NEW ENGLAND HADDOCK FISHERY 

 BIOSTATISTICS--1956 



by 



John R. Clark, Fishery Research Biologist 



and 



Frank A. Dreyer, Statistical Assistant 



U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 



Woods Hole, Massachusetts 



ABSTRACT 



A statistical review of the haddock fishery of New England 

 banks (Subarea 5 of the International Commission for the Northwest 

 Atlantic Fisheries) is presented for the 1956 haddock year . Estimates 

 of total fishery removals are given for scrod and large haddock, 

 both landed and discarded at sea, by nnonth and area of capture. The 

 estimated age and length compositions of the total haddock discard 

 for 1956 are given. Age and length compositions are estimated by 

 month for haddock landed from Georges Bank (ICNAF Subdivision 

 5Z) and by season for haddock landed from the Gulf of Maine (Sub- 

 division 5Y), Fishing effort and abundance estimates are given for 

 Georges Bank by month. 



INTRODUCTION 



The haddock (Melanogrammus aegle- 

 finus) is a gadoid fish that inhabits the 

 Continental and Island Shelves of the 

 North Atlantic Ocean. Although a close 

 ecological associate of the cod, had- 

 dock are found in abundance neither so 

 far south nor so far north. Along the 

 North American coast the species is 

 fished commercially from Cape Cod to 

 the Grand Bank and in the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence. 



This study is restricted to the fish- 

 ing grounds of the Gulf of Maine, the 

 Great South Channel, Georges Bank, 

 and the Southern New England shelf. 

 These grounds make up Subarea 5 (Sub- 

 division 5Y and 5Z) as defined by the In- 

 ternational Commission for the North- 

 west Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF) sta- 



Presently employed at Marine Game Fish Research 

 Center, Atlantic Marine Laboratory, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Highlands, New Jersey. 



tistical systenn (fig. 1). At present, 

 only the United States fishes haddock 

 extensively on these grounds; Canada 

 takes only small quantities from 5Y. 



Extensive studies of the New England 

 haddock fishery and of the biology and 

 habits of the species have been carried 

 out since 1931. The biostatistical data 

 resulting from these studies have been 

 utilized in many publications and in 

 forming the basis for international 

 regulation of the haddock fishery 

 through control of mesh size (Graham, 

 1952). The world-wide interest in the 

 effect of the regulation and in many 

 other aspects of the research program 

 has led to an increasing demand for 

 publication of the basic biostatistical 

 data for New England haddock. To 

 answer this demand, a regular series 

 of biostatistical reports is planned. 



The responsibility for studies of the 

 Canadian and U. S. haddock fisheries 

 throughout the Northwest Atlantic are 



