oceanic stations between 24 April and 11 May 

 (Fig. 2). 



Collections were made with 1-m nets con- 

 structed of white No. 30XXX grit gauze (nomi- 

 nal mesh aperture 0.7 mm when new and 0.5- 

 0.6 mm after some use), similar in design to a 

 1-m net used extensively by the California 

 Cooperative Oceanic Fishery Investigation 

 (CalCOFI; Ahlstrom, 1952). These nets were 

 towed over an oblique path to a depth of about 

 200 m, depth of water permitting. Vessel speed 

 during the tows was maintained at 1 to 2 knots. 

 The net was lowered rapidly (about 50 m of 

 wire per minute) until the desired amount of 

 wire had been paid out, and the net was then 

 retrieved at about 20 to 25 m of wire per 

 minute. The amount of water strained was 

 estimated with a flowmeter^ mounted in the 

 center of the mouth of the net. A bathykymo- 

 graph. Marine Advisors Model T-1. attached to 

 the bridle of the net provided a record of the path 

 of the net through the water with respect to 

 depth and time. A single tow was made at each 

 station unless an obvious gear malfunction 

 occurred. Also, at each station the surface water 

 temperature was measured, a salinity sample 

 collected, and a bathythermograph lowered to 

 a depth of about 275 m. 



Plankton samples were preserved in 10% 

 Formalin (3.7% formaldehyde) buffered with 

 borax, and returned to the laboratory for further 

 processing. In the laboratory the displacement 

 volume of the total catch was measured, the fish 

 eggs and larvae removed, and the remainder of 

 the sample sent to the Smithsonian Oceano- 

 graphic Sorting Center in Washington, D.C. 



Total numbers of fish larvae caught at each 

 station are presented in Appendix Table 3 and 

 the total plankton volumes in Appendix Tables 

 1 and 2. The actual numbers and volumes may 

 be converted to standard units through use of 

 Standard Haul Factors (SHF) presented in 

 Appendix Table 4. Factor (A), catch per 10 

 cubic meters of water strained per meter of 

 depth fished, should be used to standardize the 

 numbers of larvae because this permits com- 

 parison of numbers caught at different stations 

 (Ahlstrom, 1948). Factor (B), catch per 1,000 



124 



■* Manufactured by Tsurumi-Seiki Kosakusho Co., Ltd., 

 Yokohama, Japan. 



Figure 2. — Location of fishing stations in Puget Sound 

 and adjacent waters, 10 April to 22 April 1967. 

 Stations are designated by dots for the RV John N. 

 Cobb and by triangles for the RV George B. Kelez; 

 station positions are listed in Appendix Tables 1 and 2. 



cubic meters of water strained, can be used to 

 standardize the volume of zooplankton. 



Because of the lack of any comprehensive key 

 to fish larvae of the northeastern Pacific Ocean, 

 identification was made by several means. Many 

 of the larvae were identified by comparing them 

 with specimens of known identity in the collec- 

 tions of the NMFS Fishery-Oceanography Cen- 

 ter at La JoUa, Calif. The identification of some 

 of the more northerly forms was based upon 

 specimens of the Fisheries Research Board of 

 Canada at their Biological Station in Nanaimo, 

 British Columbia. Identification of a few speci- 

 mens was made on the basis of published 

 descriptions. 



Larvae were classified to the smallest taxo- 

 nomic group possible; in some cases this was 



