[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]









                           Assessment of the North Carolina Winter Trawl Fishery

                                          September 1982-April 1985


                                                     by


                                               Jeffrey L. Ross

                                               Jess H. Hawkins

                                                     and
                                             Douglas A. DeVries 1




                                 North Carolina Department of Environment,
                                        Health, and Natural Resources

                                        Division of Marine Fisheries
                                          Morehead City, NC 28557



                                      Special Scientific Report No. 53





                                                 April 1990



                          This work     was   conducted    under the     Commercial
                          Fisheries    Research and Development Act (PL 88-309,
                          as amended)     and   funded, in part, by the U.S.
                          Department    of   Commerce,    National   Oceanic     and
                          Atmospheric Agency, National Marine Fisheries Service,
                          under Project 2-386-R.


                          Present address: National Marine      Fisheries Service,
                             3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama    City, FL 32407


                               Two hundrea- copies of this report were printed
                                     at a cost of $688.50, or $3.44 a copy











                                                  TABLE OF CONTENTS





                                                                                                 Page




               ABSTRACT  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


               INTRODUCTION   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


               METHODS AND MATERIAL    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                6
                    Graded Random Stratified Sampling       . . . . . . . . . . . . . .             6
                    Ungraded Sampling    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                7

               RESULTS . . .    * ' ' * * * ' * ' * ' *     '' *  . .      * *  ' * ' '  '          a
                    Species Composition - Overview       . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .             8
                          Species Composition, 1982-1985     . . . . . . . . . . . . .              8
                          Components of the Winter Trawl     Fishery  . . . . . . . . .             8
                    Nearshore Summer Flounder     Fishery    . . . . . . . . . . . . .            20
                    Deepwater Fishery    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              24
                          Scup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               30
                          Summer Flounder    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              30
                          Black Sea Bass   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              35
                    Flynet Fishery     . . . . . . .                                              38
                          Flynet Catch Composition       (All Areas)  . . . . . . . . .           38
                          Monthly Flynet Catches - (All Areas)       . . . . . . . . . .          38
                          Flynet Catches -   North of Cape Hatteras      . . . . . . . .          41
                          Flynet Catches -   Cape Hatteras to Cape    Lookout  . . . . .          41
                          Flynet Catches -   West of  Cape Lookout    . . . . . . . . .           45
                          Weakfish  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               46
                          Atlantic Croaker   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              55
                          Bluefish  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               59
                          Spot    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               66
                          Butterfish   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              72


               DISCUSSION    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                72
                    Weakfish    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               77
                    Summer Flounder    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              80
                    Bluefish    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               82
       RE           Atlantic Croaker     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              84
                    Spot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                86
                    Butterfish    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               86
                    Scup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                89
                    Black Sea Bass     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              89


               SUMMARY   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                92
       Q@o     ACANOWLEDGEMENTS   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               94
               C"
               L'TTERATUR                                                                         95
                         YiMR@      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
                         NOAA/CCEIJ
                    1990 H013SON AVJ@.
               <   CHAR SC 2940@R-9c)?q












                                                   ABSTRACT


                  The winter trawl fishery produced one-third of all finfish (excluding
             menhaden) commercially landed in North Carolina during the study period. From
             Fall 1982 through Spring 1985, 43, 67 and 84 catches were sampled during the
             respective fishing seasons.       Catches were partitioned      by gear (nearshore
             flounder trawl, deepwater trawls, flynet), and area (north of Cape Hatteras,
             Cape Hatteras to Cape Lookout, west of Cape Lookout) to facilitate analyses of
             seasonal fishing patterns and catches.

                  The nearshore flounder fishery occurred from late November through
             January and accounted for 18.6 to 37.3% of the catches sampled.                Summer
             flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) dominated these catches,           although their
             relative abundance declined from 93.7 to 88.6% during the study.           The CPUE
             (mean weight/trip) was highest in 1983-84 (9,687 kg) and lowest in 1982-83
             (5,584 kg).    Fish <300 mm TL accounted for 9.8-14.6% of the catches, while
             fish >400 mm TL comprised 21.4-26.0%, with no dramatic changes noted during
             the three-year period.

                  Deepwater trawling occurred from December through April, accounting for
             18.6-31.3% of the samples.     This fishery was dominated (94.0-98.0%) by scup
             (Stenotomus chrysops),      summer flounder,     black sea bass       (Centropristis
             striata), and squids (Loligo sp.).       The CPUE of S. chrysops declined from
             9,708 kg in 1982-83 to 2,003 kg in 1984-85 as did t@_e percent of fish >200 mm
             FL, from 58.5 to 18.8%. The CPUE of P. dentatus increased from 1,377 kg to
             4,431 kg    from 1982-83 to 1984-85; their size composition did not change
             significantly during the study; smaller summer flounder were captured in the
             deepwater than the nearshore fishery.      The CPUE of C. striata increased from
             1,314 kg to 3,449 kg, and the proportion of large fish increased during the
             study.

                  Flynet fishing occurred from September through           April  and comprised
             31.3-62.8% of the samples.       Catches were dominated by weakfish (Cynoscion
             regalis) in 1982-83 (52.8%) and 1983-84 (61.9%) and by Atlantic croaker
             (Micropogonias undulatus) (38.6%) and C. regalis (35.6%)      in 1984-85. Bluefish
             (Pomatomus saltatrix), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), and butterfish (Peprilus
             triacanthus) were also regularly captured. The CPUE of C. regalis was highest
             in 1983-84 (7,598 kg) and lowest in 1984-85 (4,780 kgT.          @_ regalis of age
             O-XI were landed, but ages 0 and I comprised 90% of the catches. The CPUE of
             M. undulatus increased from 2,344 kg in 1982-83 to 5,190 kg/catch. Age O-V M.
             undulatus were landed, though fish ages I-III constituted 98.9-99.9% of t@e
             catches.    A   declining trend in CPUE and landings of P. saltatrix was
             indicated; age O-XI individuals were sampled, but fish age 0-1 comprised
             87.7-88.8%    of the    catches in 1982-84      and 57.9% in 1984-85.         Flynets
             produced the greatest relative     percentage of scrapfish and inshore flounder
             trawls the lowest percentage.












                                                      INTRODUCTION



                    The inception of the winter trawl           Hatteras     (Eldridge    1962;     Pearson
              fishery off North Carolina and Vir-               1932).
              ginia occurred around 1920 when New
              Jersey flounder trawlers began looking                  The larger vessels used during
              southward for the schools of Atlantic             the 1930s were ketch-rigged, 60-100 ft
              croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) they            in length    (16-20 ft beam), powered
              captured further north duri-ng March              with 100-150 hp      crude oil auxiliary
              and April (Pearson 1932; Nesbit 1935).            engines, with 50,000-80,000 lb holding
              They    used   converted   shallow     draft      capacities (Eldridge 1962).      They were
              oyster and crab dredge boats            from      rigged for side trawling and pulled
              Hampton and Portsmouth, Virginia, rig-            otter trawls with 6 ft x 4 ft x 2-1/2
              ged with otter trawls, and fished out             in. non-reinforced wooden doors.        The
              of   Ocracoke    Inlet,   North    Carolina       trawls were 70-90 ft wide, 75 ft long,
              within 10-20 mi of land.      In 1930, the        made of cotton twine with 2-1/2 in
              North Carolina legislature prohibited             stretched mesh cod ends and 2-3/4 in
              all   trawling    in  state waters.       In      stretched mesh bodies.      These vessels
              spite of this and similar regulations             were crewed by 6-10 men.      Two vessels
              in Virginia waters, nearly 20 small               that fished in the 1930s, the SEA RAM-
              vessels continued     to  fish outside of         BLER   (in winter 1986,      this    vessel
              three mi when    conditions were favor-           caught fire and was lost at sea) and
              able (Eldridge 1962).                             the MITZI KAY were still in use during
                                                                this study.
                    By    1928,   several    large     New
              England draggers were fishing along                     The winter trawl fishery changed
              the   North    Carol ina-Virginia coasts,         little through the 1930s and then ef-
              centering their efforts around Cape               fort dropped sharply during World War
              Hatteras and selling their catches in             II.    Since World War II,     several de-
              Hampton Roads.     Their success on scup          velopments modified and modernized the
              (Stenotomus, chrysops), black sea bass            fishery.    War surplus diesel engines
              (Centropristis      striata),      Atlantic       (6-71;    350 hp) became available.
              croaker and summer flounder (Paralich-            Today, vessels with up to 920 hp
              thys dentatus) led to an expansion in             engines facilitate the pulling of big-
              the winter of 1930-31 to approxima-               ger nets (Etheridge)@ Corps of Engi-
              tely 25 northern vessels and 20 local             neers' maintenance of Oregon Inlet's
              Chesapeake     Bay     boats.      Although       channel, beginning in the mid-1950s,
              croaker and flounder were initially               facilitated the development of Wan-
              targeted, the 1930-31 season produced             chese, North Carolina as a major fish
              catches of other species similar to               processing port.      Eastern North Caro-
              what we see today.       This was due to          lina ports such as Englehard, Bel-
              the expansion of the fishery offshore             haven, and Bayboro were also used by
              to depths of 20-50 fathoms off south-             trawlers fishing out of Oregon Inlet.
              ern Virginia and northern North Caro-
              lina, as well as into the Hatteras                      Vessel   sizes have generally in-
              Bight.    Atlantic croaker, spot (Leio-           creased, with most ranging from 60 to
              stomus xanthurus), weakfish (Cynoscion
              regalis), and bluefish (Pomatomus sal-
              tatrix)    dominated    landings   on    the
              southern fishing grounds, and          black        Captain Will     Etheridge,    Jr., Wan-
              sea bass, scup, hake (Urophycis spp.),              chese,     North Carolina,       personal
              and flounder were caught north of Cape              communication 1986.

                                                            1










             95 ft, widths of 15-23 ft, tonnages               and throughout the Pamlico Sound         The
             from 33 to 200, and engines of 200-920            primary processing facilities in North
             hp.   Ste-el vessels, first used in the           Carolina    are   located   in    Wanchese,
             mid-1960s, increased in number in the             where 30-40 vessels offload at six
             1970s,     and now predominate.         Most      fish houses. During the late 1970 and
             vessels are-stern trawlers,      with net         prior to the severe shoaling around
             reels further increasing efficiency,              Oregon   Inlet (which often makes pass-
             although a few side trawlers are still            age difficult), up to 100 vessels
             in use. Modern electronics facilitate             landed fish there.        Morehead City-
             fishing different locations and locat-            Beaufort is the second largest pro-
             ing fish concentrations.        Crew sizes        cessing center for trawlers, with 5-6
             are smaller      today    (4-5 men) since         fish houses servicing 10-15 full-time
             powerheads, winches and net reels have            trawlers. The ports of Hobucken, Van-
             made gear handling much less arduous.             demere, Bayboro, and Oriental pack
                                                               fish for 4-8 trawlers which fish out
                   Nets have also changed in type as           of both Oregon and Ocracoke inlets         *
             well as materials used.         Early nets        Other ports included in this study
             were    cotton,     less    durable,     and      which   have    1-3  vessels    (45-65    ft
             deteriorated     sooner     than    today's       class)     include     Englehard,       Swan
             nylon and polypropylene     nets which are        Quarter, Belhaven, and Wrights Creek.
             lighter, more durable      and less prone
             to deterioration.      Use of wider wing                The winter trawl fishery accoun-
             mesh    has   reduced   drag    while    not      ted for 32-36% of all finfish (exclud-
             reducing catch, allowing larger nets              ing menhaden) landed in North Car
             to be used.     High rising flynets, low          during the 1982-85 fishing seasons.
             profile    flounder trawls,     nets with         In one or more seasons, it accounted
             rollers     or   "cookies"     for     rough      for >50% of the landings of weakfish,
             bottoms, combination nets, and others             bluefish, flounder, butterfish, black
             have increased gear efficiency over               sea bass, and scup (Table 1).         Total
             the range of bottom types and for a               landings    of   marketable    food     fish
             variety of species (Etheridge').                  during September 1982 -        April 1985
                                                               ranged from 19.8 to 22.4       million lb
                   The North Carolina trawl fishery            each season.
             is a multispecies-multigear fishery
             which    takes   place    from    September             At least three different types of
             through     April,   during   which     time      trawls were utilized in this fishery       ,
             effort     is   shifted     depending     on      with modifications of each in use
             seasonal distribution, availability,              (Etheridge'). Flynets are a high-rise
             catchability and marketability.        Fish-      (high profile) net which fishes 10-12
             ing grounds extend from as far north              ft off the bottom.        Headropes   range
             as Maryland to south and west of Cape             from 80 to 120 ft, and mesh           sizes
             Lookout and from just off the beach to            taper from 16 to 64 in. in the        wings
             the    50   fathom   curve    (Figure    1).      to 2 in. in the cod end.         The  basic
             Target     species     include   butterfish       trawl used in the directed flounder
             (September-November), croaker (Septem-            fishery has a 65-82 ft headrope,
             ber-April), weakfish (November-April),            shallow wings, 2 or 4 seams; these are
             summer flounder (November-April), scup            low profile nets which fish only a
             and black sea bass         (December-April)       foot or two off the bottom.             Mesh
             and bluefish (December-April).                    sizes are generally 5-6 in.         in the
                                                               wings and 2-4-1/2 in. in the tailbags.
                                                               In deepwater, combination nets similar
                   Catches are landed at ports from            to a Yankee trawl are used with head-
             Wanchese to Morehead City-Beaufort,               ropes of 72-80 ft and mesh sizes

                                                           2

































                                                                                                                                                                          r
                                     37'                                                                       Chesapeake
                                                                                                                       Eat a y                                           . .......

                                                                                                                Norfolk




                                                                                                _YA
                                                                                                  NC



                                      36*               E2: Flounder
                                                        f7l
                                                              Deepwater                                                        Wanchese
                                                                                                                                               regon  Inlet
                                                              Flynet
                                                                                                     Belhaven


                                                                                                                     Swanquarter


                                                                                                     Hobucken                      Hatteras
                                                                                                                            ,,,o              Cape   Hatt

                                                                                                   flental
                                      3S-





                                                                                                                Cape,  Lookout








                                       34*
                                                                              <
                                                                     C8.94%.!;.ar                                600
                                        79*.'.                      78""                         77                           76* Wi                        75*





                                               Figure 1. Fishing grounds of North Carolina winter trawl fishery.


                                                                                                     3















                                                                                    1              2                                3
                  Table 1. Seasonal comme&cial landings of the pound net                 long haul  ,  ocean gill net (gill net) and
                                winter trawler fisheries in North Carolina for 1982-1985 (year                May-April), including total
                                landings/species (pounds), total value of state landings/species (value in dollars) and
                                relative contribution of the three fisheries/species (percent).

                                                May 82-April 83                          May 83-April 84               May 84-April 85
                  Species                    Pounds        Value/percent         Pounds        Value/percent        Pounds      Value/percent

                  Atlantic croaker         9,866,141          3,572,225        8,149,494           3,099,117    10,376,614          3,277,669
                     Pound net             1,902,215                19.31        644,560                7.91        975,762               9.40
                     Long haul             4,549,326                46.11      4,151,140               50.94     2,951,449                28.45
                     Trawler               1,205,872                12.22      1,054,312               12.94     2,996,638                28.88
                     Gill net                833,236                8.45       1,153,007               14.15     2,615,006                25.20

                  Weakfish                11,382,336          4,694,631       12,094,801           3,936,466    10,422,617          3,873,849
                     Pound net               278,438                2.45         161,494                1.34        368,337               3.53
                     Long haul             1,624,525                14.27      1,552,367               12.84     1,680,145                16 12
                     Trawler               6,733,559                59.46      6,040,467               49.94     3,879,464                37:22
                     Gill net              1,842,995                16.19      3,380,165               27.95     3,389,223                32.52

                  Bluefish                 7,649,633             914,334       3,567,772             565,016     2,963,934             509,375
                     Pound net               195,560                2,56          69,163                1.94         84,782               2.86
                     Long haul               427,246                5,58         337,461                9.46        245,300               11.65
                     Trawler               3,914,922                51.18      1,024,513               28.71        791,896               26.72
                     Gill net              2,122,837                27.75      1,395,109               39.10     1,216,539                41.04

                  spot                     4,881,153          1,063,275        3,059,581             699,276     3,443,161             808,613
                     Pound net               330,801                6.78          65,525                2.14        195,775               5.69
                     Long haul             3,430,237                70.28      1,950,733               62.29     2,067,525                60.05
                     Trawler                  78,806                1.61         152,545                4.99        109,817               3.19
                     Gill net                 76,135                1.56         128,352                4.20        262,124               7.61

                  Flounders                8,751,842          5,486,386       13,288,085           7,292,754    14,115,181         10,132,192
                     Pound net               121,321                1.39          75,267                0.57        117,160               0.83
                     Long haul                62,433                0.71          79,810                0.60         58,727               0.42
                     Trawler               6,367,909                72.76     10,513,594               79.12    11,430,499                80.98
                  Butterfish    4            298,057                75,641       116,347              42,742        176,570             63,785
                     Pound net                24,078                8.08            3,185               2.74         15,117               8.56
                     Long haul                 8,090                2.71            9,006               8.37           5,148              2.92
                     Trawler                 163,887                54.99         83,392               71.68        114,113               64.63
                     Gill net                 84,486                28.35         11,506                9.89         25,405               14.39
                  Harvestfish   4            437,720             123,419         221,748              59,970        242,613            96 992
                     Pound net                75,290                17.20         37,153               16.75         70,008               2L86
                     Long haul                90,101                20.58         43,019               19.40         47,213               19.46
                     Trawler                  7.5,429               17.23         15,703                7.08         11,338               4.67
                     Gill net                 90,206                20.61         12.789                5.77         10,609               4- 37

                  Spanish mackerel           189,217                61,268        41,336              15,221        127,467             42,043
                     Pound net                 6,857                3.62            5,850              14.15         13,935               10.93
                     Trawler                       824              0.44                 14             0.03              -
                     Gill net                 63,297                33.45           8,371              20.25         31,073               24.38

                  Spotted Seatrout            93,381                713764       159,066             120,497        150,780            122,505
                     Pound net                10,847                11.62         10,802                6.79                              5.98
                     Long haul                33,222                35.58         41,199               25.90         33,543               22.25
                     Trawler                       900              0.96               625              0.39              954             0.63
                     Gill net                  5,003                5.36            9,294               5.84           8,158              5.41

                  Red drum                    48,717                11,238       321,853              813232        199,739            59 570
                     Pound net                     718              1.47            3,533               1.10           1,758              6.88
                     Long haul                 9,947                20.42         20,865                6.48         15,444               7.73
                     Trawler                  13,496                27.70         28,802                8.95         14,144               7.08
                     Gill net                 11,005                22.59         75,748               23.53         41,894               20.97







                                                                               4













                   Table 1. Icontinuedl.

                                              May 82-April 83                     May 83-April 84               May 84-April 85
                   Species                 Pounds       Value/per7n-t       Pounds        Value/percent      Pounds     Value/percent

                   Striped bass            241,687           451,330        408,632            356,001       466,354          365,232
                    Pound  n I;t-              -                 -               -                 -              -               -
                    Long haul                   228             0.09               19              0.01             47           0.01
                    Trawler                   3,619             1.50           13,633              3.34            132           0.03
                    Gill net                 49,152            20.34              685              0.17           -               -

                   Black sea bass          468,963           342,656        982,197            681,794     1,199,375          976,068
                    Trawler                156,648             33.50        586,101              59.67       799,469             71.42

                   Scup or porgies      1,451,219            840,315      1,840,452            997 j463    1,113,225          758,760
                    Trawler                670,491             46.20      1,051,73k              57.15       588,542             52.87

                   Bait                 9,483,722            353,653      9,767,200            375,892    10,350,279          380,999
                    Pound net              770,299              8.12        442,355                4.53      928,158             8.97
                    Long haul           4,141,819              43.67      4,190,474              42.90     4,153,578             40.13
                    Trawler             3,007,459              31.71      3,555,923              36.41     3,796,043             36.68
                    Gill net               137,536              1.45          95,944               0.98      220,218             2.13

                   Total finfish
                   (w/out menhaden)    70,034,744         23,446,020     72,260,108         23,638,834    81,638,670        28,220,020
                    Pound net           3,746,504               5.35      1,556,540                2.15    2,832,346             3.47
                    Long haul          14,503,469              20.71     12,453,982              17.23    11,408,674             13.97
                    Trawler            22,855,221              32.63     25,968,070              35.94    26,232,641             32.13
                    Gill net            5,822,047               8.31      6,422,844                8.89    8,172,358             10.01

                   Total marketable finfish
                   (w/out menhaden)    60,551,022         23,092,367     62,492,908         23,262,942    71,288,391        27,839,021
                    Pound net           2,976,205               4.92      1,114,185                1.78    1,094,388             2.67
                    Long haul          10,361,650              17.11      8,263,508              13.22     7,255,096             10.18
                    Trawler            19,847,726              32.78     22,412,147              35.86    22,436,598             31.47
                    Gill net            5,684,561               9.39      6,326,900              10.12     7,952,140             11.15

                   1Pound net landings include Dare County.
                   2Long haul landings include: Dare, Hyde, Carteret, Craven, Pamlico and Beaufort counties.
                   3
                   Winter trawl and ocean gill net landings include: Dare, Hyde, Pamlico Beaufort, Craven, Carteret,
                   Brunswick and Onslow counties.
                   4North Carolina commercial landings combined harvestfish and butterfish landings in 1985 as
                   harvestfish; for the purpose of this presentation, we extrapolated out lutterlish landings based on
                   monthly relative proportions of the two species in our samples.










              tapering from 5 in. in the wings to 3                 Graded Random Stratified Sampling
              in. in the tailbag.       These nets are
              designed   to   fish   3-4   ft   off    the            To insure adequate coverage of
              bottom.    Flounder    trawls and flynets         all sizes and species in the catches,
              are also used in deepwater.                       and since culling does occur offshore,
                                                                random    stratified samples of the
                                                                graded catch were taken. This process
                   In 1978, the North Carolina Divi-            involved randomly sampling one or more
              sion of Marine Fisheries (DMF) initia-            50 lb cartons of each species market
              ted  a statewide sampling program of              category    or   grade   (small,    medium,
              the   dominant    commercial     fisheries.       large, jumbo, etc.).         More   cartons
              The  overall   objective was to obtain            of the     larger grades were       sampled
              biological     and  fisheries    data     on      since they contained fewer fish.        Each
              economically important fishes for use             sample was weighed to the nearest 0.1
              in management programs in estuarine               kg, the individual fish       measured to
              waters    and   the     territorial     sea.      the nearest millimeter (FL or TL), and
              Because of its importance to the                  the    total    number    of    individuals
              state, the winter trawl fishery was               recorded.     If the individuals in a
              included and is described with regard             fish box were too numerous to measure,
              to   species      composition,     relative       at least 30 were measured, and the
              abundance,   distribution,     and season-        remainder counted.       The total     catch
              ality.   Age and/or size composition of           weight of each market category for
              the dominant species are presented.               each species was obtained from the
              The discussion will include a parti-              fish dealer's records.
              tioning of the fishery into three com-
              ponents: flynets, nearshore flounder,
              and deepwater trawling.                                 Scrap is defined as the part of
                                                                the catch      not marketed for human
                                                                consumption, but rather sold for bait
                        METHODS AND MATERIALS                   or industrial fish, or discarded.         To
                                                                describe the species and size composi-
                   Winter trawl catches were     sampled        tion of the scrap fish landed,            at
              and analyzed      by  "fishing seasons,"          least one-half of the fish            basket
              which    included     October    1982-April       (about 12 kg) from this portion of the
              1983, November 1983-April 1984,          and      catch   was    treated   as   an    ungraded
              September 1984-April      1985.    Samples        sample when scrap was a significant
              were obtained from fish packing houses            (>5%)   component of the catch.        Total
              while     the     catches    were      being      catch  weight of the. (scrap fish) was
              offloaded, primarily in Wanchese and              estimated if not available from the
              Morehead City-Beaufort, and to a less-            dealer unless it was <50 kg, in which
              er extent from Hatteras,          Oriental,       case it was considered negligible and
              Vandemere, Hobucken, Swan Quarter, and            not recorded.      If the scrap was not
              Belhaven.    Captains or crew members             sampled, component species were noted.
              were interviewed when available to
              obtain information on: area and depth
              fished,   number and duration of tows,            In cases where a particular species'
              days at sea, and gear(s)      used includ-        market grades were included on the
              ing size of headrope and cod end mesh.            trip ticket but time did not permit
              Six   or more     catches were     sampled        their being sampled, an estimate of
              monthly   when possible.     Two sampling         the number of fish landed for the
              methods, graded and ungraded, were                grade was made based on a recent
              employed,   although 98% were graded              sample of that species and grade from
              random stratified samples.                        another recent catch.

                                                             6










                    Total length frequencies for each          cies in the samples,       and expanding
              catch were derived by expanding the              that to the respective species propor-
              sample length frequencies for each               tional weight in the total catch. The
              market category (grade) by an expan-             total weight of the catch was obtained
              sion factor to represent the species             from the trip ticket.      The number of
              market grade weight.      Species market         individuals/species    in   a catch was
              grade weight was obtained from trip              calculated by expanding the number of
              tickets and species length frequencies           individuals in the samples to repre-
              were a combination of those expanded             sent the total weight of the species
              for   the   respective   species    market       in the total catch.
              grades.    Species length frequencies
              from the scrap fish component of catch                Scale samples from 30-60 weak-
              were included after they were calcula-           fish, summer flounder, croaker, blue-
              ted by the methods described in "Un-             fish, and spot were taken monthly when
              graded Samples."                                 available,    representing   the    entire
                                                               size range of individuals captured.
                    Species numerical abundance/catch          Both length and weight data were taken
              was calculated similarly by determin-            for each fish sampled.        Ageing was
              ing the number of i ndivi dual s/market          done using criteria for determining
              grade and    then   merging    al 1 market       annuli   given    by  Wilk     (1977)  for
              grades/species. The number of indivi-            bluefish, Ross (in press)    for croaker,
              duals/species from the scrap component           DeVries (1981) for spot,    and Massmann
              of the catch was determined by calcu-            (1963)    and   Merriner     (1973)    for
              lations described in "Ungraded Sam-              weakfish.
              ples."
                                                                    Semi-annual     or    quarterly   age
                          Ungraded Sampling                    frequency distributions were generated
                                                               f or each 20 mm s i ze i nterval , then
                    For  ungraded   samples,     several       merged with expanded length frequency
              (,,,30 kg baskets) from throughout the           data   from the same time period to
              catch were taken.       Each sample was          produce the overall annual age compo-
              sorted and weighed (kg) by species,              sition.   Atlantic croaker age composi-
              and all individuals measured to the              tion was determined using age/length
              nearest millimeter (TL or FL).        If a       keys from 1979-81 age data (Ross in
              particular species was too numerous, a           press).    Age data from individuals
              random   subsample    of   at   least    30      collected from      the  North    Carolina
              individuals    was   measured     and   the      winter sink net fishery were pooled
              remaining fish counted.      However, if a       with   the    winter  trawler    data    to
               pecies had two or more distinct      size       increase the sample size and size
              classes, then each size class was                range of individuals aged.
              s

              treated like a separate species       when
              subsampled. The total weight of       each            Landings and       catch-per-unit-of
              species or the      entire     catch    was      effort (CPUE) are compared throughout
              obtained,   preferably from the       trip       the report.    CPUE is defined as the
              ticket, and if not, it was estimated.            total   weight   (kg)/species/trip.       A
                                                               trip (= catch) may     consist     of  one
                    Length-frequencies    for ungraded         or   more   tows    and   one   or    more
              catches were derived by expanding the            days of fishing.      Landings refer to
              sample length frequencies to represent           commercial landings (lb) data collec-
              the total weight of the species in the           ted through the North Carolina Divi-
              respective catch.     Total weight of a          sion   of Marine     Fisheries    and  the
              species in a catch was calculated by             National   Marine    Fisheries     Service
              determining the proportion of a spe-             cooperative program.     Landings during

                                                            7










             the 1982-85 study period were reported            the    dominant     species.      Atlantic
             based on a May through April fishing              croaker,   black sea bass and squid
             season (i.e., Table 1); however, when             accounted    for >3%    of    the catches
             considering historical      landings data         and Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scom-
             prior    to    1982,   annual  refers     to      brus), spot and bluefish contributed
             January through December.                         >1% (Table 5). At least 75 species of
                                                               fish and 13 species of invertebrates
                                .RESULTS                       were    observed.     Monthly      dominant
                                                               species and catch compositions are
                   North    Carolina's   winter    trawl       presented in Table 4.
             fishery will be described in four
             sections.     First,   a broad     overview             During    the    1984-85      fishing
             of the fishery, considering catches               season, 84 catches were sampled (Table
             sampled by fishing season and month.              2), including 38 flynet, 27 inshore
             The subsequent sections will describe             flounder  trawl and 19 deepwater trawl
             the catches based on fishing gear used            catches. Geographically, 74% of these
             and geographical area fished.                     catches   were    made   north   of    Cape
                                                               Hatteras,   14% between Cape Hatteras
                  Species Composition - Overview               and Cape  Lookout, and 12% west of Cape
                                                               Lookout.     Summer flounder (31.6'%),
             Species Composition, 1982-1985                    Atlantic  croaker (20.0%) and weakfish
                                                               (19.8%)   dominated the catches (Table
                   During     the    1982-83     fishing       6).   Black sea bass,    bluefish,     spot
             season, 43 catches were sampled (Table            and scup accounted for    3.9-6.8%, while
             2),   including    27  flynet,   8 inshore        squid and butterfish     contributed >1%
             flounder    trawl,     and   8    deepwater       of the overall weight of the catches
             catches.   Geographically, 42% of these           sampled.   At least 74   species of fish
             catches    were    made  north    of    Cape      and 17 species of invertebrates were
             Hatteras,   51% between Cape Hatteras             observed.    Monthly dominant species
             and Cape   Lookout and 7% west of Cape            and catch compositions are presented
             Lookout.   Weakfish accounted for 36.6%           in Table 4.
             of the weight and 34.8% of the number
             of fish sampled (Table 3).             Scup,
             bluefish, summer flounder and Atlantic            Components of the Winter Trawl Fishery
             croaker each accounted for >12% of the
             catches while black sea bass, spot and                  The winter trawl fishery is a
             squid accounted for <1%.      At least 68         diverse fishery in terms of species
             species of fish and 6 species of in-              caught and fluctuations within and
             vertebrates were observed.          Monthly       between months and years based on the
             dominant species and catch composi-               information in the previous section;
             tions are presented in Table 4.                   however, this is somewhat misleading.
                                                               The winter trawl fishery, when parti-
                                                               tioned by gear and/or area fished     '  in
                   During     the    1983-84     fishing       fact is consistently dominated by
             season, 67 catches were sampled (Table            specific species or species groups.
             2), including 21 flynet, 25 inshore               The   fishery is ultimately controlled
             flounder    trawl,     and  21    deepwater       by   spatial -temporal distributions of
             catches. Geographically, 60% of these             the species targeted.
             catches    were     made north of Cape
             Hatteras, 39% between Cape Hatteras                     Partitioning the catches by gears
             and Cape Lookout, and 1% west of Cape             resulted in the clear dominance of
             Lookout.    Summer    flounder     (43.0%),       just a few species by each gear (Table
             weakfish (23.1%) and scup (11.6%) were            7). Flynet catches accounted for >90%

                                                           8












                  Table 1.   Monthly sampling effort of winter trawl fishery from October 1911 through April 19115, by area
                             fished (North = north of Cape Hatteras, Central = Cape Hatteras to Cape Lookout, South = west
                             of Cape Lookout) and gear (Flounder denotes flounder net fishing in depths generally <20
                             fathoms; deepwater denotes use of flounder nets or roller rigs fishing in deep water generally
                             >20 fathoms; n = number of catches sampled).


