North Carolina fall fishery. The number of 

 vessels fishing decreased from 1959 in every 

 area except the Middle Atlantic Area. 



South Atlantic Area 



Although large numbers of Atlantic menhaden 

 were reported in April off Femandina Beach, 

 Fla., poor market conditions and large in- 

 ventories of fish meal delayed commence- 

 ment of the fishery until May 9. Only three 

 vessels fished out of Femandina Beach during 

 the season. Landings were good in May, but 

 fish became scarce by the middle of June. 

 In July, numerous schools appeared between 

 Brunswick, Ga,, and Femandina Beach, and 

 fishing continued good through August. During 

 this time, however, catch quotas were im- 

 posed, and each vessel also was limited to 

 a 5-day week. In September, hurricane "Donna" 

 restricted fishing, and fish also became scarce. 

 Two vessels made only six landings during 

 the month. One vessel fished sporadically in 

 October, and landed the lastcatchof the season 

 on November 3. 



Four vessels from Southport, N.C., began 

 fishing at the mouth of the Cape Fear River 

 on May 31. Fish were so scarce, however, 

 that the vessels quit after only 2 days of fish- 

 ing and remained idle for 3 consecutive weeks. 

 On June 20, fish were located off Georgetown, 

 S.C., but disappeared after 3 days. Only 12 

 landings were made in June. Four additional 

 vessels joined the fleet in July, but fishing 

 was poor and few landings were made. On 

 August 2, fish were reported off Georgetown, 

 S.C. Fishing in that area continued to be 

 good for the next 3 weeks. During this time 

 some good catches also were made off Wrights- 

 ville Beach, N.C. Hurricane "Donna" inter- 

 rupted fishing in September, and fish also be- 

 came scarce. Fish were landed on only 2 days 

 in September and 1 day in October. Fishing 

 ended on October 17. 



Nine vessels constituted the fleet at Beaufort, 

 N.C. Fishing began in Core Sound on May 24 

 and continued in Core and Bogue Sounds 

 throughout the season. Fishing in outside 

 waters was sporadic and generally poor through 

 most of the summer. On June 16, some large 



schools appeared between Ocracoke and Cape 

 Hatteras, N.C. Three vessels made good 

 catches of these fish until they disappeared a 

 few days later. Occasionally, catches were 

 made in the vicinity of Cape Lookout, N.C, 

 in July, and during the first 2 weeks in August 

 schools were abundant in ocean waters off 

 Wrightsville Beach and Bogue Inlet, N.C. 

 Between September 9 and November 7, only 

 sporadic landings were made. 



The catch in the South Atlantic Area was 

 40,000 tons, 35,000 tons less than in 1959. 

 The largest part of the catch was landed in 

 August (39 percent), followed by July (25 

 percent), June (13 percent), October (9 per- 

 cent). May (7 percent), September (6 percent), 

 and November (1 percent). 



Chesapeake Bay Area 



Thirteen vessels began fishing on May 30, 

 and seven more followed on June 6. In July, 

 four additional vessels joined the fleet, but 

 seven others stopped fishing. The fleet com- 

 prised 22 vessels in August, but 5 of these 

 fished only 2 weeks. In September and October, 

 22 vessels fished intermittently. During the 

 first week in October, 18 vessels stopped fish- 

 ing but 1 vessel continued until October 27. 



Fish were abundant all season throughout 

 the bay, but were concentrated in the lower bay 

 around Silver Beach and North Channel. In 

 September, scattered landings were made out- 

 side the bay in the vicinity of False Cape and 

 Virginia Beach, and in the upper bay around 

 Tangier Island, but most fishing was done in 

 the lower bay around North Channel. Fish 

 began moving out of the lower bay in early 

 October, and catches declined thereafter. 



The purse seine catch in Chesapeake Bay 

 was 114,000 tons, approximately 53 percent 

 of the catch in 1959. The largest percentage 

 of the catch was landed in June (28 percent), 

 followed by August (22 percent), July (21 

 percent), September (15 percent), October 

 (12 percent), and May (2 percent). 



