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Fishery Bulletin 93(3), 1995 



tive periodicity, seasonal distribution, growth, and 

 nursery habitats during the first year (age 0+) of 

 black sea bass. We used composite data from a variety 

 of field collections for larvae and juveniles, in situ ob- 

 servations on the mid-Atlantic Bight continental shelf, 

 and intensive collections from a New Jersey estuary. 



Materials and methods 



Data sources for planktonic larvae and benthic juve- 

 niles (age 0+) from the mid-Atlantic Bight (Fig. 1) 

 and southern New Jersey (Fig. 2) are summarized 

 in Table 1. Larval sampling was conducted as part 

 of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 

 Marine Resources Monitoring, Assessment, and Pre- 

 diction (MARMAP) surveys (Sherman, 1980, 1986). 

 Further details of the sampling methodology are pro- 

 vided by Sibunka and Silverman (1984, 1989) and 

 Morse et al. (1987). Larval distribution and abun- 

 dance are displayed as average number of larvae per 

 10 m 2 of sea surface calculated by month for the mid- 

 Atlantic Bight study area for 1977-87. Larvae were 

 also collected as part of a characterization of the 

 Long-term Ecosystem Observatory (LEO-15) around 

 Beach Haven Ridge off southern New Jersey (von Alt 

 and Grassle, 1992) (Fig. 2). Samples were collected with 

 an opening and closing Tucker trawl ( 1-m 2 , 505-u mesh) 

 with multiple codends that were fished in a step-ob- 

 lique manner from the surface to near bottom for 7.5— 

 15 minutes. The mouth of the net was equipped with a 

 flowmeter to determine the volume of water sampled. 



Age 0+ juveniles, as determined from length fre- 

 quencies, were collected from the mid-Atlantic Bight 

 continental shelf during the NMFS-Northeast Fish- 

 eries Science Center (NEFSC) bottom trawl surveys. 

 Samples were collected at stratified random stations 

 between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and Nova 

 Scotia on the continental shelf. Details of the sample 

 distribution and technique are provided by Azarovitz 

 ( 1981). Seasonal sampling occurred during fall (Sep- 

 tember-October), winter (January-February) and 

 spring (March-April). After additional depths were 

 stratified, random sampling occurred seasonally with 

 otter trawls in inshore continental shelf waters off 

 Massachusetts by the Massachusetts Division of 

 Marine Fisheries (MADMF) (Howe, 1989) and off 

 New Jersey by the New Jersey Department of Envi- 

 ronmental Protection (NJDEP) (Byrne 1 ; Byrne et 



1 Byrne, D. M. 1988. Inventory of New Jersey's coastal waters. 

 New Jersey Division of Fish, Game, and Wildl., Trenton, NJ, 3 p. 



Figure 1 



Collection sites for larval and juvenile black sea 

 bass, Centropristis striata, in the mid- Atlantic Bight. 



Figure 2 



Collection sites for larval and juvenile black sea bass, 

 Centropristis striata, from inner continental shelf and 

 estuarine study areas off southern New Jersey. Circled 

 numbers indicate otter trawl sampling sites; number 

 25, however, is the location of trapping sites at Rutgers 

 University Marine Field Station. Little Sheepshead 

 Creek is the location of the plankton sampling site. 

 LEO-15 = Long-term Ecosystem Observatory. 



