TABLE 11. --Mean length (in millimeters) of major age groups in 

 beginning -of-season catches (i^ril-June 15) of 

 Atlantic menhaden, by area, 1956-59 



and the other occurring south of that location, 

 probably is oversimplified. This interpreta- 

 tion, however, is consistent with other evidence 

 based on the time and place of spewning 

 (Higham and Nicholson t) and morphological 

 differences in juveniles (June, 1958; Sutherland, 

 1963) which suggests separation of the popu- 

 lation into two biologically distinct groups. 

 Based on the length-age curves of the several 

 year classes considered, it appears that at 

 least an identifiable portion of the summer 



^ Joseph R. Higham and William R. Nicholson. Sexual 

 maturation and spawning of Atlantic menhaden. Un- 

 published MS., Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Bio- 

 logical Laboratory, Beaufort, N, C. 



Stocks in the major areas north of Cape 

 Hatteras migrated southward along the North 

 Carolina coast in fall. Some time prior to or 

 during the return northward migration, the fish 

 apparently became mixed so that their range 

 was extended in successive yearsof life. From 

 the data presented, it is not possible to de- 

 termine whether all or only a portion of the 

 summer stocks in areas north of Cape Hatteras 

 participated in the southward migration in fall, 

 nor is it possible to determine the extent of 

 mixing of stocks between seasons. More infor- 

 mation may be obtained on these aspects of 

 the migrations from a more detailed study of 

 the length and age data and abundance indices 

 and, of course, by tagging experiments. 



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