all mature age groups are fished and in which 

 the fishery extends over a long enough period 

 that the catch-per-unit-effort might be con- 

 sidered representative of the abundance of the 

 stocks. 



The decUne in the catch of Atlantic men- 

 haden probably was due principally to a series 

 of poor yeai^ classes since 1958. Overfishing did 

 not cause the initial decline, but there are 

 strong indications that the reduced stocks may 

 subsequently have been overfished and that 

 this contributed to the continued reduced 

 abundance and failure of the resource to 

 recover. McHugh (1969) compared the Atlantic 

 menhaden and the Pacific sardine (Sardinops 

 caenilea) fisheries and the similarity in the 

 decline in abundance of the two resources. 

 With increased fishing effort the average age of 

 the stocks was reduced and the first to suffer 

 were the more northern areas which were 

 dependent on the older fish. As fishing effort 

 on the younger fish remained high and year- 

 class strength continued poor, the fishery 

 became more dependent on the younger fish 

 and, in the case of the sardine, the resource 

 declined and the fishery eventually disap- 

 peared. McHugh pointed out "A fishery based 

 on a single species, highly variable in abun- 

 dance, is not likely to be a stable fishery." He 

 also said, "Moreover, the time lag of a year or 

 two in building vessels and plants usually may 

 provide maximum catching and processing 

 capability when the resource is already declin- 

 ing. In the absence of effective fishing regula- 

 tion, disaster is probably almost inevitable." 



I am concerned that the stocks of Atlantic 

 menhaden may have been reduced to a level 

 that is having an adverse effect on recruitment. 

 Unfortunately, the 1968 catch increased over 

 the previous year. This made many people, 

 particularly in industry, believe the decline had 

 ended. Small fluctuations of this nature can be 

 expected; they occurred in the sardine fishery 

 also, but will have no lasting effect unless the 

 fishery is properly managed. The menhaden 

 industry has begun to recognize the need for 

 some changes in the fishery. In 1968, it 

 voluntarily implemented certain beneficial 

 policies. 



Although we do not have sufficient data to 

 manage the Atlantic menhaden on a com- 

 pletely scientific basis, I agree with McHugh 



(1969) "It is not necessary to wait until 

 indisputable scientific evidence is available 

 before taking action to manage a fishery. 

 History has shown that such caution usually 

 leads to disaster." We do have a considerable 

 amount of data on Atlantic menhaden that are 

 being used as a basis for management, and 1 

 believe it important that tlie available data, even 

 though incomplete, continue to be used for sub- 

 sequent analyses and management of this 

 resource. 



SUMMARY 



Menhaden support the largest U.S. commer- 

 cial fishery in terms of pounds landed. In 

 recent years the fishery has experienced a 

 serious decline in production. This decline 

 occurred principally in the Atlantic coast 

 fishery where the catch declined from 1.3 

 billion pounds (0.590 miUion metric tons) in 

 1962 to 0.55 billion pounds (0.249 million 

 metric tons) in 1968— a 58% decline. 



The Atlantic fishery is divided into four 

 fishing areas; North Atlantic, Middle Atlantic, 

 Chesapeake Bay, and South Atlantic. In addi- 

 tion there is a fall fishery off North Carolina. 

 Although all areas have experienced a decline 

 in production, the greatest decline has occurred 

 in the North Atlantic and Middle Atlantic 

 fisheries. An analysis of the catch and effort 

 data indicate that the North Carolina and 

 Florida catches should not be combined in the 

 South Atlantic Area in future analyses. 



The unit of fishing effort currently used for 

 the menhaden fishery, catch-per-standard-vessel 

 day, adequately portrays the trends in fishing 

 effort but grossly underestimates actual effort, 

 particularly in recent years, because it does not 

 take into consideration fishing days with no 

 catches. Since the early 1960's fishing effort 

 has declined drastically in the North Atlantic 

 and Middle Atlantic fisheries, but has reached 

 record high levels in Chesapeake Bay. 



A significant relation exists between the 

 relative fishing power of menhaden vessels on 

 Chesapeake Bay and the length of the vessel, 

 but not for the gross tonnage of the vessels. 

 The catch-per-unit-of-effort is at a low level in 

 most fishing areas. 



Before 1964 the largest annual catches of 



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