Paper 21 



SIPHONOPHORE ("LIPO") SWARMING lU NEW ENGLAND 

 COASTAL WATERS--UPDATE/ 1976 



Carolyn '\. Rogers 



The Northeast Fisheries Center has continued to examine the 

 distribution of Nanomia cara. During the winter of 1975-76 there 

 were few reports of net-clogging organisms. In Late March and 

 April reports from Gloucester^ MA^ indicated that fishermen again 

 were encountering "Lipo." 



Port agents asked interested fishermen to bring in samples of 

 "lipo" and other net-clogging organisms for examination. Several 

 fishermen frofa Gloucester and Fortland/^ MEr collected samples. 

 Similar organisms were collected from Al_batrgss IV trawl nets 

 during fishery resource assessment surveys in New England coastal 

 waters. In addition/' samples of plankton/ neuston/ and bottom 

 sediments were collected from Cape Ann to the Wilkinson Basin and 

 in the Scantum Basin area from the Albatross IV in April and 

 again in May (Fig. 21.1). 



Examination of bottom samples which were collected with a variety 

 of gear (naturalists' dredge/ Dietz-Lafono grab/ Ponsr grab/ 

 Smi th-Hc I nty re grab)' revealed no lipolike organisms. Plankton 

 and neuston samples collected on the April cruise hao 

 s i phonophores at all Locations/ but they were not abundant. 

 Concentrations of Phseoc^siij gouchetii/ a planktonic alga which 

 is enveloped in large gelatinous masses in the spring during its 

 reproductive phase/ were also found in these samples/ with 

 greatest densities in the more coastal (shallow) locations oft 

 Cape Ann and iVewburyport/ MA. 



During May, N. cara was present in the plankton. However/ as in 

 April/ numbers were low along the entire transect. In addition/ 

 the siphonophore colonies were smaller than those collected in 

 autumn 1975. Curing our earlier studies (Rogers 1978)/ three 



'Northeast Fisheries Center/ National Karine Fisheries Service/ 

 NOAA/ Nar ragansett/ RI C^2682. 



^P*>ference to trade nErr.es does not imply endorsement by the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service/ NOAA. 



349 



