The sciaenids contributed 29 and 42 percent 

 to the monthly average catches in March and 

 April, 61 and 63 percent during May and June, 

 and 87 to 94 percent from July to January; 

 this contribution declined to 74 percent in 

 February, and then dropped abruptly to the low 

 in March and April (table 11). Except for 

 March and April, sciaenids were taken through- 

 out the year in greater numbers than all other 

 families combined. 



Clupeidae. --The yearly average catch of 

 clupeids for the area was 73 per hour of trawl- 

 ing, representing 3.5 percent of the total catch. 



Less than 6 clupeids were taken per hour of 

 trawling from July to December; the number 

 rose abruptly to a peak of 345 and 275 in 

 January and February, decreased irregularly 

 during the spring, and continued to the seasonal 

 low that began in July (table 11). 



The clupeids contributed from 0,3 to less 

 than 0.1 percent of the monthly average catches 

 from July to December, and 7.9 to 14.3 percent 

 fronn January to June (except for April); the 

 peak was in February (table 11). 



Gadidae. --T he yearly average catch of 

 gadids for the area was 54 per hour of trawling, 

 representing 2.6 percent of the total catch. 



No gadids were captured from July to 

 December, and only a few in January; the 

 nunnber increased sharply to 71 per hour of 

 trawling in February, peaked at 305 and 208 in 

 March and April, and fell abruptly to 1 or less 

 in May and June, and none in July (table 1 1). 



Gadids made up 0.1 percent of the monthly 

 average catch in January, 3.7 percent in 

 February, 32.6 and 37.5 percent in March and 

 April, 0.1 percent in May and June, and were 

 not taken in July to December (table 11). 



Engraulidae .--The yearly average catch of 

 engraulids for the area was 53 per hour of 

 trawling, representing 2.5 percent of the total 

 catch. 



Only 1 to 12 were taken per hour of trawling 

 from July to September; the number increased 

 irregularly during the fall and winter, reached 

 72 in February, peaked at 235 in May, declined 

 in June, and continued to decline to the low in 

 July to September (table 11). 



The engraulids contributed from less than 

 0.05 to 0.7 percent of the monthly average 

 catches from July to September, increased 

 generally to 1.6 to 3.7 percent during late fall 

 and winter, peaked during the spring at 16.1 

 and 16.6 percent in March and May, declined to 

 11.2 percent in June, and continued to the low in 

 July to September (table 11). 



Ariidae. --The yearly average catch of sea 

 catfish for the area was 44 per hour of trawling, 

 representing 2.1 percent of the total catch. 



No sea catfishwere capturedfrom December 

 to March, and only a few were taken in April; 

 the number per hour of trawling increased al- 

 most steadily from May through the summer. 



peaked at 153and 184 in September and October, 

 and dropped abruptly to only 0.2 per hour of 

 trawling in November (table 11). 



Catfish contributed 1.2 to 2.3 percent of the 

 monthly average catches in May and June, 

 peaked at 4.6 to 6.4 percent in September and 

 October, and dropped abruptly to only 0.2 in 

 November (table 11). 



Species 



Six species of fishes ( Stellifer lanceolatus , 

 Leiostomus xanthurus , Micropogon undulatus , 

 Cynoscion regalis, Menticirrhus spp., and 

 Brevoortia spp. --in that order) were taken in 

 greatest numbers and together contributed 

 1,743 of the 2,086 yearly average number of 

 fish caught per hour of trawling, and over 83 

 percent of the yearly average catch for the 

 South Carolina grounds. 



STELLIFER LANCEOLATUS. --The yearly 

 average catch of star drum for the area was 

 809 per hour of trawling, representing 38.8 

 percent of the total catch. 



Only 89 were taken per hour of trawling in 

 March; the number increased rapidly during 

 late spring and early summer and exceeded 

 1,000 in July and August, peaked at 2,481 in 

 September, declined to 1,638 in October, and 

 generally continued to decline to the low in 

 March (table 12). 



The species contributed 7.5 to 21.2 percent 

 of the monthly average catches from December 

 to March (less than 10 percent except in 

 January), 27.9 percent in April, 41 to 74 percent 

 in May to November (peak in September--see 

 table 12). 



LEIOSTOMUS XANTHURUS . --The yearly 

 average catch of spot for the area was 466 

 per hour of trawling, representing 22.3 percent 

 of the total catch. 



Numbers per hour of trawling were low in 

 two periods --one in the fall and one in the 

 spring. The monthly average catch per hour 

 of trawling was 9 and 4 in September and 

 October, 24 in November, peaked at 2,496 in 

 December, declined to 1,457 and 1,096 in 

 January and February, dropped sharply to 6 to 

 10 in March to May, increased to 47 in June, rose 

 to a summer high of 138 in July, declined in 

 August, and continued to decline to the fall low 

 (table 12). 



Spots made up only small percentages of 

 the monthly average catches in two periods, 

 fall and spring. They contributed only 0.3 and 

 0.2 percent in September and October and 1.9 

 in November, peaked at 69.9 percent in Decem- 

 ber, maintained a high level of 39.5 and 57.0 

 percent in January and February, fell to 0.6 

 to 1.9 percent from March to May, and made 

 up 3.0 to 7.0 percent of the catch in June to 

 August (table 12). 



