PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 19 3 3 321 



meiit of results. That our insight into the needs of the fisheries 

 should become clouded at this time is particularly unfortunate for 

 the ori^anization of the fishing industries now in process could be 

 much more effective in providing orderly conduct of the business if 

 information as to the i)robable future abundance of commercial 

 species were available. Furthermore, the present situation ofl'ers 

 unprecedented oj[)portunities for securing sane utilization of the 

 fishery resources and for assuring their continued productivity, if the 

 biological basis for planned utilization could keep pace with the 

 industrial developments. 



As now constituted, work in this region has be^n limited to the 

 investigations on the haddock, mackerel, and certain of the shore 

 fishes of the Middle Atlantic States, notably the squeteague or sea 

 trout and the scup. Thanks to tagging in former years, some addi- 

 tional results may be rej)orted on the cod and on the winter flounder, 

 Pseudopleuronectes anier^icanus. 



As in former years, the staff, under the direction of O. E. Sette, 

 has been provided with laboratory and library facilities by the 

 Harvard Biological Laboratories and the Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., where its mem- 

 bers have also benefited from consultation with members of the 

 university', especially Henry B. Bigelow, professor of oceanography 

 and director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, whose 

 wealth of knowledge and experience relating to marine fisheries re- 

 search has been ever at the disposal of the Bureau employees. It is 

 a pleasure also to acknowledge the continued cooperation of fisher- 

 men and fishing companies in providing data essential to the progress 

 of the work. 



During 1933 the investigation of the haddock fishery has been 

 concentrated on the important year-to-year changes in abundance. 

 The work has continued under the direction of W. C. Herrington 

 while the catch record analysis has been handled by J. R. Webster 

 and the collection of data on the Boston Fish Pier by F. L. 

 Widerstrom during the first part of the year and by F. JE. Firth 

 during the latter part. Progress both in the field and in the lab- 

 oratorj^ was handicapped by injuries to two assistants — A. A. Dallas 

 ■was injured in January while at sea on the otter trawler Cormorant 

 and was incapacitated during the remainder of the year, while 

 G. Sinnett. a temporary employee, broke his leg during a tagging trip 

 in June on the line trawler Mary E. O'^Hara. During the last half 

 of 1933 the work was considerably curtailed by loss of personnel and 

 reduced budget. The present program is confined mainly to a study 

 of changes in abundance and their causes, through analysis of catch 

 records and length-frequency data obtained i^rincipally at the Boston 

 Fish Pier where most of the haddock catch is landed. 



Results already have provided a good understanding of the causes 

 of the fluctuations and indicate what measures give most promise 

 for counteracting the declining trend of al)undance that is becoming 

 evident. This decline, to be discussed below, apparently is the result 

 of the greatly increased fishing strain imposed by the growth of 

 the haddock fleet during the period of 1925-29. Increases and 



