persons who troll for bluefish and other pelagic 

 species on grounds up to 20 miles offshore. 

 From late June through mid-September, small 

 parties of two to four persons search for mar- 

 lin on the offshore grounds, lying up to 40 miles 

 from land. Approximately 50 percent of the 

 charters during this period are exclusively for 

 this species. Many small landings of bluefish, 

 bonito, little tuna, dolphin, and other pelagic 

 species, however, are the result of unsuccess- 

 ful white marlin trips . On such trips most of 

 the time and effort are spent trolling for mar- 

 lin. If none is caught, the remaining part of 

 the day's fishing may be devoted to trolling for 

 other species. 



Data concerning the Ocean City sport 

 fishery were obtained from interviews and fish- 

 ing logbooks kept by the boat captains. Detailed 

 logbook information was available for approx- 

 imately 55 percent of the fleet in 1952. Because 

 of the homogeneity of data, the sample was re- 

 duced by one -half in 1953 . Resulting data are 

 summarized in table 16. The estimated total 

 yield for the charter boat fishery in 1953 amount- 

 ed to over 400,000 pounds. In addition, two 

 party boats landed an additional estimated 

 50,000 pounds . 



< 

 2 



ID 



I 



O 



cr 



ID 

 CD 



2 

 3 



1400 



Figure 36. --White marlin landings, Ocean 

 City, Maryland, 1936-1953 



The objective in ocean sport fishing usual- 

 ly is recreational, and the resulting catch often 

 is of secondary importance . This recreational 

 aspect is particularly pertinent in the fishery 

 for the larger game species. In addition, many 

 of the smaller pelagic fishes are relatively un- 

 popular as food, and the size of the catch often 

 is controlled by the whims of the fishermen. 



Table 16. --Summary data, Ocean City charter boat fishery, 1952-1953 



1952 



1953 



Number of boats 



Estimated total number of trips 



Average number of hours per trip* 



Average number of fishermen per trip 



Estimated total catch in pounds 



Number of pounds per trip 



Pounds per fisherman 



Pounds per fisherman per hour 

 * Hours actually fishing 



36 



2,531 



5 



4 



401,000 



158 



32 



6 



Species composition of the sport catch 

 for 1952 and 1953 is given in table 17. It may 

 be seen that bluefish was most important in 

 both years among the pelagic species, and porgy 

 was the leading bottom fish in the catches. By 

 way of interest, the white marlin catch for the 

 period 1936 through 1953, as recorded by the 

 Ocean City Marlin Club is shown in figure 36. 



Any calculated measure of fish abundance may 

 have little biological meaning. 



The grounds fished by the Ocean City fleet 

 are shown in figure 37. The area encompasses 

 approximately 700 square miles from Fenwick 

 Island Light to Winter Quarter Lightship, ex- 

 tending about 40 nriles offshore. Bottom fishing 



46 



