21 



41" 



40* 



"I 



■I 



7r 70* 69- 68- 67- 66" 



<• Si' 



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"50 <athams~~' ~- 



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V.'' 



Legend: 

 -* Trawl station. 



j^i-]i-i[-ii-ii-i[-ii_ji-i[-ii_iuj[-]i-ii-ij-iuji-i[-ii-ji-i|-ii-ii-j[-4i-iM[-ii-im[-ii-ii-iy g- 

 71' 70' 59- 68- 67- 66" 



42" 



r 



-40* 



M/V Delaware Cruise 66-8, Sept. 29-Oct. 10, 1966. 



numbers of spherical (8 -inch diameter) floats 

 buoyed up the headrope, and wooden spacers 

 were used for roller gear. 



Fishing activities were conducted in areas 

 of suspected fish abundance --generally based 

 on data from previous cruises and informa- 

 tion received from Government aerial sur- 

 veillance of foreign fishing activity. Echo- 

 sounding and ranging transects were con- 

 ducted between trawl sets and during bad 

 weather, when fishing was impractical. 



Tows with the Dutch net were made during 

 the daytime and were usually 1-hour long at 

 about four knots. Oceanographic data were 

 collected at every tow, and biological speci- 

 mens were examined for size, weight, stom- 

 ach content, and sexual maturity from selec- 

 ted catches. 



Results: Definite commercial concentra- 

 tions of herring were found in the Winter 

 Fishing Ground area between 41°55' N., 

 67°25' W. and 41°58' N., 67°28' W, at depths 



of about 20 to 30 fathoms. Although the ves- 

 sel's maximum catch was 3,300 pounds for a 

 1 -hour tow, a tenfold catch was observed on 

 a Soviet vessel, probably the result of a 2- 

 hour tow. The observed catches of several 

 vessels of the large foreign fleet averaged 

 over 10 thousand pounds. Their powerful mod- 

 ern vessels apparently experience little diffi- 

 culty in handling nets that appeared twice as 

 large as the Dutch herring trawl. A dense fog 

 and competition for space prevented the Dela- 

 ware's crew from fully evaluating the possi- 

 ble production from this area. 



Two other areas produced fair catches of 

 industrial fish species. Over 9,000 pounds of 

 mixed fish, including 7,000 pounds spiny dog- 

 fish ( Squalus acanthias ) and 1,260 pounds her- 

 ring, were caught in a 1 -hour tow in 32 to 34 

 fathoms between the Peaked Hill Buoy and W 

 or "E" Buoy off northeastern Cape Cod. 

 Catches included over 2,600 pounds of mixed 

 industrial fish, mostly herring or silver hake 

 ( Merluccius bilinearis ), on northern Cultiva- 

 tor Shoal. 



