The commanding position of the tunas in the world’s fisheries attracts an increasing attention to the exploration of tropical waters. Lying within this belt of warm waters, the Philippine seas naturally constitute an integral unit of the great tuna fisheries of the Asiatic quadrant of the Pacific, which in the past had produced 78 per cent of the Pacific tonnage. Realizing this potentiality of Philippine waters for tuna exploitation ventures, the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries plans to launch a large scale investigation of the areas that bear promise of excellent yields in the light of our present knowledge of the oceanography of Philippine waters. Such areas as southeastern Mindanao, where the Pacific Equatorial Current begins, and northeastern Luzon which is known to be within the path of tuna migration will be intensively investigated. For this purpose, the 187-ton M/S Fisheries of the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries will be used.
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