                                                                              Catch weight (kq)                Sample weight (kq)
                  Season        Month     Area    Gear             n       Mean             Range           Mean           Range

                  1982-83        Oct        N     Flynet           1      7,257*0                           109.1


                                 Nov        N     Flynet           3     15,372.2       5,612-23,154        210.9      109.9- 307.0
                                            C     Flynet           3     16,002.2       6,532-28,865        163.0       88.3-   224.0
                                            C     Flounder         1      9,167.0                           181.6


                                 Dec        N     Flounder         3      9,032.3       7,688-10,685        352.3      162.0-   491.7
                                            N     Deepwater        1      3,379.0                           264.8
                                            C     Flynet           2     12,226.5       6,917-17,536        293.0      266.7-   319.2
                                            C     Flounder         3      2,699.7       1,923- 3,269        185.5       75.0-   298.5


                                 Jan        N     Flynet           3     16J469.7      123744-22,810        251.2      248.0-   254.4
                                            N     Deepwater        1     26,111.0                           267.7
                                            C     Flynet           2     14,790.5       6,771-22,810        251.2      248.0-   254.4
                                            C     Flounder         1      3,528.0                           157.2
                                            S     Flynet           2     14,796.5      11,675-17,918        142.3      126.6-   158.0


                                 Feb        C     Flynet           7     14P607.9       52248-32,427        568.9      177.4-   971.4
                                            S     Flynet           1     11,818.0                            84.1


                                 Mar        N     Deepwater        4     14,294.1      10,051-21,355        276.4      172.7-   373.7
                                            C     Flynet           2      1,001.3         251- 1,751        150.7      144.3-   157.0


                                 Apr        N     Deepwater        2      9,984.9       5,234-14,736        197.7      194.8-   200.6
                                            C     Flynet           1      5,081.2                                               280.8


                  1983-84        Nov        N     Flynet           4      9,534.3       3,858-11,773        394.4      243.0-   781.4
                                            N     Flounder         2     10,302.0       7,480-13,124        318.1      227.0-   409.1
                                            C     Flynet           1     20,567.0                           255.2


                                 Dec        N     Flounder         9     12,929.6       3,947-22,433        453.5      176.8-   886.0
                                            C     Flounder         3      4,337.3       1,750- 8,339        166.5       90.8-   227.0


                                 Jan        N     Deepwater        4     13,393.3       2,592-21,079        245.7      113.5-   331.7
                                            C     Flynet           5     13,317.4       5,566-18,306        281.1      128.9-   484.7
                                            C     Flounder         11    10,157.0       1,038-29,432        206.7       90.8-   485.4
                                            S     Flynet           1      6,554.6                            48.0


                                 Feb        N     Deepwater        8      9 129.5       4 039-16,337        468.7      226.9-   607.0
                                            C.    Flynet           3     18:479.7      10:682-27,289        155.0      134.5-   166.2

                                 Mar        N     Flynet           4      6,674.9       1,308-13,838        672.1      145.0-1S477.4
                                            N     Deepwater        3      9,081.3       4,436-17,503        333.3      174.1- 481.4
                                            C     Flynet           3     14,738.1       9,313-21,741        119.9       77.4- 180.3




                                                                          9













                Table 2.    (continued)


                                                                            Catch weight (kq)               Sample weight NO
                Season         Month     Area    Gear            n       Mean            Ranoe           Mean            Range


                                Apr        N     Deepwater       6       8,672.3      6,383-11,281       251.8      '113.5- 458.0


                                Sept       N     Flynet          1       2,554.0                         125.2


                                Oct        N     Flynet          4     14,795.7       11,114-18,939      267.4      170.9- 511.8



                1984-85         Nov        N     Flynet          1     16,255.0                                     159.6
                                           N     Flounder        6       8,764.2      1,976-18,140       306.1      128.9- 589.8
                                           C     Flynet          3     18,821.7       15,372-21,747      178.3      151.4- 222.9
                                           S     Flynet          1     17,053.0                                     136.7


                                Dec        N     Flynet          1       2,744.0                         124.7
                                           N     Flounder       11     13  107.0      6,164-25,542       364.7      249.7- 731.4
                                           C     Flynet          1       5,293.0                         111.4
                                           S     Flynet          1     23,227.0                          209.9


                                Jan        N     Flynet          3     14,783.0       4,802-32,223       143.6      126.2- 161.0
                                           N     Flounder        7       6,610.2      3,058-11,902       326.1
                                           C     Flynet          1       1,066.4                           68.1
                                           S     Flynet          5     16,299.3       9,525-18,965       135.6        91.6-  182.9


                                Feb        N     Flynet          2       6,032.2      5,417- 6,647       161.6      107.4-   215.7
                                           N     Flounder        1       3,564.9                         181.6
                                           N     Deepwater       8     10,634.3       3,282-13,935       361.0      249.7-   522.1
                                           C     Flynet          3     17,011.5       3,113-38,601       169.5      136.8-   223.4


                                Mar        N     Flounder        1       4,055.0                         113.5
                                           N     Deepwater       8     13,857.4       4,678-39,444       235.2      189.6-   308.2
                                           C     Flynet          4     11,790.4       1,198-29,464       131.4        67.3-  268.5
                                           S     Flynet          3     11,400.0       9,329-12,816       116.3        97.6-  131.6


                                Apr        N     Flynet          4     14,108.0       6,595-19,562       340.1      208.9-   470.8
                                           N     Flounder        1       3,725.8                         227.4
                                           N     Deepwater       3       8,157.3      3,513-11,638       347.9      287.8-   424.9



















                                                                         10












                   Table 3. Overall species composition of 43 winter trawl fishery             catches sampled from October 1982
                              through April 1983 by weight, including CPUE, percentage of the total weight of the catch,
                              cumulative percentage of catch weight (Cum. %), number of fish, percentage of total number of
                              fish, and the percentage of catches in which a species occurred (96 Freq. occur.).


                                                                     Weight (kq)                                    Number          16 Freq,
                   Species                                Mean              96          Cum. lb             Mean            lb       occur.

                   Cynoscion regalis                     4,229.7          36.59         36.59               14,485        34.50        72.7
                   Stenotomus chrysops                   1,806.6          15.63         52.24               6,525         15.67        22.7
                   Pomatomus saltatrix                   1,682.7          14.56         66.78               2,133          5.12        81.8
                   Paralichthys dentatus                 1,500.1          12.98         79.76               2,980          7.16        65.9
                   Micropogonias undulatus               1,450.4          12.55         92.31               8,303         19.95        40.9
                   Centropristis striata                    244.9          2.12         94.43                  889         2.14        29.5
                   Leiostomus xanthurus                     230.4          1.99         96.42               3,250          7.81        38.6
                   Cephalopoda                              149.0          1.29         97.71                    -                     45.5
                   Peprilus triacanthus                     130.4          1.13         98.84               1,850          4.45        68.2
                   Urophycis LtajA                            13.2         0.11         98.95                  113         0.27        25.0
                   Menticirrhus spp.                          11.7         0.10         99.06                    40        0.10        13.6
                   Prionotus evolans                          9.5          0.08         99.14                  336         0.91        27.3
                   Menticirrhus saxatilis                     8.6          0.07         99.21                    30        0.07        25.0
                   Carcharhinidae                             7.3          0.06         99.28                    -             -       4.5
                   Acipenser oxyrhynchus                      6.8          0.06         99.33                    1         0.01        13.6
                   Lophius americanus                         6.6          0.06         99.39                    -             -       13.6
                   Sphoeroides maculatus                      6.1          0.05         99.44                    56        0.14        25.0
                   Scomberomorus cavalla                      6.1          0.05         99.49                    -             -       15.9
                   Menticirrhus americanus                    5.2          0.05         99.54                    33        0.08        22.7
                   Paralichthys spp.                          4.8          0.04         99.58                    -             -       4.5
                   Bairdiella chrysoura                       4.7          0.04         99.62                    97        0.23        9.1
                   Paralichthys lethostigma                   4.4          0.04         99.66                    4         0.01        18.2
                   Orthopristis chrysoptera                   4.3          0.04         99.70                    73        0.18        13.6
                   Brevoortia tyrannus                        3.7          0.03         99.73                    28        0.07        6.8
                   Merluccius bilinearis                      3.5          0.03         99.76                    3         0.01        13.6
                   Isurus oxyrinchus                          2.3          0.02         99.78                    1         0.01        2.3
                   Stenotomus caprinus                        2.1          0.02         99.80                    60        0.15        6.8
                   Calamus leucosteus                         2.0          0.02         99.81                    46        0.11        2.3
                   Carangidae                                 1.9          0.02         99.83                    2         0.01        4.5
                   Rachycentron canadum                       1.8          0.02         99.85                    1         0.01        4.5
                   Anchoa hepsetus                            1.8          0.02         99.86                    92        0.22        6.8
                   Trichiurus lepturus                        1.4          0.01         99.87                    17        0.04        13.6
                   Chaetodipterus faber                       1.3          0.01         99.88                    29        0.07        11.4
                   Prionotus scitulus                         1.2          0.01         99.89                    40        0.10        4.5
                   Priacanthus spp.                           1.2          0.01         99.90                    9         0.02        4.5
                   Uraspis secunda                            1.1          0.01         99.91                    2         0.01        2.3
                   Seriola dumerili                           0.9          0.01         99.92                    1         0.01        6.8
                   Raja eglanteria                            0.8          0.01         99.93                    12        0.03        9.1
                   Scomberomorus spp.                         0.8          0.01         99.93                    -             -       2.3
                   Porichthys plectrodon                      0.8          0.01         99.94                    21        0.05        -6.8
                   Tautoga onitis                             0.7          0.01         99.95                    1         0.01        2.3
                   Lagodon rhomboides                         0.7          0.01         99.96                    9         0.02        9.1













                 Table 3. (continued).


                                                                    Weight (kq)                                   Number             Freq.
                 Species                                    Mean         96         cum. ?s                  Mean                  occur.

                 Cynoscion nebulosus                        0.6          0.01        99.96                     1        0.01         6.8
                 Loligo pealii                              0.5          0.01        99.97                     -            -        4.5
                 Stenotomus spp.                            0.5          0.01        99.97                   12         0.03         2.3
                 Scomberomorus maculatus                    0.4          .0.01       99.97                     1        0.01         4.5
                 Prionotus salmonicolor                     0.4          0.01        99.98                   11         0.03         4.5
                 Euthynnus alletteratus                     0.4          0.01        99.98                     1        0.01         4.5
                 Penaeus duorarum                           0.4          0.01        99.98                     -            -        9.1
                 Peprilus alepidotus                        0.3          0.01        99.98                     6        0.01         4.5
                 Prionotus carolinus                        0.3          0.01        99.99                   13         0.03         9.1
                 Monacanthus hispidus                       0.3          0.01        99.99                     9        0.02         2.3
                 Morone saxatilis                           0.3          0.01        99.99                     1        0.01         2.3
                 Priacanthus arenatus                       0.2          0.01        99.99                     2        0.01         2.3
                 Pagrus pagrus                              0.1          0.01        99.99                     1        0.01         2.3
                 Pseudopleuronectes americanus              0.1          0.01        99.99                     1        0.01         2.3
                 Etropus crossotus                          0.1          0.01       100.00                     2        0'* 01       2.3
                 Euthynnus Pelamis                          0.1          0.01       100.00                     1        0.01         2.3
                 Squilla empusa                             0.1          0.01       100.00                     2        0.01         4.5
                 Penaeus aztecus                            0.1          0.01       100.00                     2        0.01         4.5
                 Malacanthus plumieri                       0.1          0.01       100.00                     1        0.01         2.3
                 Alosa sapidissima                          0.1          0.01       100.00                     1        0.01         2.3
                 Urophycis floridana                        0.1          0.01       100.00                              0.01         2.3
                 Pollachius virens                          0.1          0.01       100.00                     1        0.01         4.5


                 Observed species


                 Mustelus canis                        Rhinoptera bonasus          Sciaenops ocellatus
                 Squalus acanthias                     Dasyatis sayi               Lutianus spp.
                 Ovalipes ocellatus                    Dasyatis sabina             Urophycis chuss
                 Archosargua probatocephalus           Scomber scombrus            Synodus foetens
                                                                                   Callinectes similis

































                                                                            12










                     Table 4. Monthly and seasonal comparison of the species that accounted for the top 99.5% by weight of
                                   the winter trawl fishery 1982-85, all gears combined, including their percent contribution to
                                   the total weight of the catches sampled (16TW) and the number of catches sampled (n).

                                    1982-1983                                          1983-1984                                     1984-1985
                     Species                               96TW       Species                               VW       SDecies                               9bTW

                     September


                                                                                                                     Micropogonias undulatus             96.75


                     October (n--1)                                                                                  (n--4)


                     Peprilus triacanthus                 43.13                                                      Micropogonias undulatus             58.97
                     Cynoscion regalis                    41.62                                                      Cynoscion regalis                   32.68
                     Micropogonias undulatus               7.46                                                      Leiostomus xanthurus                  1.93
                     Pomatomus saltatrix                   4.69                                                      Peprilus triacanthus                  1.87



                     November (n--7)                                  (n--7)                                         (n--11)


                     Micropogonias undulatus              41.91       Paralichthys dentatus               32.69      Micropogonias undulatus             36.56
                     Cynoscion regalis                    37.22       Cynoscion regalis                   31.86      Paralichthys dentatus               35.19
                     Paralichthys dentatus                10.16       Micropogonias undulatus             24.60      Cynoscion regalis                   13.36
                     Pomatomus saltatrix                   4.29       Leiostomus xanthurus                  5.70     Leiostomus xanthurus                  9.55
                     Leiostomus xanthurus                  2.40       Pomatomus saltatrix                   1.42     Pomatomus saltatrix                   1.01



                     December (rr-=12)                                (n--9)                                         (n--14)


                     Paralichthys dentatus                52.11       Paralichthys dentatus               91.41      Paralichthys dentatus               73.49
                     Cynoscion regalis                    32.70       Cynoscion regalis                     3.50     Micropogonias undulatus             10.80
                     Pomatomus saltatrix                   7.55       Pomatomus saltatrix                   2.21     Cynoscion regalis                     7.60
                     Stenotomus chrysops                   4.07                                                      Pomatomus saltatrix                   2.50
                                                                                                                     Loligo Pealii                         1.44



                     January (rv=9)                                   (rr-21                                         (rr---16)

                     Cynoscion regalis                    40.95       Paralichthyï¿½ dentatus               53.50      Cynoscion regalis                   33.38
                     Stenotomus chrysops                  19.58       Cynoscion regalis                   23.59      Micropogonias undulatus             28.14
                     Pomatomus saltatrix                  16.26       Stenotomus chrysops                 10.94      Paralichthys dentatus               23.10
                     Micropogonias undulatus              10.50       Micropogonias undulatus               3.57     Leiostomus xanthurus                  9.00
                     Paralichthys dentatus                 8.20       Loligo pealii                         1.78     Pomatomus saltatrix                   1.15
                                                                      Leiostomus xanthurus                  1.68     Loligo Dealii                         1.13



                     February (rr-8)                                  (n--11)                                        (n--14)


                     Cynoscion regalis                    58.44       Cynoscion regalis                   41.25      Paralichthys dentatus               23.79
                     Pomatomus saltatrix                  31.56       Stenotomus chrysops                 20.80      Centropristis striata               21.92
                     Micropogonias undulatus               5.61       Centropristis striata               15.14      Cynoscion regalis                   20.36
                                                                      Paralichthys dentatus               12.49      Micropogonias undulatus             11.53
                                                                      Loligo Pealii                         3.81     Cephalopoda                           8.03




                                                                                          13











                   Table 4. (continued)


                                 1982-1983                                        1983-1984                                  1984-1985'
                   Species                              oTW       Species                            ?6TW      Tpecies                            %TW

                                                                  Peprilus triacanthus               2.42      Leiostomus xanthurus               4.67
                                                                                                               Pomatomus saltatrix                3.06
                                                                                                               Peprilus triacanthus               2.59



                   March (n=6)                                    (rr-10)                                      (rr--l 6


                   Stenotomus chrysops                60.95       Cynoscion regalis                  29.60     Cynoscion reqalis                  20.36
                   Paralichthys dentatus              18.49       Stenotomus chrysops                13.76     Paralichthys                       19.58
                   Centropristis striata                9.36      Micropogonias undulatus            13.47     Stenotomus chrysops                16.85
                   Cephalopoda                          6.16      Scomber scombrus                   11.23     Centropristis striata              14.40
                   Cynoscion regalis                    2.88      Paralichthys dentatus              7.21      Micropogonias undulatus            9.51
                                                                  Merluccius bilinearis              5.60      Pomatomus saltatrix                6.26
                                                                  Morone saxatilis                   3.65      Leiostomus xanthurus               5.98
                                                                  Alosa Pseudoharengus               2.65      Cephalopoda                        3.10
                                                                  Loligo Pealii                      1.98
                                                                  Alosa sapidissima                  1.71
                                                                  Peprilus triacanthus               1.54
                                                                  Alosa aestivalis                   1.50
                                                                  Leiostomus xanthurus               1.25



                   April (rv--3)                                  (n=6)                                        (rr-8)


                   Stenotomus chrysops                54.56       Stenotomus chrysops                33.36     Pomatomus saltatrix                4.2.70
                   Pomatomus saltatrix                20.42       Paralichthys dentatus              32.32     Paralichthys dentatus              20.45
                   Centropristis striata              19.29       Centropristis striata              16.44     Cynoscion regalis                  17.43
                   Cephlopoda                           5.03      Loligo Pea-Iii                     16.26     Centropristis striata              5.23
                                                                                                               Micropogonias undulatus            5.04
                                                                                                               Stenotomus chrysops                3.81
                                                                                                               Leiostomus xanthurus               1.68




































                                                                                     14











                   Talle 5. Iverall s      ec5es composition of 17 winter trawl fishery catches sampled Novemler 1983-April
                               1984 by weight, including CPUE, percentage of total catch weiqht, cumulative percentage of
                               catch weight (Cum. 96), number of fish, percentage of total number of fish and the percentage
                               of catches in which a species occurred (96 Freq. occur).


                                                                        Weight (kq)                               Number             96 Freq.
                   Species                                   Mean             %           Cum-               Mean                      occur.

                   Paralichthys dentatus                   4,606.8           42.98        42.98            9,146           25.31          85.1
                   Cynoscion regalis                       23477.9           23.12        66.10            10,632          29.42          77.6
                   Stenotomus chrysops                    1  3244.4          11.61        77.71            4,819           13.34          31.3
                   Micropogonias undulatus                   609.8            5.70        83.40            5,256           14.54          40.3
                   Centropristis striata                     467.6            4.37        87.75            1,592            4.41          62.7
                   Loligo pealii                             331.8            3.10        90.85                  -              -         49.3
                   Scomber scombrus                          166.1            1.55        92.40               363           1.01          16.4
                   Leiostomus xanthurus                      151.3            1.41        93.81            2,053            5.75          25.4
                    omatomus saltatrix                       143.9            1.34        95.16               160           0.44          71.6
                   Peprilus triacanthus-,                    101.4            0.95        96.10               985           2.73          74.6
                   P


                   Merluccius bilinearis                      95.3            0.89        96.99                32           0.50          28.4
                   Lophius americanus                         49.8            0.47        97.95                  5          0.02          1+9.3
                   Morone saxatilis                           53.5            0.50        97.50                  7          0.02          6.0
                   Alosa pseudoharengus                       38.9            0.36        98.32               181           0.50          3.0
                   Alosa sapidissima                          25.3            0.24        98.56                59           0.16          10.4
                   Alosa aestivalis                           22.0            0.21        98.76               208           0.58          6.0
                   Archosargus Probatocephalus                16.2            0.15        98.91                  -              -         14.9
                   Menticirrhus americanus                    10.7            0.10        99.01                85                         17.9
                   Acipenser oxyrhynchus                      10.5            0.10        99.11                  1          0.01          14.9
                   Urophycis chuss                             9.8            0.09        99.20                17           0.05          14.9
                   Prionotus evolans                           7.4            0.07        99.27                19           0.05          22.4
                   Cephalopoda                                 7.4            0.07        99.34                  -              -         22.4
                   Paralichthys oblongus                       6.2            0.06        99.40                12           0.03          11.9
                   Bairdiella chrysoura                        5.9            0.06        99.45                77           0.21          9.0
                   Busycon spp.                                5.0            0.05        99.50                  -              -         6.0
                   Trichiurus lepturus                         5.0            0.05        99.55                31           0.09          7.5
                   Prionotus carolinus                         4.8            0.05        99.59                71           0.20          11.9
                   Menticirrhus spp.                           4.8            0.04        99.64                17           0.01          11.9
                   Brevoortia tyrannus                         4.4            0.04        99.68                40           0.11          14.9
                   Urophycis LRqj.R                            4.3            0.04        99.72                30           0.08          25.4
                   Menticirrhus saxatilis                      3.4            0.03        99.75                15           0.04          25.4
                   Conger oceanicus                            3.3            0.03        99.78                  4          0.01          10.4
                   Scomberomorus cavalla                       3.3            0.03        99.81                  1          0.01          3.0
                   Sphoeroides maculatus                       2.8            0.03        99.83                  2          0.01          13.4
                   Glyptocephalus cynoglossus                  2.2            0.02        99.85                  5          0.01          10.4
                   Cynoscion nebulosus                         1.9            0.02        99.87                  6          0.02          14.9
                   Urophycis floridana                         1.7            0.02.       99.89                  6          0.02          3.0
                   Carcharhinus spp.                           1.6            0.01        99.90                  -              -         1.5
                   Orthopristis chrysoptera                    1*3            0*01        99,91                11           0*03          7,1
                   Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps               1.0            0.01        99.92                  1          0.01          1.5
                   Scomberomorus maculatus                     0.9            0.01        99.93                  3          0.01          1.5
                   Urophycis spp.                              0.8            0.01        99.95                  2          0.01          4.5
                   Lagodon rhomboides                          0.8            0.01        99.94                14           0.04          1.5
                   Rajiformes                                  0.6            0.01        99.95                  -              -         1.5
                   Euthynnus alletteratus                      0.6            0.01        99.96                  1          0.01          4.5




                                                                              15













                  Table 5. (continued).


                                                                        Weight (kq)                                  Number           16 Freq.
                                                                              0,                                           ---   -              I
                  Species                                     Mean                       Cum. 96             Mean           96          occur.

                  Pseudopleuronectes americanus               0.5             0.01        99.96                 2          0.01           1.5
                  Squalus acanthias                           0.5             0.01        99.97                 7          0.02           7.5
                  Tautoga onitis                              0.5             0.01        99.97                 1          0.01           3.0
                  Pogonias cromis                             0.4             0.01        99.98                 -               -         3.0
                  Tautogolabrus adspersus                     0.4             0.01        99.98                 1          0.01           3.0
                  Caulolatilus microps                        0.3             0.01        99.98                 1          0.01           1.5
                  Peprilus alepidotus                         0.3             0.01        99.98                12          0.03           4.5
                  Seriola dumerilli                           0.3             0.01        99.99                 -               -         4.5
                  Sciaenops ocellatus                         0.2             0.01        99.99                 1          0.01          14.9
                  Centropristis philadelphica                 0.2             0.01        99.99                 -               -         1.5
                  Anthias nicholsi                            0.2             0.01        99.99                 2          0.01           1.5
                  Pleuronectidae                              0.1             0.01        99.99                 -               -         1.5
                  Rachycentron canadum                        0.1             0.01       100.00                 1          0.01           1.5
                  Chaetodipterus faber                        0.1             0.01       100.00                 3          0.01           1.5
                  Larimus fasciatus                           0.1             0.01       100.00                 1          0.01           1.5
                  Mustelus canis                              0.1             0.01       100.00                 1          0.01           3.0
                  Neomerinthe hemingwayi                      0.1             Mi         100.00                 1          0.01           1.5
                  Trinectes maculatus                         0.1             0.01       100.00                 1          0.01           1.5
                  Anchoa hepsetus                             0.1             0.01       100.00                 2          0.01           4.5
                  Scyliorhinus retifer                        0.1             0.01       100.00                 1          0.01           1.5
                  Stenotomus caprinus                         0.1             0.01       100.00                 1          0.01           1.5
                  Synodus foetens                             0.1             0.01       100.00                 1          0.01           1.5
                  Morone americana                            0.1             0.01       100.00                 1          0.01           1.5
                  Balistes capriscus                          0.1             0.01       100.00                 1          0.01           1.5


                  Observed species


                  Scophthalmus aguosus                     Prionotus scitulus
                  Ovalipes ocellatus                       Squatina dumerili
                  Callinectes spp.                         Gerreidae
                  Limulus Polyphemus                       Selene vomer,
                  Penaeus duorarum                         Urophycis tenuis
                  Raja eglanteria                          Menippe mercenaria
                  Cancer irroratus                         Callinectes similis
                  Callinectes sapidus                      Libinia spp.
                  Dasyatis spp.                            Calappa flammea
                  Raja garmani                             octopus spp.
















                                                                              16













                   Table 6. Overall species composition of 84 winter trawl fishery catches sampled September 1984 through
                              April 1985 by weight, including CPUE, percentage of the total weight of the catch,                 cumulative
                               percentage of catch weight (Cum. ?b), number of fish, percentage of total number of              fish, and
                               the percentage of catches in which a species occurred 06           Freq occur.).

                                                                        Weight NO                                  Number               Freq.
                   Species                                 Mean               96          Cum. lb          Mean             96        occur.

