the trawl fisheries in recent years was 

 downward, factors other than fish 

 abundance probably were largely re- 

 sponsible. 



Some vessels of the offshore fleet 

 shift to scallop dredging and lobster 

 trawling during the summer months- 

 Scallop landings averaged about 

 360,000 pounds and lobster production 

 about 390,000 pounds annually. 



A surf-clam fishery for canning pur- 

 poses started in the area in 1949. 

 Annual yield has increased steadily, 

 and in 1957 a fleet of over lOOvessels 

 equipped with hydraulic dredges 

 landed nearly one million bushels. 

 Fishing in recent years has gradually 

 shifted from inshore grounds to deeper 

 waters where virgin beds of these 

 large mollusks frequently are un- 

 covered. Increased fishing effort and 

 improved equipnnent have increased 

 production although catch per unit of 

 effort has steadily declined. 



A pot fishery for sea bass produces ap- 

 proximately 1.6 million pounds an- 

 nually. An increase in fishing effort 

 showed no resulting increase in catch 

 from the grounds now being fished. 



Combined annual production of the minor 

 fisheries within the area, including 

 purse seine for food fish, pound net, 

 drift gill net, trawl line, hand line, 

 and troll line, amounts to less than 

 2 million pounds. All have declined 

 in importance within the area, and 

 several (drift gill net and pound net) 

 are on the verge of disappearing. 



Catches by sport fishermen, estimated 

 at somewhere between 4 and 7 million 

 pounds annually, accounted for a 

 relatively snnall portion of the total 

 fish production within the area. The 

 sport fishery, however, contributes 

 substantially to the economy of the 

 area by providing a source of income 

 to boat operators, bait dealers, and 

 other recreational interests. 



General conclusions drawn from the 

 survey are: (a) fish production per 

 unit area is the highest inthe Western 

 Hemisphere; (b) many species oc- 

 curring in the area appear underex- 

 ploited or underutilized; (c) there is 

 need for exploration and gear develop- 

 ment, together with biological and 

 technological studies, to define and 

 more fully utilize the available fish 

 stocks within the area. 



Recommendations are concerned with: 

 (a) implementation of continuing 

 studies on the marine resources of 

 the area, and (b) selection of waste - 

 disposal areas. 



LITERATURE CITED 



ANDERSON, A. W., AND E. A. POWER. 



1956. Fishery statistics of the United 

 States 1954. U. S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Statistical Digest 39, 374 pp. 



1957. Fishery statistics of the United 

 States 1955. U. S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Statistical Digest 41, 446 pp. 



JUNE, FRED C. 



1956. Condition of the middle Atlantic 

 pound net fishery. U. S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, Commercial Fish- 

 eries Review, vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 1 -5. 



JUNE, FRED C. , AND JOHN W.REINTJES. 



1957. Survey of the ocean fisheries off 

 Delaware Bay. U. S. Fish and Wild- 

 life Service, Special Scientific Re- 

 port-Fisheries No. ZZZ, 55 pp. 



POWER, E. A. 



1958. Fishery statistics of the United 

 States 1956. U. S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Statistical Digest 43, 476 pp. 



1959. Fishery statistics of the United 

 States 1957. U. S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Statistical Digest 44, 429 pp. 



ROUNSEFELL, GEORGE A., AND W. 

 HARRY EVERHART. 



1953. Fishery science. John Wiley and 

 Sons, New York, 444 pp. 



18 



MS. 960. 



GPO 696960 



