DESTRUCTION OF UNDERSIZED HADDOCK ON GEORGES BANK, 1952 



The destruction of undersized haddock on Georges Bank has 

 been of major concern for many years. With the organization of the 

 International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries in 19^1, 

 the Fish and Wildlife Service recommendation for use of a larger-mesh 

 net to curb the destruction of fish of unmarketable size was given 

 sufficient impetus to ensure adoption. 



The haddock year starts in Februarys therefore, the seasons 

 used in subsequent portions of this paper are as follows ; Season A - 

 February to April, Season B - May to July, Season C - August to 

 October, and Season D - November to January. Subsequent references to 

 the 1952 haddock year will be stated "1952". 



To assess the effectiveness of the larger-mesh in actual 

 practice, it was necessary to have accurate iiiformation on numbers and 

 sizes of fish discarded at sea before and after regulations were 

 applied. A sea sampling program was therefore initiated in 1951 o This 

 report continues our study of the fishery prior to regulations. 



During 1952, seventeen trips were made by observers to 

 Georges Bank. These trips were made on the following trawlers t Drift, 

 Wave, and Surge-owned by the Birdseye Division of the General Foods 

 Corporation; Flying Cloud and Winchester - owned by the 0'Donnell--Usen 

 Company; and the Michigan and Wisconsin - managed by Fulham Bros., Inc. 

 One of the Boston trawlers on which observations were made at sea is 

 shown in figure 1, 



NOTE. — This report on the analysis of haddock discarded at sea on 

 Georges Bank during the 1952 haddock year continues a series of annual 

 reports initiated with the following: 



PremetZj E.D., 1953- Destruction of undersized haddock on Georges 

 Bank, 19U7-1951. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Special Scientific Report — Fisheries No. 96. 33 pp. 12 figs, 



All references pertinent to this study are given in the above 

 report, to which the reader is referred. 



