AGE AND SIZE COMPOSITION OF THE MENHADEN 



CATCH ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST OF 



THE UNITED STATES, 1958 



WITH A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE COMMERCIAL FISHERY 



by 



Fred C. June and William R. Nicholson 

 Fishery Research Biologists 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 

 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 Beaufort, North Carolina 



ABSTRACT 



The 1958 purse seine catch of Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) was 

 540,000 tons, the smallest in the past 4 years; 462,000 tons were landed in the 

 summer fishery and 78,000 tons, in the North Carolina fall fishery. Total fishing ef- 

 fort (24,545 sets) was less than that in the previous 3 years, and the greatest re- 

 duction occurred in the Middle and North Atlantic Areas. Average catch per set was 

 22 tons, compared with 20 tons in 1957, and 26 tons both in 1955 and 1956. 



The 1956 year class (age-2 fish) accounted for 6 1 percent of the catch of 

 nearly 2.8 billion fish, while the 1957 year class accounted for 31 percent. Age-1 

 fish dominated the summer catch in the South Atlantic Area (68 percent); age-2 fish 

 dominated in the Chesapeake Bay (53 percent). Middle Atlantic (95 percent), and 

 North Atlantic (53 percent) Areas; and age-O fish dominated the North Carolina fall 

 fishery (38 percent). In most areas, the mean length of fish in the dominant 1956 

 year-class (age-2 fish) was less than that of the previous three year classes at the 

 same age. Fish of older year classes were larger than those at identical ages in 

 previous seasons. 



INTRODUCTION 



The purse seine fishery for Atlantic men- 

 haden (Brevoortia tyrannus) is conducted from 

 northern Flordia to central Maine and off shore 

 to a depth of about 20 fathoms. Since 1950, the 

 catch more than doubled and during the past 

 5 years averaged 650,000 tons annually. Marked 

 seasonal and annual variations in abundance 

 of fish have occurred in certain localities. 

 Continuing seasons of low abundance in some 

 localities recently have given rise to fear of 

 depletion of the stock as a result of increased 

 catches. 



In 1955, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 

 of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service undertook 

 an investigation of the Atlantic menhaden fish- 

 ery to determine whether fluctuations in abund- 

 ance are related to fishing or result primarily 

 from natural causes. The research program is 

 an expansion of work begun in the ^''iddle At- 

 lantic States in 1952 and consists of continuing 

 studies of the biology, structure, and dynamics 

 of the species population. Most of the data for 

 these studies are obtained from an annual 

 catch-sampling program conducted throughout 

 the geographical range and season of the purse 

 seine fishery. Catches have been sampled each 