                   Paralichthys dentatus                   3,706.3          31.62          31.62           6,481          12.05         73.8
                   Micropogonias undulatus                 2,350.1          20.05          51.66           19,106         34.89         51.2
                   Cynoscion regalis                       2,322.0           19.81         71.49           11,497         21.00         91.7
                   Centropristis striata                    802.1             6.84         78.31           2,497           4.56         29.8
                   Pomatomus saltatrix                      727.1             6.20         84.51              429          0.78         83.3
                   Leiostomus xanthurus,                    629.4             5.40         89.88           8,948          16.35         47.6
                   Stenotomus chrysops                      457.6             3.90         93.79           2,568           4.68         28.6
                   Loligo pealii                            327.4             2.79         96.58                 -             -        71.4
                   Peprilus triacanthus                     127.3             1.09         97.67           1,495           2.73         64.3
                   Lophius americanus                        60.5             0.52         98.19               49          0.05         35.7
                   Merluccius bilinearis                     30.6             0.25         98.44               94          0.17         15.5
                   Bairdiella chrysoura                      18.1             0.16         98.60              203          0.37         20.2
                   Lagodon rhomboides                        16.1             0.14         98.73              458          0.84         10.7
                   Menticirrhus americanu    s               16.1             0.14         98.87               79          0.15         29.8
                   Larimus fasciatus                         14.3             0.12         98.99              139          0.25         21.4
                   Urophycjs Lftaj.2                         13.5             0.12         99.11               57          0.10         29.8
                   Carcharhinidae                            12.7             0.11         99.22                 -             -         7.1
                   Brevoortia tyrannus                       11.7             0.10         99.32              155          0.28         14.3
                   Menticirrhus spp.                           9.7            0.08         99.40               48          0.09         21.4
                   Acipenser oxyrhynchus                       7.8            0.07         99.47                 1         0.01         21.4
                   Orthopristis chrysoptera                    6.9            0.06         99.52              130          0.24         10.7
                   Busycon spp.                                5.8            0.05         99.57                 -             -        13.1
                   Menticirrhus   saxatilis                    5.2            0.04         99.61               21          0.04         20.2
                   Paralichthys   lethostigma                  4.7            0.04         99.65                 4         0.01         10.7
                   Mustelus canis                              4.7            0.04         99.69                 7         0.01         19.0
                   Urophycis spp.                              4.4            0.04         99.73                 -             -         4.8
                   Paralichthys spp.                           3.5            0.03         99.76                 4         0.01          1.2
                   Prionotus evolans                           3.3            0.03         99.79               46          0.08         19.0
                   Pogonias, cromis                            3.0            0.03         99.82                 1         0.01          3.6
                   Glyptocephalus cynoglossus                  2.2            0.02         99.84                 6         0.01          8.3
                   Synodus foetens                             2.1            0.02         99.85                 7         0.02          3.6
                   Conger oceanicus                            2.1            0.02         99.87                 2         0.01          8.3
                   Urophycis chuss                             2.0            0.02         99.89                 7         0.01          4.8
                   Scomberomorus cavalla                       1.9            0.02         99.91                 1         0.01          6.0
                   Sphoeroides maculatus                       1.5            0.01         99.92                 -             -        15.5
                   Stronglura marina                           1.2            0.01         99.93                 9         0.02          1.2
                   Scomber scombrus                            1.1            0.01         99.94                 4         0.01          9.5
                   Archosargus probatocephalus                 0.8            0.01         99.94                 1         0.01          6.0
                   Paralichthys oblongus                       0.8            0.01         99.96                 6         0.01         16.7
                   Prionotus, scitulus                         0.8            0.01         99.96               20          0.04          9.5
                   Cynoscion nebulosus                         0.5            0.01         99.96                 2         0.01          9.5
                   Citharichthys spp.                          0.5            0.01         99.97                 4         0.01          1.2
                   Centropristis philadelphica                 0,5            0,01         99,98                 7         0*01          4*8
                   Chaetodipterus faber                        0.5            0.01         99.98                 9         0.02          3.6
                   Tautoga onitis                              0.5            0.01         99.98                 1         0.01          1.2
                   Tautogolabrus adspersus                     0.4            0.01         99.99                 1         0.01          3.6




                                                                              17













                  Table 6. (continued)

                                                                       Weight NO                                  Number             Freq.
                  Species                                    Mean           96          Cum. S6             Mean         lb        occur.

                  Sciaenops ocellatus                        0.3           O.Oi         99.99                  1        0.01          7.1
                  Prionotus carolinus                        0.3           0.01         99.99                13         0.02         22.6
                  Peprilus alepidotus                        0.3           0.01         99.99                  3        0.01          3.6
                  Euthynnus alletteratus                     0.2           0.01         99.99                  1        0.01          2.4
                  Seriola dumerili                           0.2           0.01         99.99                  1        0.01          2.4
                  Caulolatilus microps                       0.2           0.01         99.99                  1        0.01          1-..2
                  Chilomycterus schoepfi                     0.2           0.01         100.00                 6        0.01          2.4
                  Alosa aestivalis                           0.1           0.01         100.00                 1        0.01          1.2
                  Anchoa hepsetus                            0.1           0.01         100.00                 5        0.01          1.2
                  Monacanthus hispidus                       0.1           0.01         100.00                 2        0.01          2.4
                  Raja eglanteria                            0.1           0.01         100.00                 1        0.01         20.2
                  Squalus acanthias                          0.1           0.01         100.00                 1        0.01          7.1
                  Scophthalmus aguosus                       0.1           0.01         100.00                 1        0.01         29.8
                  Pseudopleuronectes americanus              0.1           0.01         100.00                 1        0.01          1.2
                  Anthias nicholsi                           0.1           0.01         100.00                 1        0.01          1.2


                  Observed species


                  Ovalipes ocellatus                   Hepatus epheliticus                    Citharichthys spilopterus
                  Cancer irroratus                     Sicyonia brevirostris                  Uraspis seconda
                  Dasyatis spp.                        Penaeus duorarum                       Prionotus tribulus
                  Callinectes sapidus                  Rhinoptera bonasus                     Macrorhamphosus scolopax
                  Dasyatis sabina                      Calappa flammea                        Ophidion marginatum
                  Libinia emarginata                   Homarus americanus                     Porichthys plectrodon
                  Trichiurus lepturus                  Penaeus aztecus                        Alosa pseudoharenqus
                  Ovalipes spp.                        Octopus                                Squilla empusa
                  Limulus Polyphemus                   Raja garmani                           Portunus spinimanus
                  Priacanthus arenatus                 Squatina dumerili                      Portunidae
                  Portunus gibbessi                    Symphurus Plagiusa                     Ilex illecebrosus
                  Callinectes spp.                     Ancylopsetta quadrocellata             Placopecten magellanicus
























                                                                              18











                  Table 7. Percent of the weight of the dominant species (or sppcies groups) sampled in the winter
                             trawl fishery 1982-1985 captured by the 3 major gear groupings (flynets; flounder = inshore
                             flounder trawl fishery; deepwater       multigear offshore, generally 25 fathoms), including
                             number of catches sampled W.


                                                          1982-83                       1983-84                     1984-85
                                                                      Deep-                        Deep-                       Deep-
                  Species                        Flynet   Flounder    water     Flynet  Flounder   water Flynet Flounder       water


                                                  n=27      n=8       n=8        n=21     n=25     n=21      n=38     n=27-    n=19


                  Cynoscion regalis              99.11      0.88      0.01      95.75     3.72     0.53     92.91     4.76     2.33


                  Micropogonias undulatus        99.98      0.02          -     99.79     0.21          -   99.90     0.10          -


                  Leiostomus xanthurus           100.00         -         -     100.00         -        -   100.0          -        -


                  Pomatomus saltatrix            97.65      0.33      2.02      42.41    32.34    25.24     85.07     8.93     6.00


                  Menticirrhus sp.               78.69      21.31         -     90.99     9.01          -   90.43     9.57          -


                  Peprilus triacanthus           96.38      0.55      3.07      11.73    10.79    77.47     88.11     2.10     9.79


                  Paralichthys dentatus          13.58      69.35    17.07       2.18    78.68    19.14      0.59     72.34   27.06


                  Stenotomus chrysops             0.01          -    99.99       0.01     0.01    99.99      0.98     0.01    99.01


                  Centropristis striata           0.08      0.06     99.86       0.06     0.27    99.67      0.50     2.23    97.27


                  LophJus americanus              1*97      2*47     88,56      10*  38  74*18    15*44      2,37     48*20   49  *43


                  Cephalopods                     5.78      10.59    83.63       4.62    14.20    81.18      6.49     20.69   72.83































                                                                          19










              of the weakfish, Atlantic croaker, and              Nearshore Summer Flounder Fishery
              spot, and >85% of the catches of blue-
              fish   and   kingfishes      (Menticirrhus             The   nearshore    summer   flounder
              spp.)  during at     least two    of the         fishery     occurred     primarily     from
              fishing seasons.     Deepwater trawling          November    through    January,   although
              produced >97% of the scup      and    black      catches were sampled through April in
              sea bass and 72.8-83.6% of the squid.            1985.   In 1982-83, 19% of the catches
              Summer flounder were landed by the               sampled     were     nearshore    flounder
              inshore    directed    flounder    fishery       catches, while these accounted for 37%
              (69.4-78.7%) and also captured in the            and 32% the next two seasons (Table
              deepwater segment     (17.1-27.1%),     to-      2).    Boats    landing   fish   in   North
              gether accounting for 86.5-99.4% of              Carolina    fished   from    Chincoteague,
              the summer flounder sampled.     The high        Virginia to Ocracoke, and generally
              percentage of summer flounder in 1982-           inshore of the 10 fathom curve (Figure
              83 flynet catches is likely due to               1), although most catches sampled were
              catches in which two gears were used,            made from Corolla to Wimble Shoals.
              but only one was reported. Butterfish
              were captured primarily in flynets in                  Nearshore       flounder      fishing
              1982-83 (96.4%) and 1984-85 (88.1%)              occurred south of Cape Hatteras to off
              and in   deepwater trawl s     i n 1983-84       Ocracoke during the 1982-83 and 1983-
              (78.7%).     Bluefish were       generally       *84 seasons, but no flounder catches
              captured in flynets (97.7% in 1982-83            from that area were sampled in 1984-
              and 85.1% in 1984-85), but were more             85.   The seasonal percentage of summer
              evenly distributed between the gears             flounder, in terms of weight, caught
              in 1983-84, the year overall bluefish            nearshore    north   of    Cape   Hatteras,
              catches were smallest.                           based on our samples was 54.2%, 50.5%
                                                               100.0% during the respective fishiin;
                                                               seasons.      The   average     catch    of
                   Trawler    catches     also     showed      flounder was 9,023 and 13,335 kg north
              differences by area fished (Figure 2),           and 4, 159 and 8,910 kg south of Cape
              although    gear    type    more    clearly      Hatteras    during    the   1982-83     and
              defined these differences.       West of         1983-84 seasons.
              Cape Lookout, the 14 catches sampled
              were all flynet catches dominated by                   Summer flounder dominated these
              croaker, spot, and weakfish each year.           catches, accounting    for 88.6-93.7% of
              Between Cape Hatteras and Cape Look-             the   total   weight    of   the    catches
              out,   both   nearshore flounder and             sampled each fishing season (Table 8).
              flynet trawling occurred (Table 2).              Weakfish, squid, and    bluefish were the
              Croaker, weakfish, spot, and bluefish            next three      most   important species
              dominated, since flynets accounted for           landed,     although      together     they
              77.2%,   46.2%,    and    100.0%  of    the      accounted for only 5.3%, 4.9%, and
              catches   sampled    during    the three         8.1%    of    the  catches     during   the
              fishing     seasons.    Flounder      trawl      respective fishing seasons.       Weakfish
              catches from Cape Hatteras to Cape               were more important in the catches
              Lookout were sampled only in 1982-84             during November and December, while
              and thus, summer flounder were impor-            goosefish    (Lophius   americanus)     and
              tant only during these two fishing               squids   (primarily Loligo sp.) were
              seasons.   North of Cape Hatteras, all           important from January through April
              three gears were regularly used (Table           (Table 9).
              2), and thus, more species dominated
              the catches, including weakfish, blue-                 The   overall    CPUE    of    Summer
              fish, summer flounder, croaker, black            flounder     was  greatest     in   1983-84
              sea bass, scup, and squid.                       (9,689 kg), intermediate in 1984-85

                                                           20









                            50- 1982-83 Ml                North of Cape Hatteras
                            40- 1983-84
                                1984-85
                            30-

                            20-

                            10.
                        7&                                MOM                  TL-
                         E
                            50-                         Cape Hatteras to Cape Lookout
                         CD
                            40-

                            30-

                            20-
                        Z
                            10-



                            60-
                                                            West of Cape Lookout
                            50-                                (Onslow Bay)
                            40-

                            30-

                            20-
                            10.                         Burlerfish  Black
                               L               Bluefish   M       Sea bass    ED-Jq
                               Cro;ker S@ot Wea6ish Flou'nder  Sc!up     Squlid Oth"ers
                                                   Species


                     Figure 2. Dominant species composition of trawler catches sampled during
                                1982-1985 fishing seasons by geographical areas fished-
                                                L




                                                    21










             Table 8. Mean weight and number of fish per trip for the top 99.9% (by
                       weight) of the nearshore flounder catches by season for October 1982
                        through April 1985, including number of catches sampled (n) and
                        species percent of the total weight of the catches sampled (%TW).


                                                     Mean                       Mean number
             Species                              weight (kg)       %TW           of fish


             1982-83 (n=8)

             Paralichthys dentatus                   5,584.0        93.7          10,154
             Cynoscion regalis                        202.7          3.4              301
             Cephalopods                               84.8          1.4                -
             Pomatomus saltatrix                       30.1          0.5               23
             Menticirrhus saxatilis                    17.2          0.3               11
             Paralichthys lethostigma                  11.9          0.2                9
             Menticirrhus spp.                         11.9          0.2                -
             Acipenser oxyrhynchus                      6.7          0.1                1
             Peprilus triacanthus                       3.9          0.1               20

             1983-84 (n=25)

             Paralichthys dentatus                   9,686.8        93.3          18,229
             Cynoscion regalis                        248.1          2.4              212
             Loligo pealii                            130.6          1.3                -
             Pomatomus saltatrix                      124.7          1.2               19
             Lophius americanus                        99.6          1.0                -
             Peprilus triacanthus                      29.8          0.3                -
             Busycon spp.                              13.3          0.1                -
             Menticirrhus spp.                         10.2          0.1                -
             Sphoeroides maculatus                      7.0          0.1                -
             Acipenser oxyrhynchus                      7.0          0.1                1
             Scomberomorus cavalla                      5.2          0.1                1

             1984-85 (n=27)

             Paralichthys dentatus                   8,341.8        88.6          13,983
             Cynoscion regalis                        344.9          3.7              442
             Loligo pealii                            208.5          2.3                -
             Pomatomus saltatrix                      202.1          2.1               75
             Lophius americanus                        90.7          1.0               82
             Centropristis striata                     55.7          0.6              118
             Carcharhinidae                            36.5          0.4                -
             Urophycis E@2@                            33.4          0.4              110
             Busycon spp.                              18.0          0.2                -
             Acipenser oxyrhynchus                     17.4          0.2                1
             Urophycis spp.                            12.6          0.1                -
             Paralichthys lethostigma                  12.3          0.1               10
             Peprilus triacanthus                       8.3          0.1               75
             Menticirrhus spp.                          7.7          0.1               22
             Micropogonias undulatus                    7.6          0.1                -
             Urophycis chuss                            4.8          0.1               11


                                                         22









               Table 9.   Monthly mean weight per trip (x TW)      of the top 99.096 of the species in the nearshore flounder trawl catches sampled during 1982-85,
                          including (kg) percent contribution to the total weight (96 TW) and number of catches sampled (n).

                                     1982-83                                                    1983-84                                                1984-85

               Species                            x TW        ?b TW        Species                          x TW         TW       Species                       x TW         TW
               November (n--1)                                             (n=2)                                                  w--6
               Paralichthys dentatus              9,028.0       98.5       Paralichthys dentatus           10,018.0      97.2     Paralichthys dentatus      8,237.5       94.4
               Menticirrhus spp.                     95.0        1.0       Busycon spp.                      167.2       1.6      Cynoscion regalis             198.5        2.3
               Paralichthys lethostigma              44.0        0.5       Cynoscion regalis                   43.1      0.4      Pomatomus saltatrix            68.5        0.8
                                                                                                                                  Loligo pealii                 100.7        1.2
                                                                                                                                  Busycon spp.                   58.2        0.7
               December (n=6)                                              (n=12)                                                 (rr-1 1 )
               Paralichthys dentatus              5,367.8       91.8       Paralichthys dentatus            9,855.4      91.4     Paralichthys dentatus      11,689.2      89.2
               Cynoscion regalis                    270.3        4.6       Cynoscion regalis                 377.4       3.5      Zynoscion aq@alis             658.9        5.0
               Cephalopoda                          113.1        1.9       Pomatomus saltatrix               238.6       2.0      Pomatomus saltatrix           374.9        2.9
               Pomatomus saltatrix                   40.1        0.7       Loligo Pealii                     222.6       2.2      Loligo pealii                 166.8        1.3
                                                                           Peprilus triacanthus                44.7      0.4      Carcharhinidae                 68.4        0.5
               January (n=l)                                               (n=11)                                                 (n=7)
               Paralichthys dentatus              3,527.8      100.0       Paralichthys dentatus            9,422.5      94.8     Paralichthys dentatus      5,669.4       85.8
                                                                           Lophius americanus                223.3       2.2      Loligo ngalii                 383.7        5.8
                                                                           Cynoscion regalis                 144.3       1.4      Pomatomus saltatrix           130.7        2.0
                                                                           Loligo Pealii                       54.2      0.5      Urophycis Ltaj2               128.8        1.9
                                                                                                                                  Cynoscion regalis             113.1        1.7
                                                                                                                                  Centropristis striata         105.8        1.6
                                                                                                                                  Acipenser oxyrhynchus          29.2        0.4
               February (n--O)                                             (n--O)                                                 (n=l)
                                                                                                                                  Paralichthys dentatus      2,478.4       69.5
                                                                                                                                  Cephalopods                   408.6      11.5
                                                                                                                                  Centropristis striata         378.2      10.6
                                                                                                                                  Urophycis chuss               130.8        3.7
                                                                                                                                  Cynoscion regalis              82.6        2.3
                                                                                                                                  Lophius americanus             70.4        2.0

               March (n--0)                                                                                                       (n--1)
                                                                                                                                  Paralichthys dentatus      2,063.5       50.9
                                                                                                                                  Lophius americanus         1,810.3       44.6
                                                                                                                                  Cephalopods                    88* .4      2.2
                                                                                                                                  Busycon spp.                               1.7


               April   rr--O                                               (n=O)                                                  (n=l)

                                                                                                                                  Paralichthys dentatus      2,995.1       80.4
                                                                                                                                  Lophius americanus            503.5      13.5
                                                                                                                                  Carcharhinidae                204.1        5.5










              (8,342 kg) and smallest in 1982-83                while fish <300 mm (-.12") comprised
              (5,584 kg) (Table 8).       This was, in          9.8-14.6% of the catches.
              part, reflected in the     landings data.
              Lowest   landings    were    recorded     in      Summer flounder caught north of Cape
              1982-83   (6.4 million     lb),    although       Hatteras were larger than those south
              1984-85   (11.4 million     lb)    exceeded       of the Cape (Table lld).          North of
              1983-84   (10.5 million    lb).                   Cape   Hatteras,     20.9-24.3%    of    the
                                                                summer flounder were >400 mm TL, and
                   Catches of summer flounder in the            49.0-53.4% were <350 mm TL; South of
              nearshore    fishery    were  largest     in      Cape Hatteras, only 12.7-14.7% were
              November   of    1982  (only   one    catch       >400 mm TL, and 59.6-65.3% were <350
              sampled)   and   1983,    then    decreased       mm TL.    This difference may reflect
              through January, at which point the               the use of smaller mesh tailbags          (2
              fishery ceased both seasons (Table 9,             in -vs- 4-1/2 in stretched mesh) south
              Figure 3).     Commercial landings for            of Cape Hatteras.
              those seasons corresponded, increasing
              from November, a period of initial but                         Deepwater Fishery
              limited effort, to a peak in December
              in 1982 and January in 1984, then                       The deepwater component of the
              falling    off    through    April;      the      North Carolina winter trawl          fishery
              February-April landings were primarily            follows nearshore flounder fishing and
              from the deepwater fishery (discussed             occurs with the latter part of the
              in the next section).         In 1984-85,         flynet season.      The target species,
              CPUE was greatest in December, with               black   sea bass,      scup,   and    summer
              some fishing continuing through April,            flounder, maintain      stable and higher
              primarily around the Cigar off Vir-               prices than weakfish and bluefish.
              ginia and Wimble Shoals.         Commercial       Since     greater   travelling    time    is
              landings correspondingly increased in             required to     capture these species,
              November, were highest in December and            this fishery became more active when
              January, and declined through April.              flynet fishing was not productive or
                                                                market prices for sciaenids and blue-
                   Scrap landings in the nearshore              fish were low.
              flounder fishery, generally <100 kg/
              trip, were consistently the lowest of                   Deepwater catches accounted for
              the three component fisheries (Table              19%  (n=8) of the winter trawl catches
              10).    Most    boats  sampled     reported       sampled in 1982-83,       31% (n=21)      in
              using 4-1/2" stretched mesh tail bags             1983-84, and 23% (n=19) in 1984-85
              which     eliminated    most     undersized       (Table 2). Fishing occurred primarily
              flounder (Gillikin, et al. 1981) and              from January through April.
              reduced the bycatch.                                    Deepwater trawling accounted for
                                                                27, 44, and 35% of the catches sampled
                   Size     frequencies     of     summer       during January through April, and 35,
              flounder in the nearshore flounder                63, and 50% of the catches sampl ed
              fishery changed little during this                from February through April during
              study (Table Ila, Figures 4 and 5).               1983-85.
              Catches were dominated by fish 301-400
              mm TL    (62.5-66.7% seasonally) with                   Fish landed in North Carolina by
              fish >400 mm TL accounting for 20.4-              this fishery were caught in 20-50+
              26.0% seasonally.      Fish less than the         fathoms, as far north as Wilmington
              legal size of 11 in (280 mm) consti-              and Washington canyons and south to
              tuted 3.1, 2.4 and 2.5% of those                  the edge of the shelf off Oregon Inlet
              sampled during the respective seasons,            (Figure 1).     Fishing occurred inshore

                                                            24











                                         Summer Flounder
                          12 -        Inshore Fishery
                                o---o Deepwateir Fishery
                       C:1,10-                      16@
                                                       i = 9,686.8         1 =8,341.8
                          8-
                            -       R=5,584.0
                       39 6-
                                                         0                    1=4,434.4
                          4-
                                                          '17--2,861.9
                          2-                               b-.0
                                  1 1 3763"




                          4-




                          3-




                          2-





                       E
                       E


                             S 0        F M A     6   6       A      6   b     M' A
                                 1982-3             1983-4             1984-5
                                                  MONTH/YEAR



                     Figure 3. Monthly mean total weight/trip sampled of summer flounder,
                                Paralichthys dentatus, for inshore flounder and deepwater trawl
                                fisheries and commercial landings data for winter trawl fishery,
                                     5,






































                                September 1982-April 1985.




                                                   25










             Table 10.    Scrap component of winter trawl catches from October 1982
                          through April 1985 by gear and area fished (North = north of Cape
                          Hatteras; Central = Cape Hatteras to Cape Lookout; South = west of
                          Cape Lookout), including: number of catches in which scrap-weight
                          was obtained (NJ, mean total weight (x TW), mean weight of
                          marketed fish (x market), mean total weight of scrap (x scrap) and
                          percent of scrap (% scrap) in these catches'. All weights are in
                          kg.


             Year           Area          N         X TW        x market      x scrap     % scrap


             FLYNETS

             1982-3         North         4        17,029        16,689           340        2.0
                            Central      17        12,761        11,505        1,255         9.8
                            South         3        13,804         6,697        7,107        51.5

             1983-4         North         4         9,542         8,008        1,534        16.1
                            Central      12        15,566        12,864        2,702        17.4
                            South         1                       6,555

             1984-5         North        16        14,094        10,962        3,132        22.2
                            Central      11        11,126         7,927        3,199        28.8
                            South         9        15,603         7,290        8,312        53.3

             FLOUNDER TRAWLS


             1982-3         North         3         9,023         8,986            37        0.4
                            Central       5         4,159         4,159            0         0.0

             1983-4         North        11        13,335        13,335            0         0.0
                            Central      14         8,910         8,910            0         0.0

             1984-5         North        27         9,165         9,158            7         0.1

             DEEPWATER TRAWLS


             1982-3         North         8        13,248        13,184            64       0.48

             1983-4         North        20         9,585         9,405           180       1.88

             1984-5         North        19        12,050        11,275           775       6.43











                                                        26









              Table 11. Size composi   tion of summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus captured
                          by North Carolina winter trawlers, 1982-1985.

              a. Nearshore only
                                                  Percent frequency/size class
                                     301-      351-     401-      451-     501-    601-
              TL (mm)      <300      350       400      450       500      600     700     >700

              1982-83      14.6      38.6      23.9     15.4      4.9      2.3     0.3
              1983-84      12.9      39.8      26.9     13.4      5.2      2.7     0.1     <0.1
              1984-85       9.8      39.2      25.0     15.7      7.3      2.8     0.2     <0.1



              b. Deepwater only

              1982-83       8.9      50.1      28.0      9.1      2.2      1.5     0.2     <0.1
              1983-84      26.5      37.3      12.9      9.4      2.2      1.5     0.2     <0.1
              1984-85       9.8      52.0      23.0     10.4      2.8      1.5     0.5     <0.1



              c. All  catches combined


              1982-83      16.7      40.3      24.4     12.7      3.8      1.9     0.1     <0.1
              1983-84      16.7      39.1      25.7     12.3      4.4      1.7     0.1     <0.1
              1984-85       9.9      43.3      24.3     13.9      4.9      2.4     0.3     <0.1


              d. North vs south of Cape Hatteras -      All gears
                                                        Percent frequency/size class
                                            301      351-    401-     451-    501-   601-
                       TL (mm)      <300    350      400     450      500     600    700    >700

              1982-83     North      8.7    40.3     26.7    16.1     4.9     2.9    0.4    <0.1
                          South     33.8    31.5     22.0      9.3    2.6     0.8    <0.1


              1983-84     North     18.5    34.9     25.7    13.5     5.3     1.9    0.2    <0.1
                          South     13.8    45.8     25.7    10.2     3.0     1.4    0.1    <0.1



              e. All gears combined by month
                                 Nov        Dec         Jan        Feb        Mar       Apr

              1982-83
                <300 mm          18.5       14.9,       26.6                    8.9
                301-400  mm      62.8       60.1        63.4                  78.2
                >400 mm          18.7       25.0        10.0                  12.9
              1983-84
                <300 mm          18.0       11.5        14.3       22.2       23.9      42.4
                301-400  mm      57.8       63.1        70.0       65.7       59.4      53.7
                >400 mm          24.2       25.4        15.7       12.1       16.7        3.9
              1984-85
                <300 mm          10.1         8.8        8.7        8.4       10.3      19.6
                301-400          59.3       64.6        69.8       77.0       72.8      68.7
                >400 mm          30.6       26.6        21.5       14.6       16.9      11.7


                                                         27








                      10- Summer Flounder - Winter trawl
                        M Northern
                     8- F-I Central          1982-83
                     6-                      n = 5,027

                     4-


                     2-



                  >_  10-
                  -Z                         1983-84
                  w- 8-
                  C:Y                        n 14,844
                  Ui
                  Q:: 6-
                  U_
                     4-
                  z

                     2
                  Ui
                  CL

                      10-
                                             1984-85
                     8-                     n = 15,185

                     6-


                     4-


                     2-


                           200    3W   4W    500   600   MO
                                  TOTAL LENGTH (mm)

              Figure 4. Expanded length-frequencies for summer flounder, Paralichthys
                      dentatus, from samples of September 1982-April 1985 winter trawl
                      fishery by area (Northern = north of Cape Hatteras, Central = Cape
                                             ' 00 @
                                           n = LK I



                      Hatteras to Cape Lookout); nnumber of fish measured.


