11-9 



field. Selected specimens of both known and unknown species were pre- 

 served and returned to the laboratory to confirm identification. The 

 primary reference for identifications was "Fishes of the Gulf of Maine" 

 (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1953); other general keys available to use were 

 Breder and Nichols, 1926; Hildebrand and Schroeder, 1928; and Thomson, 

 Weed and Taruski, 1971. All remaining live specimens were released. 



CHARACTERIZATION OF NEW HAVEN HARBOR ICHTHYOFAUNA 



In the following discussion, the components of the New Haven 

 Harbor finfish assemblage are first identified and described in terms 

 of: 1) frequency with which species occur in the collections, 2) sea- 

 sonal trends in species composition, and 3) general understanding of 

 species habits as they pertain to movements into and within New Haven 

 Harbor. This community-level discussion is followed by a more detailed 

 analysis of the distribution and movements of 16 representative species 

 selected on the basis of: 1) frequency of capture of one or more life 

 stages, 2) ecological and economic importance, and 3) the nature and 

 extent of their utilization of New Haven Harbor (Table 11-1). In the 

 final analysis, particular emphasis is placed on the situation presented 

 by the operation of New Haven Harbor Station in light of preexisting 

 deteriorated environmental conditions in New Haven Harbor. 



Distribution of New Haven Harbor lahthyo fauna 



Despite intensive, consistent and quantitative sampling, 

 and a voluminous data base, no population estimates are made in this 

 study. Finfish populations were rarely uniformly distributed in space 

 or time; many of the species important in New Haven Harbor were school- 

 ing fishes, and thus were either absent or abundant in samples depending 

 on random chance or fish behavior. Other species were either too large 

 and powerful or too small to be effectively sampled at all at important 

 life-history stages by the methods employed. For these and other rea- 



