200 

 100 



in 200 



o 



(O 800 



z 

 o 



400 



I 200 

 o 



<t 100 



200 

 100 



SOUTH ATLANTIC 



CHESAPEAKE BAY 



MIDDLE ATLANTIC 



200 < 



100 

 50 



1945 



1950 



Figure 20.— Annual catch of Atlantic menhaden bv 

 area, 1940-68. 



10 VEfln AVERAGE 



ANNUAL CATCH 



MILLIONS THOUSANDS 



Of OF 



POUNDS METRIC TONS 



1963 1965 



Figure 21.— Annual catch of Atlantic menhaden by 

 area, 1959-68. (The shaded area indicates the portion 

 of the annual catch that exceeds the 10 year average.) 



vessel weeks— reduces the amount of data and 

 the accuracy of the estimates. Although there 

 have been changes in the efficiency of the 

 vessels, these would be most important in 

 comparisons of effort before and after the 

 mid-1950's. For future studies of this resource, 

 I believe the best unit of effort would be a 

 standard vessel fishing day (includes days of 

 zero landings and allowances for differing 

 fishing power) possibly related to the length of 

 the vessel. Studies also should be undertaken to 

 estimate the increased efficiency of the gear in 

 recent years. 



Changes in the Distribution of Landing and 

 Fishing Effort 



The annual catches of Atlantic menhaden 

 from 1940 through 1968, for the four summer 

 fishing areas, as well as for the North Carolina 

 fall fishery, are shown in Figure 20. In my 

 earlier publication (Henry, 1965), which listed 

 catches through 1964, I stated "The decline in 

 the catches in the Middle Atlantic and North 

 Atlantic Areas in 1963 and 1964 is of deep 

 concern to the fishing industry." It is apparent 

 that the production in these two areas has 

 declined even more in the 4 years since 1964, 

 causing increased concern. The extent of 

 change in the various fishing areas can be seen 

 somewhat better if the annual catches are 

 compared with the mean catch over the past 10 

 years (Fig. 21). It is obvious from these data 

 that production has been down in recent years 

 in all areas. In only two instances since 1963 

 (South Atlantic— 1964; North Carolina fall 

 fishery— 1966) have any of the annual area 

 catches exceeded the 10-year average annual 

 catch. 



The summer fishery in the South Atlantic 

 area actually encompasses two separate fishing 

 areas: (1) off North Carolina, and (2) off Flori- 

 da-Georgia. Some fish were landed in South 

 Carolina through 1959— these have been 

 included with the annual Florida catches. In 

 Figure 22, the catches for North Carolina and 

 Florida -South Carolina are plotted separately 

 as annual deviations from the average catch in 

 each area for the 10-year period 1959-68. The 

 annual landings in these two areas do not 

 fluctuate in the same manner. These differen- 



11 



