were parti cularaly abundant. During the 1973-74 disposal some gear was lost 

 due to surface vessel activity. A few pots fished on the site caught no lobsters 

 throughout the spring following cessation of dumping. In the year following, 

 catches on the spoil were very low and pots could be stuck in the soft mud. 

 Low catches and "mudding up" were correlated with strong spring tides. 



Since 1974 there has been slow recovery of catches with possible drop-offs 

 associated with the small dumping jobs. The present catches are estimated by 

 one fisherman to be one-half of Dre-1973 levels and smaller than in the area 

 west of the site . 



The lobsters caught at the dump site are reported to be of high quality 



with few culls. Relatively few "ground-keepers" with dark, heavy shells are 



found. One fisherman mentioned a relative absence of smaller lobsters while 

 another mentioned the presence of small lobsters which reached legal size after 



shedding in the area . 



Tentative arrangements have been made with a lobsterman to collect data 

 from strings of pots close to and at a distance from the site for two months 

 prior to dumping, during dumping, and through the following summer. Data on 

 numbers, sizes, and sex of lobsters will be collected and the differences be- 

 tween sites analyzed by analysis of variance. 



Finfish. Previous reports on the New Haven disposal site do not locate any 

 trawl fisheries near the site. Lobstermen will make a tow for lobster bait 

 in this area on rare occasions. 



During late summer and fall large draggers from New York and New Jersey 

 fish for scup (porgy) in this area. Draggers are reported to have avoided the 

 spoil mound for several years until it had leveled off or became more compact. 

 DAMOS divers observed a deep gouge made by trawl doors on the spoil surface in 



