CLARK and BROWN: CHANGES IN BIOMASS OF FINFISHES AND SQUIDS 



TABLE 5. — Stratified mean catch per tow (kilograms) for selected species of finfish and squid, Albatross IV autumn bottom trawl 



survey data, 1963-74, Gulf of Maine area (strata 26-30 and 36-40). 



'Less than 0.05 



2 Does not include data for tunas, sharks, swordfish, American eel, or white perch 



3 Data not recorded. 



4 Squid catches for 1964-66 prorated by species according to relative percentages caught in later years. 



Middle Altanlic 

 So New England 

 Georges Bank 

 Gulf ol Marne 



72 73 74 



FIGURE 4— Catch of principal groundfish in U.S. autumn bot- 

 tom trawl surveys for the Middle Atlantic (strata 61-76), 1967- 

 74, and for southern New England (strata 1-12), Georges Bank 

 (strata 13-25), and the Gulf of Maine (strata 26-30 and 36-40), 

 1963-74. 



Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine and to be 

 almost nonexistent in southern New England 

 waters. Relative abundance indices for redfish and 

 pollock, however, appear to have remained rela- 

 tively stable (Tables 4, 5). Cod declined somewhat 

 in the Gulf of Maine but remained relatively sta- 

 ble in other areas (Tables 3-5). 



Catches of flounders indicate substantial de- 

 clines in relative abundance for all areas (Figure 

 5) and nearly all species (Tables 2-5) with yellow- 

 tail declining very sharply in recent years. 

 Unusually high catches of yellowtail were taken 

 in southern New England waters in 1972 (Figure 

 5, Table 3); factors involved are unclear but appear 

 to reflect changes in availability, as actual in- 

 creases in abundance do not appear to have oc- 

 curred (Parrack 16 ). 



Data for other groundfish (Figure 6) suggest a 

 decline in biomass for Middle Atlantic strata, an 

 increase for Gulf of Maine strata, and relatively 

 stable levels elsewhere. The observed trend for 

 Middle Atlantic strata is strongly influenced by 

 large catches of searobins in 1967 (Table 2) which 



16 Parrack, M. L. 1973. Current status of the yellowtail floun- 

 der fishery in ICNAF Subarea 5. Int. Comm. Northwest Atl. 

 Fish. Annu. Meet. 1973, Res. Doc. No. 104, Serial No. 3067 

 (mimeo.), 5 p. 



