Figure 2.- -Distribution of fishing effort in the South 

 Atlantic Area, 1957. 



Figure 3.--Distrlbution of fishing effort in the Chesapeake 

 Bay and Middle Atlantic Areas, 1957. 



Figure 4.--Distribution of fishing effort in the North 

 Atlantic Area, 1957, 



immediately north of Cape Charles; 

 within a 10-mile wide coastal band 

 extending from lat. 38°10' N. (off 

 Ocean City, Md.) northward (including 

 Delaware Bay) to Fire Island on the 

 southern coast of Long Island; and 

 Narragansett Bay. About 65 percent 

 of the total fishing effort was expended 

 within these unit areas. Compared with 

 the previous year, there were fewer 

 sets made near the ends of the range, 

 and the greatest reduction occurred 

 in the vicinity of Fernandina, Fla., 

 and in Massachusetts Bay. Other note- 

 worthy changes from 1956 were (1) an 

 increase in the amount of fishing inside 

 Delaware Bay and (2) an offshore 

 extension of fishing in the Middle 

 Atlantic Area. 



SAMPLING OF THE CATCH 



The 1957 catch- sampling program 

 was conducted throughout the range 

 and season of the purse -seine fishery. 

 The number of samples obtained at 

 the various plant locations is given in 

 table 2. While an attempt was made to 

 sample the catch in the same propor- 

 tion in each plant locality, practical 

 limitations precluded close adherence 

 to this objective. One sample was 

 obtained for every 674 tons of fish 



