The coefficient of variation for the total catch in number of fish was 7 percent in 1986. 

 Based on the standard error of the estimate, the actual total catch in number of fish was 

 between 49.0 and 64.3 million fish in 1986 at the 95 percent confidence level. Although the 

 precision of the catch estimates for individual species groups varied greatly, 65 percent of the 

 species groups had coefficients of variation less than 30 percent. The lowest coefficients of 

 variation were 13 percent for scip and 16 percent for bluefish. 



MID-ATLANTIC Black sea bass,, summer flounder, bluefish and spot comprised 50 percent of 

 the total catch in number in the Mid-Atlantic in 1986. These same species were major 

 components of the 1979-85 catches. The catch of black sea bass was considerably higher in 

 1986 than in 1979-85, while the estimated catch of winter flounder was significantly lower in 

 1986. 



The private/rental boat catch from inland waters accounted for the greatest percentage 

 of the total number of fish caught in the subregion in 1986 with 38 percent. The private/ rental 

 boat mode alone accounted for approximately 63 percent of the total number of fish caught. 

 The 1979-85 average percentage of catch from the private/ rental boat mode was 57 percent. 

 Seventy-four percent of the marine recreational catch in number in 1986 was from inland 

 waters or within 3 miles of shore. 



Aproximately 2.5 million residents of the Mid-Atlantic States participated in marine 

 recreational fishing during 1986. Coastal residents made approximately 72 percent of the 

 marine fishing trips. Residents of the subregion made an estimated 15.3 million marine fishing 

 trips in 1986; an additional 5.2 million trips were made by out-of-State residents. Fishing 

 activity was greatest in the July/August wave with approximately 8 percent of the sampled 

 residents of the coastal counties participating in the fishery. 



Catch rates in all fishing modes in 1986 were higher than the 1979-85 average catch 

 rates. The average catch rate was highest for party/charter boat mode with 13.6 fish/ trip. 



As in previous years summer flounder and bluefish were the most sought after individual 

 species in 1986 with approximately 31 percent of the respondents indicating a preference for 

 one of the species. No other species accounted for more than 10 percent of the responses 

 during 1986. 



The coefficient of variation for total number of fish caught in 1986 was 5 percent. At 

 the 95 percent confidence level the actual total catch was between 147.0 and 180.4 million 

 fish. Species groups with coefficients of variation less that 10 percent were bluefish (7 

 percent), summer flounder (8 percent), and spot (9 percent). 



16 