                                    28















                                                                                                                                                              20-
                                                                                                                                                                                            Oct 1984
                                                                          Summer Flounder           Winter trawl                                               @2-                           n= 205
                                                                                                                       0 Northern                               8
                                                                                                                        ED Central
                                                                                                                                                               4-
                                                                                                                                                                            A
                                                            12-                             Nov 1982                                          Nov 1983                                         Nov
                                                            8-                              n   591                                           n     1756                                     n= 2145
                                                            4-


                                                            12.
                                                            8-                                Dec                                               Dec                                            Dec
                                                                                            n = 3017                                          n = 5316                                         nz4798


                                                            16-
                                                            12-                             Jon 1983                                       Jan 1984                                        Jan 1985
                                                                                            n= 794                                            n=4142                                          n=2448
                                                            8-

                                                            4
                                                    U-1
                                                    X                                                                                         F=-f
                                                    LUA-.
                                                    1-      16-                               Feb                                               Feb                                            Feb
               N)                                                                           n = 37                                            n=2069                                          n=2285
               kD                                           12-
                                                    U.j     8-
                                                    CL
                                                            4-


                                                            16-
                                                            12-                               Mar                                               Mar                                            Mar
                                                            8-                              n =588                                            n= 718                                       n  2274

                                                            4

                                                               1 0    2      350    450     550     60      16-
                                                                                                            12-                                 Apr                                           Apr
                                                                                                            EF                                n=843                                          n=930

                                                                                                            4-
                                                                                                                                                                LJLL2'@
                                                                                                                       JL
                                                                                                                                                Mar
                                                                                                                                                    18
                                                                                                                                              n= 7








                                                                                                                 60 ' 250      350     450    5'50    60           111 0  2 0     350    450     5@O    650
                                                                                                                     TOTAL LENGTH ( mm


                                    Figure 5.               Monthly expanded length-frequencies for summer flounder, Paralichth@Ls dentatus, from samples of
                                                            September 1982-April 1985 winter trawl fishery by area (Northern = north of Cape Hatteras,
                                                            Central = Cape Hatteras to Cape Lookout); n = number of fish measured.










              to areas   like the Cigar off Virginia.,           cial landings, however, were highest
              where the bottom type is favorable.                in   1983-84   (>1.0   million     lb)   and
              Based on interviews, Norfolk Canyon                I-owest in 1984-85 (0.6 million lb)
              was the most frequently fished area.               (Table    1).     No   specific     monthly
                                                                 pattern in CPUE can    be discerned from
                                                                 our samples, except that scup were
                    Scup, summer flounder and black              caught   during    January-April     (Table
              sea bass accounted for 85-93% of the               12).    Commercial      landings     peaked
              deepwater catches       sampled, and with          each year in March and were sub-
              squid (approximately 9.0% each year)               stantial January through April (Figure
              totaled 94-98% (Table 12).           Species       6).
              that accounted for >1.0% of the
              catches    in   at    least     one   season
              included bluefish, butterfish, weak-                     Coincident with the         declining
              fish and goosefish.        Scup dominated          catch rates was an increase in the
              deepwater    catches during the 1982-83            proportion of small scup in 1984-85
              and 1983-84 fishing seasons, while                 (See Table below and Figure 7).
              summer flounder dominated each month
              of the 1984-85 season (Table 13).
                                                                       In 1982-83, scup ranged from 144
                                                                 to 405 mm FL, and 82.4% were <250 mm.
                    Generally,    this fishery landed            In 1983-84, they ranged from         86 to
              small amounts of scrap fish; only 0.48             407 mm FL, and- 84.2% were <250          mm'
              to 6.43% of the catches sampled were               This situation changed in 1984-85 when
              unmarketable      (Table  10).     However,        fish ranged from 109 to 421 mm FL, but
              several large catches of small scup,               97.1% were <250 mm.
              with 1/3-1/2 of the catch unmarketable
              even as "pin porgies," were observed
              but not sampled.
                                                                 Summer Flounder


                                                                       Summer flounder were the second
              Scup                                               most    important    species     in    these
                                                                 samples during 1982-84      and dominated
                    Scup was the dominant species                in 1984-85.     The CPUE was lowest        in
              captured in deepwater the first two                1982-83 (1,377 kg/trip)        and highest
              seasons but ranked behind flounder and             in 1984-85 (4,434 kg/trip)           (Table
              black   sea   bass     in weight/trip      in      12).    Landings    of    flounder for the
              1984-85 (Table 12).      The CPUE of scup          entire    winter     trawl  fishery     were
              declined from 9,709 kg/trip in 1982-83             lowest    in   1982-83    and  highest     in
              to 2,003 kg/trip in 1984-85.         Commer-       1984-85  (Table 1).




                                                 Percent frequency/fork     length class   (mm)
                                                 151-         201-          251-           301-
              Season              <150           200          250           300            350          >350


              1982-83             0.2           41.3          40.9          13.2           3.8           0.6
              1983-84             0.7           42.4          41.1          11.9           3.2           0.7
              1984-85             4.6           76.6          15.9            2.6          0.2           0.1



                                                            30










              Table 12.    Mean weight and number of fish (x no. fish) per trip for the top
                           99.9% (by weight) of the deepwater catches by season for October
                           1982 through April 1985, including number of catches sampled (n)
                           and species percent of the total weight of the catches sampled
                           (%TW).

                                                         Mean
              Species                               weight (kg)         %TW         x no. fish

              1982-83   (n=8)

              Stenotomus chrysops                      9,708.8          72.8          35,069
              Paralichthys dentatus                    1,376.9          10.3           3,099
              Centropristis striata                    1,314.0           9.9           4,780
              Cephalopods                                669.0           5.0                -
              Pomatomus saltatrix                        184.2           1.4              200
              Lophius americanus                          31.4           0.2
              Peprilus triacanthus                        20.7           0.2              202
              Merluccius bilinearis                       16.7           0.1                -


              1983-84 (n=21)

              Stenotomus   chrysops                    3,970.3          40.5          15,374
              Paralichthys dentatus                    2,861.9          29.2           6,924
              Centropristis striata                    1,487.2          15.2           5,070
              Loligo pealii                              889.2           9.1                -
              Peprilus triacanthus                       254.6           2.6           2,483
              Pomatomus saltatrix                        115.8           1.2               61
              Merluccius bilinearis                       62.3           0.6              265
              Cynoscion regalis                           42.3           0.4               24
              Lophius americanus                          24.5           0.3                -
              Prionotus evolans                           22.8           0.2               50
              Paralichthys oblongus                       19.5           0.2               38
              Conger oceanicus                            10.5           0.1               12
              Urophycis regia                              9.3           0.1               34
              Prionotus carolinus                          7.2           0.1              117
              Glyptocephalus cynoglossus                   7.1           0.1               17
              Scomber scombrus                             4.9           0.1                -



              1984-85 (n=19)

              Paralichthys dentatus                    4,434.4          38.2           9,116
              Centropristis striata                    3,449.3          29.7          10,807
              Stenotomus chrysops                      2,003.3          17.3          11,857
              Cephalopods                              1,043.2           9.0                -
              Cynoscion regalis                          239.6           2.1              442
              Pomatomus saltatrix                        192.7           1.7               84
              Lophius americanus                         132.2           1.1               97
              Peprilus triacanthus                        55.1           0.5              443
              Merluccius bilinearis                       23.0           0.2               82
              Glyptocephalus cynoglossus                   9.5           0.1               26
              Conger oceanicus                             9.3           0.1                8


                                                           31










                      Table 13.        Monthly mean weight per trip (x TW) of the top 99.0% (by weight) of the species in the deepwater trawl catches sampled during
                                       1982-1985, including percent contribution to the total weight (% TW) and number of catches sampled W.                                                              All weights are in kg.

                                                  1982-83                                                                           1983-84                                                                      1984-85

                      Species                                     x TW           0,0 TW              Species                                           x TW        96 TW             Species                                       x TW         96 TW


                      December (n=l)                                                                                                                                                 (rw--O)
                      Stenotomus chrysops                        2,558.7         75.7
                      Cephalopods                                   317.5         9.4
                      Pomatomus saltatrix                           260.3         7.7
                      Centropristis striata                         142.0         4.2
                      Paralichthys dentatus                           60.3        1.8
                      Tautoga onitis                                   29.0       0.3

                      January (rr-1)                                                                 (rv--4)                                                                         (n=o)
                      Stenotomus chrysops                       25,377.6         97.2                Stenotomus chrysops                            6,448.1        48.1
                      To-matomus s'altatrix                         592.8         2.3                Paralichthys dentatus                          5,063.5        37.8
                                                                                                     Loligo pealii                                     847.9         6.3
                                                                                                     Centropristis striata                             590.6         4.4
                                                                                                     Merluccius bilinearis                             149.4         1.1
                                                                                                     Peprilus triacanthus                              108.9         0.8
                                                                                                     Paralichthys oblongus                              90.3         0.7

                      February (n--O)                                                                ( rr.--B )                                                                      (n--8)
                                                                                                     Stenotomus chrysops                            3,339.5        36.6              Paralichthys dentatus                        4,197.9       39.5
                LI)                                                                                  Centropristis striata                          2,432.1        26.6              Centropristis striata                        4,111.1       38.7
                Pi                                                                                   Paralichthys dentatus                          2,003.2        21.9              Cephalopods                                  1,435.9       13.5
                                                                                                     Loligo pealii                                     612.2         6.7             Pomatomus saltatrix                             351.3        3.3
                                                                                                     Peprilus triacanthus                              387.2         4.2             Stenotomus chrysops                             220.6        2.1
                                                                                                     Pomatomus saltatrix                               198.7         2.2             Lophius americanus                              178.3        1.7
                                                                                                     Lophius americanus                                 48.4         0.5             Cynoscion regalis                                73.0        0.7
                                                                                                     Cynoscion regalis                                  28.1         0.3

                      March (rv--4)                                                                  (n--3)                                                                          (rw--8)
                      Stenotomus chrysops                        9,016.5         63.1                Stenotomus chrysops                            4,502.7        49.6              Paralichthys dentatus                        4,545.1       32.8
                      Paralichthys dentatus                      2,735.3         19.1                Paralichthys dentatus                          2,334.6        25.7              Stenotomus chrysops                          4,133.8       29.8
                      Centropristis striata                      1,383.9          9.7                Loligo Pealii                                     641.8         7.1             Centropristis striata                        3,528.9       25.5
                      Cephalopods                                   911.1         6.4                Peprilus triacanthus                              493.6         5.4             Loligo pealii                                   885.7        5.4
                      Pomatomus saltatrix                           138.7         1.0                Centropristis striata                             286.2         3.2             Cynoscion regalis                               475.4        3.4
                                                                                                     Pomatomus saltatrix                               271.1         3.0             Lophius americanus                              102.2        1.0
                                                                                                     Cynoscion regalis                                 166.6         1.8             Peprilus triacanthus                             74.5        0.7
                                                                                                     Prionotus evolans                                 159.6         1.8
                                                                                                     Merluccius bilinearis                             141.6         1.6

                      April (n=2)                                                                    (n=6)                                                                           (rv--3)
                      Stenotomus.chrysops                        6,834.5         68.4                Stenotomus chrysops                            2,893.0        33.4              Paralichth_ys dentatus                       4,769.9       58.5
                      Centropristis striata                      2,416.7         24.2                Paralichthys dentatus                          2,802.8        32.3              Centropristis striata                        1,472.5       18.1
                      Cephalopods                                   629.3         6.3                Centropristis striata                          1,425.5        16.4              Stenotomus chrysops                          1,075.6       13.2
                                                                                                     Loligo pealii                                  1,409.9        16.3              Loligo Pealii                                   276.0        3.4
                                                                                                     Peprilus triacanthus                               55.6         0.6             Merluccius bilinearis                           139.9        1.7
                                                                                                                                                                                     Pomatomus saltatrix                             109.6        1.3
                                                                                                                                                                                     Lophius americanus                               91.3        1.1
                                                                                                                                                                                     Cynoscion regalis                                89.2        1.1










                           25-                        Scup - Deepwater trawling

                           20-
                Z
                    cD     15-         R =9,708.8                3,970.3          i  2,003.3

                     om    10-

                           5




                         400-

                         300-
                    C:)
                         200-
                CJ

                E        100-
                E

                                N D J F M A          N D J F M A          N D J F        'A
                                   1982-3                1983-4               1984-5
                                                     MONTH/YEAR


                  Figure 6. Monthly mean total weight/trip sampled of scup, Stenotomus
                              chrysops, by deepwater trawling and commercial landings data for
                              North Caro lina winter trawl fishery September 1982-April 1985.




                                                    33











                                 Scup    Winter trawl

                             8-
                                                                    1982-83
                                                                    n = 3,613

                             4-





                             8-
                                                                    1983-84
                          U.j                                       n   6,349
                          CY
                          U.j4

                          U_




                          U.j
                          CC                        17.5
                          U.j
                          a_                        13.0            1984-85
                                                -12A                n= 1,525


                             8-



                             4-


                                   I i5     175      225     275      325     375      425
                                                  FORK      LENGTH


                      Figure 7. Expanded length-frequencies for scup, Stenotomus chrysops, from
                                 samples of September 1981-April 1985 winter trawl fisher,y-9 n
                                  number of fish measured.

                                                    34










                   The   CPUE of summer flounder in-          In 1982-84,    fish <300 mm comprised
              creased    offshore   as   the nearshore        16.7% of the catches, and in 1984-85
              fishing declined.     Catches increased         only   9.9%,   while    fish     >400   mm
              slightly from February to April         in      accounted    for 18.5%    the first two
              1984 and   1985 (Figure 3, Table 13).           seasons and 22.5% the last season.
              Landings  do not reflect this increase
              as they   are low and fall off from                  The proportion of larger summer
              February  through April; effort is less         flounder   in   the   catches    decreased
              in -this fishery than the nearshore             during the season   when considering all
              flounder  fishery.                              gears and areas     combined (Figure 5,
                                                              Table Ile).   The  percent of fish >400
                   Size    frequencies      of    summer      mm decreased each season from 18.7 to
              flounder  caught offshore were similar          30.6% during the     peak months of the
              all three fishing seasons (Table 11).           inshore fishery (November-December) to
              Although more small fish (<300 mm TQ            <17% after January.        Likewise,   the
              were caught in 1983-84 (26.5%), the             percent of fish <300 mm increased
              percent of fish <350 mm TL was consis-          during    December-April    in    1983-84,
              tent,   ranging    from  59.0   to  63.8%       while the percent of fish 300-400 mm
              during the three seasons. Fish ex-              was highest in March in 1982 and
              ceeding 400 mm comprised 13.0-15.2% of          during February in 1985.
              the catches.     No severe decline in
              large fish or increased relative abun-          Black Sea Bass
              dance of small fish was observed.                    Black sea bass catches increased
                   Summer flounder captured in deep-          from 1,314 kg/trip in 1982-83 to 3,449
              water were     generally   smaller    than      kg/trip in 1984-85 (Table 12).      Land-
              those   captured     in  the    nearshore       ings also increased from 156,648    lb in
              fishery.   Seasonally, summer flounder          1982-83 to 799,469      lb   in   1984-85.
              >400 mm accounted for 13.0-15.2% of             Trawlers accounted for only 33.4% of
              the deepwater catches and 21.4-26.0%            the state's landings in 1982-83 but
              of the nearshore catches (Table lla,            71.4% in 1984-85 (Table 1).
              b).    This is,     at least in part,
              attributable to smaller mesh used in                 The    average     catch/trip     was
              the tailbags in deepwater to retain             highest for black sea bass in April in
              small scup, black sea bass, and squid.          1983, February and April in 1984, and
                                                              in February-March in 1985. Trends in
                   Combining all gears and areas,             landings corresponded with CPUEs each
              the   size    composition     of    summer      fishing season (Figure 8, Table 13).
              flounder in the winter trawl fishery
              remained very consistent during this                 Corresponding      with     increased
              study, with the possible exception of           catches   of    black   sea   bass,    the
              a slight increase in proportions of             proportions of fish     >300 mm FL al so
              larger fish in 1984-85 (Table 11c).             increased (Table below and Figure 9).


                                                 Percent frequency/total length class (mm)
                                               201-         251-         301-         401-
              Season            <200            250          300          400         500         >500


              1982-83            3.1          45.3          32.7        16.9          1.8           0.2
              1983-84            2.2          36.4          37.0        23.3          1.1         <0.1
              1984-85            8.9          32.3          28.3        26.9          3.4           0.2



                                                         35










                              Black sea bass - Deepwater trawling
                         4
               Orb
                  2       3-          11314.0          7   1,487.2                 7-3,449.31
                          2-


                                         J-40




                       400-

                   -300-
                 to
                  C>
                       200-

               E        100-

                              N D J F M A N D J                   A N D             M"
                                 1982-3               1983-4                1984-5
                                                    MONTH/YEAR


                Figure 8. Monthly mean total weight/trip sampled of black sea bass,
                            Centropristis striata, by deepwater trawling and commercial
                            landings data for North Carolina winter trawl fishery September
                            1982-April 1985.






                                                    36










                                     Black Sea Bass      Winter trawl
                                12-                          1982-83
                                                             n= i,329

                                6-




                           >_  12                            1983-84
                                                             n   4,578
                           LU

                           CY
                           U.j
                                6-


                           LU
                           C-)
                           Cr_
                           U.j
                           a_

                                9-                           1984-85
                                                             n = 51322
                                6-





                                     200     300      400     500      600
                                              TOTAL LENGTH (mm)


                      Figure 9. Expanded length-frequencies for black sea bass, centropristis
                                 striata, from samples of September 1982-April 1985 winter trawl
                                 fishery; n = number of fish measured.



                                                    37










             Black sea bass ranged from 166 to 582             mackerel,    spot,    summer     flounder,
             mm FL with 18.9% >300 mm in        1982-83,       silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis),
             from 165 to 585 mm FL with 24.4% >300             bluefish   and   striped   bass    (Morone
             mm in 1983-84, and from 125 to 605 mm             saxatilis) all accounted for >1.5% of
             with 30.5% >300 mm in 1984-85.                    the weight.

                                                                    In    1984-85    Atlantic     croaker
             Flynet Fishery                                    (5,190 kg/trip) and weakfish (4,780
                                                               kg/trip) accounted for 39% and 36% of
                   Flynet trawling was the second              the weight, respectively (Table 14).
             most important component of the winter            Spot (10.4%) and bluefish (10.2%) were
             trawl fishery in terms of total value             also   important,     while     butterfish
             of target species (Atlantic croaker,              accounted for    1.8%.    The    increased
             spot, weakf i sh,   bluefish; Table 1).           importance   of Atlantic     croaker     in
             It was the most frequently sampled                the 1984-85 season reflects, in part,
             gear   in  1982-83    (n=27,  62.8%)    and       increased   sampling    effort    in    the
             1984-85 (n=38, 45.2%) and tied with               southern region.
             deepwater     catches     behind    inshore
             flounder trawling in 1983-84 (n=21,                    The flynet fishery targeted weak-
             31.3%)    (Table    2).     This    fishery       fish,  Atlantic croaker, and occasion-
             generally took place in water <20                 ally bluefish. These species, together
             fathoms in depth.                                 with butterfish and spot, accounted
                                                               for 85.0-96.6% of the flynet catches
                   The primary species      sought by          sampled each season.        Consequently,
             this fishery were available December              the emphasis of the succeeding dis-
             through April, particularly off Cape              cussion will be on these five species.
             Hatteras.   The periodic large catches
             brought in by several boats at the
             same time,     combined with concurrent           Monthly Flynet Catches - (All Areas)
             Wanchese and    Hatteras ocean gill net
             landings, often resulted in           rapid            Weakfish, Atlantic croaker, but-
             price fluctuations.    Trawlers switched          terfish, spot, and bluefish accounted
             to alternatives such as trawling in               for >89.1% of the weight in flynet
             deepwater or for other species when               catches sampled during every month,
             prices dropped below $0.10/lb.                    except March, 1984.
             Flynet Catch Composition - (All Areas)                 Flynet catches in 1982-83 were
                   In 1982-83, weakfish comprised              dominated by weakfish, though periodi-
             52.8% of the weight and averaged 6,782            cally several other species were abun-
             kg/trip (Table 14).     Bluefish (20.5%)          dant (Table 15).      During the first
             and    croaker     (18.2%)    were     also       half of the fishing season, butterfish
             abundant, and together with weakfish              and Atlantic croaker dominated, with
             accounted for 91.5% of the weight.                weakfish   nearly    as   abundant    each
             Spot, butterfish and summer flounder              month.   Weakfish comprised 53.1-85.1%
             each accounted for >1.5% of the                   of the catches during December through
             catches.                                          March, and bluefish accounted for
                                                               13.8-31.6%.    In   April,   one    flynet
                   In 1983-84 weakfish.accounted for           catch of large bluefish was sampled.
             61.9% of the weight and averaged 7,597
             kg/trip  (Table 14).    Atlantic croaker               Flynet catches in 1983-84 (Table
             averaged   2,114 kg/trip and accounted            15)  were dominated by weakfish and
             for 17.2% of the weight. Atlantic                 Atlantic    croaker in November, and

                                                          38












           Table 14.   Mean weight (kg) and number of fish (x no. fish) per trip for the top 99.916 (by weight) of the flynet catches by season for October 1982
                        through April 1985, including number of catches sampled (n) and species percent of the total weight of the catches sampled 0,61-W).


                                            Mean                                                      Mean                                                      Mean
                                           weight              x no.                                  weight            x no.                                 weight               x no.
           Species                          (kq)    %TW        fish    Species                        NO      96TW      fish    Species                         (kq)     %TW       fish
           1982-83  (n=27)                                             1983-84  (n=21)                                          1984-85  (n=38)
           Cynoscion regalis              6,782.7   52.8       23,607  Cynoscion regalis             7,597.5   61.9     33,783  Micropogonias undulatus       5,190.6    38.6     42,236
           Pomatomus saltatrix            2,635.0   20.5       3,416   Micropogonias undulatus       2,114.5   17.2     17,721  Cynoscion regalis             4,780.1    35.6     24,976
           Micropogonias undulatus        2,343.8   18.2       13,439  Scomber scombrus               525.1     4.3     1,150   Leiostomus xanthurus          1,391.2    10.4     19,789
           Leiostomus xanthurus            369.1      2.9      5,214   Lejostomus xanthurus           490.7     4.0     6,612   Pomatomus saltatrix           1,367.4    10.2        852
           Paralichthys dentatus           324.6      2.5        821   Paralichthys dentatus          326.0     2.7       667   Peprilus triacanthus              247.8   1.8      3,031
           Peprilus triacanthus            201.8      1.6      2,901   Merluccius bilinearis          241.8     2.1       314   Merluccius bilinearis             @5.9    0.4        165
           Urophycis LftRiA                 21.2      0.2        182   Pomatomus saltatrix            197.6     1.6       437   Loligo Pealii                     54.0    0.4           -
           Prionotus evolans                15.1      0.1        535   Moronp Raxatilis               170.7     1.5        22   Paralichthys dentatus             48. 6   0.4         97
           Menticirrhus spp.                15.1      0.1         64   Alosa pseudoharengus           124.1     1.1       577   Bairdiella chrysoura              @0.1    0.3        450
           Cephalopods                      13.7      0.1           -  Alosa sapidissima               80.2     0.7       187   Lagodon rhomboides                35.7    0.3      1,013
           Carcharhinidae                   11.7      0.1           -  Alosa aestivalis                70.3     0.6       663   Menticirrhus americanus           A4.7    0.3        171
           Scomberomorus cavalla             9.3      0.1           -  Archosargus probatocephalus     49.0     0.4          -  Larimus fasciatus                 31.6    0.2        307
           Sphoeroides maculatus             9.1      0.1         92   Peprilus triacanthus            38.6     0.3       703   Brevoortia tyrannus               25.8    0.2        343
           Acipenser oxyrhynchus             8.8      0.1           1  Menticirrhus americanus         35.4     0.3       274   Ment.icirrhus SPP.                15.9    0.1         90
           Menticirrhus saxatilis            8.5      0.1         44   Loliqo pealij                   34.0     0.3          -  Orthopristis chrysoDtera          15.1    0.1        288
           Menticirrhus americanus           8.3      0.1         53   Urophycjs chuss                 29.6     0.3        51   Menticirrhus saxatilis            10.@    0.1         44
           Paralichthys spp.                 7.6      0.1           -  Acipenser oxyrhynchus           25.1     0.2          1  Mustelus canis                    10.4    0.1         16
           Bairdiella chrysoura              7.5      0.1        154   Bairdiella chrysoura            18.7     0.2       244   Stenotomus chrysops                9.9    0.1        239
           orthopristis chrysoptera          6.9      0.1        119   Lophius americanus              16.5     0.1          9  Centropristis striata              8.8    0.1         32
                                                                       Trichiurus lepturus             15.8     0.1        98   Paralichthys spp.                  7.8    0.1         10
                                                                       Brevoortia tyrannus             13.4     0.1       124   Prionotus evolans                  7.3    0.1        101
                                                                       Prionotus carolinus               8.1    0.1       109
                                                                       Menticirrhus saxatilis            9.8    0.1        45










            Table 15.     Monthly mean weight/trip (xTW) of Micropogonias undulatus, Cynoscion regalis, Pomatomus saltatrix, Peprilus triacanthus, and Lejostomus
                          xanthurus in the flynet catches sampled from October 1982 through April 1985 (-@Tll -areas @`om-bined), including the number of catches
                          sampled (n).

                      1982-83                           1983-84                            1984-85                           1982-83                          1983-84                           1984-85

            Species              x 1W          Species                x TW      Species            xTW            Species                 x TW      Species                x TW       Species                x TW


            September                                                           (n=l)                             January (n--7)                    (n=6)                             (n=9)


                                                                                M.  undulatus       2,466.9       C.  regalis          7,581.4      C.  regalis           9,007.9     C.  regalis           6,335.4
                                                                                L.  xanthurus            62.8     P.  saltatrix        2,926.2      M.  undulatus         1,422.5     M.  undulatus         5,397.7
                                                                                P.  saltatrix              4.5    M.  undulatus        1,943.8      L.  xanthurLIS          660.4     L.  xanthurus         1,731.0
                                                                                C.  regalis                  0    L.  xanthurus           421.6     P.  saltatrix           495.1     P.  saltatrix           119.9
                                                                                P.  triacanthus              0    P.  triacanthus         167.4     P.  triacanthus             8.0   P.  triacanthus            75.4


            October (n--1)                                                      (n--4)                            February (n--8)                   (n=3)                             (n=5)


            P.  triacanthus      3,130.0                                        M.  undulatus       8,725.5       C.  regalis          8,332.8      C.  regalis             17,592    C.  regalis           6,045.3
            C.  rega)is          3,020.0                                        C.  rega)is         4,835.4       P.  sa)tatrix        4,499.5      M.  undulatus           312.0     M.  undulatus         3,500.4
            M.  undulatus           541.0                                       L.  xanthurus          286.4      M.  undulatus           799.6     L.  xanthurus           238.7     L.  xanthurus         1,417.3
            P.  saltatrix           340.0                                       P.  triacanthus        276.8      L.  xanthurus           541.3     P.  triacanthus               0   P.  triacanthus         724.1
      C)    -   -
            L.  xanthurus             85.0                                      P.  saltatrix            51.1     P.  triacanthus             8.2   P.  saltatrix                 0   P.  saltatrix           367.0


            November (n=6)                     (rr-S)                           (n=5)                             March (n=2)                       ( rr--7 )                         (n--7)


            M.  undulatus        7,064.8       C.  regalis          4,710.6     M.  undulatus      10,394.1       C.  regalis             852.1     C.  regalis           4,079.5     C.  regalis           5,166.6
            C.  regalis          6,617.9       M.  undulatus        3,649.4     C.  regalis         3,561.1       P.  saltatrix           138.3     M.  undulatus         1,888.7     M.  undulatus         2,667.0
            P.  saltatrix           792.0      L . xanthurus          846.4     L.  xanthurus       2,714.0       P.  triacanthus             0.7   L.  xanthurus           175.9     L.  xanthurus         1,677.7
            L.  xanthurus           405.3      P.  saltatrix          211.0     P.  triacanthus        237.9      M.  undulatus                0    P.  saltatrix               5.6   P.  saltatrix         1,671.4
            P.  triacanthus         172.4      P.  triacanthus        121.8     P.  saltatrix          205.2      L.  xanthurus                0    P.  triacanthus               0   P.  triacanthus         171.3


            December (n--2)                                                     (n--3)                            April (n=l)                                                         (n=4)


            C.  regalis          9,469.4                                        M.  undulatus       6,283.1       P.  saltatrix        5,049.9                                        P.  saltatrix         8,964.6
            P.  saltatrix        2,123.8                                        C.  regalis         2,168.8       C.  regalis                31.6                                     C.  regalis           3,644.8
            M.  undulatus           174.6                                       L.  xanthurus          751.3      M.  undulatus                0                                      M.  undulatus         1,065.6
            L.  xanthurus             84.2                                      P.  triacanthus        528.2      P.  triacanthus              0                                      L.  xanthurus           356.2
            P.  triacanthus           22.9                                      P.  saltatrix            85.1     L.  xanthurus                0                                      P.  triacanthus             9.5










               weakfish, with a smaller contribution             ing (Alosa aestivalis), American shad
               by Atlantic croaker, in January and               (@.   sapidissima),    and   alewife     (A.
               February.    March catches were domina-           pseudoharengus).
               ted by weakfish,      but also included
               Atlantic    mackerel,      (15.5%,     1,575            Flynet    catches   north   of   Cape
               kg/trip),   silver hake (7.1%, 724 kg/            Hatteras were sequentially dominated
               trip), striped     bass (5.1%,     512 kg/        by croaker, weakfish, and bluefish
               trip),   and Alosa sp.      (8.2%, 822 kg/        (Table 17) within a fishing season.
               trip), the latter were all captured               Atlantic    croaker    were   the     target
               north of Oregon Inlet.                            species during October through Decem-
                                                                 ber when concentrated off Hatteras
                     Atlantic   croaker accounted for            Island, having recently migrated from
               57.9%-96.6% of the catches during the             Chesapeake    Bay    and  Pamlico      Sound
               first half of the 1984-85 fishing                 (DeVries 1986).       Weakfish were the
               season, with weakfish accounting for              only other dominant species during
               19.8-32.7%.   Weakfish comprised 44.5-            this period, except for a catch of
               47.9% and Atlantic croaker 22.9-38.3%             spot in November 1984 and butterfish
               of the January-March catches, with                in October 1982.       The trawler fleet
               spot providing >10% each month.       Blue-       shifted from flynetting to flounder
               fish accounted for 14.4% in March,                fishing during late November through
               then dominated April catches (63.5%)              January.    Large weakfish dominated the
               together with weakfish (25.8%).                   flynet catches in January 1983, and
                                                                 together      with     large      bluefish,
                                                                 dominated the catches made around
                           Flynet Catches -                      Wimble Shoals in January-April 1985.
                        North of Cape Hatteras                   Generally, effort for weakfish after
                                                                 December was concentrated south of
                    Most flynet catches north     of Cape        Cape    Hatteras.     However,     trawlers
               Hatteras came from Wimble Shoals or               searching for Atlantic mackerel and
               off Oregon Inlet and in <20 fathoms.              striped bass north       of Hatteras      in
               Overall,    36%   (n=31)  of the flynet           March 1984 caught species other than
               catches sampled were from this area,              those    generally    targeted    by   this
               including 26%, 38%, and 42% during the            fishery.     The mean     CPUEs   for    the
               1982-83 to 1984-85 seasons (Table 2).             dominant species (top 99%) in four
               The   CPUE   was   highest    in   1982-83        catches    were:      Atlantic     mackerel
               (17,029 kg)     and lowest in 1983-84             (Scomber     scombrus)    -  2,756.6     kg;
               (9,542 kg)    (Table 10).      Catches of         sTT'ver hake    (Merluccius bilinearis)
               scrap ranged from 2.0% in      1982-83 to         - 1,267.6 kg;     striped bass       (Morone
               22.2% in 1985-85, and were lower than             saxatilis) - 896.3 kg; alewife (Alosa
               the two southern regions (Table 10).              pseudoharengus) - 651.3 kg; American
                                                                 shad (Alosa sapidissima) - 419.4 kg;
                    Weakfish dominated catches north             blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) -
               of Cape Hatteras each fishing season,             363.5 kg; red hake (Urophycis chuss) -
               accounting     for     35.8/o-41.8%      and      148.9 kg; Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser
               averaging    2,900    to  5,746 kg/trip           oxyrhynchus) - 101.9 kg; and goosefish
               (Table   16).    Atlantic    croaker     and      (Lophius americanus) - 46.5 kg.
               bluefish were abundant in 1982-83 and
               1984-85, with butterfish and spot also
               important. The 1983-84 season differed                         Flynet Catches -
               in catch composition.      Atlantic mack-               Cape Hatteras to Cape Lookout
               erel comprised 17% of the catches,
               followed by Atlantic croaker, summer                    Most catches sampled from this
               flounder, striped bass, blueback herr-        41  area were inshore of 15 fathoms, and










                          Table 16. Mean weight(kg)/trip (x- TW) of the species comprising the top 99.o9b of the flynet catches
                                           sampled from October 1982 through April 1985, by area and season, including number of
                                           catches sampled (n) and species percent contribution to the total weight of the catches ('0 TW).

