938 



Fishery Bulletin 101(4) 



trawl survey is the best way to provide estimates of abun- 

 dance while controlling catchability (Hilborn and Walters, 

 1992; Gunderson, 1993). This study demonstrates the util- 

 ity of annual trawl surveys to obtain that information. 



Acknowledgments 



This research was funded by the states of New Jersey, 

 Delaware and Maryland through the Atlantic States 

 Marine Fisheries Commission, and by the National Fish 

 and Wildlife Foundation. We are indebted to M. Millard, 

 P. Pooler, D. Smith, and E. Smith for providing statisti- 

 cal advice. We thank J. Brust, P. Himchak, S. Michels, 

 M. Millard, T. O'Connell, and D. Smith of the Horseshoe 

 Crab Stock Assessment and Technical Committees of the 

 ASMFC, and B. Walls and C. N. Shuster Jr. for their input, 

 support, and encouragement in this study. We are grateful 

 to C. Burke, J. Eutsler, and R. Munson for their valuable 

 input regarding horseshoe crab fishing. J. Eutsler and T 

 Canham provided invaluable assistance in the field. This 

 manuscript was improved by the comments and sugges- 

 tions of B. Murphy and E. Smith, M. Davis, J. Dew, W. 

 Grogan, L. Hurton, J. McGhee, and A. Williams, and three 

 anonymous reviewers. We greatly appreciate the time and 

 effort of all involved. 



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