Fishery Bulletin 88(1 



1990 



Figure 1 



Study area with suharea boundaries and important localities mentioned in the text. 



others returned to the original tagging locations in 

 estuaries. 



Connicting evidence concerning the distribution of 

 different stocks or subpopulations hampers interpreta- 

 tion of the patterns of reproduction and identification 

 of nursery areas. Several authors have suggested that 

 Mid-Atlantic Bight and North Carolina populations may 

 be separate (Ginsburg 1952, Smith and Daiber 1977, 

 Wilk et al. 1980). An alternate interpretation is that 

 inshore populations from Virginia to North Carolina 

 may form a separate population from those to the north 

 and offshore (Delaney 1986). 



Herein we attempt to clarify the patterns of repro- 

 duction and early life history of P. dentatus in the 

 Mid-Atlantic Bight. Our interpretations are based 

 on extensive collections of eggs, larvae, and first- 

 year juveniles from continental shelf and estuarine 

 waters. 



Materials and methods 



Data for eggs, larvae and first year juveniles of P. den- 

 tatus collected over the Mid-Atlantic Bight continen- 

 tal shelf and in New Jersey estuaries (Fig. 1) derive 

 from sources given in Table 1 and from Marine 

 Resources Monitoring, Assessment and Prediction 

 (MARMAP) surveys (Sherman 1980, 1986) by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). These 

 surveys were conducted at monthly to bimonthly in- 

 tervals over the continental shelf from Cape Hatteras. 

 North Carolina, to Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. Sampling 

 methodology can be found in Sibunka and Silverman 

 (1984) and Morse et al. (1987). Collections made with 

 61 -cm bongo frames fitted with ().505-mm mesh nets 

 were corrected for the depth of tow and volume of 

 water filtered and expressed as number per unit vol- 

 ume of sea surface. For graphic display of the egg and 

 larval distribution and abundance, the catches per 



