CalCOFI Reports, Vol. 23, 1982 - California Cooperative Oceanic ...

BAXTER: MARINE RESEARCH COMMmEE AND CalCOFICalCOFI Rep., Vol. XXIII, 1982and just enough to improve our preliminary appraisalsof the magnitude of the anchovy resource. During thisphase, a limit of 200,000 tons should be placed on theanchovy fishery, and the sardine fishery should belimited to 10,000 tons. Percentages were also establishedfor north and south of the Baja California border.The amounts to be removed during phase 11, and theareal distribution of the limits of these species mustawait the results of phase I. We hazarded a guess atthat time that during phase I1 the anchovy quota mightbe raised about fifty percent, providing the results ofphase I are not widely different from preliminary expectations.Phase 111, we felt, couldn’t be specified at all beyondindicating its objective, which was to restore thepredecline balance between sardines and anchoviesand maximize the harvest consistent with all usesfood,recreation, and so forth.Although the great experiment really has nevercome off, as a result of CalCOFI’s and MRC’s activeparticipation in the program, the Fish and GameCommission took a big step in 1964. They changedtheir policy on allowing the reduction of anchovies,which had been banned since about 1920, and permitteda quota of 75,000 tons. Because of many restrictionsand small fishing zones, it was almost impossiblefor the fishery to really develop.A fishery has continued since, with catches of up to165,000 tons. Opposition by sportsmen and even othercommercia1 groups was so great over the years that thefishery has never operated as the “experiment” thatthe proposal called for.Anyway, shortly after receiving his Ph.D. in late1965, Murphy left CalCOFI and took a position at theUniversity of Hawaii. In fact, I am told he is the onlyperson known who went from a graduate student to afull professor and took a cut in pay! Phil Roedel, whoreally should be up here instead of me, succeededDick Croker as secretary of MRC and was named theacting coordinator after Murphy left, a position heheld until the mid-seventies. Then Marston Sargentcame on and served as the MRC coordinator frommid-1971 until his retirement in 1974. Thereafter, Iguess a number of people have served as coordinator-HerbFrey, I know, for a number of years,then George Hemingway, and now Reuben Lasker.I was asked to speak on the role of MRC and Cal-COFI, and what I have discussed is a combination oftheir roles and a history of their activities. The MarineResearch Committee was established at a time whenthe sardine fishery was showing very strong signs ofoverfishing. California Fish and Game was urgingcurtailment of the catch, and had been for a number ofyears. Others were questioning that fishing was thecause of the failure of the sardine fishery. The industryagreed to tax itself to fund needed studies. Whatstarted as a delaying tactic to avoid management resultedin a research program that has provided muchbetter understanding of the California Current system,and technological development that otherwise mightnot have been possible.Of course, we lost the sardine, and I leave it to youto decide whether it was all worth it. CalCOFI continuestoday even without MRC. Would it have gottenstarted and prospered as it has without the small startMRC provided, without the coordination made possibleby MRC, without the political clout that MRC andits members exerted, which resulted in added fundingfrom other sources for furthering the CalCOFI researchprogram? Again, you decide. Thank you.* * *Lasker: Jack, I wonder if you would consider today’svery large anchovy fishery as the experiment you weretalking about, considering that a total of 300,000 tonsof anchovy is now being taken from both sides of theborder.Baxter: I considered that, and I conveniently left itout, but, yes, I agree. Of course, it hasn’t gone on forthree years. We haven’t monitored as closely, I think,as our origial experiment envisioned. But even withthe drop in anchovy biomass on our side of the borderin recent years, the sardine has failed to reestablishitself. It makes me wonder, too, but I still think it wasworth the try.Question: Jack, may I answer Lasker’s question?The reason we can’t really come off with the experimentis that there are not enough sardines left. Rememberthat we were going to cut the harvest of thesardines to 10,OOO tons. At this time I don’t think thereare 10,000 tons or close to 10,000 tons of spawningbiomass left.Comment: It’s too small to measure by our presentmethods anyway.38