                                             1982-83                                                        1983-84                                                  1984-85

                          Species                        x TW              96 TW        Species                        x TW             TW        Species                       x  TW         0'0 TW


                                                                                                NORTH OF CAPE HATTERAS
                          (n=7)                                                            rr---8 )                                               ( rr-- 16

                          C.  regalis                    5,746.4           39.1         C.   regalis                   2,900.3        35.8        C.   regalis                5,053.6         41.8
                          M.  undulatus                  5,253.1           35.8         S.   scombrus                  1,378.2        17.0        M.   undulatus              3,432.0         28.4
                          P.  saltatrix                  2,593.1           17.7         M.   undulatus                   900.9        11.1        P.   saltatrix              2,336.9         19.3
                          P.  triacanthus                   500.3            3.4        M.   bilinearis                  633.8          7.8       P.   triacanthus               400.6          3.3
                          L.  xanthurus                     192.0            1.3        P.   dentatus                    592.7          7.3       L.   xanthurus                 355.9          2.9
                          P.  dentatus                      167.4            1.1        M.   saxatilis                   448.2          5.5       M.   bilinearis                132.7          1.1
                          Cephalopods                         41.7           0.3        A.   pseudoharengus              325.6          4.0       L.   pealij                    120.7          1.0
                          Carcharhinidae                      38.8           0.3        A.   sapidissima                 210.5          2.6       P.   dentatus                    74.4.        0.6
                                                                                        A.   aestivalis                  181.8          2.2       M.   canis                       24.7         0.2
                                                                                        P.   saltatrix                   137.8          1.7       M.   americanus                  18.4         0.2
                                                                                        P.   triacanthus                   85.2         1.1       S.   chrysops                    16.8         0.1
                                                                                        L.   xanthurus                     80.4         1.0       C.   striata                     15.2         0.1
                                                                                        U.   chuss                         74.3         0.9
                                                                                        A.   oxyrhynchus                   51.0         0.6
                                                                                        L.   americanus                    23.2         0.3
                                                                                        A.   probatocephalus               21.8         0.3


                                                                                           CAPE HATTERAS TO            CAPE LOOKOUT
                          (n=17                                                         (rr---12)                                                 (rr-12)


                          C.  regalis                    8,131.0           65.4         C.   regalis                   8,712.0        70.7        C.   regalis                6,217.3         46.3
                          P.  saltatrix                  3,100.7           24.9         M.   undulatus                 2,946.6        19.0        M.   undulatus              4,588.3         34.0
                          P.  dentatus                      446.4            3.6        L.   xanthurus                   803.3          5.2       P.   saltatrix              1,225.6           8.7
                          M.  undulatus                     399.5            3.2        P.   saltatrix                   254.0          1.6       L.   xanthurus              1,061.9           7.9
                          L.  xanthurus                     112.4            0.9        P.   dentatus                    173.9          1.1       P.   triacanthus                 96.1         0.7
                          P.  triacanthus                     65.1           0.5        A.   probatocephalus               71.3         0.5       P.   dentatus                    75.6         0.6
                          U.  Lftai2                          32.8           0.3        M.   americ-an-us                  56.1         0.4       L.   fasciatus                   46.5         0.3
                          P.  evolans.                        24.0           0.2        L.   pealii                        56.0         0.4       0.   chrysoptera                 46.1         0.3
                                                                                        B.   chrysoura                     32.8         0.2       M.   saxatilis                   21.2         0.2


                                                                                                  WEST OF CAPE LOOKOUT
                          (rr--3)                                                       (rv--l )                                                  (rv--10)


                          M. undulatus                   6,573.0           60.1         C. regalis                     4,589.8        70.0        M.   undulatus              8,758.8         56.2
                          L. xanthurus                   2,237.0           20.5         M. undulatus                   1,837.1        28.0        L.   xanthurus              3,442.8         22.1
                          C. regalis                     1,560.7           14.3         Menticirrhus         spp.          68.0         1.0       C.   regalis                2,617.7         16.8
                          P. triacanthus                    279.7            2.6        C. nebul0SUS                       36.9         0.6       P.   triacanthus               185.6          1.2
                          Menticirrhus spp.                 109.3            1.0        L. xanthurus                       22.7         0.3       B.   chrysoura                 131.8          0.8
                          P. saltatrix                        94.0           0.9                                                                  L.   rhomboides;               125.8          0.8
                                                                                                                                                  M.   americanus                  91.9         0.6
                                                                                                                                                  ï¿½.   tyrannus                    76.8         0.5
                                                                                                                                                  L.   fasciatus,                  64.5         0.4




                                                                                                            42












                            Table 17. Monthly mean weight/trip (x TW) and percent contribution to the total weight of the flynet
                                                  catches sampled (96 TW) of Micropogonias undulatus, Cynoscion regalis, Pomatomus saltatrix,
                                                  Peprilus triacanthus and Leiostomus xanthurus from October 1982 through April 1985, including
                                                  the number of catches sampled (n). Tables are partitioned by areas where catches were made.


                                                  1982-83                                                               1983-84                                                   1984-85

                            Species                           x TW               96 TW          Species                           x  TW           16 TW       Species                           x TW           96 TW

                            NORTH OF CAPE HATTERAS

                            September (rr--O)                                                   (n--O)
                                                                                                                                                              M. undulatus                  2,467.0            96.6
                                                                                                                                                              L. xanthurus                       62.8          2.5
                                                                                                                                                              P. saltatrix                          4.5        0.2

                            October (rr-1)                                                      (n--O)                                                        (n=4)
                            P. triacanthus                    3,130.0            43.1                                                                         M. undulatus                  8,775.2            59.0
                            C. regalis                        3,020.0            41.6                                                                         C. regalis                    4,835.4            32.7
                            M. undulatus                         541.0             7.5                                                                        T. -xanthurus                     286.4          1.9
                            T. saltatrix                         340.0             4.7                                                                        P. triacanthus                    276.8          1.9
                            L. xanthurus                            85.0           1.2                                                                        P. saltatrix                       61.1          0.3

                            November (n--3)                                                     (n--4)                                                        (n--1 )
                            M. undulatus                     12,070.1            75.8           C. regalis                       5,796.8          60.8        M.   undulatus               10,251.2            63.1
                            C. regalis                        1,792.9            11.7           'R. undulatus                    1,801.8          18.9             regalis                  2,509.8            15.4
                            L. xanthurus                         419.7             2.7          P. saltatrix                       252.7           2.9             -xanthurus               2,502.3            15.4
                            P. saltatrix                         333.4             2.2          T. -@-riacanthus                   170.7           1.8        P.   saltatrix                     99.3          0.6
                            P. triacanthus                       113.8             0.7          L. xanthurus                       160.9           1.7        P.   triacanthus                   76.2          0.5

                            December (rF=O)                                                     (n:=O)                                                        (rr---i )
                                                                                                                                                              P. triacanthus                1,559.3            56.8
                                                                                                                                                              P. saltatrix                       40.8          1.5

                            January (rr---3)                                                    (n--O)                                                        (rr-3)
                            C. regalis                       10,608.8            64.4                                                                         C. regalis                   12,988.5            87.9
                            P. saltatrix                      5,603.8            34.0                                                                              -undulatus                   985.4          6.7
                            P. triacanthus                          10.3           0.1                                                                             saltatrix                    337.4          2.3
                                 undulatus                            6.8          0.1                                                                        L. xanthurus                      158.9          1.1
                                                                                                                                                              P. triacanthus                        9.1        0.1

                            February (rr---O)                                                   (rr---O)                                                      (rr---2 )
                                                                                                                                                                   regalis                  2,731.4            45.3
                                                                                                                                                              P.   triacanthus              1,800.9            29.9
                                                                                                                                                              P.   saltatrix                     95.1          1.4
                                                                                                                                                              L.   xanthurus                     41.5          0.7
                                                                                                                                                              M.   undulatus                     37.4          0.6

                            March (rF-O)                                                        (n--4)                                                        (rr.=O)
                                                                                                C. regalis                              3.9        0.1
                                                                                                P. saltatrix                            0.2        0.1

                            April (n--O)                                                          n--O                                                        (rp=4)
                                                                                                                                                              P. saltatrix                  8,964.6            63.5
                                                                                                                                                              @j. regalis                   3,644.8            25.8
                                                                                                                                                              M. undulatus                  1,065.6            7.6
                                                                                                                                                              T. -xanthurus                     356.2          2.5
                                                                                                                                                              P. triacanthus                        9.5        0.1


                            CAPE HATTERAS TO CAPE LOOKOUT

                            November (n--3)                                                     (n=1)                                                           rr--3)
                            C. regalis                       11,442.9            71.3           M.   undulatus                 14,684.8           71.4        M. undulatus                 10,613.5            56.4
                            M.   undulatus                    2,059.4            12.8           T.   xanthurus                  3,752.9           18.2             regalis                  4,767.0            25.3
                            P.   saltatrix                    1,250.7              7.8          C.   regalis                       980.9           4.8             xanthurus                1,782.0            9.5
                            T.   xanthurus                       390.9             2.4          T.   triacanthus                      34.4         0.2        T.   Triacanthus                  358.4          1.9
                            P.   triacanthus                     230.9             1.4          T.   -atrix                           15.9         0.1        P.   saltatrix                    237.3          1.3



                                                                                                                    43















                       Table 17. (continued)



                                           1982-83                                                     1983-84                                             1984-85

                       Species                        x TW            0'0 TW      Species                     x TW-         0,0 TW       SDecies                      x TW        96 TW

                       December (rv--2)                                           (n=O)                                                  ( rr--- 1 )
                       C. regalis                    9,469.4          77.4                                                               M. undulatus.              3,527.5       66.6
                       P. saltatrix                  2,123.8          17.4                                                               C. regalis                 1,644.6       31.1
                       M. undulatus                      174.6         1.4                                                               T. xanthurus                   84.5        1.6
                       T. xanthurus                      84.2          0.7                                                               P. triacanthus                 26.2        0.5
                       P. triacanthus                    22.9          0.2

                       January (rt--2)
                       C. regalis                    8,810.6          59.6        C. regalis                  9,891.5        74.7        C. regalis                   934 3       87 6
                       P. saltatrix                  1,694.9          11.5        @. undulatus                1,303.6          9.8       @. undulatus                   55:4        5:2
                       L. xanthurus                      251.5         1.7        L. xanthurus                   787.8         5.9       L. xanthurus                     1.4       0.1
                       P. triacanthus                    151.0         1.0        P. saltatrix                   594.1         4.5
                       M. undulatus                      115.0         0.8        P. triacanthus                    9.6        0.1

                       February (rv--7)                                           ( rr--3)           I                                   (rr-3)
                       C. regalis                    9,371.8          64.2        C. regalis                 17,592.8        95.2        C. regalis                 8,254.6       48.5
                       P. saltatrix                  5,142.3          35.2        @. undulatus                   312.0         1.7       R. -undulatus              5,809.1       34.1
                       L. xanthurus                        9.6         0.1        L. xanthurus                   238.7         1.3       L. xanthurus               2,334.6       13.7
                       P. triacanthus                      9.4         0.1        P. saltatrix                      7.8        0.1       T. saltatrix                 554.9         3.3
                       M. undulatus                        4.8         0.1        P. triacani-hus                   3.8        0.1       P. triacanthus                   6.2       0.0

                       March (rr--2)                                              (rr-=3)                                                (rv--4)
                       C. regalis                        852.1        85.1        C. regalis                  9,513.7        64.4        C. regalis                 8,241.1       69.9
                       P. saltatrix                      138.3        13.8        @. undulatus                4,407.0        29.9        T. saltatrix               2,925.0       24.8
                       P. triacanthus                      0.7         0.1        L. xanthurus                   410.3         2.8       M. undulatus                 462.3         3.9
                       L. xanthurus                        0.1         0.1        P. saltatrix                      12.7       0.1       L. xanthurus                   77.3        0.7
                       April (rr--l)                                              P. triacanthus                    11.4       0.1            triacanthus                 7.9       0.1
                       P. saltatrix                  5,049.9          99.4
                       C. regalis                        31.3          0.6

                       WEST OF CAPE        LOOKOUT

                       November (n--O)                                            (rr-=O)                                                (n--1)
                                                                                                                                         M. undulatus,              9,878.7       57.9
                                                                                                                                         L. xanthurus               5,721.4       33.6
                                                                                                                                         C. regalis                   994.4         5.8
                                                                                                                                         P. saltatrix                 214.7         1.3
                                                                                                                                         P. triacanthus                 38.4        0.2

                       December (n=O)                                             (rv--O)                                                (rr--2)
                                                                                                                                         M. undulatus               7,660.9       66.0
                                                                                                                                         @j. regalis                2,430.9       20.9
                                                                                                                                         L. xanthurus               1,084.7         9.3
                                                                                                                                         P. saltatrix                 107.3         0.9

                       January (n--2)                                                                                                    (rr--S)
                       M. undulatus                  63678.0          63.6        C. regalis                  4,589.8        70.0        M. undulatus               9,113.5       55.9
                       C. regalis                    1,811.0          17.3        @. undulatus                1,837.1        28.0        Z. 7egalis                 3,423.7       21.0
                       L. xanthurus                  13224.0          11.7        L. xanthurus                      22.7       0.3            xanthurus             33020.5       18.5
                       P. triacanthus                    419.5         4.0                                                                    triacanthus             130.0         0.8
                       P. saltatrix                      141.0         1.3                                                               P. saltatrix                   13.4        0.1

                       February (rr-=l)                                              rr---O)                                             (rr-=O)
                       M. undulatus                  6,363.0          53.8
                       L. xanthurus                  4,263.0          36.1
                       C. regalis                    1,060.0           9.0

                       March (rr-0)                                               (F,=O)                                                 (rv--3)

                                                                                                                                         M. undulatus               3,237.9       49.2
                                                                                                                                         L. xanthurus               23286.9       33.4
                                                                                                                                         @g. regalis                  640.4         9.4
                                                                                                                                         P. triacanthus               233.6         3.4



                                                                                                    44









                in the Hatteras Bight around Diamond                   and   1 owest  in March      (852   kg,    n=1
                Shoals or just south and/or west of                    catch) .   Atlantic croaker were only
                the shoal s.      All the Wanchese boats               important in November (12.8%, 2,059
                fished this area;       vessels from Engle-            kg/catch).     Bluefish were second to
                hard,    Morehead      City-Beaufort,       and        weakfish    after November,        accounting
                other ports fished further south as                    for   from   7.8%    (1,251    kg/trip)      in
                well, to just off the beaches of Core                  November to 35.2% (5,142 kg/trip) in
                Banks, Drum Inlet and the eastern side                 February; they constituted essentially
                of Cape Lookout Shoals.         Overall, 48%           all of the single catch sampled in
                of the flynet catches sampled were                     April.
                from Cape Hatteras to         Cape Lookout,
                with 63A, 57%, and 32%        during respec-                 In   1983-84,     Atlantic       croaker
                tive seasons (Table 2).                                (71.4%, 14,685 kg) and spot (18.2%,
                                                                       3,753 kg) dominated the single catch
                      The average total       catch/trip of            sampled in November.          Weakfish com-
                fish (Table 10) was highest in 1983-84                 prised    64.4-95.2%      of    the     flynet
                (15,566 kg) and lowest in 1984-85                      catches January-March,        with monthly
                (11,126 kg).      The proportion of scrap              mean, CPUEs     from 9,513    to 17,952 kg/
                in these      catches ranged        seasonally         trip.   Atlantic croaker      accounted for
                from 9.8 to 28.8%.                                     9.8 and 29.9% of the catches in Janu-
                                                                       ary and March and averaged 1,304 and
                      Weakfish comprised 46.3-70.7% of                 4,407 kg/trip during those months.
                the catches from Cape Lookout to Cape
                Hatteras and averaged 8,131 kg/trip,                         In 1984-85, Atlantic croaker and
                8,712 kg/trip and 6,217 kg/trip during                 weakfish dominated the catches. Atlan-
                the    1982/83      seasons,     respectively          tic croaker accounted for 56.4-66.6%
                (Table     16).     Bluefish       constituted         of the catches sampled and averaged
                24.9% in 1982-83, averaging 3,101                      10,613.5 and 3,527 kg/trip in November
                kg/trip, but averaged only 254 kg/trip                 and December.       Atlantic croaker in
                (1.6%) in 1983-84 and 1,225 kg/trip                    January and February were second in
                (8.7%) in 1984-85.         Atlantic croaker            importance, averaging 55 and 5,809 kg/
                were relatively unimportant in 1982-83                 catch.    Weakfish composed 25.3-31.1%
                (400    kg/trip,    3.2%)    but second to             of November and December catches, but
                weakfish in 1983/84-1984/85, averaging                 dominated catches        during      January-
                2,947 and 4,588 kg/trip and accounting                 March, averaging 934-8,255 kg/catch/
                for   19.0    and     34.0%,    respectively.          month.    Spot were only important in
                Spot     accounted      for 7.9%      of the           November (9.5%) and February (13.7% of
                1984-85    catches     and   averaged 1,061            catches). Bluefish accounted for 28.4%
                kg/trip.                                               (2,925 kg/catch) in March.

                      Weakfish dominated the catches
                almost every month through March each                               Flynet Catches
                season, except during November, 1983                             West of Cape Lookout
                and 1984, and December, 1984, when
                Atlantic croaker ranked first, and in                        Flynetting west of Cape Lookout
                April, 1985, when bluefish were domi-                  occurred around or just west of Cape
                nant (Table 17).                                       Lookout Shoals,       off    Beaufort     Bar,
                                                                       along Shackelford and Bogue Banks, and
                      In 1982-83, weakfish accounted                   generally in <15 fathoms of water.
                for 59.6-85.1% of the flynet catches                   Effort was not as great as in the
                between Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout                 northern     areas,    primarily       because
                during November through March, with                    large   fish were       not as abundant.
                CPUE highest in November (11,443 kg)             45    Catches averaged from 13,804 kg/trip









              in 1982-83 to 15,603 kg/trip in 1984        -            The CPUE of weakfish in flynets
              85 with scrap composing 51.5-53.3%.                was highest in 1983-84 (7,598 kg/trip)
              respectively (Table 10).                           and lowest in 1984-85 (4,780 kg/trip)
                                                                 (Table 14).     The CPUE north of Cape
                                                                 Hatteras was highest in 1982-83 (5,746
                    Atlantic croaker,     weakfish, and          kg) and lowest in 1983-84 (2,900 kg)
              spot accounted for 94.9-98.3% of the               (Table 16).    Catches from Cape Lookout
              flynet    catches west    of Cape Lookout          to Cape Hatteras were high in both
              (Table 16).     Atlantic croaker accoun-           1982-83      and   1983-84     (8,131-8,712
              ted for 56.2% (8,759 kg/trip) to 60.1%             kg/trip),    but    declined   in   1984-85
              (6,573 kg/trip) in 1982-83 and 1984-               (6,217    kg/trip).      West     of    Cape
              85, respectively.     Spot made up 20 and          Lookout, catches were higher during
              22% and averaged 2,237 and 3,443 kg/               1984-85 than 1982-83; however, sample
              trip in 1982-83 and 1984-85, respec-               sizes during the first two seasons
              tively, while weakfish accounted for               were limited.     The weighted seasonal
              14.3-16.8%.    The one catch sampled in            mean catch of weakfish for flynet
              1983-84 was 70% weakfish (4,589 kg)                catches north of Cape Lookout averaged
              and 28.0% Atlantic croaker (1,837 kg).             7,435 kg in 1982-83, 6,387 kg in 1983-
                                                                 84, and 5,552 kg in 1984-85, and
                                                                 corresponded      with reduced trawler
                    Monthly trends cannot be des-                landings in northern ports (Table 18).
              cribed since only in 1984-85 were                  The reduced landings are, to an un-
              sampled obtained in more than two                  known    but   considerable    extent,     a
              months    (Table    17).    This     fishery       result of reduced flynet effort the
              generally occurs from November through             last two     seasons, due to decreased
              April, with greatest activity during               prices/lb ($0.40 in 1982-83; $0.27 in
              January-March.     Atlantic croaker were           1983-84; $0.33 in 1984-85) and gear
              the   dominant     fish   in   all    months       conflicts with ocean gill nets in the
              sampled (49.2-66.0%) in 1982-83 and                Cape Hatteras area.
              1984-85.    Weakfish and spot were        the
              next two most important species in all                   The    seasonal   availability      of
              catches west of Cape Lookout during                weakfish was similar in each region
              this study.                                        (Figure 10).     North of Cape Hatteras,
                                                                 catches were generally small          (about
                                                                 1,800-5,700 kg/trip)      in October and
              Weakfish                                           November, peaked in January (10,608 kg
                                                                 in 1983; 12,988 kg/trip in 1985) and
                    Winter trawl landings of weakfish            declined thereafter. Catches of large
              declined during the three fishing sea-             11sow" trout (weakfish >600 mm TQ and
              sons while overall state landings were             bluefish     occurred   in   April     1985.
              highest in 1983-84 and lowest in 1984-             Fishing effort and catches between
              85 (Table 1).    The fishery's contribu-           Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout were
              tion to total state weakfish landings              greatest     during    November     through
              decreased from 59.2% to 37.2% (6.7 to              March, with declines (1984-85) likely
              3.9 million lb) during this period,                related, in part, to shifting effort
              while at the same time, ocean gill net             (ie.,    to    flounder     in   December).
              landings steadily increased.        Landings       Weakfish     landings   in   the   northern
              in northern ports declined from 3.8                ports    peaked   in   December-March     in
              million lb in 1982-83 to 2.3 million               1982-83, January-March in 1984, and
              lb in 1984-85, while in southern ports             January-March in 1985 (Figure 10).
              landings were highest in 1983-84 (3.7              Landings     in  southern    ports,    which
              million lb) and lowest in 1984-85 (1.5             included     catches    north     of    Cape
              million  .lb) (Table 18).                     46   Lookout, were greatest during January-










                 Table 18. Predominant marketed fish captured in the 1982-1985 winter trawl fishery, including total landings (Pounds) percent of total state
                             landings (Percent) and value in dollars.          These data are partitioned by areas where fish were landed with:               North including Dare
                             (Wanchese and Hatteras), Hyde (Englehard), Beaufort (Belhaven), and Pamlico (Bayboro) counties; and South including Craven,
                             Carteret (Morehead-Beaufort), Onslow and Brunswick counties.



                                                                 1982-83                                          1983-84                                         1984-85
                 Species                             Pounds       Percent       Value                Pounds       Percent         Value              Pounds      Percent         Value


                 Croaker                North        604,888       6.13      $ 235,824               221,826       2.72    $    88,065            1,202,975       11.59   $      260,420
                                        South        600,984       6.10        213,008               8322486      10.21        284,128            1,793,663       17.29          478,234


                                        Total     1,205,872       12.23      $ 498,832            1,054,312       12.93    $   372,193            2,996,638       28.88   $      738,654


                 Spot                   North         15,775       0.32      $    3,879               12,793       0.42    $       1,832              16,992       0.49   $        2,959
                                        South         63,031       1.29      $  14,645               1391752       4,57    $    26,760                92,825       2.70   $      20,591

                                        Total         78,806       1.61      $  18,524               152,545       4.99    $    28,592               109,817       3.18   $      23,550

                 Weakfish               North     3,849,455       33,82      $1,680,359           2,404,519       19.88    $   771,821            2,307,627       22.14          864,583
                                        South     2,923,404       25.68      1,058,710            3,635,948       30.06        388,118            1,571,837       15.08          432,205
             4
                                        Total     6,772,859       59.50      $2,739,069           6,040,467       49.94    $1,659,939             3,879,464       37.22   $ 1,296,788


                 Bluefish               North     1,275,668       16.68      $ 150,601               635,032      17.80    $    95,480               595,583      20.09   $      95,507
                                        South     2,639,254       34.50        241,953               389,281      10.91         39,892               196,313       6.62          18,853


                                        Total     3,914,922       51.18      $ 392,554            1,024,313       28.71    $   135,392               791,896      26.71   $      114,410


                 Flounder               North     4,559,884       52.10      $2,799,136           9,499,033       71.49    $4,993,132             10,100,341      71.56   $   7,207,215
                                        South     1,841,429       21.04      1,012,903            1,027,851        7.74        540,613            1,330,078        9.42          884,977


                                        Total     6,401,313       73.14      $3,812,039           10,510,526      79.23    $5,533,795             11,430,419      80.98   $   8,092,192

                 Kingfish               North         34,054       7.68      $    9,939               20 954       5.09    $      7,004               35,037       6.06   $      10,716
                                        South         82,428      18.59         28,187                35:974       8.73         12,472               136,175      23.56          .53,651

                                        Total        116,482      26.27      $  38,126                56,928      13.82    $    19,476               171,212      29.62   $      @64,367


                 Seabass                North        156,004      33.27      $ 125,962               585,195      59.58    $   382,102               788,846      76.77   $      564,687
                                        South             644      0.14              550                  906      0.09              544              10,623       0.89            9,466


                                        Total        156,648      33.41      $ 126,512               586,101      59.67    $   382,646               799,469      66.66   $      514,153












                 Table 18. (continued).



