distribution was continuous from North Carolina to New 

 York, with a large concentration centered off Chesapeake 

 Bay, where depths ranged between 15 and 45 m, and a 

 smaller one off Oregon Inlet, N.C., over depths of about 35 

 m. Bottom temperatures were 8° to IS'C below the larger 

 of the two concentrations and 16°C below the smaller. 

 Recent spawning had been most concentrated east of 

 Chesapeake Bay at a depth of 30 m. If spawning reached 

 peak proportions between the first part of July and the 

 middle of August, it must have been largely confined to the 

 southern haU of the bight, inasmuch as both recently 

 hatched larvae and those >4 mm were most abundant off 

 Virginia and North Carolina (Fig. 18). 



In September, when we sampled only the four northern 

 transects, we caught 13 larvae off Long Island and northern 

 New Jersey, none of which represented recent spawning. 



We caught larvae along the entire survey area in October, 

 except at the northernmost transect off southern New 

 England. The center of abundance, much smaller than that 

 of August, occurred off the outer banks of North Carolina 

 over a depth of 35 m and a bottom temperature of 16°C. 

 Recent spawning apparently had occurred as far north as 

 the eastern end of Long Island, but we caught most of the 

 larvae >6 mm between Maryland and North Carolina, a 

 pattern similar to that found in August. Spawning was light 

 north of Delaware Bay (Fig. 19). 



The distribution of larvae in November extended from 

 Montauk Point to Cape Lookout but it was interrupted off 

 New Jersey, where the cruise started. Recently hatched 

 larvae were most abundant between capes Hatteras and 

 Lookout, south of observations made in October. Since 

 larvae <4 mm occurred at only two stations north of Cape 

 Hatteras, we concluded that spawning had ended in the 

 bight. Water depths of 35 to 340 m and the catch location led 

 us to conclude that most larvae caught south of Cape 

 Hatteras were transported into the survey area by the Gulf 

 Stream. We caught some intermediate- sized larvae (4 to 8 

 mm) off Long Island and northern New Jersey, but 

 advanced larval stages (8 to 12 mm) occurred only as far 

 north as Maryland (Fig. 20). 



Only one larva was taken north of North Carolina in 

 December (1965). Most larvae were taken south of Cape 

 Hatteras, the center of their distribution being between 

 capes Hatteras and Lookout over depths of 45 to 150 m 

 (Fig. 21). We concluded that these, like those caught in 

 November, were transported into the survey area. Al- 

 though fewer in number, their distribution in January 

 was similar to that in December (Fig. 22). 



SmaUmouth flounder have an extended spawning season 

 which progresses northward in the spring and southward in 

 the fall. Although this small bothid is reported from as far 

 north as New England (Parr 1931), it appears from our 

 collections that the bight marks its northern limit of 

 spawning. We caught larvae from the eastern end of Long 

 Island to Cape Lookout, but spawning was most concentrat- 

 ed from Virginia to North Carolina. No larvae occurred as 

 far north and east as the transect off southern New England. 

 The absence of advanced larval stages off New York 

 suggests that spawning there was largely unsuccessful, or 

 that the small larvae we caught there were subsequently 

 transported southward by currents. Although smaUmouth 

 flounder and Gulf Stream flounder spawn at the same time 

 of year, their respective larval distributions substantiate the 

 smallmouth's preference for shallow water (see Gutherz 

 1%7; Richardson and Joseph 1973) and the more northern 

 range of Gulf Stream flounder (see Figs. 23 and 15). 



Hippoglottma ohlonga (Mitchill), fourspot flounder.— 

 Fourspot flounder inhabit shelf waters as far north as 

 Georges Bank. Although their range extends southward to 

 Florida (Gutherz 1967), trawl records at this laboratory, and 

 our larval collections as far south as Palm Beach, Fla., 

 indicate that they are rare south of Cape Hatteras. The 

 Middle Atlantic Bight encompasses that section of the shelf 

 where fourspot flounder occur in greatest numbers. Their 

 center of abundance lies between southern New England and 

 Delaware Bay, where they reportedly spawn from May to 

 mid- July (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953). The larvae were 

 described by Leonard (1971). 



Fourspot flounder had the shortest spawning season of 

 the bothid flounders that spawn in the bight, perhaps a 

 consequence of their more northerly distribution. The 

 season, however, was longer than reported by Bigelow and 

 Schroeder (1953). We caught larvae from May through 

 October, and it appeared from their size that spawning 

 lingered into fall (Table 8). 



In June, larvae were scattered along the inner half of the 

 shelf from the outer banks of North Carolina to Delaware, 

 except off North Carolina where they probably were carried 

 seaward by currents (Fig. 24). Most of the larvae were 

 small, <4 mm, none >8 mm. Their size, limited geographic 

 distribution, and the fact that only one was taken during the 

 May cruise suggested that the spawning season was just 

 beginning. 



Although we did not sample during July, it appears likely 

 that spawning was maximal then. By August, larvae were 

 distributed from North Carolina to southern New England. 

 There were two centers of abundance: one midway out on 

 the shelf off New Jersey over depths of 30 to 40 m, the other 

 on the outer part of the shelf off southern New England over 

 depths of 60 to 80 m. A lesser concentration occurred east of 

 Chesapeake Bay near the edge of the shelf. Most larvae 

 comprising the two major centers of abundance were small 

 and presumably had been spawned nearby. Bottom 

 temperatures near the two concentrations, 8.6° and 9.0°C, 

 respectively, were lower than those observed where we 

 caught larvae in June but warmer than in May, when we 

 first caught young fourspot flounder. Although larvae 4 to 8 

 mm had a distribution similar to that of the smaller size 

 group, larvae 8 to 12 mm were caught mostly between New 

 Jersey and North Carolina, reflecting the earlier spawning 

 evident in our spring catches (Fig. 25). We caught three 

 larvae >12 mm off Virginia. 



When we sampled only the four northernmost transects in 

 mid-September, larvae were most abundant off New Jersey 

 and Long Island, but concentrations were not as great as 

 those found on the previous cruise (Fig. 26). Recently 

 spawned larvae were most numerous off Long Island over 

 depths of 55 to 75 m and bottom temperatures between 7.9" 

 and 8.5°C. Most of the larvae were 4 to 8 mm. 



The distribution of larvae in October extended from 

 eastern Long Island to Chesapeake Bay. A single 

 concentration reached from southern New Jersey to 

 Maryland over depths between 25 and 55 m. Recently 

 hatched larvae, those <4 mm, predominated at the center of 

 abundance over 6.2"'C bottom water. Those 4 to 8 mm were 

 scattered throughout the area of occurrence (Fig. 27). The 

 reduced catch and receding areal extent of larval occurrence 

 in October indicated that spawning had peaked during the 

 summer. The absence of larvae on the following cruise 

 confirmed the October results. 



19 



