Table 3. — Calculated numbers of Atlantic menhaden (in millions) caught by purse seine vessels, 1955-71 



accounted for less than 4%. The decline reflected a 

 decrease in the population of older fish which normal- 

 ly accounted for the major portion of the catch in both 

 areas. 



The estimated number of fish caught dropped 

 sharply in 1964 and remained low thereafter (Tables 

 4, 5). Age-1 fish supplied a relatively large percentage 

 of the catch in the Middle Atlantic up to 1965, and a 

 relatively small percentage after 1965 as the Lewes 

 and Wildwood plants, which landed mostly age-1 and 

 -2 fish, closed or reduced fishing. Age-2 and -3 fish, 

 which usually compose most of the Port Monmouth 

 catches, accounted for a larger percentage as the 

 Lewes and Wildwood catches declined. 



Fishing effort was 961 to 1,254 vessel weeks per year 

 prior to 1963. It had dropped to 166 by 1966 and reached 

 a low of 19 in 1970 (Table 9). The largest reduc- 

 tion — 551 vessel weeks — was in 1964 as the plant 

 operators cut back in the numbers of vessels following 

 the extremely low catch in 1963. Also, fish were so 

 scarce in 1964 that those vessels which did not stop 

 fishing in August quit by the beginning of October. In 

 1965 one plant at Lewes and the Tuckerton plant 

 remained closed, while most Wildwood vessels shifted 

 to plants in Chesapeake Bay. In 1966 the Port Mon- 

 mouth plant, and the remaining Lewes plant, which 

 has never reopened, closed in late July, and Wildwood 

 vessels fished a total of only 12 calendar weeks in Mid- 

 dle Atlantic waters. Since 1966 three to five vessels 

 have fished at Port Monmouth, except in 1970 when 

 only one regular purse seiner operated a few weeks in 

 September, and two to five vessels have fished at 



Wildwood for short periods each year as fish became 

 available, except in 1970 and 1971 when the plant 

 remained closed. 



The CPUE (catch per unit of effort) from 1963 to 

 1970 was generally about 50% or less of the CPUE in 

 years prior to 1963 (Table 10). Both effort and CPUE 

 were exceptionally low in 1966, indicating the extreme 

 scarcity of older fish that year. The increase in the 

 CPUE in following years probably reflected a decrease 

 in vessel competition rather than any significant in- 

 crease in menhaden abundance. One or two vessels at 

 Amagansett and three to four vessels at Port Mon- 

 mouth divided the available fish between them, and 

 two to three vessels operated at Wildwood only when 

 fish became locally abundant. 



Chesapeake Bay Area 



Except for 1959, when the large 1958 year class 

 entered the fishery, catches from 1954 to 1968 re- 

 mained fairly steady, fluctuating between 91,000 and 

 155,000 metric tons. By contrast, catches from 1945 to 

 1953 fluctuated between 35,000 and 81,000 metric 

 tons. The relatively large catches from 1954 to 1968 

 resulted primarily from an increase in fishing effort 

 caused by increased fishing efficiency, more vessels, 

 and a longer season. Following the poor season in 

 1969, catches in 1970 rose sharply as the relatively 

 large 1969 year class entered the fishery. 



Although age-1 and -2 fish continued to constitute 

 the major part of the catch after 1962, age-0 and -3 

 fish provided a greater proportion of it than in 