                                                             1982-83                                       1983-84                                       1984-85
                 Species                          Pounds     Percent        Value             Pounds     Percent        Value              Pounds     Percent        Value


                 Scup (porgies)       North       670,410     46.20    $ 287,330            1,051,4B6      57.14    $ 474,428              586,509      62.69   $   329,752
                                      South             81     0.01              34                 148     0.01             44               2,003      0.18         1,387


                                      Total       670,491     46.21    $   287,364          1,061,734      57.15    $ 474,472              588,512      52.87   $   331,139


                 Squid                North       161,772     92.28    $    58,158            628 449      97.52    $   92,001             758,588      83.83   $   153,798
                                      South          4,024     2.30           1,210             13:268      2.08         4,067              28,673       3.17         7,945

                                      Total       165,796     94.58    $    59,368            641,717      99.60    $   96,968             787,261      87.00   $   161,743


                 Butterfish           North       116,490     39.08    $    27,831              73 265     62.97    $   27,812              87,019      49.28   $    35,123
                                      South        47,397     15,90          8,015              10:127      8.70         2,668              27,094      15.34         5,693

                                      Total       163,887     54.98    $    35,846              83,392     71.67    $   30,480             114,113      64.42   $    40,816


           cc)   Harvestfish          North        10,296      2.35    $      1,990              6,816      3.07    $    1,023                     -                        -
                                      South        65,133     14.88         11,106               83887      4.01         1,338              11,338       4.67   $     2,002


                                      Total        75,429     17.23    $    13,096              15,703      7.08    $    2,361              11,338       4.67   $     2,002


                 Scrap/bait           North       302,450      3.19    $    11,125            560 183       5.74    $   26,4455            449,323       4.34   $    12,742
                                      South      2,704,509    28.52         85,748          2,995:740      30.67        104,546           3,346,720     32.33       101,930

                                      Total      3,007,459    31.71    $    96,873          3,555,923      36.41    $   131,001           3,796,043     36.67   $   114,672


                 Totals               North     11,912,673    17.01    $5,464,240           16,837,457     23.30    $7,260,636           17,629,679     21.59   $  9,729,162
                                      South     10,942,548    15.62     2,744,891           9,130,613      12.64     1,921,804            8,602,962     10.54      2,036,540


                                      Total     22,855,221    32.63    $8,209,131           25,968,070     35.94    $9,182,440           26,232,641     32.13   $11,765,702












                                                                                 North
                                18- Weakfish - Fly net                        0 Central
                                                                              A South
                                16-
                         0             in = 5,746.4    in = 2,900.3          in = 5,053.6
                                                                             1 C = 6,217.3
                                1                      ic = 8,712.0
                                4      ic = 8,13 1.0
                                       is = 1, 560.7   is  4,589.8:  1.
                                12-

                                          %
                                10-

                                8-                                                      9-0

                                6.


                                4-


                                2



                                                                 I  I I F
                             1,400-                                              Northern
                                                                                 Southern
                         C)
                             1,200-

                             19000-

                             800

                         -2  600-

                             400-

                          E  200-
                          E
                                   S      D' J, F, M, 'A             M, A   S 0 N  D J  FM A
                                         1982-3               1983-4             1984-5
                                                        MONTH /   YEAR

                   Figure 10. Top:        Monthly mean total weight/trip of weakfish, Cynoscion
                                          regalis, in flynets by area fished (North = north of
                                          Cape Hatteras, Central = Cape Hatteras to Cape Lookout,
                                          South = west of Cape Lookout; x = mean weight/catch/
                                          season/area).
                                Bottom:   Commercial landings data for North Carolina winter trawl
                                          fishery, September 1982-April 1985, by ports where fish
                                          were landed (Northern     Dare, Hyde, Beaufort, Pamlico
                                          counties; Southern = Craven, Carteret, Onslow counties).

                                                       49











               March 1983,    January-April    1984, and          predominated, and December 1983 when a
               December-March 1985.                               large number of fish 401-500 mm TL and
                                                                  >600 mm TL were caught.        The highest
                    Most    of   the  weakfish      sampled       proportions of unmarketable fish were
               during     1982-84    (76.8-85.2%)      were       caught in November coinciding with the
               captured between Cape Hatteras and                 fall migration of age 0 weakfish out
               Cape Lookout.     In 1984-85, 48.5% were           of estuaries.       Percentages of fish
               captured north of    Cape Hatteras, 38.2%          <221 mm TL were lowest during December
               from Hatteras to Lookout and 13.3%                 when trawlers used flounder gear with
               west of Cape Lookout.                              larger tailbag mesh sizes.            Larger
                                                                  fish (>301 mm TQ usually did not
                    The size composition of weakfish              comprise    a   significant    portion     of
               in the winter trawl fishery varied                 catches until after November.
               slightly during the study (Figure
               11;  Table 19).       Weakfish were ex-                  Small    weakfish      were     caught
               ploited over a wide range of sizes                 earlier and south of larger weakfish
               (111-871 mm TQ, although fish 201-400              within a fishing season.           Weakfish
               mm dominated catches,      and their pro-          <300 mm TL were caught north of Cape
               portion increased from 85% to 94%.                 Hatteras in October, and in all areas
               Correspondingly, the number of medium              in   November    (Figure     12).     During
               and large weakfish (>400 mm) declined              December,     northern      catches     were
               from   5.2% to 1.1%.        Weakfish were          consistently dominated       (79-100%)     by
               marketable food fish at 220-230 mm TL              fish >300 mm TL, perhaps indicating
               (Sholar 1979).      The percentages of             the arrival of migratory stocks from
               unmarketable weakfish did not vary                 northern states, while 201-300 mm TL
               greatly from 1982-85 (12-16% <221 mm               weakfish predominated in the central
               TL).                                               and southern areas.       A large portion
                                                                  (40%) of the weakfish caught north of
                    Weakfish size composition differ-             Hatteras in December 1983 were >600 mm
               ed noticeably by region, although the              TL.  Weakfish 201-300 mm TL predomina-
               majority in all areas were 201 to 300              ted catches January through March, al-
               mm TL.     Fewer large weakfish were               though occasionally fish >300 mm TL
               caught west of Cape Lookout (Table 19;             would dominate north of Cape Lookout.
               Figure 12) as individuals <301 mm TL               Weakfish >600 mm TL were abundant
               constituted 86-99% of the catches,                 (18%) during January 1983 north of
               including    28-46%     unmarketable-sized         Hatteras and in central area         catches
               fish.   Fish 301-400 mm TL        made    up       one month later       (10%).   A high per-
               larger proportions of the weakfish in              centage of unmarketable-sized weakfish
               the  northern     and   central    regions.        (>25%) characterized catches west of
               Weakfish caught in northern and cen-               Cape Lookout during January-March.
               tral waters were     similar except that
               waters north of Cape Hatteras produced                  Weakfish ranged from age 0 to age
               more large     (>600 mm TL) weakfish,              XI,   although    age   I  fish    composed
               especially in 1982-83.        The percent-         72-77% of the catches. Age 0 weakfish
               ages of unmarketable weakfish were 2-              contributed 14-16% of winter trawl
               17% and 11-16% in the north and cen-               catches (Figure 13).      Age II weakfish
               tral  areas, respectively.                         constituted    8-11%    of  the    catches,
                                                                  while age III fish made up about 1%.
                                                                  Weakfish > age IV generally constitu-
                    Fish    201-300   mm TL      dominated        ted <1% of samples.          The relative
               catches during most months (Table 20),             abundance of age 0 through age IV
               the  exceptions     being   February     and       weakfish varied little each season
               March 1983 when 301-400 mm TL fish                 (Figure 13).      However, almost 2% of

                                                             50













                                                                    Ml Northern
                                                                    = Central
                           15-     Weakfish -Winter trawl           M Southern

                           12-                                   1982-83
                            9-                                    n = 6,816

                            6-

                            3-


                           12
                                                                 1983-84
                       Or   9
                       W                                          n  7j956
                       cr
                       U_   6-

                            3
                       U.1

                       Ck:
                       uj  12-
                                                                 1984-85
                                                                  n  9,613

                            6-

                            3-


                                  200      300      400      500      600      700     800
                                                    FORK LENGTH (mm)


                 Figure 11.  Expanded length-frequencies for weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, from
                             samples of September 1982-April 1985 winter trawl fishery by area
                             (Northern = north of Cape Hatteras, central = Cape Hatteras to
                             Cape Lookout, Southern = west of Cape Lookout); n = number of fish
                             measured.




                                                      51










          Table 19.    Size composition, overall and by geographic region, of weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, from 1982-1985 winter trawl samples.

                                                                                       Percent frequency/size class (TL, mm)/fishing season
                                                     101-200                   201-300                  301-400                 401-500               501-600                     >600
                                               82-     83-      84-        82-    83-    84-       82-   83-     84-      82-    83-     84-      82-    83-     84-       82-    83-    84-
                  Area                         83      84       85         83     84     85        83    84      85       83     84      85       83     84      85        83     84     85

          North of Cape Hatteras               0.0    11.6      3.6      47.2   84.3   81.4      37.9    2.9    13.0      7.5    0.6     1.3      0.6    0.1     0.3       6.8    0.5    0.4


          Cape Hatteras-Cape Lookout           10.8    5.7      4.8      72.3   61.7   69.9      12.6   29.7    24.9      2.6    2.5     0.3      0.1    0.4     0.1       1.6    0.0    0.0


          West of Cape Lookout                 8.5     0.0      5.8      90.9   86.2   91.4        0.6  13.8      2.8     0.0    0.0     0.0      0.0    0.0     0.0       0.0    0.0    0.0


          Overall (areas combined)             9.4     6.7      4.4      70.7   66.9   78.6      14.7   23.9    15.9      2.9    2.0     0.7      0.2    0.4     0.2       2.1    0.1    0.2








          Table 20. Monthly size composition of weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, from 1982-85 winter trawl samples.

      (n                                                                Percent frequency/size class (TL, W/fishing season
                        101-200                     201-300                   301-400                   401-500                 501-600                 >600                Unmarketable
                  8 2-     83-     84-         82-    83-      84-       82-    83-    84-       82-     83-    84-      82-    83-     84-      82-    83-     84-      82-     83-     84-
          Month 83         84      85          83     84      85         83     84     85        83      84     85       83     84      85       83     84      85       83      84      84


          Oct     0.0         -    0.2       98.1        -   91.1        1.9        -  8.4       0.0       -    0.1      0.0        -   0.1      0.0        -   0.1      10.4       -   0.9


          Nov     16.0    11.3     3.5       81.2    86.4    69.2        2.8    2.1    26.8      0.1    0.1     0.4      0.0    0.1     0.1      0.0    0.1     0.1      22.2    16.9  14.7


          Dec     0.3      0.0     0.4       83.4     0.2    88.8       13.8    6.2    5.4       1.8    44.0    3.6      0.3    9.8     1.4      0.4    39.8    0.4      1.5     0.0    3.6


          Jan     6.9      0.6     4.2       73.7    51.4    84.2       13.8   38.8    11.4      2.8    7.7     0.2      0.1    1.4     0.1      2 . 7  0.1     0.1      17.6    2.9   19.4


          Feb     4.7      11.6    4.6       20.0    52.3    65.0       62.6   36.1    29.2      12.9   0.1     1.0      .0.8   0.1     0.1      9.0    0.1     0.1      9.9     20.0   6.5


          Mar     0.0      2.0     8.6       12.2    85.9    73.1       73.4   11.3    16.6      14.3   0.7     1.4      0.0    0.1     0.3      0.1    0.1     0.1      0.0     6.6   27.7


          Apr         -       -    0.3           -       -   82.5            -      -  14.1         -      -    0.3         -       -   0.2          -      -   2.6          -      -   3.3













                                                            18.2-f 21.4                                                                                 1 9
                                                            15-    16.2                Weokfish       Winter trawl                                         18.9        Oct 1984
                                                                              Oct 1982                               W Northern                                        n   1,080
                                                            9-                      n168                             = Central
                                                                                                                     M Southern

                                                            3

                                                            16.3-1-                                           20.7
                                                                                    Nov                                           Nov 1983                                 Nov
                                                                              n     315                                           n2,653                               n   1,321





                                                                                                                                                        19.7
                                                                                    Dec                                           Dec                                      Dec
                                                                              n = 830                                             n = 332                              n   : 853
                                                            9.


                                                            3


                                                            15-
                                                     OF
                                                            9-                Jon 1983                                            Jon 1984                             Jon 1985
                                                     U-                       n     1,993                                         n2369                                n - 2,823

                                                            3.


                                                     a_
                                                                                    Feb                                           Feb                                      Feb
                                                            9-                n     2,134                                         n1, 587                              n   1,419

                                                            3
                                                                                                      A                                       '
                                                                                                               617.6
                                                            15.                     Mar                                           Mar                                      Mar
                                                                              n     24                                            n1,013                               n   1,678
                                                            9-                                                                                    iY1 N
                                                                        L


                                                                                                      260   360    460  560       660 7oo 860
                                                                                    Apr         25.0                                         15                            Apr
                                                                              n     16                                                                                 n   439
                                                            9-                                                                               9




                                                            200   300 400 500 600        700 800                                                200 300 400 500 600 700 800
                                                                                                             FORK LENGTH (mm)


                              Figure 12.              Monthly expanded length-frequencies for weakfish, Cynoscion
                                                      regalis, from samples of September 1982-April 1985 winter trawl
                                                      fishery by area (Northern = north of Cape Hatteras, Central = Cape
                                                      Hatteras to Cape Lookout, Southern = west of Cape Lookout); n
                                                      number of fish measured.






                                                                                                       53





                                 Weakfish - Winter trawl
                            24
                             18-                                  1982-83.        Numberof
                             15-                                  n = 6,816       Annuli
                                                                                M          0
                             12-                                                           1
                              9-                                                M          2
                                                                                M          3
                              6-                                                ED         4
                              3-                                                EIM        5-@


                             18
                        :z                                        1983-84
                        w    15-
                        Cy                                        n  71956
                        Uj   12-

                              9-

                              6-
                        Uj
                              3
                        Uj


                             21-
                             18-                                  1984-85
                             15-                                  n = 91613

                             12-

                              9-

                              6-

                              3-


                                       200     300 -400         500      600     700
                                                   TOTAL LENGTH (mm)

                  Figure 13. Expanded age composition of weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, in winter
                              trawl catches sampled September 1982-April 1985.

                                                    54










              the weakfish in 1982-83 were age 5 or                This    corresponded      with      increased
              older, whereas the next two seasons                  catches    overall     in  Chesapeake      Bay
              <0.2% of the weakfish were age V or                  which likely contributed a significant
              older.                                               component of the fish available to
                                                                   this fishery (DeVries 1986). Similar-
                    Age groups      overlapped consider-           ly, catches west of Cape Lookout were
              ably in size.      Age 0 weakfish ranged             greatest in 1984-85.
              from 110 to 259 mm TL, with most being
              190-259 mm TL (Figure 13).        Age I fish               Seasonal patterns in catches of
              ranged from 110 to 519 mm TL, with the               Atlantic croaker varied among areas
              majority 230-289 mm TL, and those age                (Figure 14, Table 17).       North of Cape
              II ranged from 250 to 599 mm TL, but                 Hatteras,    catches    were    largest     in
              most were 280-369 mm TL.            Age III          October and November;         between Cape
              weakfish were 310-699 mm TL, with most               Hatteras and Cape Lookout, catches
              320-419   mm TL. The ranges for the re-              were largest in November each year but
              maining age groups were:          Age IV -           exceeded 1,300 kg/trip in January
              310-739   mm TL; age V - 610-819 mm TL;              March and December 1984 and Februar;
              age VI    - 650-819 mm TL; age VII -                 1985.     In general,     catches in the,.
              690-819   mm TL; age VIII - 710-859 mm               northern area occurred before those
              TL; age IX - 600-871 mm TL; age X -                  south of Cape Hatteras.         Landings in
              710-819   mm TL; and age XI - 810-871 mm             northern ports were highest in October
              TL.                                                  and November when           this was the
                                                                   primary target species, and low the
              Atlantic Croaker                                     remainder of the season. West of Cape
                                                                   Lookout catches of Atlantic croaker
                     The    winter      trawl       fishery        occurred in February       and March 1983
              accounted for 12.2 and 12.9% of the                  and   November-January and March 1984-
              Atlantic croaker landings in          1982-83        85.   Landings in southern ports gener-
              and 1983-84 and 28.9% in 1984-85;                    ally  increased through December-Febru-
              landings increased from around one                   ary,  then declined.
              million lb the first two seasons to
              nearly three million lb in 1984-85,                        Atlantic croaker in the winter
              corresponding      with    higher     overall        trawl samples ranged from 120 to 475
              state landings (Table     1).   Landings in          mm TL and    annually, from 154-475 mm,
              the northern ports were lowest during                138-420 mm and 120-373 mm during the
              1983-84 (221,826 lb) and highest in                  successive     1982/83-1984-85        seasons
              1984-85    (1.2 million lb);         landings        with modes   around 245-255 mm, 205-220
              increased from 0.6 to 1.8 million lb                 mm,   and    220-230    mm,     respectively
              in the southern ports during the study               (Figure 15). The mode declined consi-
              (Table 18).                                          derably after the 1982-83 season, as
                                                                   evidenced by the annual proportions of
                    The average catch of Atlantic                  unmarketable-size croaker (<225 mm
              croaker by flynets          (all  areas com-         TL)--24.5%     in    1982-83,     63.1%     in
              bined) increased from 2,343 kg/trip in               1983-84, and 57.2% in 1984-85.
              1982-83 to 5,190 kg in 1984-85 (Table
              14), corresponding with state land-                        Monthly length frequency distri-
              ings.    Catches were largest north of               butions of Atlantic croaker were uni-
              Hatteras in 1982-83 and between Cape                 modal every month except November and
              Hatteras and Cape Lookout in 1984-85                 December 1982 and February 1985, when
              (Figure 14, Table 16).         The seasonal          they were bimodal (Figure 16). Through
              mean CPUE north of Cape Lookout was                  November, most fish were about 200-275
              1,815 kg in 1982-83, 2,128 kg in 1983-               mm TL, after which some as small            as
              84, and 3,927 kg in 1984-85.                         150 mm were common and modes tended to

                                                              55









                                        Croaker          Flynet
                            16-                                 0
                                  iNz 5,253.1                                     'N=31432.0
                            14-   ic= 399.5                                       ic=41588.3
                       C:)      . is  6,573.0             iN=   9003              is 8,758.8
                            12-                           3C =2,946.6
                                                          is= 1,837.1                  Oil
                            10-
                      e-
                                                                North
                             8-
                                                                Central
                                                                South
                      Cj     6-

                             4-
                                                                                         q
                             2-                                      A
                                                                                                 t



                          600-
                       CD                                       North
                                                       A ---- A South                         A
                          500-

                          400-
                          300'

                          200-

                                                %
                                       A         %
                           100-         %%       %IL                       %%                      %IL
                      E         -                  %            lie
                                    A
                      E
                                       N' D J F M A       S 0 N* D     F M A      S    N D J F M A
                                       1982-3                   1983-4                 1984-5
                                                          MONTH / YEAR




                    Figure 14.    Monthly mean total weight/trip of Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias
                                                                                  - - LA.''

                                  undulatus, in flynets by area fished and commercial landings data
                                  for North Carolina winter trawl fishery, September 1982-April
                                  1985, by ports where fish were landed. Area fished and ports
                                  landed designations are the same as in Figure 10.

                                                           56








                           12    Croaker - Winter trawl
                           10        M Northern                                  1982-83
                            8-       r-I Central                               n     21985
                            6-       CM Southern

                            4-
                                                          ML
                            2.


                           12-
                                                                                 1983-84
                                                                                n    3,458
                       Uj   8-
                       U_   6-

                       z    4-
                       Ui
                       U
                       cr_  2-
                       LU
                       CL
                           10-                                                   1984-85
                                                                                n   10,935
                            8-

                            6-

                            4-

                            2-


                                  100         150        200         250        300         350
                                               TOTAL LENGTH (mm)

                 Figure 15.   Expanded length-frequencies for Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias
                              undulatus, from samples of September 1982-April 1985 winter trawl
                                                          o@4











                              fishery by area (Northern = north of Cape Hatteras, Central      Cape
                              Hatteras to Cape Lookout, Southern = west of Cape Lookout); n
                              number of fish measured. 57









                                                                                                                                                                                                            15        Sep 1984
                                                                                                                                                                                                            10        n-557
                                                                                            Crooke(            Winter fmwl                             M Northern                                           5
                                                                                                                                                       C:] Cenlrol
                                                                                           Oct 1982                                                    W Southern                                                     Oct
                                                                                  10,                                                                                                                                 n - 1496



                                                                                           Nor                                                         Nov 1983                                                       Nov
                                                                                  10.      n-1247                                                      n * 149                                                        n - 2218


                                                                                           n?ec                                                                                                                       n :Dec
                                                                                  10        185                                                                                                                       1021
                                                                            U



                                                                            Cr
                                                                                           ion 1983                                                    ion 1984                                                       Jon 1985
                                                                                  'o.                                                                                                                                 n. 2129
                                                                                           ft. 907                                                     n - 727                                                                    ate&'
                   UI
                   00

                                                                                           Feb                                                         Feb                                                            Feb
                                                                                  10-      01520                                                       n-151                                                          n- 1028



                                                                                           100 125 ISO 1    200 225         2); 360 3h 3@0'
                                                                                                                                                       Mar                                                            Mor
                                                                                                                                                       n - 1159                                                       n -1562



                                                                                                                                                                               is _60 05 s6o 3@s 3'50
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Apt
                                                                                                                                                                                                            10        n - 324


                                                                                                                                                                                                            5


                                                                                                                                                                                                                      00 Q5 160 IM 2 0 2 5 2          2 5        325
                                                                                                                                                                    FORK CENGTH (mm)


                              Figure 16. Monthly expanded length-frequencies for Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus, from samples
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      @el
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      10


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      2.0 2 1*11 211 -1%

                                                            ofSeptember 1982-April 1985 winter trawl fishery by area (Northern = north of Cape Hatteras,
                                                            Cehtral = Cape Hatteras to Cape Lookout, Southern = west of Cape Lookout); n = number of fish
                                                            measured.










              decrease. For instance, croaker caught           million lb in 1984-85; their contribu-
              north of Cape Hatteras      in September         tion to the total state bluefish land-
              and October included very few fish               ings decreased from 51.2% to 26.7%.
              <200 mm TL.      This decrease in the            Landings of bluefish       statewide    de-
              lower limit of the size distribution             creased from 7.6 million lb in 1982-83
              in December or January may reflect a             (the highest on record) to 3.0 million
              later migration of the smaller fish              lb in 1984-85 (Table 1).      Landings in
              from   the   estuaries.     The   monthly        northern and southern ports       declined
              length frequencies from the long haul            considerably, particularly between the
              fishery, which show the larger croaker           first two    fishing seasons; landings
              disappearing after August or September           in southern ports exceeded northern
              and the smaller, presumably age 0 fish           ports in 1982-83 but were less than
              still present in October, add credence           half that of northern ports the last
              to this hypothesis.                              two seasons (Table 18).

                   Age/length relationships indica-
              ted  that   Atlantic    croaker   in    the           The CPUE of bluefish was highest
              winter trawl     fishery     ranged    from      in 1982-83 (2,635 kg)      and lowest in
              ages 0 to V in the 1982-83 season and            1983-84 (198 kg)    (Table 14).     Catches
              0 to IV the      following two seasons           were   considerably greater north        of
              (Figure 17).     Ages I-III croaker com-         Cape Lookout than south, where they
              prised 99% of the samples, with age II           averaged     <100   kg/trip   (Table    16;
              fish dominating in 1982-83 and age I             Figure 18).   The CPUE of bluefish were
              fish  more   prevalent    the   next    two      greatest in both areas north of Cape
              seasons.   The almost complete absence           Lookout    in   1982-83    (north:    2,593
              of age 0 fish is a result of the                 kg/trip; central: 1,225 kg/trip) and
              October birthdate (Ross 1989), so that           lowest in 1983-84 (north: 138 kg;
              age I fish in winter trawl samples are           central: 254 kg).
              the same group identified as age 0 in
              the long haul and pound net samples
              from the previous summer and fall                     Flynet catches of bluefish were
              (Ross et al. 1986).     The age composi-         sporadic even during their peak season
              tion  data also suggested that a sub-            due to the schooling nature of the
              stantial    shift   in    age    structure       fish and its fluctuating marketability
              occurred in 1982, as evidenced by the            (Table 17; Figure 18).      This was, in
              large declines in proportions of age             part,  the reason that      no "bluefish
              II  and    age   III  croaker    and    the      catches"    were  sampled    in    1983-84.
              doubling in the proportion of age I              During   1982-83,    the   average    catch
              fish between the 1982-83 and 1983-84             north of Cape Hatteras was highest in
              seasons.   This shift probably resulted          January, while south of Hatteras it
              from the recruitment of a very large             was highest     in  February and April
              1983 year class seen during Spring               (Figure 18).    In 1984-85, catches were
              1983 in the DMF estuarine trawl survey           highest south of Hatteras in March and
              (DeVries 1986) and as indicated in               north of Hatteras in April. Generally     ,
              landings during January-April         1984,      large bluefish were caught          between
              which were double the previous year's            Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout through
              landings each month.                             the winter, around Diamond Shoals in
                                                               March and north to Wimble Shoals and
                                                               off Oregon Inlet in April. Commercial
              Bluefish                                         landings in both areas generally in-
                                                               creased through the fishing season,
              Trawler  landings of bluefish declined           with landings greatest from February
              from 3.9 million lb in 1982-83 to 0.8            through April (Figure 18).

                                                          59








                                         10   Croaker      Winter trawl
                                              M Age 0                          1982-83
                                              = Age                            n = 2,985
                                                  Age
                                              M AgeIII
                                              ** Age IV
                                          5-  ***Age V






                                         to


                                                                               1983-84
                                     LU                                        n    3,458

                                     Cy
                                     LU

                                     U-
                                          5-



                                     C--)
                                     cr_
                                     LU
                                     CL





                                         to-


                                                                               1984-85
                                                                               n = 101935



                                          5-





                                              100     150     200      2k      366 - '350
                                                       TOTAL LENGTH (mm)

                          Figure 17. Expanded age composition of Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias
                                           undulatus, in winter trawl catches sampled September 1982- April
                                           1985.



                                                                       60











                                  Bluefish - Flynet                                   9,000
                           9
                    CD
                                                                    N o r t h
                     01    6-                                 o...... o Central
                                                                    South
                           5-

                           4
                                i  2,593.1           i =   137.8         i = 2,336.9
                             -  -N                    N                   N
                                XC =3,100.7.         ic = 254.0          ic = 1,225.6
                                     94.0:           is =   0            is =   49.6
                           3-   is z

                           2-



                                                            .4
                        1,200

                    P0
                    CI                                              North
                        700-                                        South

                        600-

                        500-

                    -2  400-

                        300-

                     CL)
                     E  200-
                     E
                    UO    100


                                S 0 N D J F M A S 0 N D J F M A S 0 N 0 J F M A
                                    1982-3               1983-4             1984-5
                                                     MONTH / YEAR

                   Figure 18.   Monthly mean total weight/trip of   bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix,
                                in flynets by area fished and commercial landings data for North
                                Carolina winter trawl fishery, September 1982-April 1985, by ports
                                where fish were landed. Area fished and ports landed designations
                                are the same as in Figure 10.





                                                       61









                   Catches   north of Cape Hatteras           season, with larger fish (>500 mm FL)
              accounted for the greatest proportion           first appearing in late          November-
              (63.6-76.1%) of bluefish during the             December and most abundant in March-
              1983/84 and 1984/85 seasons, while              April (Figure 20, Table 22). In 1982-
              more were observed in catches from              83 small   fish (200-400 mm) were domi-
              Hatteras to Lookout (72.6%) in 1982-            nant from October to March, with the
              83.   Less that 1.0% of the bluefish            smallest of these caught south of Cape
              in the catches sampled were caught              Hatteras;   larger fish (>400 mm FL)
              west of Cape Lookout.    The decline in         were caught in December,        and were
              flynetting activity after 1982-83 in            dominant south of Hatteras in February
              the  central area was probably respon-          and April .   In 1983-84, fish 150-350
              sible for the decline in catches of             mm   FL  dominated    catches   north    of
              bluefish   sampled    the    latter    two      Hatteras in November, after which fish
              seasons.                                        250-450 mm FL occurred in catches
                                                              north and south of Cape Hatteras.
                   Although captured by all trawl             Fish >500 mm first appeared in Novem-
              gears   off  North   Carolina,     flynets      ber and were prevalent in December,
              generally produced the preponderance            February and March catches. Similarly
              of bluefish.    North of Cape Hatteras          in 1984-85 small bluefish (200-350 mm
              91.4 and 80.4% of the bluefish sampled          FL) dominated catches north and south
              in 1982-83 and 1984-85 were caught in           of Cape Hatteras through February.
              flynets, while in 1983-84 58.7 and              Large bluefish (500-850 mm FL) first
              32.7% were caught in deepwater and              appeared in catches in November, were
              nearshore flounder trawls, respecti-            abundant north of Hatteras in Decem-
              vely.   From Cape Hatteras south, 90.7-         ber, and dominated catches south of
              100% were caught in flynets.      Only in       Hatteras in March and north of Hat-
              1983-84 were more bluefish sampled              teras in April.
              from a gear other than flynets in any
              one area.


