Catch 



Table 10 summarizes data pertaining 

 to catch and species composition of the pot fish- 

 ery for the period 1946 through 1953. Within 

 the survey area, annual production for the 8- 

 year period averaged over 1 . 5 million pounds . 

 The principal species represented by "all 

 others" included tautog, red hake, porgy, grunt, 

 conger eel, and northern lobster. 



The total catch was rather steady from 

 1946 to 1951, but suddenly increased in 1952 

 and 1953 . The catch per pot showed a marked 

 increase over the 7-year period. In contrast, 

 the amount of fishing declined somewhat. These 

 data indicate that, apart from minor fluctua- 

 tions, the average abundance of sea bass in- 

 creased within the area during the period. 



POUND NET FISHERY 



Average monthly percentages of the 

 catch for the period 1946 through 1953 are plot- 

 ted in figure 27. 



For many years, pound nets were one of 

 the principal gears used to exploit the migratory 

 fish stocks in the inshore waters of the middle 

 Atlantic coast. Recently, however, this gear 



Figure 28 shows (1) total landings with- 

 in the survey area; (2) the catch per pot per 

 season; and (3) fishing effort in terms of num- 

 ber of pots fished. 



UJ 



o 

 a. 



30.0 



22.5 



15.0 



MONTH 



Figure 27. --Pot fishery landings, in monthly 

 percentages, 1946-1953 



virtually ha-s disappeared in certain localities. 

 Of the 14 fishing companies which operated an 

 estimated total of 45 nets in the vicinity of 

 Ocean City, Maryland, during the 1920s, not a 

 single one remains. The last nets being fished 

 out of Wildwood, New Jersey, were removed 

 from the water in August 1953. Among five 

 pound net companies located at Sea Isle City, 

 New Jersey, only three expected to resume fish- 

 ing in 1954. 



Statistics on yield furnish a rough meas 

 ure of the change in this fishery. Figure 29 

 shows pound net production for New Jersey from 

 1939 through 1952. The catch declined from 1944 

 through 1950. The sharp rise in the curve in 1951 

 was due to increased landings of menhaden which 

 accounted for two -thirds of the catch. The follow- 

 ing year this species comprised over half the total 

 landings. Although a general decrease in yield was 

 evident in the entire middle Atlantic region, com - 

 mencing about 1944, the decline was 



37 



