Fishery Bulletin 88(1), 1990 



Figure 6 



Geographical distribution of young-of-the-year 

 (Oage) Paralichthys dentatus (NMFS Septem- 

 ber-November bottom-trawl surveys), 1982-86, 

 expressed as number per half-hour tow. 



than Smith's (1973), thus we can confirm that exten- 

 sive spawning during this period occurred in subarea 

 II, and extended to subarea I (Fig. 2, Table 2). In fact, 

 subarea II (Fig. 1) provided the largest collections of 

 eggs (Table 2) and larvae (Table 3). Although Smith 

 (1973) reported the center of abundance to be off New 

 Jersey and New York in 1965-1966, we found exten- 

 sive reproduction during 1980-1986 occurred from 

 New York to Massachusetts. Spawning was most pro- 

 nounced in fall, with the earliest in the northern and 

 the latest in the southern subareas (Table 2). The 

 spawning period observed in this study is consistent 

 with that of other studies (Hildebrand and Schroeder 

 1928, Smith 1973, Smith et al. 1975, Morse 1981) in 

 the Mid-Atlantic Bight. 



160 210 260 



TOTAL LENGTH (MM) 



Figure 7 



Length-frequency distribution of y(jung-of-the-year PdniUchthys 

 dentatus in NMFS fall bottom-trawl surveys north and south of 

 Delaware Bay. 



The above locations and timing of spawning, deduced 

 from egg collections, were corroborated by collections 

 of larvae. Small larvae were most alnmdant in early 

 fall in subarea II but occurred into early spring in the 

 southern subareas (Table 3). 



Larvae of all sizes were found over the continental 

 shelf throughout the study area (Fig. 3). Thus, there 

 appeared to be no pronounced movements by larvae 

 out of the major spawning areas as might l)e predicted 

 from the general southerly or southwesterly flow 

 reported for much of the Mid-Atlantic Bight (Bumpus 

 and Lauzier 1965, Norcross and Stanley 1967). The 

 only apparent exception is subarea I where egg collec- 

 tions (Fig. 2, Table 2) indicated spawning occurred, yet 

 few larvae were collected (Fig. 3). Stronger currents 

 in the prevailing flow off the southern and western por- 

 tions of Georges Bank into the northern Mid-Atlantic 

 Bight (Colton and Temple 1961, Butman and Beards- 

 ley 1987) might explain this exception. 



Estuarine recruitment and growth 



The movement of larval, transforming, and possibly 

 juvenile P. dentatus into estuaries occurs over an ex- 

 tended time period. The collection of P. dentatus in 

 New Jersey inlets October- April is consistent with the 

 prolonged spawning period in the adjacent waters of 

 subareas II and III (Table 3). Also, the peak in spawn- 

 ing in these areas in October and November may be 

 reflected in the relatively abundant catches of small in- 

 dividuals (<20 mm TL) in October-December (Fig. 4). 

 Most authors have assumed that transforming 

 P. dentatus move into estuarine nursery areas (see 

 Rogers and Van Den Avyle 1983 for review). From 



