1 "T l I I I I I I 



100 120 lAO 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 

 PORK LENGTH (MM.) 



Figure 5. — Length fre- 

 quencies of male and 

 female Atlantic men- 

 haden in samples from 

 purse seine catches, 

 J961. 



Table 6. --Sex ratio of Atlantic menhaden in 

 purse seine catches, by season and area, 

 1961 



growth of the tremendously large 1958 year 

 class and the faster growth of the relatively 

 small 1959 and 1960 year classes. 



DISCUSSION 



The continued dominance of the fishery by 

 the 1958 year class and the relatively poor 

 contributions of the 1959 and 1 960 year classes 

 indicate a probable decrease in abundance of 

 Atlantic menhaden in the next few years. Con- 

 sequently, smaller catches may be expected 

 in 1962 in the Middle and North Atlantic 

 Areas, where age-2 or older fish usually 

 support the fisheries. The larger average 

 size of age-2 and -3 fish will compensate to 

 some extent, however, for their scarcity in 



13 



