62 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
conservation measure in this way, because, as shown in Figure 15, 
trout do not spawn until the third year, when they average more than 
10 inches long in June. It is plainly evident, therefore, that where 
pound nets operate any minimum size limit is entirely ineffective, 
offering no protection whatever, for fish of all sizes above 5% inches 
are taken freely, marketable sizes are selected and sold, and the re- 
mainder, which constitute, as we have seen, more than half by number 
of the total catch of trout, are destroyed." 
These small 2-year-old fish should be saved, for, although too small 
to be of value in the markets in June and July, their growth is so rapid 
that they are marketable by August, and they are really of desirable 
size by October. Table 16 shows the increase in length and weight of 
these 2-year-old trout during the fishing season. The lengths, in 
centimeters and inches, are the observed modal lengths of this year 
class caught in pound nets, as shown by Figure 5. The weights are 
calculated according to the formula by Crozier and Hecht.” While 
the length increases only 26 per cent from June to October, the weight 
increase during that period amounts to 101 per cent. In other words, 
while length increases only one-fourth, the weight of 2-year-old fish 
more than doubles during the growing season. It is highly desirable, 
therefore, that the small fish destroyed during June and July receive 
full protection until August and September, when they have reached 
a marketable and commercially valuable size. Since the imposition 
of a minimum size limit is both ineffective and wasteful, let us con- 
sider what other means are available for protecting the species. 
TABLE 16.—Growth in length and weight of 2-year-old gray trout 








Length Weight 
Month a | x ‘ 
enti- | er cent ; er cent 
| meters | Inches increase Grams | Ounces increase 
| | 
| | 
Spe EL She tery ey bin ses 8 he oe eee | 21.0 | CP Peer ene 81.2 2.8 )\| hae aed 
Lok 5 a SSE i ate oy ge 22.0 8.7 | 5 93. 4 3.3 15 
PRUEPRISE LD: 352 ee td Se ne eee | 24.0 9.5 14 121.3 4.3 49 
Sebempere tee ae le oe eee 25. 5 10.1 21 145.4 5,1 79 
RO CTOUOL | ote fan eee ese ee oe 26.5 10.5 26 163. 2 5.8 101 

REMEDIAL MEASURES 
The only regulations that afford any promise of protection to the 
gray trout are (1) limits upon size of mesh in the nets fished, (2) the 
establishment of closed areas prohibiting fishing where immature 
fish congregate in greatest numbers or where spawning occurs most 
abundantly, and (3) designation of closed seasons prohibiting fishing 

14 It is claimed that culling of the catch in such manner that undersized fish are promptly returned to the 
water uninjured is generally practiced by trap and pound net fishermen on the Great Lakes, and similar 
care is exercised by certain conscientious fishermen in the Chesapeake Bay (Hildebrand and Schroeder). 
No attempt is made in North Carolina to save the undersized fish, for culling takes place at the base of 
operations, where the marketable fish are sold miles from the fishing grounds. Because of such local con- 
ditions as the prevailing weather and the unseaworthy construction of boats, it is unlikely that culling at the 
time of capture could be successfully practiced. But even if such culling were practicable, it would be 
impossible strictly to enforce the present minimum size limit so as to insure the return of undersized fish 
alive to the water. : 5 
15 Correlations of Weight, Length, and Other Body Measurements in the Weakfish, Cynoscion regalis. 
By William J. Crozier and Selig Hecht. Bulletin, U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, Vol. XX XIII, 1913 (1915), 
pp. 139-148, 4 figs. Washington, 1914. 
Ter 7° a YY 
