zoo 40 O I 

 FR EQUENCY 

 TRAWLEP AT NR AND JC 



500 1000 1500 2000 

 FREQUENCY 

 TRAWLED— OTHER 



^OO lOOO TSOO 2000 

 FREQUENCY 

 I MP I NGED 



Figure 25. length frequency of cunner. 



water stations (Fig. 25). Although both total trawl catches (Table 14) and annual mean trawl catches 

 (Fig. 26) have declined since 1979, the other indices of cunner abundance (e.g., egg and larval densities) 

 did not follow the same trend. The precipitous drop of cunner larval abundance in 1984 could be explained 

 by the predation that also affected the abundances of tautog and anchovies that year. A previous drop in 

 cunner larval abundance in 1978, was followed in 1979 by the highest mean trawl catch (Fig. 26). None 

 of these fluctutations could be attributed to MNPS operations. 



The time-series models described the seasonal variability of cunner catches reasonably well as indicated 

 by R values of 0.70 for plankton and 0.65 for impingement. All the models included an annual cycle 

 and the plankton models had an additional 4-mo cycle. The 1984 decline in larval abundance was well 



54 



