11-64 



Of the three methods used to sample juvenile and adult fin- 

 fish, the otter trawl has been by far the most effective for capturing 

 smelt. Juveniles (3 to 14 cm) have been captured in New Haven Harbor 

 during every month except October (Figure 11-23). Smelt were caught in 

 record numbers (up to 1140 fish per tow) during the first three months 

 of 1973 (Figure 11-24) . The years before and after 1973 have produced 

 comparatively meager catches of no more than 26 to 70 juveniles per 

 tow. Extremely wide fluctuations in catch, due to irregular utilization 

 of specific nursery grounds, are not unusual for this species. Smelt 

 were not abundant in New Haven Harbor nor were they at Shoreham (NYOSL, 

 1974) , in Long Island Sound (Richards, 1963) or the Mystic River Estuary 

 (Pearcy and Richards, 1962) . Eggs (adhesive) and larvae were obseirved 



in New Haven Harbor only during 1977. The peak densities in April (0.02 



3 

 eggs per m ) represent nominal contribution from freshwater areas . 



Amepiaan Shad (Alosa sapidissima) 



The geographic distribution of shad is principally associated 

 with sizeable streams, such as the Connecticut River, where great num- 

 bers of these fish undertake long journeys to spawn (Leggett, 1976) . By 

 restricting passage to the upstream spawning areas, the construction of 

 dams has done more to severely limit shad populations than any other act 

 of mankind. Commercial fisheries exist for this species, and there are 

 now federal and state programs to restore shad migrations to some of New 

 England ' s larger rivers . Shad are planktivorous , feeding largely on 

 copepods (Bigelow and Schroeder, 1953) . 



Juvenile and adult shad (3 to 54 cm) were captured in New 

 Haven Harbor otter trawls , gill nets and seines from April through July 

 and October through December (Figure 11-25) . Rarely, however, have more 

 than a dozen individuals been taken from the same sampling station on 

 the same collection date. The exceptions have been 1) November 1975, 

 when 56 juvenile shad (10 to 15 cm) were taken by otter trawl at Station 

 5; and, 2) May and June 1975, when, respectively, 38 (Station 8A) and 62 



(Text continued on page 11-69) 



