from North Carolina^ Virginia, and Northern area discloses the existence of 

 separate southern and northern populations. To determine whether northern 

 I-groups spend their first summer in the northern area, 1931 0-group measure- 

 ments from Montauk, N. Y. were compared with 1932 I-group measurements from 

 the same locality. Analysis of variance indicated no significant difference^ 

 suggesting that northern I-group fish spend their first summer in the same 

 locality as 0-group fish. 



Adult distributions are significantly different from the juvenile dis- 

 tributions characteristic of the areas in which the adults were taken. The 

 difference is such as to sug.-^est that the adults in each area represent a 

 mixing of the weakfish from two or more nursery areas. 



Weakfish eggs and larvae are abundant in Chesapeake Bay and southward, 

 but larvae have never been found north of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. 

 Numerous eggs have been found in Delaware Bay in spring, but extensive 

 sampling has revealed no Darvae. Juveniles found there in the spring prob- 

 ably have moved northward from southern spawning areas. 



The hypothesis concerning the movements of the weakfish is supported 

 by an analysis of a^e, size, rate of growth, and scale circuli me<;.sureraents. 

 Tagging experiments partially support the hypothesis and in addition indi- 

 cate that North Carolina sounds do not contribute materially to the northern 

 stocks. 



The most important conclusion to be derived from this study is that the 

 fishery apparently draws on a comraon stock which originates chiefly in. 

 southern waters.- Consequently, any conservation policy for the weakfish 

 industry must consider the effect of fishing intensity on the total yield 

 of the Middle Atlantic Bight. 



vi-'Ci.' -.v v-' -^-- ■^ -=t-^.- LITERATURE CITED 



BigelD%- Hv Bi, 



1928. Physical oceanography of the Gulf of Maine. U. S. Bur. Pish. 

 Bull., Vol. 1^0, Part II, (Doc. 969) pp. 511-1027. 



Bigelow, H. B., and Mary Sears 



1935. Studies of the waters on the continental shelf. Cape Cod to 

 Chesapeake Bay. II. Salinity. Pap. Phys. Ocean., Meteor,, 

 Mass. Inst. Tech., Woods Hole Ocean. Inst., vol. h, No. 1, 

 9U pp. 



79 



