GEOGRAPHIC AND HYDROGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF 



ATLANTIC MENHADEN EGGS AND LARVAE ALONG THE MIDDLE 



ATLANTIC COAST FROM RV DOLPHIN CRUISES, 1965-66 



Arthur W. Kendall, Jr.' and John W. Reintjes- 

 ABSTRACT 



Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, eggs and larvae were collected during eight ichthyoplankton 

 cruises of the RV Dolphin from December 1965 to December 1966. On each cruise tows were made with 

 a Gulf V plankton net at 92 stations along 14 transects from the coast to the edge of the continental 

 shelf from Martha's Vineyard, Mass., to Cape Lookout, N.C. Larvae resulting from a protracted 

 spawning season were taken throughout the year. Eggs were taken over the middle of the shelf in fall. 

 Seasonal shifts in geographic pattern of larvae indicated spawning started in summer off New Jersey 

 and New York, became widespread in the Middle Atlantic Bight in fall, and continued into winter off 

 North Carolina. Larvae were equally distributed in shallow (0-15 m) and deep (18-33 m) tows during 

 night and day. Larvae occurred over a water temperature range from 0° to 25°C and a salinity range of 

 29 to 36"/ 00. Seasonal distribution of larvae suggests some of the annual variation in year classes may be 

 due to cold-related mortality of larvae entering middle Atlantic estuaries in late fall. 



Along the Atlantic coast spawning and early 

 development of many fishes occur in the ocean. 

 The distribution of early stages of most coastal 

 species is inadequately known. Personnel of the 

 Sandy Hook Marine Laboratory designed a 

 program to determine the spawning times and 

 localities of migratory coastal fishes through a 

 series of cruises off the Atlantic coast from 

 Martha's Vineyard, Mass., to Cape Lookout, N.C. 

 From December 1965 to December 1966 eight sur- 

 vey cruises were conducted to collect fish eggs, 

 larvae, and juveniles. These cruises, together with 

 data on juvenile and adult distribution, provided 

 information on the oceanic life history of most of 

 the commercial and sport fishes of the region. 



Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus (La- 

 trobe), an important commercial and forage fish, 

 was among the species collected during this sur- 

 vey. The early life history of menhaden has 

 puzzled scientists since early accounts by Baird 

 (1873) and Goode (1879). The eggs and larvae were 

 first described by Kuntz and Radcliffe (1917). 

 After early development at sea, the larvae enter 

 estuaries along the coast where they me- 

 tamorphose into juveniles. June and Chamberlin 

 (1959) concisely review the estuarine stage of 

 menhaden. 



'Middle Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Center Sandy Hook 

 Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 

 Highlands, NJ 07732. 



'Atlantic Estuarine Fisheries Center, National Marine 

 Fisheries Service, NOAA, Beaufort, NC 28516. 



The seasonal cycle of menhaden spawning has 

 been inferred from ovary studies by Higham and 

 Nicholson (1964). From Maine to eastern Long 

 Island ovarian development starts in May and 

 reaches a peak in October. The seasonal occurrence 

 of sexually mature fish begins in New Jersey and 

 Delaware in April, continues sporadically in 

 summer, and reaches a peak in October. Around 

 Cape Hatteras maturing fish were taken mainly in 

 late fall; some are found as late as March. 



Atlantic menhaden eggs and larvae have been 

 collected offshore and in estuarine waters along 

 the Atlantic coast (Table 1). These collections show 

 a pattern similar to that found by Higham and 

 Nicholson (1964). Spawning off New England oc- 

 curs in late spring and early summer and again in 

 early fall. Off the middle Atlantic coast eggs and 

 larvae are found in late fall and in spring. Off 

 North Carolina young occur in winter and spring. 



Inlet and estuarine studies have collected larval 

 menhaden as they emigrate from the ocean (Table 

 1). The time of entry varies considerably along the 

 coast and from year to year in the same estuarine 

 areas. In some years entry occurs in late fall, 

 before lowest temperatures are reached. In other 

 years entry occurs primarily as temperatures are 

 warming in early spring. Larvae in the estuaries 

 are apparently killed if winter temperatures fall 

 below 3°C (Reintjes and Pacheco 1966). Emigra- 

 tion from the estuaries varies from late August in 

 the north to January in the south, with some 



Manuscript accepted August 1974. 

 FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 73, NO. 2, 1975. 



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