the war. In New Jersey (Fig. 41) the increase in landings 

 came in the 1950s and a peak was reached in the early 

 1960s. According to Lo Verde (1964, 1968) demand for 

 conch meats increased at this time, but also scarcity of 

 finfishes encouraged some fishermen to turn to this 

 resource. Fluctuations in landings (Table 46, Fig. 41) 

 probably were related more to market demand than to 

 abundance of conch. 



In the New York Bight area conch are taken mostly in 

 pots, and the catch is to some extent incidental to the sea 

 bass pot fishery. The recent downward trend in conch 

 landings may have been caused by the decline of the sea 

 bass fishery. 



Figure 41.— Annual commercial landings of conch in New York and 

 New Jersey 1926-1975. 



Table 46. --Estimated ccvntnercial landings of conch in the 

 north and middle Atlantic regions of the United States 

 coast 1960-1975. Weights of meats in metric tons. 



The national saltwater angling surveys for 1960, 1965, and 

 1970 did not include recreational catches of invertebrates. 



Live weights are given in parentheses for comparability with 

 ICHAF statistics. 



Northern Puffer 



Sphocroidcs maculatus (Bloch and Schneider) has 

 never been of great importance as a commercial fish in 

 New Jersey. Prior to the second world war scarcely any 



landings were reported. A peak of about 60 metric tons in 

 1948 probably was related to the scarcity of meat at the 

 end of the war. According to LoVerde (1963) the labor of 

 skinning the fish deterred local fishermen and puffer 

 were landed only when other species were scarce. He also 

 said that the increase in landings in the 1960s, to a peak 

 of about 70 metric tons in 1963, was stimulated by 

 development of out-of-state markets. These may have 

 been markets created by the rapidly developing fishery 

 in Chesapeake Bay, which reached its peak in 1965. The 

 subsequent decline of the commercial fishery in New Jer- 

 sey may have been caused by overproduction of puffer in 

 Chesapeake Bay, which led to a decline in prices. This 

 was the reason advanced for the parallel decline in puffer 

 landings in New York (McHugh 1972a). But the decline 

 to zero landings in the 1970s apparently reflects a real 

 scarcity of fish in New Jersey (Paul Hamer pers. com- 

 mun.). In New York, greatest landings were in the mid- 

 dle and late 1940s, when landings rose to a maximum of 

 over 1,000 metric tons. The secondary peak in the 1960s 

 was general in the Middle Atlantic Bight, caused by a 

 temporary increase in abundance (Table 47). Northern 

 puffer presently is extremely scarce along the coast. 



Although puffer is not a popular sport fish, 

 recreational fishermen catch large quantities at times of 

 abundance (Table 47). In the middle Atlantic region the 

 recreational catch probably comes mostly from 

 Chesapeake Bay and the North Carolina sounds. 



Northern puffer is a coastal fish which never migrates 

 far from shore. It has not been recorded in foreign catches 

 and probably is never taken by foreign fleets. 



Table 47. — Estimated caronercial and recreational catches of 

 northern puffer in the north and middle Atlantic regions of the 

 United States coast 1960-1975. weights in metric tons. 



The national saltwater angling surveys for 1960, 1965, and 1970 

 did not give data by individual states. Now York was included 

 with the New England states and New jersey with the other middle 

 Atlantic states. 



Figures for 1975 in parentheses assume that unavailable landings 

 in N.H., Conn., and Del. equal the average of recent years. 



- An unreported catch is possible. 



' Less than 0.5 metric ton. 



44 



