Beach area until October 15. Total landings in 

 this locality amounted to 22,000 tons. 



One plant started operating at Yonges Island, 

 S.C., on May 18. Fishing was poor, however, 

 and the plant closed on August 20. Only 

 2,000 tons were landed by four vessels. 



Fishing began in North Carolina waters on 

 May 4 when eight vessels from Southport 

 made moderate landings off Lockwoods Folly 

 Inlet and the mouth of the Cape Fear River. 

 On May 27, several large schools were found 

 between Georgetown and Murrells Inlet, S.C. 

 Over 3,500 tons of these fish were caught, 

 mostly in the vicinity of Pawleys Island and 

 Murrells Inlet. Schools became scarce in 

 July, and catches through the remainder of the 

 summer were light. Fishing by the Southport 

 fleet ended on October 3. 



Eleven vessels from Beaufort, N.C., began 

 fishing on May 7. Landings reached a peak in 

 July when over 3,400 tons were landed. Fishing 

 continued in Bogue and Core Sounds until 

 October 22. There was little fishing in ocean 

 waters in this locality during the entire sum- 

 mer, but on November 2, young-of-the-year 

 (age-0) fish appeared simultaneously in ocean 

 waters off Ocracoke Inlet, N.C., and Ports- 

 mouth Island, N.C. Scattered catches of these 

 fish were made in early November. The last 

 landing of the summer season was made on 

 November 7. 



Total summer landings in the South Atlantic 

 Area were 75,000 tons, 2,000 tons more than 

 the previous record in 1956. The largest share 

 of the summer catch was made in June (35 

 percent), followed by May (21 percent), July 

 (19 percent), August (14 percent), and April 

 (less than 1 percent). The mean catch per set 

 was 15 tons, 2 less than the 5-year mean 

 of 17. 



Chesapeake Bay Area 



The first catches of the 1959 season in 

 Chesapeake Bay were made on May 25 by a 

 fleet of 29 vessels. Landings within the Bay 

 were relatively large through the summer 

 and were augmented by good fishing off Chinco- 

 teague and Virginia Beach, Va. During October, 

 adverse weather restricted the vessels to the 

 upper Bay, and catches were markedly re- 

 duced. Twenty-two vessels terminated fishing 



on October 29. The remaining seven vessels 

 continued fishing until November 9, when the 

 last catches were made off Virginia Beach. 



Total landings by the Chesapeake Bay vessels 

 were 194,000 tons, an increase of 41,000 tons 

 over the record of 153,000 tons in 1955. 

 Landings during August accounted for 25 per- 

 cent of the season total, while September, June, 

 July, October, and May, respectively, ac- 

 counted for 21, 19, 18, 11, and 6 percent. The 

 mean catch per set was 17 tons, the same as 

 in 1958. 



Middle Atlantic Area 



Fishing began in the Middle Atlantic Area 

 on May 19. At that time, small, scattered 

 schools were located between Chincoteague, 

 Va., and the mouth of Delaware Bay. Landings 

 were small until May 29 when schools became 

 abundant along the northern New Jersey coast 

 and the western end of Long Island, N.Y. Land- 

 ings in June totaled over 71,000 tons. During 

 July and August, schools continued to be 

 abundant off southern New Jersey from Here- 

 ford Inlet to Atlantic City, N.J. During the 

 first week in October, larger, older fish began 

 congregating along the southern shore of Long 

 Island, but they disappeared abruptly on 

 October 17, Fishing terminated in the area on 

 October 21. 



The purse seine catch in the Middle Atlantic 

 Area amounted to 281,000 tons as compared 

 with 402,000 tons in 1956, 342,000 tons in 

 1957, and 235,000 tons in 1958. The largest 

 catch was made in June (26 percent), followed 

 by August (25 percent), July (22 percent), 

 September (16 percent), October (8 percent), 

 and May (3 percent). The mean catch per set 

 was 23 tons, slightly less than the 5-year 

 average of 25 tons. 



North Atlantic Area 



The first landing was made on May 29 by a 

 vessel from Point Judith, R.I. Three additional 

 vessels joined the Point Judith fleet during the 

 first week of June. Ten vessels from Amagan- 

 sett, N.Y., commenced fishing on June 13, 

 followed by seven vessels from Gloucester, 

 Mass., on June 21. During the first week in 

 July, eight additional vessels were added to the 

 Gloucester fleet. On July 10, a single vessel 



