D4 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
and Mr. Lobell that on the winter flounder. The Bureau assigned the 
Phalarope IT, with Joseph Armstrong as engineer, from the Woods 
Hole, Mass., station to Long Island from May 1 to July 1. This boat 
was used in a survey of the young fish populations of the bays and in- 
shore coastal waters of that region. Some scientific equipment and 
miscellaneous supplies were also furnished by the Bureau. 
The main objectives of the Long Island survey were: (1) To pro- 
vide information that could be used as a reliable basis for improving 
or maintaining good fishing insofar as the factors affecting the sup- 
ply are controllable, and, (2) to determine by a census of fishing 
activities the recreational and commercial value of the marine dis- 
trict of Long Island to the citizens of New York State. Particular 
attention was given the winter flounder and squeteague because of the 
primary importance of these species to anglers and commercial fisher- 
men. Other popular species as the fluke, striped bass, porg eles, sea 
bass, tuna, and swordfish were given such study as 1 year s observa- 
tions would permit. Fortunately, the information given by the 1938 
survey is supplemented by results of similar study made by the 
Bureau during the past 10 years. Consequently, for some species, 
more definite conclusions could be drawn than otherwise would have 
been possible. Definite recommendations for the conservation of sev- 
eral species and for additional study of other species have been in- 
cluded in the report to be published by the New York Conservation 
Department. 
Scup—tThis species appears to be enwhie withstanding the 
year-around activity of fishing which has resulted from the rise of 
the winter trawl fishery beginning about 1930, supplementing the 
summer fishery which has been operating ona large scale throughout 
the Middle Atlantic States since about 1900. Major fluctuations in 
the catch of scup have resulted more from variations in the success 
of reproduction than from fishing activities. A major Increase in 
abundance occurred throughout the Middle Atlantic States beginning 
in 1929 and has continued in most of the subsequent years to date. 
This increase has been due largely to a series of successful spawning 
seasons beginning in 1927. Some waste of the supply is occurring 
because of prevailing fishing pr actices which permit the destruction 
of undersized and unmarketable sizes of fish. Correction of this abuse 
is difficult because the species is caught simultaneously with a variety 
of other fishes and by several differ ent types of gear. Saving of scup 
by appropriate modifications of gear to msure ‘the release of a large 
percentage of the small fish in ood condition would probably involve 
a loss by gilling or escapement of marketable sizes of other kinds of 
fish of equal or ‘ereater value. 
Progress on the report dealing with the causes of fluctuations in 
abundance of this species during the past years along the Middle 
Atlantic coast has been temporarily interrupted by Mr. Neville’s 
assignment to the Long Island Survey. It is expected that this report 
will be completed during 1939. 
Winter trawl fishery.—The year 1938 marked the seventh anniver- 
sary of the commencement of the winter trawl fishery off the Virginia 
Capes. Beginning about 1931, the fishery has expanded rapidly. The 
total catch of the principal fishes—namely, sea bass, fluke, porgies, 
and croakers—has risen from approximately 4,500 000 pounds in 1931 
to over 19,000,000 pounds in the past few winters . The fleet has 
