Fishes of the Western North Atlantic 359 



Although they were plentiful again in the Gulf from 1946 through 1949, fewer were 

 present from 1950 through 1956. 



Comparison of statistics for the past 20 years or so shows no correlation as to the 

 quantity taken along different sections of the coast. If North Carolina, for example, has 

 a good run in a given year, it does not follow that Florida, New York, or New Jersey 

 will have a good run that same year. For example, in 1929 the fishery in North Caro- 

 lina yielded 173,490,000 pounds of Atlantic Menhaden — considered an unusually large 

 catch. But in that same year the catch credited to Florida was rather less than average, 

 50,532,000 pounds, and the combined catch for New York and New Jersey was a 

 near failure with only 11,092,000 pounds. Again in 1937, when the catch in North 

 Carolina amounted to only 61,706,000 pounds (next to the smallest during about 20 

 years), the catch for Florida was 139,788,000 pounds and the combined catch for New 

 York and New Jersey was 99,684,000 pounds, both well above the average for the 

 20-year period. 



It seems improbable that the commercial catches taken by the fisheries in the 

 western Atlantic have made any serious inroads on Atlantic Menhaden populations in 

 any general area. If it is true that the handiwork of man has had no important effect 

 on the abundance of this species, then the fluctuations must be attributed to natural 

 phenomena that occur in their enviroment. 



Successful and unsuccessful spawning seasons are known to profoundly affect the 

 abundance of some species and this is probably so in the case of this species also. 

 However, it does not explain why a fish that may attain an age of 9—10 years 

 (as concluded from the number of winter rings on the scales) may be abundant one 

 year in a certain locality but very scarce or even absent there the next year. Furthermore, 

 since the fish caught during a fishing season in any one area are not all of the same 

 age and size, the failure of one or even several successive spawning seasons would not 

 cause an abrupt diminution from one year to the next. The theory that these fish follow 

 their food and therefore remain in water having an abundant growth of plankton of 

 suitable size has been advanced. It would follow then that if sufficient food is not 

 available near the shore, the fish will remain offshore, perhaps beyond the range 

 of the vessels employed in the fishery. This theory seems to be the most plausible one 

 advanced to date. It has been suggested also that the temperature of the water is a 

 factor, which no doubt is true, particularly insofar as it affects the growth of the plank- 

 tonic food required by these fish. It is obvious that further study is needed to determine 

 more specifically the reason or reasons for the exceedingly great fluctuations in the runs 

 of Atlantic Menhaden. 



Methods of Fishing. These fish are caught chiefly with purse seines, though smaller 

 quantities are taken with long haul seines and in pound nets; and minor quantities are 

 caught with ordinary seines or drag nets and with gill nets. 



The vessels employed in the operation of this large industry are a very familiar 

 sight to those living near the fishing centers, and in some localities, for example 

 Beaufort and Moorehead City, North Carolina, the economic life of the communities 



