Oxygen Depletion and Associated Benthic Mortalities 

 in New York Bight, 1976 



Chapter 13. Effects on Finfish and Lobster 



Thomas R. Azarovitz, Charles J. Byrne, and Malcohn J. Silverman' 



Bruce L. Freeman^ 



Wallace G. Smith and Stephen C. Turner^ 



Bruce A. Halgren and Patrick J. Festa^ 



CONTENTS 



Page 



295 Introduction 



296 Methods 



296 Survey Results 



296 Trawl and Ichthyoplankton Surveys 



296 Recreational Fish Surveys 



296 Summer Flounder 



303 Bluefish 



304 Commercial Lobster Fishery Survey 

 306 Effects on Finfish 



306 Tolerance to Reduced Oxygen Levels 



310 Avoidance Behavior 



313 Reproductive Success 



313 Effects on American Lobster 



' Woods Hole Laboratory, Northeast Fisheries Cen- 

 ter, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Woods 

 Hole, MA 02543 



' Gloucester Laboratory, Northeast Fisheries Center, 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Gloucester, 

 MA 01930 



^ Sandy Hook Laboratory, Northeast Fisheries Cen- 

 ter, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, High- 

 lands, NJ 07732 



■* Nacote Creek Research Station, Division of Fish, 

 Game, and Shellfisheries, State of New Jersey, Star 

 Route, Absecon, NJ 08201 



INTRODUCTION 



In late June 1976, the Sandy Hook (N.J.) Laboratory 

 of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) received 

 reports — from fishermen and divers — of dead and dying 

 fish off northern New Jersey. Immediate attempts were 

 made to confirm these reports by taking hydrographic and 

 biological samples from the reported areas. The two small 

 research vessels used were limited to day trips because of 

 their size, speed, and accommodations; thus sampling, 

 especially for biological specimens was not adequate. In 

 early July several exploratory surveys with a small trawl 

 were made along the northern edge of the low-oxygen 

 water mass. Reports continued to be received from scuba 

 divers, indicating that the mortalities were occurring at 

 previously unaffected wrecks off southern New Jersey. 

 The first reports, in early July, were off Monmouth Beach, 

 then in a southerly progression off Manasquan Inlet, Bar- 

 negat Inlet, and finally, by the third week in July, Atlantic 

 City. In mid-July, a commercial trawler out of Barnegat 

 Light was chartered, and, for the first time, trawl hauls 

 were made in waters reported to be anoxic. The two small 

 research vessels were sent to occupy stations in the oxy- 

 gen-depleted area, but they were inadequate for the kind 

 of surveys required and soon returned to Sandy Hook. 

 Finally, in August the anoxic area was intensively sampled 

 and not only was trawl data collected, but fairly complete 

 hydrographic and associated biological data collections 

 were also made. 



In late 1976, the Northeast Fisheries Center (NEFC) 

 Resource Assessment Investigation Unit made two rou- 

 tine finfish stock assessment cruises over the entire Middle 

 Atlantic shelf (Cape Cod — Cape Hatteras) — one in late 

 September through mid-October, the other in December. 



NMFS has made assessment surveys of Middle Atlantic 

 finfish stocks since 1967. During several summer and au- 



295 



