Sardine fishing in the early 20th century.

Abstract

In their Review “From anchovies to sardines and back: multidecadal change in the Pacific Ocean” (10 Jan., p. [217][1]), F. P. Chavez et al. describe regime shifts in the Pacific that are supposed to correspond with cycles in the populations of anchovies and sardines that are “difficult to explain on the basis of fishing pressure.” For example, they describe a cool “anchovy regime” from about 1900 to 1925, followed by a warm “sardine regime” from about 1925 to 1950, which they link with the boom in the California sardine fishery. Perhaps Chavez et al. are correct in general, but the California sardine fishery in the early part of the 20th century was documented in remarkable detail in the Fish Bulletin series of the Division of Fish and Game of California, because it was recognized that detailed knowledge of the fishery “is particularly necessary when applying any form of catch analysis… as a means of demonstrating the presence or absence of depletion or of natural fluctuations in supply” ([1][2], p. 5). This history indicates that sardines were abundant during the supposed “anchovy regime” of the early 20th century. Sardine fishing in Monterey began around 1903, and the fishery was substantial enough by 1919 that the division established a laboratory at Hopkins Marine Station (adjacent to the developing “Cannery Row” in Monterey) to monitor it. Presumably, the canneries were built in response to the existing rather than anticipated abundance of sardines, and catch was limited by demand rather than supply. Figure 3 from Fish Bulletin 19 ([1][2]) (at left) shows the location of catches in Monterey Bay in the 1921–22 season, which was described as typical for 1919–26 (with no suggestion that abundance had recently increased). About 75% of the catches were made within 5 miles of the canneries. This did not last. Fish Bulletin 19 notes that “[p]eriods of scarcity of sardines in the bay have been repeated since 1925, and the intervals of failure are apparently increasing in duration. This has led to a belief among many fishermen that the greatly increased seasonal catch of the last four years (1926-1929) has been too great a drain upon the local supply of fish” ([1][2], p. 9). The catch continued to increase, but only as the small, open, lampara boats that characterized the fishery during the supposed “anchovy regime” were replaced by purse seiners that were large and fast enough to work up and down the open coast. ![Figure][3] Locality of sardine catches. The fishing season 1921–22 is represented and illustrates the concentration of catches in the cove of the bay near the town of Monterey, where the canneries are located. Locality names are those used by fishermen. [Reprinted from ( 1 )] The developing understanding of oceanic regime shifts should be a great help to fisheries management, but fisheries still need to be managed. I am perhaps unusually sensitive on this point, having participated briefly in the Monterey sardine fishery near the time of its final collapse in the late 1950s, when spotters in small planes helped us find the few remaining small schools along the Central California coast. 1. 1.[↵][4] 1. W. L. Scofield , Sardine fishing methods at Monterey, California, Fish Bulletin No. 19 (Division of Fish and Game of California, Sacramento, CA, 1929). # Response {#article-title-2} Our Review describes basin-scale synchrony in the catches of several commercially important stocks of small pelagic fish. It is this synchrony that we suggest is “difficult to explain on the basis of fishing pressure.” We thank Williams for calling our attention to the early literature on the California sardine fishery, but argue that the data he presents is consistent with our Review. Figure 1 (above) from the seminal paper by Kawasaki ([1][5]) shows that the California sardine catch in the 1921–22 season was very similar to the catch after the decline of the fishery in the 1950s. These levels are about an order of magnitude smaller than the highest catches recorded around 1935. The sharp increase in catches began a few years after 1922. Further, although Monterey Bay was the nucleus of the California sardine fishery, catch in Monterey Bay does not always represent that for the entire California domain (including Baja). Monterey Bay may be a refuge during environmentally adverse periods. We must also make clear that the period for the multidecadal changes fluctuates between 40 and 60 years. A close look at Fig. 1 in our Review shows that in panels A, B, and C, the change of sign occurs closer to 1920. Finally, there is no mention in our Review of not managing fisheries, only that knowing about this natural variability, as Williams himself notes, should be a great help to fisheries management. ![Figure][3] Locality of sardine catches. The fishing season 1921–22 is represented and illustrates the concentration of catches in the cove of the bay near the town of Monterey, where the canneries are located. Locality names are those used by fishermen. [Reprinted from ( 1 )] 1. 1.[↵][6] 1. T. Kawasaki , FAO Fish. Rep. 291, 1065 (1983). [OpenUrl][7] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1075880 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: pending:yes [4]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1. in text [5]: #ref-2 [6]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 1. in text [7]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DFAO%2BFish.%2BRep.%26rft.volume%253D291%26rft.spage%253D1065%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx