llaokarel, as in the charter boat fishery, led all other speoies 

 in abundance in the party boat fishery dviring 1948 • There was 

 surprisingly little difference in the catch-per-f isherman—an esti- 

 mate of five fish. 



Briefly Bummarited, the findings of the 1948 survey of the 

 sports fishery of Hew York and New Jersey are eus follows: 



!• Sports fishing, a major form of recreation in 

 New York and New Jersey, involved the use of approximately 

 1,000 charter and party boats during 1948« The invest- 

 ment in boats and equipment was estimated to approximate 

 nine million dollars for the charter boat industry, and 

 six million dollars for the party boat industry—a total 

 of $15,000,000 for the entire sports fishing industry. 

 Assuming a 5 percent return on their investments, charter 

 and party boat operators of New York and New Jersey net a 

 minimum of |750,000 annually. 



2. The sports fishing season was found to extend from 

 the latter part of April until early November, depending 

 upon the seasonal appearance of mackerel off the New Jersey 

 coast. With the passing of the spring migration of 

 mackerel, charter boats turn to albacore, bluefish, bonito, 

 skipjack, eind tuna fishing (in season)} and party boats 

 shift to bottom fishing for soup, sea bass, fluke, croaker, 

 weakfish, etc. 



3. Charter boats were found to fish the entire Middle 

 Atlantic Bight at random out to said sometimes beyon^ the 

 Old Hudson River Gorge. The "Mud Hole* is an imporwmt 

 charter boat fishing area, especially for tuna. Almost 

 100 percent of the party fishing is confined within 



the 20 fathom contour and west of the Hudson Canyon, and is 

 centered near wrecks, underwater rocks, shoals, etc* 



4. The 1948 charter boat fishing season began early in 

 May, upon the appearance of the spring run of mackerel, 

 and ended about the first of December when the fall run 

 had passed out of the inner portion of the Middle Atlantic 

 Bight. Charter boat fishing for bluefish extended from 

 the middle of May to October. Jha tuna season lasted 

 approximately ten weeks, from the middle of Jttne until 



the end of August. Striped bass were foimd to provide 



16 



