304 
Fishery Bulletin 96(2), 1998 
(1979), Yuschak and Lund (1984), Yuschak (1985), 
Keirans et al. (1986), and McBride and Able (1994). 
This study describes and compares the seasonal 
movements, size structure, and interannual varia- 
Table 1 
Estimated numbers of searobins (all triglid species com- 
bined) caught by marine recreational anglers from 1979 to 
1991 in the Mid-Atlantic, as well as in all subregions of 
the U.S. east coast combined: Gulf of Maine, Mid-Atlantic, 
South Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico. Data prior to 1979 are 
not available. 
Numbers ( 
in millions) 
Mid- 
U.S. 
Year 
Atlantic 
east coast 
Source 
1979 
3.548 
5.145 
Holliday, 1984 
1980 
7.102 
7.957 
Holliday, 1984 
1981 
1.624 
2.613 
NMFS, 1985a 
1982 
2.795 
5.074 
NMFS, 1985a 
1983 
8.750 
10.058 
NMFS, 1985b 
1984 
6.189 
6.752 
NMFS, 1985b 
1985 
3.562 
4.361 
NMFS, 1986 
1986 
10.908 
11.858 
NMFS, 1987 
1987 
4.824 
5.071 
Essig et al., 1991 
1988 
5.182 
5,899 
Essig et al., 1991 
1989 
2.631 
2.947 
Essig et al., 1991 
1990 
4.896 
5.518 
Van Voorhees, et al.,1992 
1991 
7.254 
7.799 
Van Voorhees, et al.,1992 
Mean 
(peryr) 5.328 
6.235 
Total 
69.265 
81.052 
tions in population size of northern and striped 
searobins in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. No previous 
study has synthesized searobin data over such a large 
geographic scale. The present and potential roles of 
searobins in fisheries of the temperate western North 
Atlantic are also discussed. 
Materials and methods 
Bata were derived from three fishery-independent 
bottom trawl surveys (Table 2). One survey, con- 
ducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service, 
covered the entire Mid-Atlantic Bight (i.e. the coastal 
region from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras), as well as 
Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine (Fig. 1). Bata 
from two regional surveys were also examined: one 
at the northern extent of the Mid-Atlantic Bight near 
Cape Cod, the other within a central portion of the 
Mid-Atlantic Bight offshore of New Jersey. In each 
survey a stratified, random design was used for allo- 
cating trawl tows. Strata were established by depth 
categories and other physiographic boundaries. Num- 
bers of tows within each stratum were proportional 
to stratum area; within each stratum, tow locations 
were randomly assigned. Fishes were counted and 
weighed; measurements were reported to the near- 
est centimeter total length (TL). In preliminary 
analyses geographic and length-distribution data 
were plotted for all years available, but herein only 
data from selected cruises (1991-92) are graphed. 
Preliminary calculations of abundance showed that 
Table 2 
Sources and details of trawl data examined for this study. Data for the period 1982-91 were the focus of most analyses. Data 
regarding distribution and size structure for the years 1991-92 were plotted (Figs. 2-7) as representative years. 
Data source 
Trawl 
headrope (m) 
(mesh [mm]) 
Tow 
time 
(min) 
Season 
Month 
Sampling 
depth 
(m) 
Years 
Throughout the Mid-Atlantic Bight 
NEFSC, NMFS 7 
18.3-19.8 
30 
Spring 
Mar-May 
9-366 
1968-95 
(12.7) 
30 
Summer 
Jun-Aug 
9-200 
1963-65,69,77-81 
30 
Autumn 
Sep-Nov 
9-366 
1963-95 
30 
Winter 
Dec-Feb 
9-200 
1964-6,78,81,91-2 
Offshore of Massachusetts and New Jersey 
MDMF 2 
11.9 
20 
Spring 
May 
9-55 
1978-95 
(12.7) 
20 
Autumn 
Sep 
9-55 
1978-95 
NJBMF 3 
24.4 
20 4 
5-6/year 
Jan-Dec 
6-27 
1988-92 
(6.3) 
1 Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service. 
2 Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. 
3 New Jersey Bureau of Marine Fisheries. 
4 Tows in 1988 were for 30 minutes. 