                   Bluefish    captured     by    winter            Several    seasonally     persistent
              trawlers encompassed a broad range of           spatial -temporal patterns in bluefish
              sizes reflecting the importance of the          size    distribution     were     observed
              Cape  Hatteras   area as    a wintering         (Figure 20, Table 22).        First, the
              ground (Wilk 1977).    They ranged from         occurrence of fish 101-400 mm in all
              170 to 831 mm FL in 1982-83, 155-844            areas;   second,   fish >400 mm were
              mm FL in    1983-84   and 161-861 mm FL         caught north of Cape Lookout each
              in 1984-85 (Figure 19).       Small fish        year; and finally, large fish (>600
              (201-400 mm FL) dominated (82.2%)               mm)    accounted     for   the     largest
              1982-83 catches with large fish (>600           proportion of the catches north of
              mm FL) contributing 8.7% of the fish            Cape Hatteras.     The fluctuations in
              sampled (Table 21).     Bluefish 101-400        relative abundance of the different
              mm FL dominated the catches (79.2%) in          size classes in the different areas
              1983-84 ' while fish >600 mm FL contri-         from year to year, together with
              buted 8.0%.    Large bluefish were more         varying fishing patterns in search of
              prevalent in 1984-85; fish <400 mm              the more lucrative croaker and trout,
              accounted for only 60.2% and fish >600          will influence the size distribution
              mm FL accounted for 30.7%; the rela-            of bluefish captured. In the past few
              tive abundance of fish 301-400 mm FL            years, the only consistent flynetting
              decreased.                                      specifically aimed at bluefish oc-
                                                              curred each year in March-April north
                   Small bluefish (200-450 mm FL)             of Hatteras and in mid-winter south of
              were captured throughout the fishing            Cape Hatteras in 1982-83.

                                                          62











                        9-   Bluefish        Winter trawl                          Northern
                                                                                   Central
                        6-                                      1982-83      M Southern
                                                               n    3,506
                        3



                       12-
                                                                1983-84
                        9-                                     n   11 274
                  Er'   6-

                        3-
                  ULJ


                       12-
                                                               1984-85
                        9-                                     n = 11594

                        6

                        3-


                            100      200 300 400               500      600      700 800
                                                 -FORK LENGTHImm)

                     Figure 19.  Expanded length-frequencies for bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix,
                                 from samples of September 1982-April 1985 winter trawl fishery by,
                                 area (Northern = north of Cape Hatteras, Central = Cape Hatteras
                                 to Cape Lookout, Southern = west of Cape Lookout); n = number of
                         L













































                                 fish measured.



                                                     63










              Table 21. Size composition of bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix captured by North
                          Carolina winter trawlers, 1982-1985 in all areas combined.

                                                            Percent frequency/size class
                                        101-      201-      301-      401-       501-     601-
              Season                    200       300       400       500        600      700      >700_

              1982-83                     2.2     49.7      32.5       3.0       3.9       4.0      4.7
              1983-84                   31.8      20.5      26.9      11.3       1.5       5.3      2.7
              1984-85                     8.9     45.3        6.0      1.2       7.9       8.0    22.7




              Table 22. Size composition of bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, sampled         from the
                          winter trawl fishery north of Cape Hatteras (NoTth), Cape Hatteras
                          to Cape Lookout (Central), and west of Cape Lookout (South) during
                          the 1982/83 - 1984/85 seasons.

                                                    Percent frequency/size class (FL, mm)
                                    Catches    101-    201-   301-    401-    501-   601-
              Season   Area         sampled    200     300    400     500     600    700      >700

              1982-83  North           4               12.5   82.0     3.5     0.4    0.6     1.0
                       Central        17         1.2   71.6    4.9     2.9     6.1    6.2     7.1
                       South          13       50.0    50.0


              1983-84  North           4       48.0    27.6    6.0     5.8     2.2    6.8     3.6
                       Central        12                6.5   68.2    21.9     0.1    2.3     1.0
                       South           1


              1984-85  North          16         1.3   27.0    7.9     2.3     15.4  10.1     36.0
                       Central        11       10.3    65.8    5.0     0.1            7.4     11.4
                       South           9       38.9    60.8    0.6




              Table 23. Mean fork length (mm) at age for bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix
                          sampled during the 1982/83 -1984/85 winter trawl fishery seasons,
                          including number of fish aged (N) and range of FL/age class.

                               1982-83                   1983-84                 1984-85
                              Mean                     Mean                     Mean
                Age     N     FL       Range     N       FL     Range     N      FL       Range

                 0     122    269.7   194-346    71    255.6   152-312    62    275.4     216-350
                 1      83    389.1   274-508    50    396.2   273-461    97    403.7     333-488
                11      41    543.9   481-607    16    484.4   341-355    24    538.5     475-591
                111     12    614.8   569-652    17    620.7   523-655    20    595.8     527-667
                IV      26    684.2   635-725    25    672.4   631-710    11    682.0     564-744
                 V      15    720.0   685-753     9    721.8   698-758    38    720.9     658-778
                V1       3    745.0   720-769     9    760.6   728-792    24    759.7     730-815
                VII      5    791.8   777-813     6    794.8   732-819    23    771.4     728-811
              VIII       2    844.5   820-869     3    813.3   795-831     8    812.5     772-845
                Ix                                                         1    840.0
                 x                                1    842.0               1    805.0
                xi                                                         2    839.0     823-855


                                                           64




















                                                                                                                                                                            43
                                                                                                                                                                           29-           Sep 1984
                                                                                                                       Northern                                       15                   n=
                                                                                                                       Central                                        9
                                                                 8luefish        Winter trawl                     M Southern

                                                               15                                 Oct 1982                                                            15  1-32             Oct
                                                                                                  n=112                                                                                  n=45
                                                               9-                                                                                                     9


                                                               3-                                                                                                     3


                                                               15-                                                            21
                                                                                                  Nov                           a                 Nov 1983                                 Nov
                                                               9-                                 n =606                                          n=549                                  n-203


                                                               3-

                                                               15                                                                                                          -22.6
                                                                                                  Dec                                               Dec                                    Dec
                                                               9-                                 n 346                                           n = 173                                n = 307

                                                               3-
                                                                                                                                      Jill..
                                                        LU
                                                               15-                                Jon 1983                                        Jon 1984                               Jon 1985
                                                               -                                  n = 1,083                                       n=234                                  n z 214
                                                               9-


                                                        Cr
                                                        Uj     3-
                                                        CL                                                                                fln

                                                               15-                                Feb                                               Feb                                    Feb
                                                                                                  n=944                                           n= 186                                 n = 155
                                                               9-


                                                                                                  Mar                                               Mar                                    Mar
                                                               9-                                 n = 217                                         n= 124                                 n = 169


                                                               15                                 Apr               160 260      360 400 500 600 700 800                                   Apr
                                                               9-                                 nmI98                                                                                  n = 364

                                                               3-
                                                                                                      BOA a                                                                  21
                                                                 i6o 260 30'0 @460 500 600 700 800                       FORK LENGTH (nnnt)                              260 360 40"0      560 660 700 860

                                       Figure 20.                  Monthly expanded length-fr'equencies for bluefish, Pomatomus
                                                                   saltatrix, from samples of September 1982-April 1985 winter                                                                              trawl
                                                                   fishery by area (Northern = north of Cape Hatteras, Central                                                                              = Cape
                                                                   Hatteras to Cape Lookout, Southern                                                    west of Cape Lookout);                             n
                                                                   number of fish measured.







                                                                                                                        65










                    Winter trawlers captured bluefish           frequently to determine any patterns.
              age   0 to X1 although age 0 fish con-            Landings from southern ports were high
              stituted 52.7-58.5% of the catches                in November and during January to
              (Figure 21; Table 22).       Age 0 and I          April in 1982-83,     December    to April
              fish   dominated    catches    in   1982-84       in 1983-84, and November to February
              (87.7%-88.8%) with only a few age IV              in 1984-85.
              or older fish (7.0% and 5.6%).            In
              1984-85 age 0 fish were still dominant                  Spot ranged from 93 to 308 mm FL,
              (52.7%), but age I fish were much less            although most were 135 to 195 mm;
              abundant and fish age IV or older                 annual modes were between 155-180 mm
              bluefish accounted for 30.7% of the               (Figure    23).    Annually,    spot were
              fish sampled.     Table 23 presents the           124-252 mm     FL   during   the    1982-83
              average size/age of      bluefish in the          season, 118-242 mm during 1983-84, and
              winter trawl fishery.                             93-308 mm during 1984-85. Very large
                                                                proportions--84.8, 67.6, and 78.2%--
              spot                                              were less than the minimum marketable
                                                                size of 180 mm FL during the respec
                    Trawlers account   for only a small         tive seasons; almost all the remainder
              fraction    (1.6-5.0%)   of the state's           --14.5, 31.3,     and 20.9%--were in the
              spot landings,       and southern      ports      sometimes-marketable 180-199 mm size
              account    for the greatest portion.              range.    During the same seasons spot
              Trawler landings were highest in 1983-            >200 mm FL made up only 0.7, 1.1, and
              84 and lowest in 1982-83, while over-             1.0% of the catches.
              all state landings were highest in
              1982-83 (4.9 million lb) and lowest in                  Monthly size distributions of
              1983-84 (3.1 million lb) (Table 1).               spot were singularly unimodal every
              Landings in northern ports ranged from            month during all three fishing seasons
              12,000   to   17,000    lb/season,    while       in all three areas (Figure 24). Ranges
              southern ports    ranged from 63,000 to           and modes of the size distributions
              139,000 lb/season (Table 18).                     were very similar every month, with no
                                                                indication of recruitment of different
                    CPUE of spot ranged from 369 kg/            sizes or growth of the original fish
              trip in 1982-83 to 1,391 kg/trip in               occurring     from    September     through
              1984-85 (Table 14). This increase was             April.    The only exception to this
              seen in all      areas.   North of Cape           uniformity was a slight (about 15 mm)
              Hatteras catches were lowest in 1983-             decrease in the mode between October
              84 (80 kg) and highest    in 1984-85 (356         and November in 1982 and 1984 and
              kg);   Cape Hatteras to Cape Lookout              between November and December in 1983.
              catches increased from 112 kg/trip in
              1982-83 to 1,062 kg/trip in 1984-85;                    Although   the    length    frequency
              catches west of Cape Lookout were                 distributions were unimodal over a
              lower   in   1982-83    (2,237   kg)    than      narrow range of sizes, suggesting the
              1984-85 (3,443 kg) (Table 16, Figure              dominance of one age group, analysis
              22).                                              of scale data indicated that two age
                                                                classes, 0 and I, comprised the vast
                    North of Cape Hatteras and from             majority of the samples (Figure 25).
              Cape  Hatteras to Cape Lookout, catches           These two respective      age groups made
              of spot were largest in November and              up 47.7 and 49.6% of the samples in
              February, respectively.       Landings in         1982-83, 16.9 and 74.5% in 1983-84,
              northern ports were highest in October            and 65.5 and 28.5% in 1984-85.           Two
              and November     and March      and April         year olds were a minor component,
              (Table 17, Figure 22).       West of Cape         comprising 2.6, 8.6, and 7.0% of the
              Lookout catches were sampled too in-              fish sampled during those same sea-

                                                           66




                        14- Bluefish - Winter trawl                      1982-83
                        12-                                              n = 31506
                        10-                                  M Age       0 M Age IV
                         8-                                         Age  I EM Age V
                         6-                                         Age  I I      Age VI
                         4-                                         Age  III      AgeVII+
                         2-



                                    -22.2
                    U                                                    1983-84
                    -e7- 12-
                    Ld
                    =   10-                                              n   11 274
                    Cy
                         8
                         6-
                    U-j  4-
                    C-)
                    X    2-
                    Uj
                        14                                               1984-85
                        12                                               n    17594
                        10-

                         8-
                         6-

                         4-

                         2-

                                                                               TT:
                                                                            760      800
                                  200 300 400 500                    600
                                            'FORK LENGTH (mm)

                 Figure 21. Expanded age composition (20 mm TL size class) of  bluefish,
                             Pomatomus saltatrix, in winter trawl catches sampled September
                             1982-April 1985.       67


















                                                                          North
                                                                     .....0Central
                           7   Spot - Fly net                             South
                           6   XN=   192D          IN=   80.4              IN = 355.9
                               ic =  112A          ic = 803.3               ic --1,016.9
                           5-
                                                                            i =3,442.8
                               xS  2,237.0         xS    22.7                S
                           4-
                                                      0

                           3-
                     qU 0%
                           2
                     CL)


                                                            %i i... 0)


                           50                                             North
                                                                          South
                          40
                       C>
                          30-
                     Z                                                    Ilk
                           20-
                     E
                     E     10-

                               S 0 N D  J F M A    S 0 N D  JF        S" 0' 'N 'D J,
                                   1982-3             1983-4              1984-5
                                                   MONTH / YEAR




                   Figure 22.  Monthly mean total weight/trip of spot, Leiostomus xanthurus, in
                               flynets by area fished and commercial landings data for North
                               Carolina winter trawl fishery, September 1982-April 1985, by ports
                               where fish were landed. Area fished and ports landed designations
                               are the same as in Figure 10.




                                                     68









                            10-  Spot - Winter trawl                         1982-83
                            8-       M Northern                               n = 942
                                     = Central
                            6-       20 Southern

                            4

                            2


                        >-  10-
                        U                                                     1983-84
                        W   8-                                                n   1,305

                        cr- 6-

                            4-

                        Uj
                            2-

                        a.
                            10-
                                                                              1984-85
                            8-                                                n = 3,635

                            6-

                            4

                            2-


                                   90          120         150         180         210
                                                 FORK LENGTH (mm)


                Figure 23.  Expanded length-frequencies for spot, Leiostomus xanthurus, from
                            samples of September 1982-April 1985 winter trawl fishery by area
                            (Northern = north of Cape Hatteras, Central = Cape Hatteras to
                            Cape Lookout, Southern = west of Cape Lookout); n = number of fish
                            measured.



                                                      69










                                                                                                                                    Sep 1984       355
                                                           Spot -   Winter trawl                                          101       n = 52
                                                                                            Northern                       5
                                                                                            Central
                                             20-                                         101 Southern
                                             15. Oct 1982                                                                           Oct
                                                  n =65                                                                             n432
                                             to.






                                             15-
                                             to-   Nov                                 Nov 1983                                     Nov
                                                 n   373                                n   888                                     n501
                                             5-           hk_

                                             15-   Dec                                                                              Dec
                                             to. n   33                                                                             n247

                                             5-


                                         Cr
                                         U_
                                         1-- 10' Jon 1983                               Jon 1984                                    Jon 1985
                                         z
                                         LU
                                         U        n= 352                                     354                                    n
                                         Ck: 5-                                          n                                          998
                                         CL


                                             15-   Feb                                     Feb                                      Feb
                                             10_  n=118                                  n= 23                                      n285


                                                                                      L
                                                   90 120 150 180 21'0 240 270
                                                                                    15-    Mar                                      Mar
                                                                                          n = 40                                    n985
                                                                                    to-


                                                                                          96 1@0 150 180 210 240          15-       Apr
                                                                                                                          to_       n135

                                                                                                                           5-

                                                                                               FORK LENGTH (mml                     910 120 150 180 210 2iO 270

                              Figure 24. Monthly expanded length-frequencies for spot, Leiostomus
                                                                                                                                                 A
                                                                                                                             L                 IL

                                                                                                      L































                                                    xanthurus, from samples of September 1982-April 1985 winter trawl
                                                    fishery by area (Northern = north of Cape Hatteras, Central = Cape
                                                    Hatteras to Cape Lookout, Southern = west of Cape Lookout); n
                                                    number of fish measured.

                                                                                               70










                        10- Spot        Winter trawl                        1982-83
                                                                             n z 942


                          5-





                     U.j
                     =)   10-                                                1983-84
                     CY       M Age 0
                     Uj                                                       n
                     Cr_      M Age I
                     U-       M Age I I
                           5-
                                * Agelll
                     Uj


                     U-1

                          10-                                                1984-85
                                                                             n = 3,635

                          5-




                               90           120          150         180          210
                                               FORK LENGTH (mm)


                  Figure 25. Expanded age composition of spot, Leiostomus xanthurus, in winter
                              trawl catches sampled September 1982-April 1985.





                                                   71










              sons, while age III spot were almost                     Butterfish were somewhat larger
              nonexistent,    comprising    only     0.01-       -the last two fishing seasons than in
              0.03%.    Because all winter trawl age             1982-83.   Butterfish ranged from 53 to
              compositions     were   calculated     using       224 mm FL, 93 to 228 mm FL and 82 to
              fall     (August-December)       age-length        229 mm FL during the three seasons,
              data, and because January 1 is consid-             respectively (Figure 27). The percent
              ered the birthday for spot in North                of fish exceeding 120 mm, which is
              Carolina (DeVries 1986), all ages in               approximately marketable size,           in-
              the above-discussion could be advanced             creased from 75.1% in 1982-83 to 91.8%
              one year for fish taken after Decem-               in    1983-84 and 83.8% in 1984-85.
              ber,    although     it would still       be       Fish   >180 mm FL    accounted    for 1.8,
              dealing with the same year classes.                24.6   and   17.3%   of   the    butterfish
                                                                 sampled during the respective fishing
              Butterfish                                         seasons.

                    Winter trawlers produced greater                             DISCUSSION
              than half of North Carolina's butter-
              fish landings in 1982-83 (163,887 lb)@                   Overall    landings     of     edible
              1983-84    (83,000 lb),      and 1984-85           finfish    in    North    Carolina      have
              (114,000 lb) (Table 1). Northern ports             declined from    a peak in 1980      (Table
              accounted for 39.1-63.0% of these                  24).     Annual landings from        winter
              landings (Table 18).       State landings          trawlers in North Carolina which were
              of butterfish were highest in 1982-83              less than 10 million lbs prior to
              (298,000 lb) and lowest in 1983-84                 1971,    increased   to   more    than    30
              (116,000 lb) (Table 1).                            million lb annually from 1978 through
                                                                 1981; since then they have ranged
                    The average CPUE of butterfish by            between 18 and 25 million lb (Table
              flynets was greatest in 1984-85 (248               25).
              kg/trip),    slightly    less   in 1982-83
              (202 kg/trip) and least in 1983-84 (37                   The     winter     trawl      fishery
              kg/trip). Catches by flynets north of              accounted    for    31.5-35.9%     of    the
              Hatteras     exceeded the other        areas       state's edible finfish, and landings
              sampled each year, and were greatest               increased from   19.8 million lb during
              in 1982-83 (500 kg/catch) and 1984-85              the 1982-83 fishing season to 22.4
              (401   kg)    (Figure   26,   Table     16).       million lb the next two seasons (Table
              Catches    of butterfish in deepwater              1). The diversity of species harvested
              (Table 12) were greatest in 1983-84                by this fishery buffered it from de-
              (254.6 kg/catch) and low in 1984-85                cline, while long haul and pound net
              !55 kg) and 1982-83 (21 kg).        Catches        landings     decreased     each     fishing
              in the flounder fishery (Table     8) were         season, largely because of diminished
              generally <30 kg/trip each season.                 catches   of   croaker.      Landings     of
                                                                 edible finfish by long hauls decreased
                    Seasonal trends based on CPUE                30% from 1982 to 1984; pound net
              were difficult to discern.          Catches        landings declined 62% from 1982 to
              were high in October 1982 (n=l) and                1983, then rebounded in 1984 to 65% of
              December-January 1984-85 (Figure 26).              the 1982 landings (Ross et al. 1986).
              Landings were high during September-
              November 1982, January to April 1983-                    The    species     composition     and
              84   and   October, November, February             seasonality    of   the  North     Carolina
              and April 1984-85. The early and late              winter trawl fishery is currently very
              season peaks in landings correspond                similar to the fishery during its
              with inshore flynetting and deepwater              inception.   In 1930-31, scup, croaker,
              trawling, respectively.                            summer flounder, black sea bass, hake


                                                            72
















                                  3.6-      Butted ish - Fly net                      North
                                                                                      Central
                                                                                      South
                                                 X to = 500.3      !N = 85.2                 i N --400.6
                           Z      2.7-
                                                 ic = 65. 1        1C = 10.6                 XC-- 96.1
                                                 is =279.7         1 S = 0.0                 x    18 5.6
                                                                                              S



                                  0.4-

                                                    A


                           E-                                                            North
                           1      30-                                                    South

                                   20-
                           Z
                                   10-

                                        S 0 N    D J  F M A      S 0 N 0             'A      0 N D J F M A
                                               1982-3                  1983-4                   1984-5
                                                                 MONTH / YEAR




                      Figure 26.      Monthly mean total weight/trip of butterfish, Peprilus
                                      triacanthus, in flynets by area fished and commercial landings
                                      data for North Carolina winter trawl fishery, September 1982-April
                                      1985, by ports where fish were landed. Area fished and ports
                                      landed designations are the same as in Figure 10.






                                                                    73

















                                                                           Northern
                             9    Butterfish       Winter trawl             Central
                             6                                            1982-83
                                                       I                  n = 11 947

                         C->
                                       'M Maio,
                                                                                        9L
                             9
                                                                          1983-84
                         Ui
                                                                          n   11689
                             6-
                                                            h
                             3-
                         U.j                                            L
                         cr_
                         LU   A
                             9
                                                                          1984-85
                             6-                                           n  11520

                             3


                                                                              M M
                                       90       120      150      180     210      240
                                                  FORK LENGTH (mm)


                 Figure 27.   Expanded length-frequencies for butterfish, Peprilus triacanthus,
                              from samples of September 1982-April 1985 winter trawl fishery by
                              area (Northern = north of Cape Hatteras, Central = Cape Hatteras
                              to Cape Lookout, Southern    west of Cape Lookout); n = number of
                                              4W







































                              fish measured.





                                                       74













                  fable 24.    Total commercial landings (thousands of pounds) in North Carolina during 1965-1985 of finfish that are important components of
                               the winter trawl fishery, with total weight of nine major species and their percent of the state's total edible finfish landings.

                                                                                                                                                                            Total
                               Total                                                                                   Black                                              weight of            Percent
                               edible                                 +                                                sea                    Butter- Harvest-             dominant          of state
                               finfish        Croaker       Flounder         Weakfish       Bluefish        Spot        bass        Scup      fish         fish             species           landings


                  1965         33,638          1,754          4,721           1,959             704           913     1,090         975          367          125           10,051              29.9
                  1966         32,567          1,267          4,017           1,896             821       1,091       1,267       1,923          503            72            8,001             24.6
                  1967         40,880          -1,283         4,391           1,769             888       3,048       1,994         452          383          146           11,379              27.8
                  1968         33,378          1,201          2,602           2,286             872       1,575       1,193         171          107            70            8,536             25.6
                  1969         36,658          1,369          2,766           1,539             871       1,488       1,947         252          130            25            8,033             21.9
                  1970         29,833             807         3,163           2,441             495       1,529       1,178         199          132            27            8,435             28.3
                  1971         31,380             948         4,011           3,645             578       1,190         748         203           58            48          10,372              33.1
                  1972         40,733          4,109          4,655           7,373          1,167        3,902         635           37          88            51          21,206              52.1
                  1973         41,034          4,324          7,365           6,222          2,008        5,398         684           17          40            64          25,317              61.7
                  1974         47,241          6,082         11,812           6,056          2,183        5,607       1,317           33          76            17          31,740              67.2
                  1975         53,679         10,252         11,510           6,725          1,975        8,300       1,148         112          127            41          38,762              72.2
           Ln     1976         53,771         15,038         11,452           8,714          1,356        2,674         573         204           54            25          39,234              73.0
                  1977         .61,755        18,995         11,137           8,671          2,331        3,805       1,465         '118          47            48          44,939              72.8
                  1978         67,072         19,945         12,311          10,849          1,948        4,878       1,149       1,054          ill            95          49,931              74.4
                  1979         82,248         20,558         18,457          14,759          3,406        7,303       1,375       1,298          181            31          64,483              78.4
                  1980         91,528         21,147         16,923          20,344          5,444        7,100       1,531       1,322          149          275           70,958              77.5
                  1981         68,826         11,205          9,795          16,894          6,610        3,512       1,197       1,503          281          150           48,016              69.8
                  1982         63,909         10,825          8,469          12,052          4,291        4,919         810       1,473          264          456           40,556              63.5
                  1983         53,634          7,250          9,820          10,234          6,747        2,952         533         666          108          244           37,003              69.0
                  1984         64,706          9,171         15,133          12,991          3,560        3,482         990       1,054          172          233           44,337              68.5
                  1985         64,470          8,714         10,965           9,825          3,604        4,044       1,219         588          159          350           39,468              61.2


                  + 1973-1986 data include all Paralichthys, not just P. dentatus.- Actual landings of P. dentatus would be 15-200b lower.

                    Scup landings for winter trawl fishery only to preclude inclusion of significant amount of porgy (Pagrus pagrus) landings together with
                      scup, Stenotomus chrysops.











                    Table 25. Commercial landings (thousands of pounds) reported for winter trawlers landing fish in North
                                  Carolina, 1934        1985.

