Immature red hake feed mainly on amphipods, wnile older fish eat a 

 variety of fishes including alewives, butterfish, silver hake, and flounders 

 as well as squids and shrimps. 



Latest assessments indicate red hake are increasing in stock size 

 (Resource Assessment Division 1980). 



Bottom Trawl Survey Results 



The cumulative spring and autumn distributions over the time series ire 

 shown in Figures 6.1 and 6.2. These plots show that red hake in the Mid- 

 Atlantic did not migrate as extensively as other species. In the spring, 

 large catches were common throughout most of the study area. In the autumn, 

 some movement to the north was evident with large catches almost exclusively 

 offshore and north. In Figure 6.3, data from all cruises prior to 1976 have 

 Deen deleted, however, there was no real change in the distributional pattern. 



Graphs of mean weight and number per tow for the time series are shown in 

 Figures 6.4-6.7. Consistently higher catches have been taken in the New York 

 Bight offshore strata during the autumn (Figure 6.7). 



Length frequencies for six strata sets, arranged by season, are shown in 

 Figures 6.8-6.19. These plots indicate consistent catches of red hake in 

 almost all areas during both seasons with the exception of the autumn inshore 

 set 3 (Figure 6.16). Smaller fish (<20 cm) were usually caught in the inshore 

 strata. 



Figures 6.20 and 6.21 show the percentage occurrence by stratum of young- 

 of-the-year (YOY); cutoff sizes were 13 and 5 cm, respectively, for spring and 

 fall series. These figures show YOY were caught most frequently in the spring 

 and in the inshore strata sets. This distribution is expected because of the 

 previously described association of young red nake with sea scallops. 



136 



