( a =0.10) difference in the ability of the nets to catch eggs or larvae 

 or in laboratory processing technique. Both net types appear to catch 

 larvae more efficiently at higher towing velocities but the catch of 

 eggs is less sensitive to approach velocities. 



Examination of Offshore Program as Model Verification 



A 1975 evaluation of the offshore program (Vaughn et al. 1976) 

 concluded that the offshore sampling scheme was inadequate for verification 

 of the winter flounder dispersal model, and recommended dye studies 

 as more useful for this purpose. The offshore program was inadequate 

 primarily because the stations were not sampled simultaneously as it was 

 impractical to do so. In 197 6, the offshore program was reduced to six 

 stations (2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 14) sampled monthly during daylight with 

 oblique tows and additional monthly surface and bottom tows in May 

 through August. The objective of the program was to determine the 

 densities and seasonal succession of the plankton community in the 

 Millstone area, and not for model verification. This sampling program 

 was sufficient to examine inshore-offshore density changes. 



Bases for Present Offshore Program 



An extensive examination of the offshore ichthyoplankton program 

 and objectives was conducted in 1978 (NUSCo 1979b). The results of this 

 evaluation were the basis for the present offshore ichthyoplankton 

 sampling program, initiated in 1979, with day and night oblique tows 

 (0.333-mm-mesh bongo nets) collected more frequently at Station 5 only. 

 The evaluation demonstrated that: 1) Station 5 was most representative 

 of the cooling water source area in Niantic Bay; 2) oblique bongo tows 



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