250 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



available, but the number of gill nets, haul seines, 

 and pound nets in operation in those years, 

 obtained from the official files of the State of 

 Connecticut, was as follows: 



Although it is not known how many days were 

 fished each year, the fishing effort for these 3 years 

 can be estimated in the following way. First, 

 the number of units of gear are converted into 

 standard fishing units. 



1939 28+11 (1.6) + 1 (1.3) =47 s. f. u. 



1940 20+10 (1.6) + 1 (1.3)=37s. f. u. 



1941 22+ 8 (1.6) + 1 (1.3)=36s. f. u. 



The total fishing effort in a season is measured 

 by the total number of standard-fishing-unit 

 days. From table 3 the total standard-fishing- 

 unit days for 1938 and 1942 are seen to be 1,918 

 and 1,298, respectively. The number of each 

 type of gear in operation (listed in table 2), in 

 these 2 years is as follows : 



When these gear are converted into standard 

 fishing units, the following is obtained : 



1938 29 + 13 (1.6) + 1 (1.3)=51 s. f. u. 



1942 24+8 (1.6) + 1 (1.3)=38 s. f. u. 



The average number of days fished per standard 

 fishing unit in 1938 and 1942 is equal to 1,918/51 = 

 37.6 and 1,298/38 = 34.2, respectively. 



An examination of the daily records kept by a 

 few fishermen who have fished since 1930 reveals 

 that these fishermen fished fewer days in 1940 

 and 1941 than in 1938 and 1939; hence the 

 average number of days fished per standard 

 fishing unit in 1942 was used to estimate the total 

 effort for 1940 and 1941. The average number of 

 days fished per standard fishing unit in 1938 was 

 used to estimate the effort for 1939. The es- 

 timated fishing effort in terms of standard-fishing- 

 unit days for 1939, 1940, and 1941 is— 



1939 47 (37.6) =1,767 s. f. u. days 



1940. 37 (34.2) =1,265 s. f. u. days 



1941 36 (34.2) = 1,231 s. f. u. days 



In 1938, 43 of the 102 nets registered were for 

 commercial types of gear that were actually fished; 

 59 of the licenses were for scoop or set gill nets. 

 The latter type of gear was permitted on the river 

 for the first time in 1935, and in 1938 a total of 22 

 was in operation. Records are not available for 

 the number of set gill nets licensed in each of the 

 years 1935, 1936, or 1937, for which years 86, 81, 

 and 93 nets were registered (table 1). Douglas 

 D. Moss, aquatic biologist with the Connecticut 

 State Board of Fisheries and Game, has estimated 

 that approximately 25 scoop nets were licensed in 

 each of the 3 years. Scoop nets were popular at 

 that time as they provided many people with the 

 opportunity to catch a few shad for a small outlay 

 of money. The best estimate of the number of 

 nets of commercial type that were actually fished 

 in 1935, 1936, and 1937 appears to be 42 percent 

 of the total number of nets registered in those 

 years, or 36, 34, and 39 units, respectively. 



Of the estimated number of units of gear in use 

 in 1935, 1936, and 1937, the best estimate of the 

 proportions of gill nets, haul semes, and pound 

 nets is the proportion of each type that was fished 

 in 1938. The estimated number of each type is as 

 follows : 



Converting these figures into standard fishing 

 units for each year, we obtain 43, 40, and 46. The 

 1938 value for the average number of days fished 

 per standard fishing unit is used to estimate the 

 total standard-fishing-unit days for 1935, 1936, 

 and 1937, because the few fishermen who have 

 fished consistently each year since 1930, and from 

 whom records of daily catch and effort are availa- 

 ble, fished approximately the same number of 

 days in 1935, 1936, and 1937 as they fished in 

 1938. Estimates of the fishing effort, or total 

 standard-fishing-unit days for 1935, 1936, and 

 1937 are 43 (37.6) = 1,617; 40 (37.6) = 1,504; and 

 46 (37.6) = 1,730, respectively. No attempt is 

 made to determine the fishing effort before 1935, 

 because Mr. Moss has no estimate of the number 

 of scoop nets that were licensed prior to that 

 year. 



