332 U.S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



the tagged fish from the South could have been expected to show ii]> 

 in the North. As it is, negative evidence is not conclusive and posi- 

 tive evidence must be sought. In a further attempt to secure direct 

 evidence of migration of southern yearlings 900 squeteague, about 

 half of which were yearlings, were tagged off Hog Island, Va., in 

 October 1933. 



In order to determine the winter habitat of northern adult sque- 

 teague, 220 were tagged in Sandy Hook Bay, N.J., in October. The 

 New York Aquarium kindly lent its collecting vessel, the /Sea Horse^ 

 for this experiment. 



Results obtained thus far indicate that if conservation measures 

 are found necessary for maintenance of the general stocks, their 

 application is, in the main, an interstate rather than a local problem. 

 Any locality which imposes restrictions on the catch of marketable 

 fish with the object of improving the future yield at the sacrifice of 

 immediate gain must necessarily bear the whole burden of the imme- 

 diate restriction but share to some extent any future gain with other 

 localities. For example, if fishing be restricted in eastern New York 

 during the spawning season, any resulting increase in the productivity 

 of the spawning season must be shared with the fisheries of Virginia, 

 Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. Indeed, during the season im- 

 mediately following the whole benefit would accrue to these States, 

 for of the recaptures of juvenile squeteague tagged at Montauk in 

 1932 not a single individual returned to eastern Long Island in 19o'3. 

 That this is not exceptional behavior in that year is indicated by the 

 persistent absence of yearlings in New York between 1928 and 1932. 



There remain, however, certain local problems which merit further 

 investigation. Foremost among these is that of eliminating the 

 waste of yearlings in a number of southern localities during the 

 early summer. This problem as it applies to Pamlico and Core 

 Sounds in North Carolina was investigated by Higgins and Pearson 

 in 1925,- and specific recommendations were made. The results of 

 the 1932 tagging described above indicate that the major part of the 

 gain would accrue locally, even in the following year. Steps should 

 be taken, moreover, to investigate the practicability of modifying 

 pound nets to permit the escape of squeteague below commercial size. 



Among the more pressing local problems in New York and New 

 Jersey is further investigation of the factors controlling the supply 

 of squeteague in the many enclosed bays of these States. Thus far, 

 the investigation has been concerned primarily with the causes of 

 fluctuations in the general stock of squeteague on the Middle 

 Atlantic region. It has been assumed that the supply of fish within 

 the bays is influenced primarily by fluctuation in the general stock. 

 It is possible, however, that there may be wide and uncontrollable 

 variations from year to year in the proportion of the total stock 

 frequenting the bays. It is also possible that the fishery within 

 these enclosed areas may be so intensive as to remove fish more 

 rapidly than they enter from outside waters, and thus produce 

 an abnormally low level of abundance during the greater part 

 of each season. Even severe depletion of the bays during a par- 



2 Higgins, Elmer, and .T. C. Pearson. Examination of tie summer fislicries of Pamiico 

 and Core Sounds, N.C., with special reference to tlie destruction of undersized fisli and the 

 protection of the gray trout, Ounoncion rajalis (Block & Schneider). lUircau ol Fisheries, 

 Document 1019, 1927. 



