96 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



of 1930 by commercial pound nets were larger than fish of the same approximate age 

 taken during June 1930 by experimental trawl. Unfortunately, larger series of young 

 collected at regular intervals at various localities and with all types of gear could not 

 be obtained in order to show the selectivity of the gear and the effect of environment 

 on the size distribution of the young fish. 



Notwithstanding limitations in the sampling of the juvenile sea trout population, 

 it is believed that the average growth during the first year of life in lower Chesapeake 

 Bay is reliably shown by figure 23. The young sea trout evidently have a length 

 range of at least 10 cm. at the end of the first year of growth. Any clear-cut growth 

 curve must involve large collections of young from diverse localities and by varied 

 types of collecting gear. 



Eigenmann (1901) stated that juvenile sea trout (squeteague) doubled their 

 length during July and August. This observation appears substantiated for Chesa- 



so 30 to so 



1929 



20 SO IO 20 



SEPTEMBER 



1930 



Figure 23. — Spawning period and juvenile growth of gray sea trout, Cynoscion regalis, in lower Chesapeake Bay. A circle is placed 

 at the mean length of the frequency distribution represented by the vertical dotted line. The horizontal solid line at the naif- 

 centimeter unit shows the approximate spawning period as indicated by collections of larval fish under 6 mm. in length. Young 

 fish taken in April 1930 were secured by commercial pound net. All other fish were captured with experimental gear. 



peake Bay fish taken on July 2, 1929, having an average length of 3.5 cm. Ap- 

 parently these fish reached an average length of 8 to 9 cm. by the end of the month. 

 Young fish in all instances were secured at the same locality and by the same fishing 

 gear. 



Welsh and Breder (1923), on the basis of length-frequency distributions from 

 Delaware Bay, reached the conclusion that sea trout, averaging 3 cm. on July 1, 

 should be 17 cm. in length on October 1. Such growth also appears substantiated 

 by the collections in lower Chesapeake Bay. 



Young sea trout appear to gather in schools in autumn at various places along 

 the coast for departure to their winter habitat. For a brief period before departure 

 they frequently appear in considerable numbers in pound nets. In table 3 are listed 

 the lengths of young sea trout secured by R. A. Nesbit from pound-net catches in 

 various localities. 



Many juvenile sea trout remain in lower Chesapeake Bay during the greater part 

 of their first year of life. Juvenile fish were obtained by the writer in the bay from 



