ocean waters off Beaufort during the later 

 summer months. The last landings of the 

 summer season were made at Southport on 

 October 16 and at Beaufort on October 18. 



The summer catch in the South Atlantic 

 Area was 47,000 tons, distributed among the 

 different months as follows: May, 18 percent; 

 June, 29 percent; July, 32 percent; August, 4 

 percent; September, 13 percent; and October, 4 

 percent. Catch per set averaged 13 tons, the 

 least in the past 4 summer seasons. 



Chesapeake Bay Area. — First catches in 

 Chesapeake Bay were on May 26* when two 

 vessels each made a single set in the lower 

 bay. On the following day, a fleet of 26 vessels 

 began scouting in Virginia waters* of the bay, 

 but few schools were seen. During the following 

 several days, airplane pilots reported numer- 

 ous schools outside the bay, between False 

 Cape and Virginia Beach, Va., and some vessels 

 made large catches in this locality. Fishing 

 inside the bay, however, continued to be poor, 

 because most of the schools of fish were 

 small and scattered. Fish appeared in abund- 

 ance inside the bay during the second week in 

 June, and one additional vessel entered the 

 fishery. Catches increased thereafter and 

 reached an initial peak during the week of July 

 14-19 when approximately 14,000 tons were 

 landed. During the following 3 weeks, schools 

 remained abundant, and weekly landings 

 averaged slightly more than 10,000 tons. 

 Throughout this period, vessels ranged south- 

 ward to Oregon Inlet, N. C, but the heaviest 

 catches were made along the lower part of the 

 Eastern Shore (Chesapeake Bay) and in the 

 coastal waters lying between Cape Henry and 

 False Cape. Stormy weather interrupted fish- 

 ing during the last week in August, and 

 catches were the smallest recorded since the 

 first week of the season. Productive fishing 

 resumed during the first week in September, 

 and weekly landings during the month averaged 

 approximately 11,000 tons. Fishing was con- 

 centrated off Virginia Beach and along the 

 Eastern Shore of the lower part of the bay. 



* Virginia law prohibits purse seining in Virginia 

 waters prior to the last Monday in May. 



* Purse seine fishing is prohibited in Maryland. 



Schools began disappearing from these waters 

 the first week in October. Scarcity of schools 

 and stormy weather were responsible for the 

 smallest catches of the season during the week 

 of October 5-11 (920 tons). Fishing improved 

 during the following week, but stormy weather 

 returned, and fishing was terminated on 

 October 17. 



The 1958 catch in the Chesapeake Bay Area 

 was 149,000 tons, 26 percent greater than that 

 of the preceding year and the highest since 

 1955 when 153,000 tons were caught. Monthly 

 landings were distributed as follows: May, 1 

 percent; June, 15 percent; July, 23 percent; 

 August, 33 percent; September, 26 percent; and 

 October, 2 percent. Catch per set averaged 

 17 tons, the highest since 1955 (27 tons). 



Middle Atlantic Area. — The first catch of the 

 season in the Middle Atlantic Area was made by 

 a single vessel on May 30 off Delaware Bay. On 

 the following day, three additional vessels 

 began fishing in the same locality, however, 

 few schools were seen and only a few small 

 catches made. High winds prevented fishing 

 during the early part of the first week in June, 

 but by the end of the week the weather im- 

 proved and 30 additional vessels had entered 

 the fishery. Airplane pilots searched the 

 entire area during this period, but only a few 

 schools were seen in the vicinity of Sandy 

 Hook, N. J. During the following week, schools 

 appeared in the coastal waters north of Ocean 

 City, Md., however, catches by a fleet of 43 

 vessels continued to be poor. Weekly landings 

 averaged only 4,000 tons during the first 3 

 weeks of June. In the final week of the month, 

 schools became more abundant in most 

 localities, and landings for the week increased 

 to 14,000 tons. Landings exceeded 17,000 tons 

 during the first week in July, but dropped to 

 less than 6,000 tons during the following week 

 when schools became scarce along the entire 

 Middle Atlantic coast. During the last 3 weeks 

 in July, vessels ranged farther offshore in 

 their search for fish than in any previous 

 season. Schools reappeared in abundance in the 

 vicinity of Delaware Bay in early August. Sub- 

 sequently, fishing improved in waters south 

 of Atlantic City, N. J., and the heaviest 

 catches of the season were being taken off 



