and length of those caught inshore, indicated that 

 more spawning occurs offshore than inshore. 



Spot, 1973-74 Season 



Although samples were taken from May 1973 

 through April 1974, not all stations were sampled 

 each month, and no spot larvae were caught until 

 November. In November, one larva (7.6 mm) was 

 caught at an offshore station, none were caught at es- 

 tuarine stations, and only five (all preflexion larvae, 

 2.0-4.0 mm) were caught at inshore stations (Table 

 2). The presence of preflexion larvae indicated that 

 spot had spawned recently, and the presence of the 

 postflexion larva (7.6 mm) denoted that some spot 

 had spawned as early as October. However, low 

 abundance of larvae in October samples, taken over 

 two spawning seasons, indicated only limited early- 

 season spawning. In December, larvae were caught at 

 the only two offshore stations sampled and at four in- 

 shore stations, but none were caught at any estuarine 

 stations. Preflexion larvae were caught at both 

 offshore stations and at one inshore station. In 

 January, more spot larvae were caught in each of the 

 three sampling areas than at any other time of the 

 current season. Larvae were caught at all offshore 

 and four inshore stations. Preflexion larvae, captured 

 at five offshore stations and one inshore station, in- 

 dicated that spot had recently spawned and that 

 spawning was widespread within and probably out- 

 side the sampling area. Other larvae ranged up to 9.5 

 mm offshore and up to 13.2 mm inshore. A few larvae, 

 ranging from 11.6 to 16.0 mm, were caught at es- 

 tuarine stations. In February, the number of larvae 

 showed a marked decline; only three were caught at 

 offshore, five at inshore, and two at estuarine 

 stations. Preflexion larvae were caught at one 

 offshore station. The remaining larvae ranged from 

 7.2 to 1 1.7 mm at other offshore and inshore stations. 

 Larvae caught at estuarine stations measured 12.9 

 and 14.6 mm. In March, only four larvae were caught, 

 all postflexion, ranging from 7.2 mm at offshore 

 stations to 14.8 mm at estuarine stations. In April, 

 one 4 mm larva was caught at an offshore station, 

 and none were caught at inshore or estuarine sta- 

 tions. 



From October through March an average of 28.8 

 and 1.6 spot larvae/station sampled were caught at 

 offshore and inshore stations, respectively. Larval 

 abundance peaked at offshore and inshore stations in 

 January, as compared with December of the previous 

 season. Abundance at estuarine stations was very 

 low; six larvae were caught in January, two in Feb- 

 ruary, and two in March. In December, mean lengths 



increased from offshore to inshore (no larvae were 

 caught in the estuary), and from January through 

 March mean lengths progressively increased from 

 offshore to the estuary. As during the 1972-73 

 spawning season, the large number and relatively 

 small size of larvae caught offshore, compared with 

 those caught inshore, indicated that more spawning 

 occurs offshore than inshore. 



Atlantic Croaker, 1972-73 Season 



No samples were taken prior to October 1972, but 

 number and size of larvae collected in October in- 

 dicated that Atlantic croaker had spawned in Sep- 

 tember. In October, larvae were caught at three 

 offshore, six inshore, and two estuarine stations (Ta- 

 ble 3). Preflexion larvae (2.0-4.0 mm), indicative of 

 recent spawning, were caught at three offshore 

 stations and at five inshore stations. Larvae caught at 

 estuarine stations ranged from 4.3 to 9.9 mm and in- 

 cluded both flexion and postflexion larvae. These 

 Atlantic croaker larvae were recruited into the es- 

 tuary at a much smaller size and about 3 mo earlier 

 than spot larvae. In November, Atlantic croaker lar- 

 vae were caught at all offshore and inshore stations, 

 but were not caught at any estuarine stations. The 

 presence of preflexion larvae, caught at five offshore 

 and five inshore stations, indicated that spawning 

 was widespread within and probably outside our 

 sampling area. In December, larvae were caught at all 

 offshore and four inshore stations. Preflexion larvae 

 continued to be quite abundant and occurred at three 

 offshore and four inshore stations. Only postflexion 

 larvae were caught at estuarine stations. Preflexion 

 larvae were not caught after December, indicating 

 that spawning had probably ended or at least 

 diminished. In January, larval abundance declined in 

 each area, but larvae were caught at all offshore, 

 three inshore, and two estuarine stations. In Feb- 

 ruary, larval abundance increased slightly at offshore 

 and inshore stations and showed a marked increase 

 at estuarine stations. Larvae were caught at four 

 offshore, three inshore, and all estuarine stations. In 

 March, mean length and number of larvae caught in 

 each area declined from the previous month. Larvae 

 were caught at two offshore, four inshore, and three 

 estuarine stations. No samples were taken in April, 

 and no larvae were caught after March. 



From October through March, an average of 10.6 

 and 5.0 Atlantic croaker larvae/station sampled were 

 caught offshore and inshore, respectively. Abun- 

 dance peaked at offshore stations in November ( 1 mo 

 earlier than spot larvae) , at inshore stations in Decem- 

 ber (same as spot), and at estuarine stations in Feb- 



408 



