156 84,503,703 1,682,966 Bluefin tuna 4,576,685 733,224 9,835,302 1,560,516 Market crab 12,997,411 1,893,011 8,263,717 1,424,434 Sole 20,920,033 1,429,984 17,527,561 1,035, 7i2 Rockfish 10,722,880 610,175 12,224,895 541,371

Sardine 14,330,420 523,120 9,468,953 527,811 Yellowtail 9,446,979 874,228 5,212,383 490,041 Abalone 4,784,033 431,094 4,719,504 438,723 Spiny lobster 807,237 337,589 750,132 352,868 Pacific mackerel 20,604,671 785,464 7,502,181 328,751

Bonito 2,144,823 206,782 3,102,647 302,697 White seabass-. 1,148,706 354,549 909,074 251,554 Barracuda 2,094,793 330,122 1,443,706 240,696 Squid 3,670,923 170,763 8,917,114 205,486 Sablefish 1,889,589 167,894 2,078,450 177,519

Pacific herring _ 9,495,386 225,662 7,975,995 172,880 California hali- but 525,530 127,107 530,461 124,302 Grouper 829,807 164,571 479,658 106,137 Pismo clam 3,192,254 52,992 6,317,152 105,281 Lingcod 1,365,601 107,226 987,430 70,562

Black sea bass . 318,050 49,073 411,979 67,883 Swordfish 313,230 118,292 142,967 67,831 Cabrilla 574,333 86,207 413,305 67,458 Kingfish 3,273,524 127,815 1,201,269 61,659 All other 7,782,442 781,995 6,663,300 617,694

Totals 694,978,340 371,982,858 617,329,389 96 DEPARTiVIENT OF FISH AND GAME

MODOC >NORTI-' KIKIVOU uj^ )j -^

i ^<,^\ f'lHAlT* tAi»lN

THINITY I \ / MAP OF GUZZLER INSTALLATIONS OLOTi Numbers Indicate Number of Guzzlers

S TIHAMA > l.^' ^$^ Total of 2,002 Guzzlers, Jonuory 1, 1954 PLUMAS

UNO^OOINO/ -'/ I (-- ^ . \ I-i (.flLINN •UTTl ; JvS i> (^ ^^ «^tRRA_ « to-OL-0?rV-.'^''">^^-^^* Aakc, (sut^^ub^ /-Vlacer

A>,\alAM10/13J'""*'''^'-, ''MARIPOSA^' \ MONO \ I ^ ' ^ \^_.___ljr _'- ) "^v «An\- SANTA '" '' ^ ; S,^^-;' ^\(o\ INVO UATEcT CLARA ^ MERGED l'"^" '^ (?)• \k^- >

-^ ) ,•' SANTA

/ ^BINlTOv ^-^'^ I ^(i§>. (1D_,^-^,;,*re

^MONTE (sAN LUIsbllSP^ KERN 1

'1,

^ — A Barbara] c *"""*_-" (80 (92) i (Si) \"' I

l/ENTURA \ .;

•0^^=^ r-^/ RIVCRtlDI — R A N O E ^><5vV2§' ' I—1. SAN OIEOO ^-\1

Ci (|79) MPCRIAL

r I N I I t, OlFrcB ttrillird III CALIfOBNIA STAIL R N

(A > z > o o z o- O o I Q "" (Q o "! a - : !5 Ti n I O c = Q > 5 I Q o (5" TO (D z a. > > 5: