110 



Fishery Bulletin 101(1) 



According to the sizes of individuals captured by plank- 

 ton net in the water column, versus those collected by 

 otter trawl on the bottom, settlement may occur over a 

 broad size range, i.e. approximately 10-40 mm TL. Scale 

 formation in Atlantic croaker begins at 14-16 mm SL and 

 is completed at 31-38 mm SL during this time (Bridges, 

 1971) and is an indicator of transformation between larval 

 and juvenile stages. Alternatively, collection of overlap- 

 ping sizes in water column and bottom samples may imply 



frequent vertical movements as could occur during tidal 

 stream transport (see Weinstein et al., 1980, for recent ex- 

 amples). These movements would provide an appropriate 

 mechanism for small YOY to reach the bay and the lower 

 Delaware River as has been suggested for larval Atlantic 

 croaker in Chesapeake Bay (Norcross, 19911. 



The length-freiiuency data from our study and from pre- 

 vious studies along the Atlantic coast indicate that a sec- 

 ond, less-abundant cohort of YOY Atlantic croaker often 



