CHAPTER 13 



Table 13-3. — Phylogenelic lislmg of fish larvae caught at 24 samphng sites within 81 km of the New Jersey coast during June and August 1966 



and at 7 sampling sites off northern New Jersey in June 1975 and 1976 



Common name 



June 1%6 



August 1966 



June 1975 



Scientific name 



Larvae Occur- 

 number rence' 



Larvae 

 number 



Occur- 

 rence' 



Larvae Occur- 

 number rence' 



June 1976 



Larvae Occur- 

 number rence' 



Atlantic menhaden 



Bay anchovy 



Striped anchovy 



Silver anchovy 



Lanternfish 



Goosefish 



Atlantic cod 



Fourbeard rockiing 



Haddock 



Red hake 



Silver hake 



Hake 



Northern pipefish 



Black sea bass 



Bluefish 



Kingfish 



Sea trout 



Cunner 



Tautog 



Blenny 



Atlantic bonito 



Atlantic mackerel 



Mackerel 



Butterfish 



Northern sea robin 



Striped sea robin 



Inquiline snailfish 



Snailfish 



Fourspot flounder 



Gulf Stream flounder 



Small mouth flounder 



Windowpane 



Yellowtail flounder 



Witch flounder 



Brevoortia tyrannus 13 13 



Anchoa milchelli 1378 13 



Anchoa hepsetus 28 8 



Engraulis euryslole 



Myctophidae 5 4 



Lophius americanus 74 67 



Gadus rnorhua 15 21 



Enchelyopus cimhnus 330 83 



Melanogrammiis aeglefinus 1 4 



Urophysis chuss 7 8 



Merluccius bilinearis 17 16 



Urophysis sp. 14 



Syngalhus fusciis 



Centropristis striata 



Pomatomus sahatrix 



Menticirrhus sp. 3 8 



Cynoscion sp. 71 12 



Tautogolabrus adspersiis 28 33 



Tautoga onitis 5 25 



Blenniidae 



Sarda sarda 



Scomber scomhrus 359 54 



Auxis sp. 



Peprilus triacanthus 



Prionotus carohniis 10 21 



Prionotus evolans 



Liparis inquilinis 7 21 



Liparis sp. 



Paratichthys oblongus 2 8 



Citharichthys arctifrons 



Etropus microstomus 



Scophthalmus aquosus 34 38 



Limanda ferruginea 2344 67 



Glyptocephalus cynoglossus 5 50 



7 



42 



12 



856 



6 



6 



71 



241 



66 



16 

 13 

 4 

 62 

 20 

 20 



25 



46 



29 



1 14 



1 14 



32 100 



1 14 



489 



100 



337 

 31 



100 

 100 



1 



39 



2 



23 



1 



50 



14 

 14 



14 



100 



14 



14 

 86 

 14 



Percentage of sites. 



The NMFS recreational fish survey showed much the 

 same results as the State survey. Data calculated from 

 party boat anglers fishing along the New Jersey coast 

 (Freeman et al. 1976) and from communications with rec- 

 reational fishermen during 1976 indicated that the summer 

 flounder arrived inshore in mid-May. Then and through- 

 out the rest of the month, anglers' catch rates were rel- 

 atively low. During the first half of June, however, catch 

 rates increased considerably, especially along the south- 

 ernmost and northernmost parts of the State. Later in 

 June, the best catch rates occurred along the northernmost 

 New Jersey beaches. During the last of June and the be- 

 ginning of July when dead fish (presumably due to the 

 anoxia) were first observed along the ocean floor off 

 northern New Jersey, the catch rates of summer flounder 

 were highest close along the beaches nearby. Throughout 



the rest of July and August, summer flounder were caught 

 only in areas free of the influence of low dissolved oxygen 

 (D.O.) water. During this time, catch rates were highest 

 at places along the coast where anoxic water pressed clos- 

 est to the coast. Indeed, during these times, party boat 

 anglers were fishing for fluke almost in the surf and in 

 inlets and bays. 

 Bluefish 



On June 8, 1976, NMFS biologists tagged 139 bluefish 

 weighing from 1.8 to 5.4 kg and measuring 49.5 to 73.7 

 cm. The bluefish recorded on the tagging vessel's sonar 

 were mostly within 6. 1 m of the seafloor. The water depth 

 was 25.6 m; the temperature at the surface was 18° C and 

 at the bottom 12° C. A week or so before this tagging, a 

 large mass of bluefish weighing about 2.3 to 6.8 kg had 

 been observed 11 to 22 km offshore — first off Five Fathom 



303 



