ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Many persons have contributed to the 

 menhaden investigations from 1952 through 

 1955. Thanks are due to the fishermen who 

 voluntarily submitted daily records of their 

 fishing activities. Special acknowledgment 

 is due to the processing plant operators who 

 made records of menhaden landings available. 

 Without their interest and cooperation, most 

 phases of the investigations wauld have been 

 impossible. 



Msiny temporary field assistants took 

 part in the collection of menhaden samples. 

 Charles M. Roithmayr assisted in the age 



Figure 1. --Areas used in sinninarizing menhaden catch 

 data. Locations of menhaden reduction plants are 

 shown by dots. 



determinations and was largely responsible 

 for the field supervision of the 1955 catch- 

 sampling program. Mary K. Hancock was re- 

 sponsible for the compilation of the catch- 

 sampling data and assisted in their analysis. 



AREAS 



For purposes of summarizing and dis- 

 cussing the data herein reported, the Atlan- 

 tic coast arbitrarily has been divided into 

 what appear to be four natural fishing areas 

 (fig. 1). The boundaries between areas have 

 been drawn so as to pass through waters 

 where relatively little or no fishing occurs 

 £Uid, in general, represent the limits of the 

 operating rainge of vessels delivering to 

 reduction plants in the various localities. 



South Atlantic Area : Waters between 

 Cape Canaveral, Fla. and a line running 

 due east from False Cape, Va. (lat. 36' 

 35' N. and long. 75" 53* W. ), 



Chesapeake Bay Area : Chesapeake Bay 

 proper and coastal waters outside the Bay 

 lying between False Pape and Great Machi- 

 pongo Inlet, Va. (lat. 37° 22 • N. and 

 long. 75° 43' W. ) . 



Middle Atlantic Area : Waters north of 

 Great Machipongo Inlet, Va. to a line run- 

 ning due south of Moriches Inlet (lat. 

 40° 46' N. and long. 72° 44' W.) on the 

 southern coast of Long Island. 



North Atlantic Area : Waters along the 

 southern coast of Long Island, east of a 

 line due south of Moriches Inlet, Long 

 Island Sound, and waters northward. 



THE MENHADEN FISHERY 



Fishing Gear and Methods 



The commercial fishery for menhaden 

 along the Atlantic coast is based on a single 

 species, Brevoortia tyr annus (Latrobe) — . 



1/ A second species, Brevoortia smithi 



(Hildrebrand), occurs in Florida waters, 

 but only scattered individuals appear 

 in purse-seine catches off Fernandina 

 Beach, Fla. A small gill-net fishery 

 for this species is conducted in Indian 

 River, Fla. The catch is sold locally 

 for bait. 



