FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 73, NO. 2 



two cruises in spite of these differences in salinity. 



In February menhaden larv^ae were taken from 

 Virginia to Cape Lookout (Figure 9). They prob- 

 ably occurred farther south than we sampled since 

 they were most abundant on our southernmost 

 transect. Most larvae were taken between Cape 

 Hatteras and Cape Lookout. Lengths presented a 

 fairly symmetrical distribution with a peak at 13 

 mm (Figure 2). There is indication again that the 

 larger fish were taken nearer to shore and farther 

 north than the smaller fish. Few fish shorter than 8 

 mm were seen at this time, and the maximum 

 length was 29 mm. Apparently, at about this size 

 menhaden have either entered estuaries or can 

 avoid our nets. In winter the temperature was 4°C 

 at 11 of the 23 stations where menhaden were 

 taken; it was less than 3°C at 4 stations (Figure 9). 

 Water at these stations was practically isothermal 

 with depth (Clark et al. 1969). 



During April larvae occurred in approximately 

 the same areas as in February (Figure 10). Fewer, 

 larger larvae were taken between Chesapeake Bay 

 and Ocracoke Inlet, N.C., than earlier. Larvae 

 north of Cape Hatteras ranged from 21 to 29 mm. 

 Off Ocracoke Inlet larvae were 11-19 mm. The 

 larger larvae north of Cape Hatteras were taken 

 nearshore; those farther south extended 37 km 

 offshore. A bimodal length-frequency curve had 

 peaks centered at 15 and 24 mm, although in- 

 sufficient numbers of fish were collected to deter- 

 mine the statistical significance (Figure 2). By 

 April, temperatures in the areas of capture were 

 warmer than winter temperatures, above 8°C, and 

 mostly between 10° and 12° (Figure 10). Salinity 

 ranged from 30.3 to 35.6"/ «,. 



In May a few large (25-26 mm) larvae were 

 taken off Virginia, inshore near Chesapeake Bay 

 (Figure 11). These were apparently remnants of 

 the early winter spawning, the rest of the larvae 

 having already entered estuaries. Water in the 

 areas of capture had warmed to 13° to 17°C 

 (Figure 11). Salinity was generally lower, from 

 28.4 to 31.2'Vm, due to spring freshening nearshore 

 (Clark et al. 1969). 



Temperature-Salinity Relations 



The catches of menhaden larvae during all 

 cruises in the shallow net were compared 



Figure 7.-Distribution and abundance of menhaden larvae and 

 distribution of menhaden eggs in the November-December 1966 

 cruise. 



ATLANTIC MENHADEN LARVAE 

 CRUISE D-64-14 

 NOV. 9 -DEC. 4, 1966 



324 



