452 
Fishery Bulletin 108(4) 
1998) and because we could not distinguish between 
gender, we applied female size at maturation to all 
individuals. Female maturation is reached at a total 
length of 197 cm (van Eenennaam and Doroshov, 1998). 
NMFS bottom trawl survey 
These surveys were conducted primarily by the research 
vessels Albatross IV and Delaware II where a Yankee 
36 bottom trawl with a 1.27-cm mesh liner was towed 
for 30 minutes at 3.79 knots. Sampling was conducted 
during the day and night (Sosebee and Cadrin 4 ). A total 
of 300-400 trawls were executed each season from the 
Gulf of Maine to just south of Cape Hatteras, NC (Fig. 
1). Sampling for the NMFS fall survey began in 1963 
and the waters of southern New England and the Gulf 
of Maine were sampled before tows were expanded to 
include inshore stations in 1973. The NMFS survey was 
further expanded to include spring samples in 1973. We 
also used some additional NMFS surveys that were con- 
ducted during the winters of 1964-66, 1972, 1978, 1981, 
and 1992-2007, and summers of 1977-81 and 1993-95. 
NJDEP finfish survey 
The NJDEP finfish survey began in 1988 and is con- 
ducted five times per year in April, June, August, Octo- 
ber, and January. A total of 186 tows are conducted each 
year (39 stations per trip for spring-fall months and 30 
stations per trip for winter months). Sampling occurred 
from NY Harbor to the entrance of Delaware Bay, DE, 
from 8 to 30 m depth (Fig. 1). A depth-stratified random 
sampling design was used and a minimum of 10 tows 
were completed per depth interval (0-10 m, 10-20 m, 
and 20-30 m). The survey was conducted with a three- 
to-one two-seam trawl (25-m headrope, 30.5-m footrope) 
with 12-cm stretched mesh forward netting that tapered 
down to 8-cm stretched mesh rear netting that was lined 
with a 6.4-mm mesh codend liner. Tows were conducted 
at a speed of 3-3.5 knots for a duration of 20 minutes 
during daylight hours. 
ME-NH inshore bottom trawl survey 
This survey began in fall of 2000 and primarily covered 
the inshore waters of Maine and New Hampshire and 
a depth range of 9-150 m and distance up to 19.3 km 
offshore (in accordance with the 12-mile territorial limit) 
(Fig. 1). A total of 115 trawls were attempted each fall 
and spring. 100 stations were selected on the basis of 
a depth-stratified, random sampling design and of the 
100 stations, 15 were fixed location stations. For this 
4 Sosebee, K. A., and S. X. Cadrin. 
2006. A historical perspective on the abundance and biomass 
of northeast demersal complex stocks from NMFS and Mas- 
sachusetts inshore bottom trawl surveys, 1963—2002. NEFSC 
Ref. Doc. 06-05, 200 p. Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, Woods Hole Laboratory, 
166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543. 
survey a 57-70 modified shrimp trawl (17.37-m head 
rope, 21.34-m footrope) was used with 5.08-cm stretched 
mesh and a 2.54-cm stretched mesh liner in the codend. 
Tows were conducted for 20 minutes at 2. 2-2. 3 knots 
during daylight hours. 
MADMF bottom trawl survey 
Conducted during the spring and fall from 1978-2007, 
this bottom trawl survey encompassed the Massachu- 
setts inshore waters up to 5.6 km from the boundaries 
of New Hampshire and Rhode Island (Fig. 1). A % size 
North Atlantic two-seam otter trawl (head rope 11.9 m, 
footrope 15.5 m) with a 6.4-mm lined codend was towed 
at 2.5 knots for 20 min during daylight hours. The 
survey sampled 100 stations per year selected using a 
depth-stratified, random sampling design. 
New York bottom trawl surveys (NYBTS) 
The NY surveys consisted of two surveys — the New 
York young-of-the-year bluefish survey and the NY trawl 
survey for subadult Atlantic sturgeon. The sampling 
area encompassed the waters inshore of a depth of 30 
m; the practical inshore limit was 8-10 m from Montauk 
Point to the entrance of NY Harbor (Fig. 1). For this 
survey a depth-stratified sampling design was used with 
strata based on the depth intervals 0-10 m, 10-20 m, 
and 20-30 m. Tows were randomly selected by using 
a random number generator and were conducted for a 
duration of 20 minutes at a tow speed of 3-3.5 knots 
during daylight hours. The net was a three-to-one two- 
seam trawl (25-m headrope, 30.6-m footrope) with for- 
ward netting of 12-cm stretched mesh tapering down 
to the rear netting of 8-cm stretched mesh and lined 
with a 6.0-mm mesh liner within the codend. Because 
exactly the same gear was used for the surveys, they 
were combined for the purpose of this analysis. Further 
differences between the two surveys are described below. 
The NY young-of-the-year bluefish survey was ini- 
tially restricted to the 10- and 20-m depth strata where 
10 tows per depth stratum were completed for a total of 
20 tows per cruise. Sampling took place June-October 
in 2005 and August-September in 2006. The survey 
was confined to the 10-m depth strata in September, 
October, and November of 2007 when 25, 24, and 27 
tows were completed, respectively. 
For the NY trawl survey for subadult Atlantic stur- 
geon, a total of 10 cruises were conducted from Octo- 
ber 2005 through June 2007 with 30 tows per cruise 
distributed within the 10-, 20-, and 30-m depth strata. 
Sampling months were October, November, January, 
April, May, and June. A total of 10 tows were completed 
for each depth. In June 2007, 36 tows were confined to 
the 10-m depth stratum. 
Spatial analysis 
Atlantic sturgeon captures were mapped by season with 
ESRI® ArcGIS™, vers. 9.2 software (ESRI; Redlands, 
