RECOMMENDATIONS 



In order to plan full utilization of the 

 existing fishery resources of the area and 

 to develop those which are now underex- 

 ploited or unexploited, the following rec- 

 omnnendations for continuing studies are 

 made: 



1. Expand the area for consideration 



to include the littoral zone (shore 

 to the edge of the Continental 

 Shelf) of the entire Middle Atlantic 

 Bight (Montauk Point, N.Y. to 

 Cape Hatteras, N. C). 



2. Establish a system for the continu- 



ing collection and tabulation of 

 catch statistics by date, gear, 

 species, and area of capture. 



3. Initiate exploratory fishing and ex- 



perimental gear studies to define 

 and capture unexploited species 

 and to increase production of es- 

 tablished but underexploited fish- 

 eries. 



4. Undertake further studies on the 



sedentary benthic shellfishes 

 (particularly the surf clam) and 

 the resident benthic finfishes for 

 purposes of determining their 

 areas of concentrations, move- 

 ments, and population dynamics. 



5. Initiate technological studies aimed 

 at complete utilization of the 

 catch from the area. 



In view of the increasing number of 

 proposals for disposing of waste substances 

 into the ocean waters within the immediate 

 survey area, the following considerations 

 are of primary importance: 



1. In order to fulfill a reasonable pol- 



icy of noninterference with estab- 

 lished fishing practices and 

 grounds, a survey of the existing 

 fisheries should be made prior to 

 the initiation of any waste -dis- 

 posal operations. 



2. Detailed knowledge of the near- 



shore circulation, including the 

 effects of estuarine water trans- 

 port, will be required in order 



to determine the existing currents 

 which would affect dispersion of 

 waste products. 



3. Monitoring of the area during and 



subsequent to any waste -disposal 

 operations should be innple- 

 mented. 



4. Collection and analysis of bottom 



deposits and bottom organisms 

 should be initiated for purposes 

 of determining the existence of 

 or rate of deposition of harmful 

 substances. 



SUMMARY 



This report concludes a survey of the 

 ocean fisheries off Delaware Bay for 

 the period 1954-57 (includes some 

 data on the 1958 winter fisheries) 

 and constitutes a supplement to a 

 report for the period 1946-53 (June 

 and Reintjes 1957). 



The major fisheries of the area include: 

 menhaden purse seine, otter trawl, 

 surf clam, and pot. These fisheries 

 produce over 99 percent of the total 

 annual landings of fish and shellfish 

 within the area. The menhaden purse - 

 seine fishery leads all others, ac- 

 counting for over 95 percent of the 

 total catch by weight. The menhaden 

 fishery is not discussed in this report, 

 since pertinent data are available in 

 published reports of the Bureau of 

 Commercial Fisheries Menhaden In- 

 vestigations, Beaufort, N. C. 



The otter-trawl fishery is composed of 

 two fleets, an inshore fleet of snnall 

 to medium-sized vessels (< 50 feet) 

 and an offshore fleet of larger vessels 

 (> 50 feet). During the period con- 

 sidered, fluke, porgy, sea bass, and 

 weakfish comprised over 77 percent of 

 the combined annual landings. Waters 

 immediately off the mouth of Delaware 

 Bay, including Five -Fathom Bank, 

 accounted for 67 percent of the inshore 

 trawl catch, while grounds located 

 in the imnnediate vicinity of marked 

 indentations of the 1 00 -fathom contour 

 accounted for 36 percent of the off- 

 shore catch. Although production of 



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