8 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
creased considerably during the past decade in spite of the increased 
utilization of species formerly discarded as trash. Neither the cause 
of the decline nor the effectiveness of restrictive flounder-fishing 
legislation in force in some States is known. The fishery for whiting 
has experienced a great expansion in the past year, giving rise to 
considerable controversy between trap fishermen and vessel fishermen 
over the question of whether the increased exploitation is endanger- 
ing the resource. In this, as in other similar cases, no recommenda- 
tions could be made owing to the lack of knowledge of the distri- 
bution and biology of the species. 
Although excellent progress was made during the year in the 
investigation of the several species receiving special study, certain 
phases were either entirely neglected or only superficially covered 
owing to lack of personnel or facilities for work at sea. The mack- 
erel work needs hydrographic and plankton observations to further 
unravel the mystery of spawning failures so as to foresee the crop 
of yearling mackerel. The haddock work also requires facilities for 
deep-sea otter trawling and assistants for tagging and clerical work 
to extend the catch analysis to supplementary species such as cod 
and pollock and thus determine what effect their greater exploitation 
has on the catch of haddock. 
The improved method of reporting the landings of the New Eng- 
land vessel fishery, placed in operation at the beginning of 1936, has 
already demonstrated its value through the enhanced usefulness of 
the catch records to the biological study of the fisheries. This method 
was worked out in conjunction with the Division of Fishery Indus- 
tries and was designed to provide an accurate record of the catch 
from each fishing area. The areas used were delineated in coopera- 
tion with members of the North American Council on Fishery Inves- 
tigations and it is hoped that eventually the statistics of the various 
countries will be reported according to this uniform scheme of statis- 
tical areas. 
Another interesting development during the past year was the 
exploratory shrimp trawling in the Gulf of Maine. The first cruises 
were sponsored by Prof. Johan Hjort of Norway and the Woods Hole 
Oceanographic Institution. After the early work on the Atlantis 
had demonstrated the presence of the shrimp Pandalus borealis in 
considerable quantities, two organizations, Federated Fishing Boats 
of New England and New York, Inc. and Fisherman’s Relief Corpo- 
ration of Portland, Me., supplied the boat and funds for further 
exploration. Results indicate that this species may be sufficiently 
abundant to support a small-boat fishery during certain seasons of the 
year. ‘ 
Works Progress Administration Project No. 65-14-1833, begun in 
June 1936, was continued through the year under the supervision of 
Messrs. Sette, Herrington, and Nesbit. This project included the 
compilation of published statistics of New England fisheries, tabula- 
tion and analysis of statistical records of the haddock, mackerel, and 
shore fisheries, and the mounting of an extensive series of haddock, 
cod, and weakfish scales using the recently developed celluloid im- 
pression method. : : 
The headquarters of the North Atlantic staff has remained in the 
Harvard Biological Laboratories where Harvard University has gen- 
