Shepherd et al Migration routes of Pomalomus saltatnx along the Atlantic coast 



567 



Table 3 



Recapture matrix by state of release for National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and American Littoral Society lALS) bluefish 

 iPnmatomiis saltatrix) tag recoveries. NE = New England: NY = New York; NJ = New Jersey; DE/ME = Maine; MD = Maryland; 

 VA = Virginia; NC = North Carolina; SC = South Carolina; FL = Florida. 



NMFS 



Release area 



Recapture area 



DE/MD 



VA 



NC 



SC 



north 

 FL 



south 

 FL 



west 

 FL 



New England 



NY 



north NJ 



south NJ 



DE/MD 



VA 



NC 



SC 



north FL 



south FL 



3 



32 



53 

 56 



37 

 36 



377 



ALS 



Release area 



Recapture area 



ME 



MA 



RI 



CT 



NY 



NJ 



DE 



MD 



VA 



AL 



ME 



MA 



RI 



CT 



NY 



NJ 



DE 



MD 



VA 



NC 



FL 



1 

 12 

 8 

 5 

 7 

 3 



3 

 20 

 2 

 2 

 3 



5 

 22 

 20 

 16 

 13 



16 

 18 

 82 

 25 

 1 



NC 



FL 



19 



bluefish fish during the Virginia-North Carolina win- 

 ter fishery and the paucity of bluefish over 45 cm ( 18 

 inch) in the Florida fishery indicate that the larger fish 

 do not continue the southern migration beyond North 

 Carolina. 



Bluefish are found throughout the summer in south- 

 ern Florida (southern region) as evidenced by tag re- 

 turns and fishery landings, although at a low level of 

 abundance compared with fall through spring landings. 

 The one fall recaptured tag in New Jersey from a fish 

 released in Florida in the spring (at liberty 17 months) 

 indicates that fish from the southern group are found 

 in northern areas in subsequent years. Bluefish found 

 off Georgia and South Carolina appear to be transitory, 

 and are present primarily in spring and fall. The rela- 

 tive lack of tag recoveries in coastal South Carolina and 

 Georgia implies a migratory pathway farther offshore, 

 possibly closer to the shelf edge and Gulf Stream. 



Change in fish size leads to a change in the seasonal 

 migration route. The migratory groups are best defined 



