Table 7. --Monthly distribution and length range (mm in parentheses) of 

 young-of-the-year Atlantic menhaden in samples collected by haul 

 seine in the lower river and surface trawl in the upper river. 



Oct. 



Mov. 

 Dec. 



(61-95) 



32 



(65-115) 



32 











juveniles probably stayed in open waters of the 

 estuary and thus were not available to seining 

 efforts in the littoral areas. The majority of 

 these young menhaden left the estuary and re- 

 turned to the ocean as waters began to cool. 

 Some lingered in the system for a greater period 

 of time, however, as attested by the catches of 

 yearlings in gill nets throughout the year. 



Bay Anchovy 



Bay anchovy was distributed throughout the 

 system and occurred in collections each month 

 (Table 8). They were taken in the upper por- 

 tion of the river from June through December. 

 Small anchovies entered the catches in June, in- 

 dicating that spawning began in May. Young 

 fishes persisted in the catches during the re- 



mainder of the year, suggesting a prolonged 

 breeding season extending well into fall. The 

 bay anchovy was most numerous from July- 

 October with a peak of abundance in September 

 suggesting that spawning intensity was greatest 

 in mid-summer. 



Spot 



Postlarval spot were first collected in the 

 estuary during February and appeared in sam- 

 ples from the upper river, Zone 3, in March 

 (Table 9). During April they occurred as far 

 upstream as Zone 2 in waters that were com- 

 pletely fresh at the time of sampling. By July 

 young spot had emigrated from the upper river, 

 but young-of-the-year were taken from the estu- 

 ary through October. 



14 



