PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 1937 9 



General adoption of the Bureau's recommendation of large-meshed 

 or "savings" gear for otter trawls took place in the spring of 1937 

 as the result of a voluntary agreement among the operators of New 

 England otter trawlers. Owing to the lack of personnel, it has not 

 been possible to make further observations on the use and perform- 

 ance of this gear, but reports indicate favorable results when prop- 

 erly used. 



As during 1936, biological investigation was confined primarily to 

 haddock and mackerel, while many other important species could not 

 be covered owing to limited personnel and facilities. Among these 

 were cod, second in importance only to haddock in the New England 

 fisheries; redfish, flounders, pollock, and whiting. Additional knowl- 

 edge of the yield and life history of all of these species is needed, for 

 they are being subjected to increasingly intensive exploitation. 



The exploratory shrimp trawling carried on in the Gulf of Maine 

 in 1936 (described in Memorandum 1-57) has not yet resulted in the 

 development of a commercial fishery of any size. Occasional reports 

 indicate growing interest in this resource Avhich may eventually lead 

 to the development of a considerable small boat fishery during certain 

 seasons of the year. 



Works Progress Administration Project No. 165-14-6999, begun in 

 1936, was terminated in July 1937. When the project came to an end, 

 the mackerel and shorefish work was about completed, but consider- 

 able work remained on certani parts of the haddock project and on 

 the compilation and charting of the data assembled on the project 

 covering statistics of the New England fisheries. 



The headquarters of the North Atlantic Fishery Investigations has 

 remained in Cambridge and Boston, Mass. Harvard University has 

 generously provided the staff with space and facilities in its Biologi- 

 cal Laboratories. The cooperation of the Woods Hole Oceanographic 

 Institution is gratefully acknowledged, as is the personal advice and 

 intei-est of Prof. Henry B. Bigelow. The assistance and cooperation 

 of fishermen and dealers in providing the use of their records, and in 

 other ways, is also acknowledged with pleasure. 



HADDOCK 



The year 1937 witnessed no striking new developments in the New 

 England haddock fishery although several trends indicated in earlier 

 years became more pronounced. The increase in the otter-trawl fleet 

 begun in 1936, continued with the addition of 10 large otter trawlers. 

 These additions were partly counterbalanced by the withdrawal from 

 active service of several old steam trawlers, but the total fishing 

 capacity of the fleet was greater than at any other period in its his- 

 tory. In spite of this increased fishing effort, the total groundfish catch 

 landed at Boston, Gloucester, and Portland by vessels of 5 net tons or 

 over dropped about 2 percent from the all-time high of 386,000,000 

 pounds reached in 1936. and tlie catch of haddock, as noted above, 

 decreased 5 percent from the 1936 total of 144,000.000 pounds. This 

 decrease in haddock landings also was accompanied by a decrease in 

 average value to the fishermen from 3.1 to 2.8 cents a pound with the 

 result that the total value of the haddock catch dropped about 14 

 percent below that of the previous year. 



