FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 74, NO. 3 



y/.'fi 



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75° 



70° 



65° 60"= 



Figure l.-ICNAF Subareas 5 and 6. 



55° 



during daylight hours. The primary objective of 

 each of the flights vi^as to observe as many vessels 

 as possible. (U.S. and Canadian vessels were not 

 considered to be of major concern and therefore 

 were not sought out.) Flight paths were therefore 

 not set as required by a probability sampling 

 scheme; rather, a searching technique was em- 

 ployed. Flights were first directed to areas of 

 likely fleet concentration. Such areas were deter- 

 mined from seasonal fleet locations observed on 

 overflights in preceding years and the reports of 

 current fleet locations by U.S. fishers. In the event 

 that major fleet concentrations were not encoun- 

 tered at the expected location or on the way to it, 

 the area was searched as extensively as the range 

 of the aircraft would permit. 



During late winter and early spring these dis- 

 tant-water fishing fleets were concentrated from 

 off New Jersey southward, so that fishing surveil- 

 lance operations based in Virginia covered these 



fishing grounds. In late spring, the fleets moved 

 northward to fishing grounds off New Jersey and 

 New York, and flight paths were directed to those 

 areas. During the summer and fall, surveillance 

 flights originating on Cape Cod, Mass., monitored 

 fishing areas on Georges Bank, Nantucket Shoals, 

 and, to some extent, areas in the Gulf of Maine. 

 The fleets moved southward with winter so that 

 fisheries surveillance again became concentrated 

 in areas off New York and New Jersey. 



Upon encountering a cluster of fishing vessels, 

 fisheries surveillance agents recorded the hull 

 identification number, name, and nationality of 

 each vessel. Other information including the 

 fishing gear in use and operational mode (i.e., 

 engaged in fishing operations or in other activi- 

 ties) at the time of sighting was also recorded. 

 Vessels were judged to be fishing if any evidence 

 was apparent that fishing had occurred on that 

 day. Since ICNAF defines a day fished as a day in 



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