July 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



37 



Other catches of interest were 5 speci- 

 mens of the pelagic stingray ( Dasyatis vio- 

 lacea) and 1 Atlantic loggerhead turtle (Ca- 

 retta caretta ). 



In cooperation with the Woods Hole Ocean- 

 ographic Institution a total of 92 tuna, 2 

 swordfish, and 1 turtle were marked and re- 

 leased using dart tags. Sharks tagged and 

 released in conjunction with U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Interior shark studies at the Bureau 

 of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife Sandy Hook 

 Marine Laboratory and the Shark Research 

 Panel of the American Institute of Biological 

 Sciences totaled 315. Shark, tuna, and sword- 

 fish eyes and shark vertebral columns were 

 frozen for research studies at the Retina 

 Foundation of the Massachusetts General 

 Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Blue- 

 fin tuna stomachs and gonads were frozen for 

 analysis at the Bureau's Tropical Atlantic Bi- 

 ological Laboratory in Miami, Fla., and speci- 

 mens of bluefin, big-eyed, and albacore 

 tuna were preserved frozen for anatomical 

 studies at the U. S. National Museum and the 

 Bureau's Ichthyological Laboratory, Wash- 

 ington, D. C. During the cruise, 45 3T mes- 

 sages were transmitted to the Naval Oceano- 

 graphic Office through Coast Guard radio sta- 

 tions^ 



Note: See Commercial Fisheries Review , March 1966 p. 31. 



North Atlantic Fisheries Investigations 



LARVAL HERRING DISTRIBUTION 

 IN GULF OF MAINE STUDIED: 



M/V " Rorqual" Cruise 2-66 (February 14- 

 March 6, 1966): To determine the distribu- 

 tion of larval herring along the coast of the 

 Gulf of Maine was the objective of this cruise 

 by the research vessel Rorqual , operated by 

 the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, U. S. 

 Department of the Interior, Biological Labo- 

 ratory, Boothbay Harbor, Me. The area of 

 operations was between Cape Ann and Grand 

 Manan Channel. 



BIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS: A total of 

 50 stations was occupied. Three-mile oblique 

 tows were made at each station using the 

 Boothbay No. 4 trawl. One Gulf III oblique 

 tow was made in the Grand Manan Channel. 



HYDROGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS: Sur- 

 face temperatures and salinities were taken 

 at each station. Five drift bottles and 5 sea- 



bed drifters were released at 21 standard 

 stations. A Nansen bottle cast, a bathytherm- 

 ograph (BT) cast, and a Secchi disc reading 

 were taken at the Grand Manan station. 



PRELIMINARY FINDINGS: Nearly 2,000 

 (1,912) larval herring were caught ranging in 

 standard length from 17 to 46 millimeters 

 (0,7 to 1.8 inches). The heaviest concentra- 

 tions were found in Ipswich Bay and off Blue- 

 hill, Frenchmans and Pleasant Bays. Mean 

 lengths were generally larger in the west and 

 east and smallest near Penobscot Bay. The 

 largest mean length was from a catch off 

 Machias Bay. 



M/V " Rorqual" Cruise 3-66 (March 16-23, 

 1966): The Bureau's research vessel Rorqual 

 continued its operations between Cape Ann and 

 Grand Manan Channel during the cruise to de- 

 termine the distribution of larval herring a- 

 long the coastal Gulf of Maine. 



BIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS: Oblique 

 tows with the Boothbay No. 4 trawl were made 

 for larval herring at 50 stations. A watch was 

 kept for schools of sardine -sized herring. 

 Meter net tows were made along the coast for 

 barnacle larvae. 



HYDROGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS: Sur- 

 face temperatures and salinities were taken 

 at each station. A total of 5 drift bottles and 

 5 sea-bed drifters were released at 21 sta- 

 tions. 



PRELIMINARY FINDINGS: Larval herring 

 were abundant during this cruise. The total 

 catch was 1,954. The larvae ranged from 20- 

 40 millimeters (0.8 to 1.6 inches) standard 

 length. One school of sardine -sized herring 

 was sighted on the surface 3 miles southeast 

 of Pemaquid Point. Barnacle larvae were not 

 present along the coast in large numbers. 



Note: See Commercial Fisheries Review , January 1966 p. 42. 



LOBSTER AND SEA HERRING 

 POPULATION STUDIES CONTINUED : 



R/V " Albatross IV Cruise 66-5 (April 19- 

 29, 1966): To sample populations of sea her- 

 ring and lobsters and obtain related environ- 

 mental data was the main objective of this 

 cruise by the research vessel Albatross IV 

 of the U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. 

 Other objectives were to: (1) obtain blood 

 samples from sea herring and lobsters, (2) 

 make plankton tows for herring larvae, and 



