FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 72, NO. 1 



Table 2. — Fish larvae collected in CTarke-Bumpus nets during 1960-1970 at Buoy 2] 



ranked by abundance. 



evidence that "good" or "bad" years occurred 

 simultaneously for different species of larvae. 



SEASONAL VARIATIONS 



Total Eggs and Larvae 



The average monthly catch of pelagic fish 

 eggs at Buoy 21 was highest in the summer, 

 with highest values ( > 2/m^) from July to October 

 (Figure 2). Eggs of the northern anchovy 

 {Engraulis mordax) were sometimes abundant 

 during this season. Numbers of fish larvae, 

 on the other hand, peaked early in the year, 

 from February to June, and few larvae were 

 taken after June. C. h. pallasi and L. lepidus 

 larvae were the main contributors to these large 

 larval catches. These two species, and many 



others found in the estuary, have demersal 

 eggs. 



This seasonal maximum of fish larvae in the 

 first half of the year in Yaquina Bay is similar 

 to the seasonality reported in the Straits of 

 Georgia, British Columbia by Parsons, LeBras- 

 seur, and Barraclough (1970). 



Individual Species 



The seasonal occurrence of larvae collected 

 at Buoy 21 is summarized in Table 2. The 

 majority of the larval species were most com- 

 mon in the winter or spring, including C. It. 

 pallasi, Coitus asper, Hypomesus pretiosus, 

 Paropltrys retulus, Anintodytes hexapterus, 

 Luinpenus sagitta, Auoplarchus sp., Pholis 

 oruata, and Euophi-ys bisou. L. lepidus was 



Table 3. — Average abundance of the six most common fish larvae by year, 1960-1970, 



Clarke-Bumpus samples. Buoy 21. 



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