394 



Fishery Bulletin 9 1 (2), 1993 



Fall-spawned fish are the least represented cohort 

 among juveniles and are known mostly from larval 

 surveys (e.g., Kendall & Walford 1979, Collins & 

 Stender 1987). Collins & Stender ( 1987) reported blue- 

 fish larvae <4mm in the SAB to be more abundant in 

 the spring compared with the fall. Other estuarine 

 surveys have collected small bluefish (<100mm) from 

 October-March in the SAB (Table 3) which strongly 

 suggests that at least some fall-spawned fish do re- 

 cruit to estuaries. 



We suggest that the fall-spawned cohort contributes 

 the least, the summer-spawned cohort contributes 

 somewhat more, and the spring-spawned cohort con- 

 tributes the most to the Atlantic coast bluefish popula- 

 tion, at least in recent years. It is not clear why such 

 differences in abundance among cohorts occur nor for 

 how long such differences persist. The spring-spawned 

 cohort may be more abundant because it is spawned 

 at a place and time enabling invasion of estuaries 

 within the SAB, as well as to estuaries as far north as 

 Maine (Targett & McCleave 1974). The fall-spawned 

 cohort may be less abundant, on average, as it is likely 

 to experience colder temperatures and lower food sup- 

 plies relative to the other cohorts. 



Estuaries of the MAB may be more important as 

 nursery grounds for bluefish than are those of the SAB. 

 Summer abundances of spring- and summer-spawned 

 YOY bluefish in New York Bight estuaries are appar- 

 ently much higher (0.2-6.3 fish/30m seine haul; 

 McBride & Conover 1991) than in the SAB, based on 

 small numbers of bluefish collected during year-long 

 studies in the south (Table 3). Rountree & Able (1992) 

 also found YOY bluefish to be very common (sixth most 

 abundant fish of 63 spp.) in New Jersey marsh creeks, 

 in contrast to much lower relative abundances in simi- 

 lar polyhaline creeks in the SAB (e.g., Cain & Dean 

 1976). The wide latitudinal distribution and movements 

 of young bluefish, within and between the Middle and 

 South Atlantic Bights, demonstrate the need to moni- 

 tor and manage bluefish on a large geographic scale 

 (i.e., nearly the entire U.S. Atlantic coast). 



Acknowledgments 



We thank E. Day, P. Kenny, V. Ogburn-Matthews, and 

 B. Stender for their help in collecting samples and 

 arranging collecting trips in South Carolina. J. Hare, 

 W. Morse, and R. Rountree offered helpful suggestions 

 on the manuscript. This project was partially funded 

 by grants to D.O.C. from the Office of Sea Grant, Na- 

 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, un- 

 der grant NA86AA-D-SG045 to the New York Sea Grant 

 Institute and from the New York State Department of 

 Environmental Conservation. 



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