Summer Benthic Fish Fauna of Sandy Hook Bay, New Jersey 



STUART J. WILK and MYRON J. SILVERMAN' 



ABSTRACT 



Thirty -eight species and 25 families of fishes were captured during an otter trawl survey in Sandy Hook 

 Bay, N.J., during July to October 1970. Distribution, abundance, length and age composition, and 

 environmental preferences were analyzed for the more numerous species. Winter flounder, Pseudopleuro- 

 nectes americamu; striped searobin.PrioTiottu evolam; windowpane, Scopkthalmut aquonu., and northern 

 searobin, Prionotut caroHmu, accounted for 68.3% by number and 66.4% by weight of the total 

 survey catch. 



INTRODUCTION 



Historically, Sandy Hook Bay has supported commercial 

 fisheries since the early days of settlement in the United 

 States (True 1887). Within the past half century, water 

 quality has deteriorated largely from sewage (Federal 

 Water Pollution Control Administration 1967) and industrial 

 waste contamination, and much of the bay bottom is now 

 unfit for shellfish harvest. Only a few pound nets and purse 

 seines are currently operated in the bay, but year-round and 

 seasonally intensive small boat and shore recreational 

 fisheries have developed. The following report of a 

 systematic trawl survey of finfish is the first of several to be 

 undertaken in Sandy Hook Bay, and provides baseline 

 observations for future comparison of biological and 

 environmental changes in the area. 



Otter trawl hauls were made from July to October 1970 

 to determine summer species composition, relative abund- 

 ance, and distribution of benthic fishes in Sandy Hook Bay. 

 All catch data are summarized, together with length-fre- 

 quency data and estimates of age composition and summer 

 growth rates based on published age-length information. 



DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA 



Sandy Hook Bay is bounded on the north by Lower Bay, 

 on the south and west by the New Jersey mainland, from 

 which it receives drainage of the Navesink and Shrewsbury 

 rivers, and on the east is separated from the Atlantic Ocean 

 by Sandy Hook peninsula. To establish uniform sampling 

 areas, the bay was divided into 18 blocks (Fig. 1). Except 

 where interrupted by land, each block measured 1' lat. x 1' 

 long., i.e., 1.8 km x 1.4 km (1.0 x 0.75 nautical mile). 



MATERIALS AND METHODS 



All 18 blocks were sampled, as close to biweekly as 

 possible, during 2-day cruises when weather conditions and 

 vessel scheduling permitted. 



Our vessel was the Middle Atlantic Coastal Fisheries 

 Center's Martha-E II, a 10.4-m (34-foot) diesel-powered 

 research vessel equipped with hydraulic trawl winch, trawl 

 boom, electronic navigation equipment, and electronic 

 depth recorders. 



' Middle Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Center Sandy Hook Laboratory, 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Highlands, NJ 07732. 



At each sampling station, surface and bottom tempera- 

 ture and salinity were measured with a portable thermom- 

 etersalinometer probe. Station depth, bottom contours, 

 and fish concentrations were observed with white-line 

 fathometers aboard the vessel. The otter trawl was towed 

 for 10 min at approximately 5.6 km/h (3 knots) in each 

 sample block. The two-seam trawl used had the following 

 dimensions: 9.1-m (30-foot) footrope and 7.6-m (25-foot) 

 headrope; 64-mm (2.25-inch) stretched mesh 18-thread 

 knotted nylon in the body of the trawl and 51-mm (2-inch) 

 stretched mesh 18-thread knotless nylon in the cod end. 

 During each trawl tow, frequent navigational checks were 

 made to remain within a sample block. Although towing 

 time remained constant, both direction and distance of the 

 tow were governed by tide, current, wind, and start- 

 ing location. 



At theconclusionof each tow, the trawl was retrieved and 

 emptied on the afterdeck of the vessel, where the fishes 

 were sorted and identified. All specimens of each species 

 were weighed and a random sample of 20-25 specimens 

 measured to the nearest centimeter (total leng^th). Usually, 

 all specimens of each species were counted; but, when a 

 species was very numerous, an estimate of the total was 

 made by counting and weighing the fish in a subsample. 



Physical and biological data collected were recorded on 

 punch cards and subsequently sorted, mapped, and analyzed 

 by computer. 



Common and scientific names used follow those listed by 

 the American Fisheries Society (Bailey et al. 1970). 



RESULTS 



During the 3.5-mo study, 112 station blocks were 

 occupied on 15 sample dates. Data were grouped into eight 

 sample periods of seven 2-day cruises and one 1-day cruise. 



The results of our collections are presented as follows: 



1. List of bottom temperature, salinity, and depth 

 observed at each otter trawl station, including summary 

 data on station blocks and sample periods (Table 1). 



2. List of species caught in descending order of 

 abundance, including summaries of each species and sample 

 period (Appendix Table 1). 



3. Phylogenetic list summarizing all parameters for each 

 species (Appendix Table 2). 



4. Maps of the average number and weight of all fish 

 caught per 10-min tow (Figs. 2, 3). 



5. Maps of the distribution of average catch (no.) per 

 10-min tow for 10 of the most numerous species (Figs. 4-13). 



