yet known. 



The age distributions in samples from 

 the 1956 spring (April and May) pound-net 

 catches in Chesapeake and Rar itan-Lower New 

 York Bays (including the northern New Jersey 

 coast) are summarized in table 5. The 1954 

 year class (age 2) dominated the Chesapeake 

 Bay spring pound-net catch, although the 



1955 year class (age 1) was almost equally 

 represented. Older year classes also oc- 

 curred in the pound-net samples, although 

 largely absent from the summer purse-seine 

 samples. In the New Jersey-New York area, 

 the 1951 year class (age 5) dominated the 

 catch and was followed in importance by the 

 1953 (age 3), and 1952 (age 4) year classes 

 respectively. 



Length and Weight Composition 



Lengths and weights of fish at each 

 age by area along the Atlantic coast in 



1956 are given in appendix tables 1-14. The 

 general features of the length composition 

 of the purse-seine catches in each major 

 area are illustrated in figure 6, with com- 

 parable data for 1955 also shown. 



The ranges in length distribution 

 in the various areas were similar in both 

 years, but there was a marked diversity in 

 the major length groups which contributed 

 to the catch in the individual areas in the 

 two seasons. With the exception of those 

 landed in the North Atlantic, the 1956 sum- 

 mer catches were comprised of smaller length 

 groups of fish than in the previous year. 

 The smallest fish were encountered in the 

 South Atlantic, where they ranged between 

 115 and 235 mm. , with a mode at 162 mm. In 

 Chesapeake Bay, lengths ranged between 135 

 and 290 mm. , with a dominant mode at 192 mm. 

 The curve for the Middle Atlantic shows the 

 greatest spread in length among the summer 

 catches (150 to 355 mm.), with two prominent 



~i I I I I I — I — I — I — I — r 



so 100 120 140 160 leo 200 220 240 260 260 300 320 340 360 



FORK LENGTH IN MILLIMETERS 



Figure 6. --Length composition of samples from purse-seine 

 catches, 1955-56. (Dashed line, 1955j 

 solid line, 1956.) 



size groups at 237 mm. and 282 mm. In the 

 North Atlantic, lengths ranged from 247 to 

 395 ram. , and although the curve is asymmet- 

 ric, a dominant mode occurs at 312 mm. 



Length composition of the 1956 North 

 Carolina fall fishery (bottom panel fig. 6) 



Table 5- — Age composition (in percent) of samples from spring potind-net catches, 1956 



