648 



Fishery Bulletin 93(4), 1995 



April 



12 3 4 5 6 7 

 100-| May 



12 3 4 5 6 7 



- 1 — I 1 r- 



12 3 4 5 6 7 



9 10 1234567 



,0 °T August 



9 10 1234567 



Age (years) 



Figure 4 



Age-frequency distributions of Chesapeake Bay weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, 

 by month, pooled over the years 1989-92. Sample size is indicated above each bar. 



isometric growth. The TGW to TL relationship for 

 April and May was 



TGW = 4.7 x lfr 6 TL 3 13 (r 2 =0.99, n=950). 



Historic trends in maximum size and age 



Older weakfish were collected in Delaware Bay in 

 1985-86 than in 1992-93. The mean age offish >3.6 

 kg in 1985-86 was 9.6 years, significantly higher 

 than that in 1992-93 (6.4 yr; /=3.14, n=26, P<0.05). 

 Of the 10 fish >3.6 kg in 1985-86, one was age 4, one 

 age 6, two age 8, two age 9, one age 11, two age 12, 



and one age 17. In contrast, the maximum age ob- 

 served in 1992-93 was only 11, and of the 16 fish 

 >3.6 kg only three of them were older than age 6. 



Maximum sizes of weakfish began to increase in 

 Chesapeake and Delaware Bays in the early 1970s, 

 concurrent with the recovery of the weakfish fish- 

 ery. From 1958 to 1968, the largest weakfish reported 

 to the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament was 

 3.1 kg (662 mm TL, Fig. 9). Similarly, the largest 

 fish caught in Delaware Bay in 1968 and 1969 (when 

 citation records began) was 2.6 kg (626 mm TL). 

 However, in 1970 maximum size in Chesapeake Bay 

 was >3.1 kg(662 mm TL) for the first time since 1958, 

 and maximum size in Delaware Bay increased from 



