the size composition c^jrve for the 19h9 year classj, which exhibited 

 two widely separated peaks in the 1951 collection (Premeta^ 1953) shoe's this 

 phenomenon during Seasons B and D of 1952j, but not in Season Co No explana- 

 tion of this unusual distribution can b^ giveno 



sgmiARi 



1» During 1952, the destruction of undersized haddock on Georges 

 Bank by the Boston and New Bedford fishing fleets (based on skippers' 

 estimates as reported to port intenriswers) was about i;o9 million pounds 

 (UoUo million fish). Of this total, about i;,? million pounds (3,8 million 

 fish), or over 86 percent, was reported by the B'^ston fleet. The 1952 discard 

 by the Boston fleet approximates the average annual destruction report.ed 

 during the period 19ii7=195lo 



2o During the 1?52 haddock year, observer's weni'i to sea on seventeen 

 :;ommercial trips to the Georges Bank area to analyse the catch. Skippers' 

 sstimates of pounds discarded were found to be within 6-1/2 percent of 

 3stimatesmade by the Service observers at sea. In 1951, skippers' estimates 

 rere within 12-1/2 percent of estimates ma.de by observers at sea.o 



3, Most of the destruction was reported during the sunzner monohs 

 as in past years. At this time of the year tw'&-'ye3r=«)ld fish are attaining 

 a size at which they acre caught in quantity but are still not of marketable 

 size. In 1952 the fishery was dominated by t.wo=yftar-clds (1950 year clas?). 

 Usually there is a heavy d*atruction of s-erod when a dominant year class 

 enters the fishery during its third year of Life, (twQ-jftar^&lds ars in 

 their third year of life). In 1952, however, the d«3trttction was not excep- 

 tionally large in spite of the fa<:t that the tw«:"»y€ai:-:ld3 were veiy abindant. 

 Older fish were unusually scarce in 1952 1 the two-year-olds ccnstitiited over 

 62 percent of the total cat^'h. For this reason, fishermen tended to savs 

 most of them so that the .30 percent point on the cull ciirve was scjnewhat 

 lower than in 1951 when the thre»=y«ar'-clds dojninated the fish^rj'. 



3 k 



