domestic fishermen perceived foreign fishing as a major 

 threat. 



In New Jersey about 25 species of fishes and shell- 

 fishes produced landings of 1,000 metric tons or more at 

 one time or another in recorded history. Of these 25 

 species 13 are estuarine and coastal resources not vul- 

 nerable to foreign fishing. Landings of an additional 

 eight species reached peaks between 1930 and 1958. 

 Thus, the subsequent declines in landings of these eight 

 species were not caused by foreign fishing. Another two 

 species have never produced major landings in New Jer- 

 sey because demand is low. The remaining two, bluefin 

 tuna and unsorted industrial fishes, reached peak land- 

 ings in 1970 and 1966 respectively, but the subsequent 

 declines were caused by domestic overfishing in the one 

 case and by domestic economic conditions in the other. 



In New York also, some 25 species of fishes and shell- 

 fishes yielded landings of 1,000 metric tons or more in 1 

 yr or another since 1880. With six exceptions these were 

 the same species on the New Jersey list. Of these 25 

 species 10 are estuarine and coastal, not subject to 

 foreign fishing. Of the remaining 15, all of which have 

 been taken by foreign fleets recently, two have been in 

 low demand in the United States. 



In both states, landings of species not vulnerable to 

 foreign fishing have declined more sharply since peak 

 landings were reached than have domestic landings of 

 species also taken by foreign fleets (Table 49). This 

 demonstrates clearly that domestic fishery management 

 has not been successful in maintaining landings in the 

 two states bordering on New York Bight, and that al- 

 though foreign fishing has taken large quantities of some 

 species important in domestic catches, foreign fishing 

 has not been the only factor, or even the major factor, 

 responsible for the decline of domestic fisheries in New 

 York Bight. This is further substantiated by the history 

 of marine fisheries in Rhode Island (Olsen and Steven- 

 son 1975); in that State total landings have been in- 

 creasing since 1964, and the rise has been attributed to 

 successful management. 



The history of commercial fishery landings in the New 

 York Bight area is illustrated by comparing combined 

 landings for New York and New Jersey of 27 major 

 species in the catch (Fig. 43). The species have been ar- 

 ranged from bottom to top approximately in 

 chronological order of years of peak landings. The series 

 illustrates rather well how the industry shifted from 

 traditional inshore resources (oyster to weakfish) in the 

 late 1920s and the 1930s to demersal resources (haddock 

 to yellowtail flounder) as the offshore trawl fishery 

 developed. Next came increased landings of a variety of 

 species, stimulated by meat shortages and high fish 

 prices during the later years of the second world war and 

 immediately after (hard clam to Atlantic mackerel). The 

 final period, continuing to today, was characterized by 

 concentration on certain resources temporarily abun- 

 dant (sea scallop, black sea bass, summer flounder, scup, 

 American lobster, and striped bass), but also including 

 the period of rapid growth and subsequent decline of the 

 industrial fisheries (menhaden and unclassified species) 

 and the surf clam fishery. As in New York (McHugh 

 1972a), these changes were in response to changing abun- 

 dance or availability of traditional species and changing 

 economic conditions. Despite the obvious capacity of the 

 industry to respond fairly quickly to such changes it was 

 not possible to maintain maximum historic levels of total 

 landings (Fig. 3), even of food fishes and edible shell- 

 fishes (figs. 5 and 2 respectively in McHugh 1972a). 



It is obvious that the declining fisheries of the New 

 York Bight area have some predominantly domestic 

 causes, not shared by some neighboring states to the 

 north. In Rhode Island, for example, following a sharp 

 decline in total landings from the late 1950s to 1964, the 

 trend in total landings has been up. Most of the decline 

 up to 1964 can be accounted for by a decline in indus- 

 trial groundfish landings. Olsen and Stevenson (1975) 

 described the commercial fishing industry in Rhode Is- 

 land as thriving, and capable of expansion and diver- 

 sification. 



Even in New England, the epitome of a depressed 



Table 49. — Historic trends in domestic landinqs of major coimnercial fishery resources of New 

 York Bight (NY and NJ combined) since 1929, comparing resources not available to foreign 

 fishermen with those vulnerable to foreign fishing. Weights in metric tons. 



46 



