PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 1936 13 
in Area XXII—South or in the remainder of Area XXI. At the 
present stage there does not appear to be any consistent basis for 
conclusions as to the 1937 trend on Browns Bank which, however, 
plays a relatively minor role in the Area XXI fishery. Tentative 
conclusions are that in 1937 the average catch per unit for Area X XI 
as a whole will be considerably below that of the previous year, and 
that this declining catching rate, combined with the resulting decrease 
in fishing intensity, will produce a considerable decline in haddock 
landings from this area. j 
Savings gear.—Recent developments continue to emphasize the im- 
portance of measures designed to reduce the destruction of small had- 
dock. To an increasing extent the fishery in Area X XII—South is 
dependent on the catch of the smaller sizes (scrod) with the result 
that the trawlers are doing more fishing in areas where young had- 
dock concentrate during the first 3 years. Furthermore, during 1936 
there was an increasing trend toward the catching and sale of small 
haddock down to three-fourths pound and less in weight. In Area 
X XII—South these fish are less than 2 years old and usually are 
highly concentrated on certain parts of the bank. Consequently, when 
an abundant year-class reaches this age, the young fish can be caught 
up in great, numbers. This practice is unfortunate, for should it in- 
crease it appears possible that the trawling fleet could nearly wipe 
out an entire year-class before it reaches an age of 2 years. These 
small fish bring a very low price on the market owing to their size. 
If left in the ocean another year, they would average twice as heavy 
and, belonging to a more valuable market category, would individually 
be worth nearly four times as much to the fisherman. In 2 years they 
would treble in weight and have about nine times the value. 
Of the various measures designed to decrease the destruction and 
capture of undersized haddock, the most effective and practical is the 
establishment of a minimum mesh size for otter trawls. As the result 
of extensive field experiments in 1931 and 1932, the Bureau of Fisheries 
recommended that New England operators establish a minimum mesh 
size of 484 inches for use in all otter trawls. These recommendations, 
together with a full description of the experiments, were published in 
1935 in Investigational Report No. 24. Little action resulted not- 
withstanding the clear evidence in favor of the larger mesh. 
A nontechnical description of the savings gear work and of the 
importance of saving undersized fish was published in 1936 in Fish- 
eries Circular No, 23. This publication, supplemented by consid- 
erable discussion between the Bureau’s representatives and the vari- 
ous New England otter-trawl operators, finally resulted in voluntary 
action on the part of the trawling industry. In November 1936, the 
Board of Directors of Federated Fishing Boats of New England and 
New York, Inc., an organization including practically all of the 
New England operators of large- and medium-sized otter trawlers, 
unanimously voted that members of the Federation should begin the 
use of large-meshed otter trawls recommended by the United States 
Bureau of Fisheries, to begin early in 1937 and continue for a period 
of 6 months, unless terminated at an earlier date by vote of the Board. 
of Directors. The agreement was to apply to all boats with an over- 
all length of more than 70 feet, catching fish other than rosefish and 
whiting landed at Maine and Massachusetts ports. 
