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FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



sideration. Thus the 2-year-olds averaging three-quarters of a pound each are listed 

 as bringing 6.5 cents a pound, the 3-year-olds averaging 2 pounds each as 9.5 cents a 

 pound, and the 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds as bringing 10 cents a pound throughout. These 

 prices were determined from information collected by the Bureau of Fisheries from 

 an important dealer on the Atlantic coast. The average price per pound for the 

 different size categories was determined by dividing the total dollar volume for each 

 month by the total number of pounds of striped bass purchased each month from 

 March through November 1937. The prices for each of these months were then 

 averaged, giving the average price for the different size categories for the entire period. 

 Since this dealer handled a total of approximately 200,000 pounds during this period, 

 the prices for the different size categories should be accurate estimates. 



Table 1. — Theoretical treatment of 1,000 striped bass of the 1934 year-class to show the rate of removal by 

 the fishery and natural mortality, the numbers and- poundage caught, and the market value, when the 

 fish were caught over a 5-year period from 1936-40. Note that in this treatment fish ivere caught for 

 the first time when they were 2-year-olds 



In table 1 it will be seen that the total market value derived from 1,000 bass of 

 the 1934 year-class over the 5-year period 1936-40 was $57.45, the total number of 

 individuals caught was 544, and the total weight taken was 689.5 pounds. These 

 figures represent the yield to the fishery when striped bass are caught for the first 

 time as 2-year-olds (12 inches in length). 



Table 2 gives similar information for the same number of bass of the 1934 year- 

 class when the fishery did not catch them as 2-year-olds in 1936 but took them for the 

 first time as 3-year-olds in 1937, and caught them over the 4-year period 1937-40. 

 It will be noted that the total market value under these conditions was $64.48, the 

 total number of individuals caught was 242, and the total weight taken was 661.5 

 pounds. Thus, less than half as many individuals were taken when the fishery first 

 caught bass as 3-year-olds, yet the gross profit was substantially more. It is, there- 

 fore, plainly evident that if the figures upon which these calculations are based are 

 reasonably accurate, the fishery is not utilizing the available supply of striped bass 

 in the most efficient manner when it first takes them as 2-year-olds. 



Since it has been shown that it is apparently more efficient for the striped bass 

 fishery of the Atlantic coast to start taking the fish as 3-year-olds rather than as 2-year- 

 olds, it is of interest to consider what the yield would be if the fishery waited still 

 another year and did not begin to remove the members of the bass population until 

 they became 4-ycar-olds. Treating the same 1,000 fish of the 1934 year-class in 

 the same manner as shown in tables 1 and 2, with the sole difference that the fishery 

 only operates over a 3-year period from 1938-40, the total market value drops to 

 $43.60, and there appears to be an inefficient utilization of the available stock from 

 every point of view. This striking drop in the gross profit under these conditions is 



