PROGRESS IN BIOLOGICAL INQUIRIES, 1937 17 



diice more than the fishery of the present day. Since the only source 

 of real income from the fishery is the difference between the sale 

 price of the product and the cost of production, it follows that a 

 moderate, hence low cost, fishing coukl provide employment either 

 for the present number of fisheinien at a higher income level or for 

 more fishermen at the present standard of income, and in either case 

 with a substantial reduction in the hours of labor per fisherman per 



In addition to the economic gain to the commercial fisheries, resto- 

 ration and maintenance of high levels of abundance will also improve 

 angling conditions. Many species, including bluefish, weakfish, fluke, 

 winter flounders, sea bass, scup, tautog, kingfish, croaker, striped 

 bass, tuna, and swordfish, support a great recreational fishery which 

 is growing in importance. 



Although the objectives of fishery management in this region are 

 clear, the problem of devising and enforcing measures to accomplish 

 them is extremely difficult. A horizontal reduction in fishing activity 

 in all localities and by all methods of fishing would not lead to maxi- 

 mum efficiency, nor would a return to the fishing and distribution 

 methods of 40 years ago. The gross yield of the fishery is the 

 aggregate of the yields of many species which differ greatly in life 

 histories and habits and in their capacity to withstand the effects of 

 the fishery. Most of the important types of gear, such as pound 

 nets, otter traAvls, purse seines, haul seines, and gill nets, take more 

 than one species. Consequently, modifications of fishing methods 

 and fishing intensity which would lead to maximum efficiency for 

 one species might result in inefficiency through incomplete utilization 

 of other species. 



It is the object of the scientific investigations of the Bureau to 

 devise equitable and practical means of maintaining adequate num- 

 bers of spawners and of harvesting the crop produced by each year's 

 spawning as nearly as possible at the size and age at which the 

 greatest yield in pounds can be taken with the minimum fishing 

 effort, i. e.. at the lowest cost. 



For the present, at least, the most profitable field for the application 

 of fishery management practices appears to be that of eliminating as 

 far as possible the present wide spread destruction of fish too young 

 to be marketable and marketing of fish which would be more valu- 

 able if allowed to grow to larger sizes. 



It is recognized that many difficulties exist. The diversity of 

 sizes and shapes of the several species taken by pound nets, seines 

 and otter trawls renders it difficult to permit the escape of under- 

 sized fish by increases in the mesh size of the netting, for meslies 

 which allow the escape of the young of large species may also allow 

 legitimately marketable sizes of smaller species to escape. In some 

 localities at least, increase in the sizes of mesh would result in great 

 inconvenience in fishing through the giUing of certain sizes in the 

 meshes. However, many species, including scup, sea bass, striped 

 bass, winter flounders, and fluke, are sufficiently hardy that the 

 majority would survive the handling incident to sorting. Steps 

 should be taken to require that catches by pound nets, seines, and 

 otter trawls be sorted as soon as they are taken from the net, wherever 

 and whenever conditions of weather and tide permit, even at the 



