456 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



both north and south of the mouth of Nantucket Sound. A few 

 returns were from the shores of Long Island, some 150 miles to the 

 westward of the tagging locality. In the autumn returns were 

 reported from the sounds, and by December several were recaptured 

 in Waquoit Bay, where they had been caught and tagged nearly a 

 year previously. 



SHORE FISHES OF THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES 



Investigation of the causes of fluctuations in yield of the shore 

 fishes of the Middle Atlantic States, begun in 1927, was continued 

 under the direction of R. A. Nesbit. Field bases were maintained 

 during part or all of the 1931 fishing season at Woods Hole, Mass. ; 

 Newport, R. I. ; Montauk and Fire Island, N. Y. ; and Belford, Long 

 Branch, Deal, Seaside Park, Beach Haven, and Wildwood, N. J. At 

 these bases the principal data obtained were detailed records of the 

 catch, with length-frequency observations of the principal species 

 occurring in the region (squeteague, scup, butterfish, sea bass, and 

 summer flounders) and the collection of squeteague scales. 



Squeteagiie. — Especial attention has been paid to analysis of the 

 data pertaining to squeteague, this being the most important species 

 of the region, the yield of which in New York has recently been so 

 low as to cause concern. Procedure in 1931 was directed toward de- 

 termining whether the stock of squeteague north of Delaware is self- 

 perpetuating or whether it is maintained by migration of fish from 

 southern waters. One thousand four hundred and ninety -three sque- 

 teague, mostly yearlings, were tagged by W. C. Schroeder in Chesa- 

 peake Bay during October, 1931, with the expectation that should 

 any general northern migration of these yearlings occur in 1932, they 

 should be recaptured in the New Jersey and New York region. A 

 second line of procedure consisted of careful studies of the scales to 

 determine whether squeteague from different localities show signifi- 

 cantly different rates of growth. Remarkable differences between 

 the growth increment of the third and subsequent summers were 

 noted in fish from different localities. Thus, the average third sum- 

 mer increment for squeteague at Montauk, N. Y., was three times 

 that at Wildwood, N. J. Calculated increments for the first and 

 second summers for fish taken in New York and New Jersey in their 

 third and subsequent summers are in good agreement with the cor- 

 responding increments observed in Virginia fish. These observa- 

 tions indicate that northern stocks of adult squeteague are in part at 

 least recruited from southern nursery grounds, but final judgment 

 will depend on the results of tagging experiments. 



The scale studies on which the calculations of growth rates were 

 based have cast much light on the forming of the annulus or year 

 mark. It was noted by Taylor that the annuli in the squeteague 

 scale became apparent in July. Our observations have shown that 

 the first annulus usually appears before the fish becomes sexually 

 mature ; hence it seems unlikely that the check is caused by the effort 

 of spawning. Comparison of scale length with age length by months 

 indicates that the scale ceases to grow about the first of October, 

 although the body continues to do so. Scale growth is not resumed 

 until the following July. As the annulus can not be seen until new 



