FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 85, NO. 3 



Location and Number of Reduction 



Plants and Number of Vessels in 



Purse Seine Fishery 



During 1955, 23 plants operated at 16 ports 

 along the U.S. Atlantic coast from Maine to Flor- 

 ida. By 1981 this number had been reduced to 11 

 plants operating from 8 ports (Fig. 2). The num- 

 ber of vessels landing fish declined from 150 dur- 

 ing the 1955 season to 64 by 1967 (Table 1). Dur- 

 ing 1981, 57 purse seine vessels landed 

 menhaden. 



Table 1. — Number of purse seine vessels that landed Atlantic 

 menhaden during the fishing year by area, 1955-81 (from ASMFC 

 1981). 



'Vessels fishing from New England ports in recent years are all trawlers that 

 convert to purse seme in summer Some fish regularly and others sporadically 



^Vessels that fished only in regular season. Does not include vessels added 

 In October and November 



^Includes only vessels that landed regularly In the summer fishery. 



"•includes all vessels that landed fish dunng the year. 



Trends in Nominal Effort, 

 Landings, and Age Composition 



Since the early 1940's, the Atlantic menhaden 

 fishery has displayed a somewhat classical har- 

 vest pattern with an historic increase to a record 

 high, fluctuations, decline, and a secondary 

 slower regrowth (Fig. 1). After an initial slight 

 decline, landings of Atlantic menhaden steadily 



increased from 167,200 t in 1942 through 1947. 

 Nominal effort generally paralleled landings, but 

 slightly lagged, from a low in 1943 to a minor 

 peak in 1951 and rose to the record high of 

 712,100 t in 1956. Effort levels increased again in 

 1953 and reached a secondary peak in 1956 as 

 well. Effort reached its highest level in 1959 with 

 landings at their second highest level of 

 659,100 t. Landings dropped precipitously from 

 1962 to a record low 161,600 t in 1969, while 

 effort dropped from 1964 and bottomed in 1971. 

 Although fluctuating, landings showed a net in- 

 crease from 1970 through 1981. Effort slowly in- 

 creased up to 1977 and then began a declining 

 trend. 



All of the five fishing areas showed a net in- 

 crease in catches from the 1940's to the peak year 

 in 1956 (Fig. 3). But, the increase was dispropor- 

 tionately distributed between fishing areas. The 

 middle Atlantic area showed the greatest relative 

 increase, followed by the north Atlantic and 

 Chesapeake Bay areas, with the south Atlantic 

 and North Carolina fall fishery only showing 

 slight increases (Fig. 4). While 1956 represented 

 the year of peak landings for the fishery, only the 

 middle Atlantic catches peaked during this year. 



The increase in fishing effort expended during 

 the 1940's to the mid-1950's was also dispropor- 

 tionately distributed between fishing areas, with 

 the middle Atlantic showing the greatest in- 

 crease, followed by the north Atlantic (Fig. 5). 

 The Chesapeake Bay area showed a slight in- 

 crease, while the south Atlantic and North Caro- 

 lina fall fishery areas showed little, if any, actual 

 increase in nominal effort. 



Following 1956, the proportion of the catch 

 taken in the middle Atlantic area decreased rela- 

 tive to the proportion of effort expended in that 

 area. After 1962, effort (and catches) rapidly de- 

 creased in the middle Atlantic area, with both the 

 effort and catches seemingly shifted to the 

 Chesapeake Bay area (Figs. 4, 5). This was a rel- 

 atively dramatic shift, considering that the mid- 

 dle Atlantic catch was generally dominated by 

 age-2 and -3 fish while Chesapeake Bay catches 

 were dominated by ages 1 and 2. Additionally, 

 middle Atlantic fish were generally larger for any 

 given age than those from Chesapeake Bay. 

 Catches and effort also decreased in the north 

 Atlantic area during the same time frame. 



The Atlantic menhaden stock probably had its 

 strongest and broadest age structure in 1955 and 

 1956, which also represent the first years when 

 port sampling covered the full geographic range 



574 



