Three types of gear are discussed in 

 the following account. These include hand, jig, 

 and troll lines. The hand line consists of a 

 single length of line with one or more hooks at- 

 tached by snoods or spreaders with a lead 

 weight fastened at the end. When fishing for 

 porgy, sea bass, and other bottom fishes, the 

 hooks are baited with clam, squid, or cut fish, 

 and hung just above the bottom in the vicinity 

 of wrecks or over rough grounds . A large num- 

 ber of lines may be fished simultaneously over 

 the side of the boat as it drifts or is anchored 

 over the fishing grounds. 



A jig consists of a number of hooks 

 fastened to shorter lines than those used for 

 bottom fishing. Usually they are not weighted. 

 The lines are jerked or jigged up and down in 

 the water as the boat drifts with the current or 

 lies anchored over the grounds. Usually 

 ground chum, consisting of fish, clam, or 

 meat, is thrown into the water to attract the 

 fish. In this area, the method is effective for 

 most food species, including bluefish, bonito, 

 mackerel, tuna, andweakfish. 



Trolling gear consists of hooks and 

 lines which are towed through the water. Two 

 or three lines may be fished over the stern, 

 but additional lines require the use of outrigger 

 booms. Artificial lures or hooks baited with 

 squid or fish are commonly used. Ground chum 

 also may be used to attract the fish to the ves- 

 sel. The largest catches usually are taken 

 from schools of fish by crossing and recrossing 

 their line of travel . Commercially, trolling is 

 used for taking bluefish, bonito, and tuna in 

 this area. 



Fishing Grounds 



Fishing grounds extend from the shallow 

 waters along the beach to about 25 miles off- 

 shore. Because boats used in the fishery are 

 small, areas most heavily fished are near prin- 

 cipal ports of landing. Wrecks, rocky bottoms, 

 and inshore shoal areas are most productive 

 for. bottom fishing. Trolling for pelagic species 

 is carried on along the offshore ridges and 

 shoals in the vicinity of tide and current bound- 

 aries. Jigging is pursued inshore near jetties 

 and bays or in deeper water over the shoals . 

 Figure 37 showing areas fished by the sport 



fishing fleets, is applicable to these fisheries, 

 as the species sought and methods employed 

 are the same. Certain major shoals, such as 

 Brigatine, Avalon, Five Fathom Bank, McCries, 

 Fenwick Island, Isle of Wight, Ocean City, Gull, 

 Jack Spot, and Winter Quarter are the principal 

 grounds within the survey area. 



Catch 



Commercial hand and troll line landings 

 for the period 1946 through 1953 are summar- 

 ized in table 14. The yield shown for 1946 is 

 estimated from incomplete dock records. An- 

 nual production for the period average 166,000 

 pounds. The peak in 1948 was attributable to 

 increased troll landings of bluefish which amount- 

 ed to nearly 172,000 pounds. 



Table 14. --Hand and troll line landings, 

 1946-1953. 



Year 



Hand-line 

 catch in pounds 



Troll-line catch 

 in pounds 



Average percentage composition by species for 

 the 8 -year period, 1946 through 1953 is shown 

 in table 15. Sea bass, porgy, and weakfish com- 

 prised over 75 percent of the hand line catch, 

 whereas bluefish was the important species in 

 the troll fishery. In earlier years, substantial 

 quantities of mackerel were taken by thosS 

 methods; since 1946 this species has been of 

 little importance. 



Fishing with hand and troll lines is con- 

 fined to the period from late spring until early 

 winter. Figure 35 shows the monthly average 

 percentage distribution of landings for 1946 

 through 1953. 



No index of abundance was calculated for 

 this fishery. 



44 



