Data from an unpublished independent assessment of fecundity, which used 65 fish (19.7-45.3 cm) taken 

 in Niantic Bay and at MNPS in 1977, were also used in a functional regression for comparative purposes. 

 Annual mean fecundity was determined from the sum of all individual fecundities divided by the number 

 of spawning females. The sum of the fecundities gave a relative annual index of egg production. 



Age and growth 



Separate length-weight relationships for Niantic River (270 specimens; 4.5-43.3 cm) and Bay (491; 

 6.7-45.3 cm) winter flounder were described with a functional regression with log-transformed variables. 

 Specimens collected in 1977 and 1978 were measured to the nearest 0.1 cm in length and the nearest 0.1 

 g in weight. 



During 1977-1982, randomly selected specimens were aged by examination of scales removed from 

 the right side between the dorsal fm and the lateral line. Five or more scales from each specimen were 

 cleaned and mounted in plastic resin on a slide and examined using a Bausch and Lomb trisimplex 

 projector or a compound microscope. Except for the first year of life, winter flounder have a zone of 

 widely-spaced circuli (fast spring and summer growth) followed by a zone of closely-spaced circuli (slow 

 fall and winter growth). The outer edge of the closely- spaced circuli was considered to be an annulus 

 (Lux and Ntchy 1969; Lux 1973). Age of each specimen was determined by at least two people. Some 

 comparisons of age were made during 1977-78 using otoliths with methods described in Williams and 

 Bedford (1974) and Kurtz (1975). Annual age-length keys were constructed by determining the percentage 

 that each of the ages made up of every 1-cm length increment in the sample of aged fish. This key was 

 used to assign an age to all fish measured during the abundance surveys. 



The growth rate of Niantic River winter flounder was determined by additional examination of one 

 of the scales used in age determination in 1983. Based on previous findings, a stratified sample (Ketchen 

 1950; Ricker 1975) was used to select fish for aging. From five to ten scale samples were allocated to 

 each 1-cm size interval of both sexes starting with 20 cm; scales from a number of smaller fish were also 

 selected. Measurements were taken from the midpoint of the scale focus to each annulus and to the 

 anterior margin of the projected scale image along a standard axis (Tesch 1968; Everhart et al. 1975). For 

 the back-calculation of length-at-age, the relationship between scale size and fish length was examined. 

 Some curvilinearity was seen in this relationship, especially for larger specimens, indicating probable 



10 



