in shallow (ca. 1-2 m) water adjacent to eelgrass beds (Bigelow and Schroeder 1953). Each was sampled 

 once every week from late May through late September or early October during daylight within about 2 

 h before to 1 h after high tide. 



A 1-m beam trawl was used with interchangeable nets of 0.8-, 1.6-, 3.2-, and 6.4-mm bar mesh. A 

 tickler chain was added in late June of 1983 to increase catch efficiency. In 1983, triplicate tows were 

 made using one of the nets, which was changed as young grew during the season. In 1984 and 1985, two 

 nets of successively larger mesh were used during each sampling trip to collect the entire available size 

 range of young. This helped to eliminate a bias that was found in 1983, when some of the older and 

 larger specimens apparently were able to avoid the 0.8-mm mesh net used without a tickler chain (NUSCo 

 1984). A change to the next larger mesh in the four-net sequence was made when young had grown 

 enough to become susceptible to it. The larger meshes also reduced the amount of detritus and algae 

 retained. Two replicates with each of the two nets were made at both stations; the order in which the 

 nets were deployed was chosen randomly. Distance of each tow was estimated by letting out a measured 

 line attached to a lead weight as the net was towed. Tow length increased from 50 to 75 to 100 m as the 

 number of fish decreased throughout the summer. For data analysis and calculation of CPUE, the catch 

 of both nets used at each station was summed and standardized to giVe a density per 100 m of bottom 

 covered by the beam trawl. 



Growth and mortality 



Young winter flounder were measured unpreserved in the field or laboratory to the nearest 0.5 mm 

 in total length (TL). During the first few weeks of study, standard length (SL) was also measured because 

 many of the specimens had damaged caudal fm rays and total length could not be taken. The relationship 

 between the two lengths was determined by a functional regression and used to convert SL to TL: 



rL= -0.10+ 1.198 (5'L)(«= 136, r^ = 0.92) (9) . 



To calculate mortality, all young were assumed to comprise a single cohort. A catch curve was 

 constructed with the natural logarithm of density plotted against week. The slope of the descending 

 portion of the curve provided an estimate of Z, the weekly rate of instantaneous mortality. Once Z was 

 determined, daily survival was estimated as exp(-Z/7), weekly as exp(-Z), and monthly as exp((-Z)(30.4/7)). 



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