FISHERY BULLETIN VOL 77. NO 1 



FRa'KE 4.— Percent of bluefish larvae <4 mm SL captured on 

 transects B-H (Figure 2l in the Middle Atlantic Bight in August 

 1966. 



Indeed, later studies (Kendall and Naplin^i have 

 shown that bluefish larvae occur primarily within 

 6 m of the surface. The distribution of catches was 

 similar during day and night (Table 3). 



Larval Lengths 



The length distribution of larvae taken in the 

 shallow tows was not significantly different from 

 that taken in deeper tows (x^P>0.05) (Table 4). 

 This result is to be expected if, as indicated above, 

 the catches in the deeper tows can be accounted for 

 by contamination in the surface layer. Fish taken 

 during the day, however, were generally smaller 

 (2.5-4.5 mm) than those taken at night (5.5 mm 

 and larger) (x''^ f <0.001). This effect could result 

 from net avoidance by larger larvae during day- 

 time. The cruises were too infrequent to estimate 

 larval growth. 



Juveniles 



During the survey cruises we tried to collect 

 pelagic juvenile fishes and during later cruises 

 tried to clarify results from the surveys by sam- 

 pling in areas and during seasons in which 

 juveniles had occurred earlier. We took bluefish 

 juveniles in several kinds of midwater and surface 

 nets. It is difficult to compare the catches of these 

 several nets or the catches made in different years; 

 nevertheless, this limited information about 



^Kendall, A. W.. Jr., and N. A, Naplin. Diel-vertical distribu- 

 tion of bluefish iPomatomus sattatrix) larvae and that of as- 

 sociated fish eggs and larvae. Manuscr. in prep. Northeast 

 Fisheries Center Sandy Hook Laboratory, National Marine 

 Fisheries Service. NOAA, Highlands, NJ 07732. 



Figure 5. — Distribution of surface temperatures and larval 

 bluefish in September-October. 



•lUEFISH LAHVAE 



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