396 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



important species must be known; and (2) some provision nmst 

 eventually be made for unified administration. 



Thus far, limited appropriations have permitted inclusion of only 

 a few of the several important species in the investigational program, 

 and it has not been possible to maintain continuous and siinultaneous 

 observation of even these few over the whole region. This is unfor- 

 tunate for it has become increasingly apparent that all important 

 species and all localities must be considered together in drafting 

 conservation recommendations. The more productive forms of fish- 

 ing gear, pound nets, otter trawls, and purse seines, take more than 

 one species, so that protection of one species may interfere with le- 

 gitimate exploitation of other species. In order to complete the pro- 

 gram and to render effective the results of past efforts, it will be 

 necessary to provide for extension of activities to include investiga- 

 ton of sea bass, croakers, summer flounders, winter flounders, blue- 

 fish, shad, and striped bass. 



The need for unified or coordinated administration arises from the 

 migratory habits of the fish, and from the interstate traffic in the 

 products of the fishery. 



Squeteague. — The more important features of squeteague life his- 

 tory and certain conservation considerations based on them have 

 been presented in earlier reports of this series. For convenience 

 these are summarized as follows : 



(1) Squeteague spaw-ii in inshore waters from Massachusetts to 

 North Carolina in late spring and early summer, but there is con- 

 siderable doubt as to wdiether there is significant survival from 

 spaw^ning north of the coast of Virginia. 



(2) Nearly all squeteague spend their yearling summer south of 

 Delaware Bay, so that that portion of the range constitutes a nursery 

 area in which yearling squeteague predominate in the catches, while 

 the area north of Delaware Bay is frequented by 2-year-old fish or 

 older — the survivors of the southern fishery for yearlings. 



(3) Squeteague grow much more rapidly north of Delaware Bay 

 than in southern waters. 



(4) The decline in numbers of large squeteague in the Middle At- 

 lantic States, especially in northern New Jersey and New York, has 

 not been caused by excessive fishing locally but by increased fishing 

 for yearlings in the southern nursery areas. 



(5) The southern fishing for j^earlings involves the capture and de- 

 struction of some squeteague too small to be marketed. In the report 

 for 1934 it was recommended that experiments be undertaken to de- 

 termine whether the waste of undersized squeteague could be miti- 

 gated or eliminated by changes in the design of pound nets. 



In 1935, K. A. Nesbit actively engaged in, or directed (1) a pre- 

 liminary survey by W. C. Neville of pound net fishing methods in 

 Virginia and North Carolina to observe further the extent of waste 

 of small fish and to secure a basis for planning the experiments re- 

 ferred to above when resources become available; (2) further ex- 

 amination of scale and length- frequency data, including samples 

 taken by Mr. Neville in the southern survey. The results of these 

 activities are discussed separately below. 



