﻿SECTION 
  3 
  - 
  MIDDLE 
  ATLANTIC 
  FISHERIES 
  

  

  Commercial 
  landings 
  of 
  fish 
  and 
  shellfish 
  at 
  ports 
  in 
  the 
  Middle 
  Atlantic 
  States 
  (New 
  York, 
  

   New 
  Jersey, 
  and 
  Delaware) 
  were 
  140.0 
  million 
  pounds 
  worth 
  $29.9 
  million 
  — 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  2.1 
  

   million 
  pounds 
  (2 
  percent) 
  and 
  $4.4 
  million 
  (17 
  percent) 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  Major 
  species 
  landed 
  

   in 
  greater 
  quantity 
  than 
  in 
  1969 
  were 
  bluefin 
  tuna, 
  bluefish, 
  flounders, 
  lobsters, 
  oysters, 
  and 
  surf 
  

   clams. 
  Important 
  species 
  that 
  declined 
  in 
  volume 
  were 
  butterfish, 
  menhaden, 
  scup, 
  striped 
  bass, 
  

   whiting, 
  and 
  sea 
  scallop 
  meats. 
  

  

  New 
  Jersey 
  led 
  in 
  volume 
  with 
  97 
  .5 
  million 
  pounds 
  (70 
  percent) 
  followed 
  by 
  New 
  York 
  with 
  

   32.5 
  million 
  (23 
  percent), 
  and 
  Delaware, 
  10.0 
  million 
  pounds 
  (7 
  percent). 
  New 
  York 
  led 
  in 
  value 
  

   of 
  landings 
  with 
  $16.1 
  million 
  (54 
  percent). 
  New 
  Jersey 
  had 
  $12.5 
  million 
  (42 
  percent), 
  and 
  Dei- 
  

   ware 
  had 
  $1.3 
  million 
  (4 
  percent). 
  

  

  Fishermen 
  and 
  vessels 
  . 
  The 
  Middle 
  Atlantic 
  States 
  had 
  8,469 
  fishermen 
  — 
  35 
  less 
  than 
  in 
  1969. 
  

   There 
  were 
  455 
  vessels 
  (5 
  net 
  tons 
  or 
  more), 
  3,878 
  motor 
  boats, 
  and 
  143 
  other 
  boats 
  — 
  a 
  decline 
  

   of 
  43 
  vessels 
  and 
  82 
  other 
  boats, 
  but 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  228 
  motor 
  boats 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  

  

  Processed 
  products 
  . 
  The 
  value 
  of 
  processed 
  seafood 
  items 
  in 
  the 
  four-State 
  Middle 
  Atlantic 
  area 
  

   (including 
  Pennsylvania) 
  was 
  $139.5 
  million 
  — 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  $7.9 
  million 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  

   New 
  York 
  led 
  with 
  products 
  valued 
  at 
  $55.7 
  million; 
  followed 
  by 
  New 
  Jersey 
  with 
  $34.8 
  million; 
  

   Pennsylvania, 
  $43.4 
  million; 
  and 
  Delaware, 
  $5.6 
  million. 
  There 
  were 
  5 
  ,706 
  persons 
  employed 
  

   in 
  367 
  wholesaling 
  and 
  processing 
  plants 
  in 
  the 
  four 
  States. 
  

  

  Surf 
  clams 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  surf 
  clam 
  meats 
  were 
  a 
  record 
  52.6 
  million 
  pounds 
  worth 
  a 
  record 
  $6.1 
  

   million--an 
  increase 
  of 
  10.4 
  million 
  pounds 
  and 
  $1.1 
  million 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  The 
  harvest 
  

   was 
  17 
  percent 
  greater 
  than 
  the 
  landings 
  made 
  in 
  1966, 
  the 
  former 
  record 
  year. 
  Delaware 
  landings 
  

   increased 
  sharply 
  from 
  2.8 
  million 
  pounds 
  in 
  1969 
  to 
  a 
  record 
  8.7 
  million 
  in 
  1970. 
  

