Table 9. — Number of vessel weeks in the Atlantic menhaden purse seine fishery, 

 by area, 1955-71- 



Table 10. — Catch per vessel week, in metric tons. Atlantic menhaden 

 purae aeine fishery, by area, 1955-71. 



reached a record 244 metric tons per vessel week in 

 1970. Much of the increase probably was due to fewer 

 vessels and greater efficiency rather than any increase 

 in the abundance of fish. 



North Carolina Fall Fishery 



Landings from 1963 to 1968, while slightly smaller 

 than landings from 1955 to 1962, were generally over 

 50,000 metric tons, but from 1969 to 1971 they 

 dropped sharply, amounting to only 7,900 in 1971. 

 The age composition of the catches also changed, with 

 fish younger than age-3 composing an increasingly 

 higher percentage after 1963. Age-4 and older fish 

 practically disappeared from catch samples after 1964 

 (Table 8). 



From 1964 to 1968 effort fluctuated between 212 

 and 259 vessel weeks, somewhat less than from 1955 to 

 1963, but greater than from 1969 to 1971. In recent 

 years poor prospects for fish abundance have con- 

 tributed to the decline in the number of vessels, and 

 the failure of fish to appear until late November has 

 contributed to a shortening of the season. 



Because the amount of time a vessel can fish during 

 the fall season is dependent on weather, which can be 

 quite variable from year to year, the vessel week is not 

 a particularly good measure of effort and the catch per 

 vessel week is not as sensitive an index of abundance 

 as it is in the major areas of the "summer" fishery. 

 Nevertheless, the low CPUE in 1970 and 1971 reflects 

 an unusual scarcity offish. Weather during both years 

 was ideal for fishing; yet on many days spotter pilots 



reported no concentrations of fish and vessels never 

 left the dock. Some vessel operators declined to fish 

 on small age-0 fish that were temporarily abundant at 

 various times. 



LENGTH AND WEIGHT 



Length statistics are presented for the years 1963-71 

 in Appendix tables 1-18. In Appendix tables 1-10 fre- 

 quency distributions are omitted for ages that contain 

 less than 20 fish, or less than 1% of the number of fish 

 in the annual sample. The mean lengths and the 

 number of fish in the monthly samples at each port 

 are shown in Appendix tables 11-18. 



Several significant changes indicate an increased 

 growth rate since 1963. Age-0 fish that began appear- 

 ing in Chesapeake Bay catches in 1964 have been 

 larger than age-0 fish caught in previous years in the 

 North Carolina fall fishery. Age-0 fish caught in the 

 North Carolina fall fishery since 1964, while not 

 averaging as large as those caught in Chesapeake Bay, 

 have been larger than those caught in previous years. 

 Age-1 and -2 fish, although showing no appreciable 

 change in mean length in samples from South Atlan- 

 tic ports, have shown an increase in mean length in 

 samples from Chesapeake Bay and Middle Atlantic 

 ports. Mean lengths of age-3 fish from Chesapeake 

 Bay samples since 1963 have been 30-50 mm greater 

 than they were prior to 1963. Mean length of age-3 and 

 -4 fish from samples at Port Monmouth and Amagan- 

 sett also have been greater since 1963. Fish older than 



11 



