cannot profitably operate these gear solely 

 for scup. The question is "Where do these 

 fish go?" 



In experiments at Woods Hole, scup were 

 tagged and released in early summer (June). 

 Those recaptured later in the summer, aside 

 from the few taken locally and immediately 

 following tagging, were widely scattered in 

 all directions from Woods Hole — as far east 

 as Muskegat Channel and Nantucket Sound and 

 as far west as Montauk. Some recaptures 

 were also made nearer Woods Hole, along 

 both shores of Buzzards Bay, Mass. Further- 

 more, otter trawlers operating off Fire Island 

 have reported (1936) good catches of scup 

 offshore (15 to 20 miles) in depths of 20 

 fathoms or less. This evidence suggests that 

 after spawning scup move offshore and scatter 

 widely. 



Marked changes in the catch at certain 

 points also result from significant changes 

 in the size of fish composing the schools 

 that appear each spring. Throughout the New 

 York- southern New England area, the scup 

 season is more or less continuous without 

 any apparent segregation into sizes of fish. 

 At Newport, however, three distinct runs of 

 scup have frequently been observed in a 

 season. The first run appears about the last 

 of April or the first of May and continues to 

 about May 10; it consists usually of larger 

 fish (1-1/2 to 2-1/2 pounds) than in the sub- 

 sequent runs. The second run, consisting 

 mainly of medium-sized scup (3/4 to 1 pound), 

 continues until about May 20. The third run, 

 consisting of small-sized fish (about 7 to 8 

 inches long and weighing one-quarter to one- 

 half pound), remains through to the middle 

 or the end of June. This separation of the 

 spring runs into three more or less distinct 

 size groups has been characteristic of the 

 fishery along the Rhode Island shore since 

 early times. 



Recently (1930), trap operators reported 

 that the three runs of fish have been less 

 distinctly separated into size groups than in 

 former years. Some Rhode Island operators 

 blame this condition on the activity of the 

 btter trawlers operating in the winter off the 

 Virginia Capes, charging that the schools are 



broken up and widely distributed in their 

 winter habitat. Others believe that the un- 

 usual water temperature conditions may be 

 the cause. The latter appears the more proba- 

 ble explanation, since the mixing of the runs 

 is not unusual or characteristic of only present 

 day fishing. Lyman (1872) in describing the 

 approach of scup to the southern New England 

 coast states: 



The army of scup advancing to its spawning grounds 

 in May ... is in two or three divisions of which the 

 first is usually the most numerous and contains the 

 oldest fish; there follows the second, and then the 

 third, which is usually fewer in numbers and of 

 smaller individuals. Sometimes, and in some places, 

 the great and the smaller scup come mixed together, 

 and the "runs" are not well defined. 



Frequently in June there is a run of small 

 fish of unmarketable size, 10 to 12.5 cm. (4 

 to 5 inches) from the previous summer's 

 spawning which, if numerous, are usually 

 sifted from the catch by means of a large- 

 mesh apron attached to the pocket. 



The height of the trapping season is about 

 May 10 to 15 when fish of large and medium 

 sizes are running. It is not possible to state 

 the numerical strength of these runs because 

 (1) most trap operators do not keep records 

 of the amounts actually caught and (2) the 

 quantity of discarded fish varies from year 

 to year and cannot be reliably estimated. In 

 most years, however, the first and second 

 runs compose the bulk of the actual catch. 

 The fish of the last run appear to be more 

 abundant than those of the first two, but being 

 on the whole smaller, many of them are dis- 

 carded as unsalable. Hence, the third run 

 contributes only a relatively small percentage 

 of the reported catch. Especially has this been 

 true in recent years when the amount of fish 

 caught has far exceeded the demand and only 

 the larger sizes have been landed, marketed, 

 and reported in the records. 



At Newport, considerable care was taken 

 to obtain unselected samples of the catch for 

 age-length analysis because of the practice 

 of pounding. Measurements were obtained only 

 from those traps on days in which pounding 

 was not done, or through bushel lots of un- 



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