  

  Fishing 
  effort 
  in 
  the 
  Midiile 
  Atlantic 
  States 
  has 
  usually 
  been 
  directed 
  to 
  the 
  remunerative 
  

   offshore 
  clam 
  fishery. 
  In 
  1970, 
  however, 
  the 
  vessels 
  fished 
  primarily 
  for 
  the 
  smaller 
  inshore 
  clams 
  

   because 
  of 
  their 
  abundance. 
  Fishermen 
  also 
  found 
  a 
  better 
  market 
  for 
  their 
  clams 
  than 
  in 
  previous 
  

   years 
  because 
  packers 
  received 
  them 
  more 
  readily. 
  

  

  In 
  1970, 
  a 
  newly 
  designed 
  vessel 
  entered 
  the 
  surf 
  clam 
  fishery. 
  The 
  vessel 
  had 
  facilities 
  

   for 
  shucking 
  clams 
  onboard 
  thereby 
  eliminating 
  the 
  problems 
  of 
  availability 
  of 
  water 
  used 
  in 
  shuck- 
  

   ing 
  and 
  disposal 
  of 
  sand 
  waste. 
  

  

  Menhaden 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  31.5 
  million 
  pounds 
  were 
  12.3 
  million 
  less 
  than 
  in 
  1959, 
  and 
  the 
  second 
  

   smallest 
  harvest 
  on 
  record. 
  The 
  only 
  reduction 
  plant 
  that 
  continued 
  to 
  function 
  was 
  operating 
  on 
  

   a 
  limited 
  basis. 
  The 
  large 
  purse 
  seiners 
  were 
  no 
  longer 
  used, 
  and 
  landings 
  depended 
  on 
  the 
  smal- 
  

   ler 
  local 
  vessels 
  that 
  used 
  purse 
  seines 
  and 
  pound 
  nets. 
  

  

  Flounders 
  . 
  Landings 
  of 
  10.6 
  million 
  pounds 
  worth 
  $1.6 
  million 
  increased 
  22 
  percent 
  in 
  volume 
  

   and 
  37 
  percent 
  in 
  value 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  New 
  York 
  with 
  landings 
  of 
  7 
  . 
  3 
  million 
  pounds 
  ac- 
  

   counted 
  for 
  69 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  total 
  production. 
  Yellowtail 
  landings 
  (5.8 
  million 
  pounds) 
  dominated 
  

   the 
  Middle 
  Atlantic 
  flounder 
  production. 
  Eighty-one 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  yellowtail 
  flounders 
  were 
  land- 
  

   ed 
  in 
  New 
  York, 
  the 
  rest 
  were 
  in 
  New 
  Jersey. 
  Until 
  1969, 
  few 
  yellowtails 
  were 
  landed 
  in 
  New 
  Jer- 
  

   sey, 
  but 
  in 
  that 
  year 
  and 
  in 
  1970 
  landings 
  increased 
  sharply. 
  A 
  new 
  market 
  developed 
  for 
  yellow- 
  

   tail 
  flounders, 
  and 
  a 
  fillet 
  plant 
  in 
  New 
  Jersey 
  took 
  fish 
  that 
  weighed 
  from 
  3/4 
  to 
  1-1/2 
  pounds. 
  

   Fluke 
  flounder 
  landings 
  (2.9 
  million 
  pounds) 
  were 
  second 
  in 
  volume. 
  New 
  Jersey 
  accounted 
  for 
  69 
  

   percent 
  of 
  the 
  fluke 
  harvest; 
  the 
  rest 
  were 
  landed 
  in 
  New 
  York. 
  New 
  York 
  accounted 
  for 
  92 
  per- 
  

   cent 
  of 
  the 
  1 
  .8-million-pound 
  landings 
  of 
  blackback 
  flounders. 
  Small 
  quantities 
  of 
  gray 
  sole 
  and 
  

   lemon 
  sole 
  were 
  also 
  landed 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  and 
  New 
  Jersey. 
  

  

  