Figure 2.— Chart of the open coast adjacent to Grays Harbor, WA, showing the isobaths, 

 tracklines, and systematic trawl stations. 



Data Analyses 



Nautical charts of Grays Harbor and the adjacent 

 open coast were digitized and strata areas were 

 calculated (Figs. 1, 2), using computerized algor- 

 ithms available in the software library of the 

 NWAFC Resource Assessment and Conservation 

 Engineering Division. Strata were defined for the 

 offshore area by first extending the north and 

 south boundaries 5 nmi from the Copalis and Willapa 

 transects, respectively, and then determining the 

 area between the 5, 15, 40, and 75 m depth con- 

 tours. 



Estimates of mean density of young English sole 

 by stratum by month, population by stratum, and 

 total population for each survey area were calcu- 

 lated, using slight modifications of the methods of 

 Pereyra et al. (1976). In calculating density esti- 



mates (number/hectare) from catch per kilometer, 

 the efficiency coefficient of the gear was assumed 

 to be unity (i.e., all fishes in the path would be cap- 

 tured). Length frequencies for 5 mm (TL) size inter- 

 vals were used to calculate size composition. Age 

 classes were then determined by visual inspection 

 of the resultant length-frequency histograms. After- 

 wards, the proportion of individuals within the size 

 range of the 0-age group in a particular month was 

 multiplied by the total population for that month to 

 provide an estimate of the abundance of 0-age 

 recruits. 



Results 



Over the course of the 2-yr study, we completed 

 a total of 592 trawls, 349 within Grays Harbor and 

 243 along the open coast (Table 1). Hauls within the 



825 



