TABLE 3. --Age composition (in percent) and calculated number of Atlantic menhaden (in millions) 



at each age in purse seine catches, 1955-59 



(Most numerous age group underscored) 



AGE COMPOSITION 



NUMBER OF FISH 



In the Middle Atlantic Area, age-1 fish 

 (1958 year class) constituted the largest per- 

 centage (57.9 percent) of the catch for the 

 first time in 5 years. In previous years, the 

 highest percentage contribution by this age 

 group was 22.2 percent in 1957. The per- 

 centage (30.3 percent) of age-2 fish (1957 year 

 class) fell below 50 percent for the first time 

 in 5 years. Age-3 fish (1956 year class) 

 contributed the highest percentage (11.3 per- 

 cent) since 1956. The percentage of older age 

 groups continued to be negligible. In numbers 

 of fish, the 1959 catch was the highest in the 

 5-year period and substantially above the pre- 

 vious high in 1957. 



In the North Atlantic Area, the trend con- 

 tinued toward younger age groups. Age-1 fish 

 (1958 year class) contributed a sizable portion 

 (4.6 percent) of the catch for the first time in 

 5 years. Age-2 fish accounted for 21.1 percent; 

 this was less than the contribution by age-2 

 fish in 1957 and 1958, but much higher than 

 that in 1955 or 1956. Age-3 fish (1956 year 

 class) dominated the catch (57.9 percent). This 

 constituted the highest contribution by this 

 age group in 5 years. The combined percentage 

 of age groups older than age-3 continued to 



decline and was the lowest in 5 years. In 

 numbers of fish, the catch was nearly twice 

 that of 1958, but did not very markedly from 

 the catches in 1955, 1956, and 1957. 



In the North Carolina fall fishery, the most 

 noticeable change in the age composition of the 

 catch was the almost complete absence of age-0 

 fish. The reduction resulted from a decision 

 by plant operators not to fish on this age group 

 and did not reflect a change in relative abun- 

 dance of this age group. The catch in 1959 

 ranked lowest for the 5-year period, 1955-59. 

 It ranked second, however, when age-0 fish 

 were deleted from the catches in previous 

 years. The age composition of the catch in the 

 North Carolina fall fishery (in percent) was 

 nearly identical to the age composition (in 

 percent) of the catch in the North Atlantic. 



Length Composition 



The length-frequency distributions of fish in 

 samples from the purse seine catches in each 

 area are shown in figure 4. (See also appendix 

 1-5). 



The length-frequency distribution of the 

 catch in the South Atlantic Area was similar 

 to that in 1958. Lengths in 1959 ranged from 



