SURVEY OF THE OCEAN FISHERIES OFF DELAWARE BAY- 

 SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT, 1954-57 



By 



John W. Reintjes and Charles M. Roithmayr 



Fishery Research Biologists 



Bureau of Connmercial Fisheries 



ABSTRACT 



This is a final, supplemental report of a survey of the ocean fisheries 

 off Delaware Bay, including the coastal waters lying between Barnegat, New 

 Jersey and Chincoteague, Virginia, for the period 1954-57. Because of their 

 seasonal nature, data pertaining to the winter fisheries (off shore otter trawl, 

 trawl line, and gill net) were included from July 1953 through May 1958. 



Measurements of catch, catch per unit effort, and total fishing effort for 

 the major fisheries of the area (excluding the menhaden purse- seine fishery) 

 indicate that the otter-trawl and pot fisheries have remained relatively 

 stable during the period. The surf-clam fishery has shown an increased 

 production, but a decline in apparent abundance. Minor fisheries, including 

 pound net, gill net, trawl line, hand line, and purse seine for food fish, have 

 dwindled in importance, and some are near extinction. 



Recommendations concerning utilization of the fishery resources of the 

 area and proposed studies, should waste disposal in the coastal waters be 

 contemplated, are included. 



In view of a proposal to discharge 

 certain chemical wastes into the ocean 

 waters off Delaware Bay, the U. S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service was concerned with the 

 possible effect of such wastes on the fish 

 stocks of the area. Accordingly, a survey 

 of the commercial and sport fisheries was 

 conducted in the ocean waters off southern 

 New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. Field 

 studies were begun in 1952 and continued 

 through May 1958. Waste disposal was not 

 initiated, and the study was terminated 

 when the likelihood of the proposed dis- 

 posal seemed remote. 



This report sunrimarizes data compiled 

 for the years 1954 through 1957 and supple- 

 ments an earlier report by June andReintjes 

 (1957) for the period 1946-53. Because 

 operations of the offshore otter-trawl, 

 trawl-line, and gill-net fisheries overlap 

 calendar years, pertinent data on these 

 fisheries were included from July 1953 

 through May 1958. 



The objectives of the study were to 

 determine the following: (1) fishing areas 

 and seasons, (2) abundance of fish and 

 intensity of fishing in termis of individual 



