DISTRIBUTION AND GENERAL NOTES ON THE SPECIES 



365 



In Fig. 47 the length-frequency distributions of Stromateus taken inshore in the southern region, 

 in successive summer months January and February, are shown as histograms. Here we see that in 

 January the distributions were strongly unimodal, with the mode at 31 cm. (males) or slightly higher 

 (females). In February the distributions were clearly bimodal for both sexes, with the modes at about 



LENGTH5_CM5 



Fig. 47. Stromateus maculatus: seasonal variation in percentage length frequency at inshore 



stations in the southern region. 



25 and 30 cm. for males, 26 and 31 cm. for females, the smaller fish being more numerous than the 

 larger. This proves the point made above, that the smaller fish moved inshore later than larger ones. 

 It will also be shown later (Fig. 50) that in the intermediate region the length frequency of inshore 

 Stromateus around midsummer resembled the February distribution in the southern region. The 

 smaller fish in particular are thus mainly confined to the warmer inshore counter-current in their 

 movement down the coast, but also the whole of the seasonal cycle is probably centred earlier m the 



