NICHOLSON: ATLANTIC MENHADEN PURSE-SEINE FISHERY 



As older fish decreased in abundance, fisheries 

 dependent on them declined. No menhaden were 

 landed after 1958 at Portland, after 1962 at 

 Gloucester, or after 1963 at Point Judith. After 

 the 1958 year class ceased to contribute largfe 

 numbers to the catch, the Amagansett, Port Mon- 

 mouth, and Tuckerton catches dropped sharply. 

 As catches declined and plants closed or reduced 

 fishing, effort also dropped. By 1968 only 136 

 vessel weeks were expended in the North and 

 Middle Atlantic, as compared with 1,265 in 1962. 



Effort in areas where age-1 and -2 fish were 

 predominant continued to be high. In 1968, 846 

 vessel weeks were expended in the South Atlantic 

 and Chesapeake Bay, as compared with 909 in 

 1962. 



Changes in the catch and the catch per vessel 

 week suggest that the decline in numbers of fish 

 older than age 2 was much greater than the de- 

 cline in numbers of fish younger than age 3. 



If recruitment is dependent on spawning popu- 

 lation size, and spawning population size is de- 

 pendent on the escapement of pres])awning age 

 fish, the total yield will be limited by the amount 

 of escapement. Schaaf and Huntsman" have 

 shown that with present levels of fishing effort, 

 the spawning stock of Atlantic menhaden is in- 

 adequate for recovery of the population. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Broadhead, G. C. 



19fi2. Recent changes in the efficiency of vessels 

 fishing for yellowfin tuna in the Eastern Pacific 

 Ocean. Inter- Am. Trop. Tuna Comm., Bull. 6: 

 283-316. 

 Clark, F. N., and A. E. Daugherty. 



1950. Average lunar month catch by California 

 sardine fishermen, 1932-33 through 1948-49. Calif. 

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 HiGHAM, J. R., Jr., and W. R. Nicholson. 



1964. Sexual maturation and spawning of Atlantic 

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 255-271. 

 June, F. C. 



1963. The menhaden fishery. In M. E. Stansby 



" Schaaf, William E., and Gene R. Huntsman. Pop- 

 ulation dynamics of the Atlantic menhaden: An analy- 

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(editor) , Industrial fishery technology, p. 146-159. 

 Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York. 



June, F. C, and W. R. Nicholson. 



1964. Age and size composition of the menhaden 

 catch along the Atlantic coast of the United States, 

 1958; with a brief review of the commercial fish- 

 ery. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Spec. Sci. Rep. Fish. 

 46, 40 p. 



June, F. C, and J. W. Reintjes. 



1957. Survey of the ocean fisheries off Delaware 

 Bay. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Spec. Sci. Rep. Fish. 

 222, 55 p. 



1959. Age and size composition of the menhaden 

 catch along the Atlantic coast of the United States. 

 1952-55; with a brief review of the commercial 

 fishery. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Spec. Sci. Rep. 

 Fish. 317, 65 p. 



1960. Age and size composition of the menhaden 

 catch along the Atlantic coast of the United States, 

 1956; with a brief review of the commercial fish- 

 ery. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Spec. Sci. Rep. Fish. 

 336, 38 p. 



Kreutzer, C. O. 



1959. The use of electricity in commercial fi.shing 

 in the sea. Proc. Gulf Caribb. Fish. Inst. 11: 

 50-52. 

 Mark, J. C. 



1950. Apparent abundance of the pilchard {Sardi- 

 nops caerulea) off Oregon and Washington, 1935- 

 43, as measured by the catch per boat. U.S. Fish 

 Wildl. Serv., Fish. Bull. 51: 385-394. 



NiCHOL.SON, W. R., AND J. R. HiGHAM, jR. 



1964. Age and size composition of the menhaden 

 catch along the Atlantic coast of the United States, 

 1959; with a brief review of the commercial fish- 

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 478, 34 p. 

 ROBAS, J. S. 



1959. Menhaden purse seining. In H. Kristjonsson 

 (editor). Modern fishing gear of the world, p. 394- 

 399. Fishing News (Books) Ltd., London. 

 Schmidt, P. G., Jr. 



1959a. New purse-seining techniques in the men- 

 haden fishery employing the power block. Proc. 

 Gulf Caribb. Fish. Inst. 11: 46-50. 



1959b. The Puretic power block and its effect on 

 modern purse seining. In H. Kristjonsson (edi- 

 tor) , Modern fishing gear of the world, p. 400-413. 

 Fishing News (Books) Ltd., London. 



ShIMADA, B. M., AND M. B. SCHAEFER. 



1956. A study of changes in fishing effort, abun- 

 dance, and yield for yellowfin and skipjack tuna 

 in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. Inter- 

 Am. Trop. Tuna Comm., Bull. 1: 351-421. 



SiLLIMAN, R. P., AND F. N. ClARK. 



1945. Catch per-unit-of-effort in California waters 

 of the sardine (Sardinops caerulea) 1932-42. 

 Calif. Div. Fish Game, Fish. Bull. 62, 76 p. 



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