Table 5.— The seasonal diatributlon of Gulf Stream flounder, Cltharlohthya 

 arc tif rone, larvae by size. Numbers are adjusted to standardize sampling 



Cape Hatteras. Although we caught larvae over depths as 

 shoal as 20 m, the center of abundance extended along the 

 outer half of the shelf between southern New England and 

 Chesapeake Bay over depths of 30 to 175 m. Based on the 

 distribution of larvae <4 mm, the most recent spawning was 

 centered off New Jersey, but the distribution of larvae 4 to 8 

 mm indicated that heavy spawning had taken place as far 

 north and east as Cape Cod in July (Fig. 10). Although the 

 distribution of larvae overlapped the boundaries of the cold 

 bottom water off Long Island and New Jersey, the major 

 concentrations of recently spawned larvae, those <4 mm, 

 were generally outside the periphery of the coldest water. 

 Nonetheless, if concentrations of small larvae are indicative 

 of nearby spawning, the Gulf Stream flounder spawns in 

 colder water than any other member of the family that 

 spawns in the bight. Despite this flounder's tolerance of cold 

 water, our data indicate that spawning began in the 

 southern part of the bight and progressed northward, a 

 trend that we associate with spring warming. 



During the abbreviated September cruise, larvae were 

 caught throughout the area sampled. They were abundant 

 over a wide part of the shelf, but the major concentration 

 occurred south of Long Island over bottom temperatures 

 between 6° and 8°C (Fig. 11). Larvae were more abundant 

 in the part of the survey area which we sampled in 

 September than in August, but, based on the relative 



numbers of small larvae taken along the same transects on 

 the two cruises, we concluded that spawning had peaked in 

 July or, at the latest, early August (Table 5). 



We caught larvae in October from southern New England 

 to Oregon Inlet, N.C. The center of abundance extended 

 along the seaward half of the shelf between Long Island and 

 Chesapeake Bay over depths of 35 to 120 m and bottom 

 temperatures between 7° and 11°C (Fig. 12). Although a 

 small patch of larvae <4 mm was situated east of Delaware 

 Bay, the overall distribution by size indicated that the 

 height of the spawning season had passed (Table 5). 



The catch dropped off sharply in November, and no 

 concentrations were evident. The near absence of larvae <4 

 mm substantiated the sharp decline in spawning noted in 

 October (Table 5). The distribution of larvae receded to 

 Long Island at the northern end of the survey area and in 

 outline closely resembled that of the area of major 

 abundance found on the previous cruise (Fig. 13). This 

 suggests that circulation had little effect on the transport of 

 larvae. The catch declined further in December (Fig. 14). 

 None occurred in late January or early February. 



Although larvae were absent from our January collec- 

 tions, we caught intermediate-sized specimens off Long 

 Island and southern New England, and both large and small 

 specimens off North Carolina, in April and May (Table 5). 

 Despite the absence of larvae from our winter collections, 



11 



