CalCOFI Reports, Vol. 11, 1967 - California Cooperative Oceanic ...

A NOTE ON THE BIOLOGY AND FISHERY OF THE JAPANESE ANCHOVYENGRAULIS JAPONICA (HOUTTUYN)SlGElTl HAYASITokai Regional FisheriesResearch laboratoryTokyo, JapanINTRODUCTIONOne of the most prolific groups of fishes in theJapanese fisheries has been iwasi which comprisesthree clupeoid species including the sardine, SardinopsmeZanosticta (Temminck & Schlegel) , round herring,Etrumeus micropus (Temminck & Schlegel) , andanchovy. These three species have been caught byvarious types of fishing methods in almost all of thecoastal waters around Japan, not only at stages aftermetamorphosis but also at postlarval stages under acommercial name of sirasu, in combination with a fewrelated fishes (Hayasi 1961). The total catch of iwasireached 1,130,000 metric tons, or 42 percent of thetotal fish landings in Japan during 1929 through1938 (Nakai 1962b). Even though the catch of iwasi,including sirasu, has decreased since the 1940 's, thelandings in 1962 still measured 511,000 tons, comprising12 percent of all the fishes landed by the Japanesefleet based at domestic ports (Statistics & Survey Division,MAP 1963).The anchovy comprised only a few percent of theiwasi during the prosperous period (Nakai et al.1955, Kurita and Tanaka 1956). The catch of thissmall fish has increased since the drastic decrease ofthe sardine in the early 1940's, comprising about ninepercent of the total fish landings, or 67 percent ofiwasi for the recent 5 years from 1958 through 1962(Statistics & Survey Division, MAF 1959-63). Furthermore,the anchovy is regarded to be of greatconsequence in the biological production of the oceanas a major source of food for many important fishes.In 1949, a nation-wide research program, the CooperativeIwasi Resources Investigations (renamedthe Cooperative Investigations on the Important Neritic-PelagicFisheries Resources in Japan in 1955) ,started with the primary aim of elucidating reasonsfor fluctuations in the sardine population. Consequently,biological information has been obtained soas to permit biologists to present opinions regardingregulation and prediction not only of the sardine butalso of the anchovy as shown in the progress reportsof the programs (Nakai et al. 1955, Murakami andHayano 1955, Yokota and Asami 1956, Yamanakaand Ito 1957, Ishigaki et aZ. 1959, Ex. Com., Conf. Invest.Neritic-Pelagic Fisher. Japan 1961-63). TheConference of the Fisheries Agency, Japanese Government,for Fisheries Resources Investigations thatwas founded in 1962 will continue to publish the1 Present address : Far Seas Fisheries Research Laboratory,Orido 1,000, Shimizu, Shizuoka-ken, Japan.progress of the investigations. In addition, severalindividual biologists have presented comprehensivepapers on the Japanese anchovy, mainly in the prosperousfishing areas. Hayasi (1961) , Asami (1962)and Takao (1964) discussed the investigations andmanagement of the species and fisheries on the Pacificcoasts of Honsyu, Sikoku and Kyusyu, and in the Set0Inland Sea, respectively. Kubo (1961) has given areview of works on the species under discussion.In spite of a number of investigations, however, itis still difficult to assess and forecast the anchovypopulation. Such deficit is noticed not only in theanchovy study but in the fishery biology of variousspecies (Ex. Com., Conf. Invest. Neritic-PelagicFisher. Japan, 1961-63, Sato 1961,1964). The presentauthor has attempted to abstract the recent fisheryinvestigations in Japan and introduce a new methodologythrough compiling this note that comprises (i)a brief description of fisheries, (ii) a remark on thecooperative investigation programs and (iii) biologicalinformation on the Japanese anchovy.A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FISHERIESHayasi (1961) outlined fluctuations in the amountof the anchovy catch and its regional distribution inJapan for 53 years between 1905 and 1957 as wellas major fishing gear, fishing seasons and size compositionof the catch on the basis of the catch statisticscompiled by the Statistics & Survey Division, MAP,and information reported by workers who dealt withfisheries for iwasi. The following descriptions aremainly taken from this paper. Details of the historyof development, construction and methods of operationof the fishing gear are summarized by Miyazaki(1960).History of LandingsExaminations of shell mounds, historical documentsand literary works indicate that iwasi, including theanchovy, sardine and round herring, had been exploitedby some kinds of nets, and that commercialfisheries have existed since the tenth century in variousparts of Japan (Kishinouye 1908, 1911, Tagawa1903, Fukuyo 1947, Yamaguchi 1947, Uda 1952, Yokota1953, Nakai 1960, 1962b, Hayasi 1961). Accordingto preliminary investigations of fisheries in Japan,the anchovy was one of the most abundant fishesaround 1890 (Agriculture Bureau, MAC, 1891-93).In 1894 the Statistics and Survey Division, MAF,commenced to publish a series of statistical year books