                                                                                                                                   Total        Total
                                                        Blue-     Weak-               Butter- Harvest-          Black              edible       scrap
                    Year      Croaker        Spot       fish      fish     Flounder      fish       fish      sea bass      Scup   finfish      (bait)


                    34              -          -                     -           6          -          -           -          -
                    36          172            -                    33       623            -          -           -          -
                    31            211          -                     1         80           -          -           -          -
                    38            20           -                     -       153            -          -           -          -

                    39            17           5          2          4       302            5          -           1        11

                    40              -          -          -          -       118            -          -           -          -

                    45          315            6          -       146        250            -        42            7        84
                    50          322          28         <1        394      1,222            2       103         10          30
                    51          780          20           -       396      1,016            1       140         53        127
                    52          621          79           -       809      1,654          38        116         35          74
                    53        1,062          44           -     1,222      1,445            -       250         39          45
                    54          774         102           -     1,116      1,311                    123         30          41
                    55          707          42           8       704        935            -        58            5        15
                    56        4,135          79         10      1,250        788          30         65         43          95
                    57        2,198         107           8     1,494        784          80           -           7        15
                    58        5,694          63           5     2,828        518          68           3        10          20
                    59        2,185         157         10      2,148      1,156         188         '10        21          25
                    60        1,538         329           8     1,744        909         107           9        37        135
                    61        1,227         366         15      1,829      1,535         193           7       297        234
                    62        1,152         212           5     1,765      1,550          64           1       971        271
                    63        1,548         125           4     1,411      2,277         ill           -       526        179
                    64        1,285          92           3     1,559      1,861          61                   613        479
                    65        1,269          71           3     1,127      3,667         204         111       629        975       9,841       3,947
                    66        1,030          39         18      1,502      3,416         384           8       637      1,923       9,835       3,786
                    67          914         301         12      1,323      3,771         362           2       634        452       8,815       4,631
                    68          922         181         11      1,963      1,838          61           2       627        171       6,542       2,534
                    69        1,174         229         16      1,151      2,044         112           1       478        252       6,314          943
                    70          596            3        23      2,030      2,579         132           -       424        199       6,999       1,345
                    71          636          <1         50      3,214      3,573          49           -       254        203       9,037       1,053
                    72        3,127         226         320     6,563      3,761          72           -           -        37     14,776
                    73        1,278         876     13062       5,030      6,314          27           -       106          17     15,273
                    74        1,887         368         479     4,942     10,028          57           -       126          33     18,185
                    75        3,117         341         549     4,935      9,539          88           -       411        112      19,661
                    76        8,228         145         164     6,787      9,627          48           -       294        204      26,200
                    77        9,758         564     1,227       5,562     10,336          31           -      1,189       118      29,286
                    78       10M8         1,230     1,078       7,388     10,820          77           8        <1      1,054      34,028       2,098
                    79        8,074         849     1,752     10,830      16,084         ill           -       806      1,297      41,573       8,992
                    80        5J534         639     2,883     13,550      13,646          93         16        760      1,322      39,434       4,200
                    81        12972          96     4,338     11,706       7,459         161         15        647      1,502      32,239       3,128
                    82        1.*834         80     1,594       7,942      6,315         143        106        426      1,473      21,099       2.,016+
                    83          215          75     3,717       5,675      7,057          73         27        158        666      18,530       3,035
                    84        2.1273        169     1,089       6,393     12,510         121           7       594      1,054      25,525       3,858
                    85        22194         166         888     3,968      8,657         113         27        817        598      18,373       3,540







                                                                                  76










              and weakfish were the top six species                  The most significant change since
              landed (Pearson 1932).       During that         the 1960s,    besides general moderniza-
              season,   Atlantic    croaker    dominated       tion of vessels is the use of the fly-
              catches in November (88%) and December           net, which has increased       the catches
              (76%)   when   trawlers    were     fishing      of   weakfish    and   bluefish.      These
              between   Bodie   Island   and    Ocracoke       species, together with       croaker, are
              Inlet.   Summer flounder increased in            now   caught    throughout   the    fishing
              relative importance from November (4%)           season, particularly south of Cape
              to December (12%).       Scup (46%) and          Hatteras.
              summer flounder (22-28%) dominated in                  The percent of scrap fish in
              January and February while croaker                                                       the
              catches declined (23% to 6%)            and      landings and catches sampled generally
              black sea bass increased (2% to 14%)             increased during this        study.    This
              (Pearson 1932).     Total landings were          could indicate some degree of growth
              greatest in March when scup (43%),               overfishing,      since    the     relative
              black    sea  bass   (30%),   and    summer      abundance    of   the   species   has   not
              flounder   (19%) were dominant.        Eld-      dramatically      changed,    and     three
              ridge   (1962)    described    the    trawl      species (croaker, spot, and weakfish)
              fishery for summer flounder through              make up the bulk of the scrap fish
              1962.   The pattern of fishing has               landed.     The   reported   landings     of
              changed very little from his descrip-            scrap fish were highest for trawls in
              tion.   In 1962 flounder were caught             1984-85.   The predominance of spot and
              near shore (<25 fathoms) in November,            croaker    in   the   scrap   portion     of
              and in deeper waters during the winter           trawler     catches   corresponded     with
              through April .   Then, as today,       the      their dominance in the industrial fish
              trawler fleet fished further offshore            fishery from 1962 to 1964 reported by
              as   the   season   progressed    and    by      Fahy    (1966).    Weakfish    which    are
              February was fishing close to the 100            currently prevalent in the scrap, were
              fathom curve (Eldridge 1962).                    less abundant in the early 1960s while
                                                               butterfish,     longspine    porgies    and
                                                               pigfish were    more abundant among the
                                                               scrap fish.     Since the late 1960s, a
                   The number     of vessels     in the        directed industrial fishery has been
              winter   trawl   fishery   has     steadily      illegal in North Carolina.
              increased     since     its     inception.
              Eldridge (1962) reported an increase
              from 50 to nearly 100 from 1931-32 to                             Weakfish
              the 1934-35 season, one-half of which
              were equipped to fish in deep water;                   Commercial   landings of weakfish
              after 1935 many of the smaller vessels           along the east     coast during the past
              left the fishery.    During the 1961-62          40 years have attained two peaks, one
              season, 30 Hampton (VA)-based vessels            in the 1940s and the other during the
              fished the winter stocks. The land-              1970s (Wilk 1981, Mercer 1983).         Most
              ings reported by these trawlers       (Eld-      recently,    Atlantic     coast    landings
              ridge 1962) were higher than current             peaked in 1980 (third highest year in
              landings   by North    Carolina vessels          104-year records) .     North Carolina's
              during the last three seasons for scup           overall weakfish landings have Sim-
              (4.9-10.6 million lb) and black sea
              bass (2.7-9.2 million lb) but much
              lower for flounder (0.5-1.8 million              2
              lb).    From 1982 through 1985,      96 to         West, Katy H.     1988.  personal     com-
              145 trawlers were reported fishing out             munication, N.C. Div. Mar. Fish,
              of North Carolina ports. 2                         Morehead City, N.C. 28557

                                                           77










              ilarly fluctuated (Table 24), most re-            though ages I-XI were represented in
              cently reaching peak landings in 1980             the   catches.      Merriner (1973)     sim-
              (20.3 million lbs), the year east                 ilarly reported that weakfish were
              coast    landings    were   also    highest       fully recruited to the fishery at age
              (Mercer 1983). All weakfish landings,             1. However, older weakfish were found
              however, have steadily declined since             in catches sampled during this study
              then (Boreman and Seagraves 1984).                than were reported off North Carolina
                                                                in 1916 (maximum age = VIII; Taylor
                    Trawlers have landed most of       the      1916), 1967-1969 (maximum age = VI;
              weakfish    along   the   east    coast   in      Merriner 1973),     and  1979-1981 (maxi-
              recent years,      with   North    Carolina       mum age = IV Shepard 1982). Although
              landings driving east coast commercial            fish age V or older never accounted
              landings trends.      During the 1940s,           for more than 2% of annual landings,
              pound nets, haul seines, gill nets,               several    large   catches of large weak-
              and trawls took 63, 11, 3, and 23%,               fish (600 mm+ fish) were sampled. Sink
              respectively.     The same gears still            net catches similarly evidenced con-
              dominated during the 1970s, accounting            centrations of these fish working
              for 20, 11, 9, and 60%, respectively,             their way north from below Diamond
              but trawlers became the dominant gear             Shoals in March and along Nags Head'
              (Wilk    1981;   Mercer    1983).     North       beaches in April (Ross 1989).
              Carolina trawl landings accounted for
              35-44% of the weakfish caught during                    Reports      of   larger     weakfish
              the peak years of 1979-1981 (Figure               captured further north are consistent
              28).     From    1982    to    1985   their       with our findings, not only between
              contribution declined from 45% to 24%.            states,    but within state         waters.
              During   this    period   however,    North       Shepard (1982) reported that landings
              Carolina's sink net contribution to               from the spring mid-water trawl fish-
              east coast weakfish landings increased            ery out of Cape May caught fish
              from    7%   to 22%, thus perpetuating            predominantly greater than 550 mm TL
              North Carolina's dominance in overall             and age V.    The fall fishery from that
              weakfish landings (Table 1).                      port, however, harvested primarily one
                                                                year old weakfish, but included fish
                    During this study, North Carolina           up to age VII, and thus, similar to
              trawler catches of weakfish declined              North Carolina catches.      Within North
              from 6.7 to 3.9 million lb annually.              Carolina waters, trawl catches west of
              Their proportion of the state landings            Cape Lookout were generally composed
              declined from 59.5 to 37.2% and of                of smaller fish than north of Cape
              east   coast    landings   declined    from       Lookout and Cape Hatteras.
              32.3-23.9%.     Average flynet catches
              increased from 1982-83 to 1983-84,
              although    landings     declined.     This             The exploitation of overwintering
              discrepancy is partially attributable             small    weakfish    in   North    Carolina
              to decreased effort by trawlers in the            waters will likely be an important
              Hatteras Bight area because        of gear        management issue.      Boreman and Sea-
              conflicts with sink nets; this reduced            graves (1984) stated that the recent
              overall     landings,     although    large       declines in weakfish landings along
              catches    still    occurred.      Landings       the east coast coupled with declines
              continued    to    decline   in    1984-85,       in    available     recruitment      indices
              corresponding with decreased average              suggested that landings would continue
              catches, as well.                                 to decline. Yield-per-recruit and egg-
                                                                per-recruit analyses indicated that
                    Small weakfish (age 1+) dominated           weakfish from Maryland to North Caro-
              trawl catches (67-79%) annually, al-              lina have been experiencing growth

                                                            78















                         13-
                                Weakfish
                         12-          Long Haul
                                     Pound Net
                                     Fish Trawl                               8

                       10
                   C)
                         8-


                         7-
                                                                         0
                                                                                      9
                         6-

                                                                          0
                         5-                                         0-0.6
                    E
                    E
                    0    4-                                                             0


                         3-
                                          0


                                            b
                                             %                0
                         2-                  % .0-         9.
                                               0           .1 S.,
                                                  soro-c@-aj 0
                                       000

                                     0


                            50       55       60     65       70       75      80       85
                                                Yeor (19--)
                                             L@@t
                                              T






               Figure 28. Annual commercial landings of weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, in
                           North Carolina by long hauls, pound nets, and winter trawls from
                           1950-1985.


                                                     79









              overfishing    and recruitment overfish-         fr om Chincoteague, VA to Ocracoke, NC
              ing    in recent years, and North Caro-          and includes was the fishing grounds
              lina data may support these conclu-              covered    during   the    1950s  by    the
              sions.                                           trawlers     (Eldridge  1962).    As    the
                                                               water     temperature    cools,      summer
                           Sumer   Flounder                    flounder are caught in deeper waters
                                                               (40-100 fathoms) near the shelf edge.
                   Trends in commercial landings of            They were harvested        in this area,
              summer flounder and the exploitation             along with scup and black sea bass by
              by winter trawls in North Carolina               the deepwater fishery; their contribu-
              parallel trends for the      Mid-Atlantic        tion to this fishery increased        from
              region.    Total U.S. commercial land-           10.3 to 38.2% during this study. Eld-
              ings of summer flounder peaked in 1979           ridge (1962) noted that trawlers did
              at nearly 42 million lbs.      The repor-        not fish any further south as         this
              ted landings in 1984 of slightly over            season   advanced,   suggesting the   off-
              40 million lbs were the second highest           shore movement followed the southerly
              on record. Even though landings de-              migration.
              creased in 1985 by 5 million lbs, they
              were still among the five highest
              annual landings (MAFMC 1987).        Ninety            Summer   flounder    caught    during
              percent of these landings came from              this study were smaller than those
              otter trawls (MAFMC 1987).      Similarly,       harvested in earlier years.         Pearson
              North Carolina's winter trawl landings           (1932) reported a modal length of 400
              of flounder peaked in 1979      and    1984      mm during December-February catches
              (Table   24),   and   the winter      trawl      and 350 mm during March-April catches.
              fishery dominated these catches (Table           Eldridge (1962) found mean lengths
              25, Figure 29).                                  increasing in catches from 389 to 445
                                                               mm for November through March.        Modal
                   The    average    CPUE    of    summer      lengths during this study were 320-340
              flounder and the reported landings for           mm FL with 64.7-67.6% between 301 and
              the trawl fishery both increased dur-            400 mm.
              ing this study.      Nearshore flounder
              catches  increased from 5,584 to 9,686                 We   observed     the  pattern     of
              kg/trip, then declined in 1984-85 to             smaller fish caught later in the fish-
              8,341    kg/trip;    however,      offshore      ing season noted by Pearson (1932).
              flounder   catches    rose   through    the      Eldridge (1962) attributed the in-
              entire period      (1,377 to 4,434 kg/           creasing mean size to fishing in off-
              catch). Summer flounder dominated       the      shore waters.     We noted comparatively
              trawler  catches sampled in 1983-84     and      more smaller fish captured offshore
              1984-85, accounting for 43.0 and 31.6%           each season. This could be the result
              of the weight, respectively, but rank-           of fishing effort having reduced the
              ed behind weakfish, scup and bluefish            relative     abundance   of  larger   fish
              in   1982-83,    accounting    for    7.2%.      through the season;        captains claim
              Southern flounder accounted for <0.3%            they try to fish on concentrations of
              of the flounder sampled in the trawler           larger flounder during the earlier
              catches.                                         nearshore fishery.       This situation
                                                               could also reflect differential size
                    Summer flounder have tradition-            distribution since most catches late
              ally dominated the winter trawl fish-            in the season come from the deepwater
              ery catches from late November through           fishery; larger fish may also migrate
              January during the "directed nearshore           north earlier.     It could also reflect
              flounder fishery."       This fishery en-        the existence of two stocks in the
              compasses depths of <10-25 fathoms          80   Mid-Atlantic region (Delaney 1986).


















                          16                                                   Q
                                  Flounder
                           14-         Long Haul
                                A
                                       Pound Net
                    2      12-  o----o Fish Trawl

                                                                           or
                           10-
                                                                      0-
                                                                        O-c(

                                                                                         0
                            8-

                                                                                     P
                            6-                                                      0

                     E
                     E
                            4-
                                                       0. '0     0*6
                                                         0

                                                               00
                                                    P. ,    1
                            2-                    -c( 11    0.0
                              0       @0.0.0 'P-O"
                                           -2    w
                              5.0     55       60      65      70      75      80       85
                                                 Year (19



                   Figure 29. Annual commercial landings of flounder, Paralichthys spp., in
                               North Carolina by long hauls, pound nets, and winter trawl from
                                1950-1985.







                                                    81










                     Reduced fish size (age) in the                   The most productive        commercial
               commercial catches was noted from 1976            gear for bluefish in North Carolina
               to 1983 (MAFMC 1987).       Estimates of          has shifted in the last two decades
               catch at age for commercial landings              (Table    1,  Figure 30).     Long hauls
               from 1976 to 1983 indicated age I-IV              landed most of the bluefish          until
               fish comprised 94% of the landings,               1977.     From 1977 to 1983, trawlers
               but that since 1980, the contribution             dominated     landings    due    to    the
               of ages III and IV fish had declined              development     of   the    flynet     and
               from 49% to 28%, and age I and II                 increased effort below    Cape Hatteras.
               increased   from 46% to       66%    (MAFMC       Sink nets replaced long hauls as the
               1987).. . The ranges of mean calculated           second most productive gear in 1979;
               total lengths of successive annuli are            in   1984,    sink   nets   caught     more
               reported to be:     II = 228-330; 111 =           bluefish than any other gear (Table
               330-381; IV = 355-431 for males and 11            1).
               = 228-381; 111 = 355-457; IV = 431-457
               for females. This distribution would
               indicate that at least 53-57% of the
               fish we sampled were less than age II                  Trawler      landings     in    North
               (<359 mm) each season.     This would be          Carolina have followed Atlantic coast
               consistent with the trend in the 1980s            bluefish commercial landings (Boreman
               of fish of only ages I or II dominat-             and Seagraves 1984).        Through 1971
               ing   the   trawler    fisheries     (MAFMC       trawler landings were less than 50,000
               1987).                                            lb    annually,     while    east    coast
                                                                 landings were generally less than 6
                                                                 million pounds.     In 1973, both North
                     Recent stock assessment analyses            Carolina winter trawl (1 million lb)
               have indicated that current harvesting            and east coast commercial (8.5 million
               is at    or near the all time high and            lb) landings increased.       Since 1973,
               age   composition    of   the   stock    is       North Carolina winter trawl and east
               greatly compressed. Yield/recruit and             coast commercial landings have tracked
               long term yield can be increased by               similarly, both generally increasing
               increasing the minimum size of fish               through 1983, then declining.        Winter
               caught and reducing fishing mortality             trawl   landings   exceeded    I    million
               (Fogerty 1981; MAFMC 1987).                       pounds  from 1977 through 1984, while
                                                                 east     coast    landings   exceeded     8
                                                                 million pounds (Boreman 1983). Winter
                               Bluefish                          trawl (4.3 and 3.7 million lb) and
                                                                 east coast (15.8 and 16.1 million lb)
                     Overall   bluefish    landings     in       landings both peaked in 1981 and 1983.
               North     Carolina     have      generally
               increased during the last twenty years
               (Table 24, Figure 30).      Landings rose              Trawl    landings and CPUEs both
               to record levels in 1981 and 1983                 declined during this study.          Trawl
               (6.6-6.7   million    lb),     and     then       landings fell from 3.9 to 0.8 million
               declined to 3.6 million lb        in   1984       lb   and  their   contribution     to  the
               and 1985.    During this study, blue-             state's   landings dropped from over
               fish accounted      for 5.5     (1984) to         hal f to  26.7% in 1984-85.        Likewise
               12.6% (1983) of the state's edible                the average catch of bluefish in fly-
               finfish landings     (Table 1).       North       nets    was   highest   in    1982-83  and
               Carolina has dominated total Atlantic             approximately half that       i n 1984-85.
               coast   commercial    bluefish     landings       Long haul and     pound net landings and
               (27-43%) from 1979 to 1985 (ASMFC                 CPUEs also declined during this period
               1987).                                            (Ross et al. 1986).

                                                           82















                                     Bluefish
                               4-         Long Haul
                                   A
                                          Pound Net
                                                                                        0
                                   0----0 Fish Trawl

                                                                                        04



                               3-
                        C:)                                                        0






                               2-




                        E
                        E
                                                                              0


                                                                       0
                                                                                           b






                                                                     10
                                                                    d  & A
                                                                         7
                                50       515     '6'0    6'5     '70              '80      85
                                                        YEAR (19---)

                  Figure 30. Annual commercial landings of bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, in
                              North Carolina by long hauls, pound nets, and winter tra    from
                              1950-1985.




                                                    83










                   The     two  critical    aspects    of      followed    croaker   landings   for    the
              bluefish and their role in the winter            combined Atlantic and Gulf coasts for
              trawl fishery are availability and               1950 through 1979 with peak years
              marketability.    Bluefish of all sizes          between 1955 and 1958 and between 1974
              and age groups    (O-XI) were harvested          and 1979 (Wilk 1981).         Total   state
              by the    trawl   fishery from October           croaker landings reached 21.1 million
              through April.      They were,    for the        lb    in   1980,  and   thereafter     have
              most   part,   caught   incidentally     by      declined 50% (Table 24).
              gears not designed and/or         targeted  .
              on    their   capture   in    nearly    all            Trawlers accounted for most of
              catches   sampled--deepwater    rigs off         the croaker landed prior to 1973 in
              Norfolk Canyon,     flounder trawls off          North Carolina; since then, trawls and
              Oregon Inlet, and flynets from Wimble            long hauls have been the dominant
              Shoals to west of Cape Lookout.        They      gears.   During this study, long hauls
              are ubiquitous throughout the range of           landed more croaker the first two
              the trawler fleet.    Historical studies         seasons    and  shared   the   lead with'
              suggest     major   wintering       grounds      trawlers in 1984-85 (Table 1).
              occur along the outer edge of           the
              continental    shelf   (Hamer 1955; Lund
              and Maltezos 1970).         Their occur-               Croakers were abundant in trawl
              rence in deepwater catches targeted on           catches from offshore of Oregon Inlet
              flounder and    black sea bass confirms          south to Wimble Shoals and Avon rocks
              this distribution. The area from Cape            in    the   fall.     This    distribution
              Hatteras to Cape Lookout is also an              parallels trawler activity in 1930-31
              important wintering ground. Age 0 and            when    they    followed    the     croaker
              I bluefish dominate flynet catches,              migration southward      (Pearson 1932).
              although all winter trawl gears and              Croaker were also captured in flynets
              sink nets frequently catch large fish            south of Cape Hatteras and west of
              from just off the beach to 20 fathoms,           Cape Lookout during mid-winter months
              as well as in, deeper waters near the            on what are apparently their wintering
              continental shelf edge (Ross 1989).              grounds.
              Were the marketability of bluefish
              better,   the prices higher and more
              stable, the fisheries could easily                     The    seasonal     length-frequency
              harvest many more.    Currently however,         distributions    of    croaker  in    trawl
              they are only occasionally targeted,             catches were unimodal and similar to
              by the sink net (Ross 1989) and less             pound net and long haul caught croaker
              frequently by the trawler fisheries.             in Pamlico Sound (Ross et al. 1986).
              This aspect can be an important factor           We observed an increase in the propor-
              driving the trends in CPUEs, particu-            tion of small unmarketable fish (<225
              larly for larger fish (age II+).                 mm)    that  was   more    pronounced     in
                                                               trawler catches (83%) than long haul
                          Atlantic Croaker                     and pound net catches (21-44%) (ibid).
                                                               The proportion of large croaker (>250
                   Peak landings of Atlantic croaker           mm TQ declined from 45.9% in 1982-83
              by trawlers in 1978 were followed by             to 7.8 and 8.0% the next two seasons;
              declines which only in 1984 and 1985             similar, though not as dramatic, were
              showed any sign of leveling off (Table           the declines observed in the inshore
              25, Figure 31).      During this study,          fisheries (ibid).     It is not clear why
              CPUE and    landings of croaker        both      the proportion of large fish declined
              declined   by   10%   in   1983-84,    then      more in the offshore than in the
              doubled in 1984-85.     The fluctuations         estuarine     fisheries.      A    possible
              in North Carolina trawler landings               explanation may be that the offshore

                                                           84


























                                                                             0
                                  Croaker
                           10-         Long Haul
                                A,
                                       Pound Net
                           9-   o----o Fish Trawl


                           8-


                           7-


                           6-





                                        0
                           4-
                      E
                      E
                      C)                                           0



                                                                                       0-0
                                          0  0
                           2-

                                                0
                                                 %
                                                 %    '0-0'
                                                 O-d                 0
                                   #10.                  0. 0-0
                                                                  6


                                          A A A A

                              50      55       60      65      70       75      80      85
                                                     Year (19--)


                Figure 31. Annual commercial landings of Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias
                            undulatus, in North Carolina by long hauls, pound nets, and winter
                            trawls from 1950-1985.
                                   "Ic











                                                    85










              winter   fishery depended more       on   a            Although spot ranked high in the
              different,    perhaps   northern    (Chesa-      flynet caches, they were not a target
              peake Bay)    stock of croaker which             species.   They   were   most    prevalent
              declined in abundance more than the              west    of  Cape    Lookout  where     they
              stock    utilized    by   the   estuarine        comprised 20.5-22.1% of the catches,
              fisheries (ibid).                                although most were too small to be
                    Pearson (1932) reported croaker            marketed (<180 mm TL).
              220-470 mm TL with a unimodal distri-                  Spot were an unimportant by-catch
              bution   centered    around   260-360 mm;        of the fisheries described by Pearson
              during three of the five months, most            (1932)   and   Eldridge    (1962)    likely
              fish were greater than 300 mm TL.                because the area covered by those
              Thus,   the current fishery is harvest-          studies did not include catches west
              ing much smaller croaker from the same           of    Cape  Lookout.    Spot    were    the
              fishing grounds.                                 second most important species captured
                                                               in the industrial fish trawl fishery
                                                               from Hatteras to west of Cape Lookout
                    One-year-olds dominated all three          (Fahy 1966, Wolff 1972), a similar
              fisheries each year except during the            ranking   in   relative    importance    in
              1982-83 winter trawl fishery when >50%           catches west of Cape Lookout during
              were two-year-olds.       Croaker ranged         this study.
              from ages 0 to V in the long haul and
              winter trawl fisheries and 0 to VI in
              the pound net fishery.      In all three                          Butterfish
              fisheries over   99.9% were ages 0-111,
              and at least 97.7% were ages 0-11                      North      Carolina       butterfish
              (except during     the    1982-83    winter      landings   have   shown    no persistent
              trawl fishery,     when 88.6% were ages          trend during the last 20 years (Table
              0-11)   (Ross et  al. 1986).                     24) with peak landings (0.5 million
                                                               lb) in 1966.        During this study,
                                 Spot                          landings ranged from 0.11 to 0.29
                                                               million lb (Table 1), and averaged
                    Recent landings   of spot in North         0.18 million lb seasonally, which is
              Carolina     have  fluctuated    with    no      slightly above the 20 yr average of
              definite trend indicated (Table 24;              0.16 million lb/yr.      Commercial land-
              Figure 32).     Landings increased from          ings from Cape Hatteras to Maine have
              0.9 million lb in 1965 to 8.3 million            ranged between 10 and 45 million lb
              lb in 1975 and have since exceeded 7             since 1962,   with North Carolina con-
              million lb only in 1979 and 1980.                tributing less than 4% (Waring and
              During    this    study,    annual     spot      Anderson 1983).
              landings ranged between 2.9 and 4.9
              million lb and accounted for 5.4-7.7%                  Butterfish    have    been     landed
              of    the     state's   edible      finfish      primarily by trawls in North Carolina
              landings.                                        since 1965, although pound nets were
                                                               productive in 1979-81, as well as
                                                               prior to 1967 (Figure 33). Long hauls
                    Long   hauls   have    traditionally       have   not   produced many      butterfish
              landed most of the marketable spot in            since at least 1966.         During this
              North Carolina     (Figure 9).       During      study      trawlers     accounted       for
              this study, long hauls accounted for             55.0-71.6%      of    North     Carolina's
              60. 1 (1984) to 70.3% (1982) of the              landings, with both long hauls and
              landings, while pound nets accounted             pound nets annually contributing <9%
              for 2.1-6.8% and trawlers 1.6-5.2%.              (Table 1).

                                                          86













                             7-     S pot
                                         Long Haul
                                   A     Pound Net
                             6-
                                  0----o Fish Trow I


                         C:) 5-
                          X


                             4-



                             3-


                          E
                          E  2-


                                                                               A
                                                                       01
                                                                                   0
                                                                              6
                                                             0-
                                        0.                                     @A4 @-O-
                                @O . . . . @5   -610'    d5.              Y5.    .810.   45
                                                        Year (19--)


                Figure 32. Annual commercial landings of spot, Leiostomus xanthurus, in North
                            Carolina by long hauls, pound nets, and winter trawls from
                            1950-1985.






                                                    87



















                        400

                                                        0
                                  Butterfish
                                       Long Haul
                                       Pound Net
                                 o----o Fish Trawl

                        300-






                                                      0
                        200-
                                             0

                                                                               0



                                                              0
                      E
                      E                                    '1 9"1                     b
                     (0  100-

                                                                 0                0
                                                           0        0,
                                                                0


                                                                   0
                                 19 9 1   ...Is    1911. .114"61.1
                                                                  . # . I .I I - I I I 11
                               50     55      60      65      70     75      80      85
                                                     Year (19--)


              Figure 33. Annual commercial landings of  butterfish, Peprilus triacanthus, in
                          North Carolina by long hauls, pound nets, and winter trawls from
                          1950-1985.



                                                 88










                   Trends in commercial landings and                  Nominal commercial catches by USA
              average     catch/trip    of    butterfish        vessels fluctuated between 39 and 48
              corresponded during this study.       Trawl       million lb from 1953 to 1963 and then
              CPUE   and    commercial   landings     both      declined to 9-11 million lb during the
              declined    in  1983 and     increased    in      early   1970s.      Distant   water   fleet
              1984, but not to 1982 levels.                     catches peaked in 1963 (12.8 million
                                                                lbs), but declined to less than 100
                   North Carolina trawlers generally            mt/year    after    1975    (Mayo    1982).
              landed butterfish as an incidental                During this period, North Carolina
              species within the targeted fisheries,            trawl   landings peaked in 1966 (1.9
              although they were     captured regularly         million    lbs),    then   fell    steadily
              by each component      fishery or by all          through 1973 (Table 25; Figure 34).
              gears in all areas.     Consequently, the         With the reduction of distant wa        ter
              overall   landings     of  butterfish     in      catches,    U.S.    nominal    and    North
              North Carolina are not comparatively              Carolina landings increased steadily
              high.   During the     study period only          to peaks in 1981 (21 and 1.5 million       ,
              one fall flynet catch was dominated by            respectively).      Since then, landings
              butterfish (together with croaker).               have    declined     dramatically     (NEFC
                                                                1987).    Stock abundance appears to be
                                  Scup                          considerably lower in the Mid-Atlantic
                                                                area than in Southern New England
                   Scup     are  available    to     North      waters.    The resource was being fully
              Carolina    trawlers    while   on     their      exploited,    particularly    in  the Mid
              wintering grounds in offshore waters              Atlantic region based on commerc,ia@
              (35-100    fathoms)     north    of     Cape      landings      trends   and    NEFC    trawl
              Hatteras.     Scup   were     the   leading       surveys (NEFC 1986; NEFC 1987).         The
              species in the trawl fishery during               Virginia winter trawl fishery, which
              the 1930-31   season, with most catches           through 1981 had produced greater than
              reported from 20-50 fathoms between               10    million    pounds     annually,   has
              Cape Henry and Oregon Inlet (Pearson              steadily declined since then and @e-
              1932).      The  fishing    grounds     were      cently yielded less than 0.2 million
              similar to those used by the fleet                pounds     per    year     (Mayo     1982).
              today, though recent fishing activity             Correspondingly,     commercial     landings
              was generally around and north of                 of scup in North Carolina reached an
              Norfolk Canyon.     During both periods,          eight-year low in 1985 (Figure 34),
              no scup catches were reported south of            and CPUEs a three year low during the
              Cape Hatteras.     In 1930-31, they were          1984-85 fishing season.
              the dominant species in January,
              February, and March (Pearson 1932);
              during this study this was the period                           Black Sea Bass
              their catches were largest.
                                                                      Landings of black sea bass in
                                                                North    Carolina     since    1961     have
                   Scup reported in        1930-31 were         exceeded 0.5 million lb, ranging f      .rom
              larger fish than were harvested in                0.6 million in 1976 to 1.5 million in
              1982-1985.    Modal lengths of 180 and            1980 (Table 24, Figure 35).          During
              280 mm FL     were reported in 1930-31            this study they increased from 0.47 to
              with   the    larger    mode   much     more      1.20    million     pounds    (Table    1).
              pronounced. During this study, 180 mm             Trawlers have accounted       for approxi-
              FL was the    only significant mode and           mately half     of   the black    sea bass
              relatively    few fish >250 mm FL were            landings in North Carolina since 1950
              captured,     particularly    during     the      and during this study accounted for an
              1984-85 season.                              89   increasing portion, from 33.5%            in
















                       21000-
                                   SCUP/pOrgy

                                 o ---- o Fish Trawl


                        11500

                     C:)






                                                                                        0
                        11000-                                                0




                                                                                      0
                      E
                      E
                      C)
                          500-                         6


                                                   ,ct
                                                 Op  '*
                                                              0
                                                6                        p
                                 Ip%O     0
                                           %,0
                                0    O-Od                           O."d
                                                              '-T               '8b'
                               5'0-     @5'     60               0                       85
                                                       Year (19 --)                       -



                 Figure 34. Annual commercial landings of scup, Stenotomus chrysops, in North
                             Carolina by winter trawls from 1950-1985.


                                                    90






















                                           Black Sea Bass
                      1,200-              o----o Fish trawl

                   C)
                   ).<I 1000-

                      800-                                                  p
                                                                    b@
                                              P'0-0.0-0               Q
                   -2 600-                                                0
                                             0
                                                     b.       0
                                                       *0
                      400-
                    E
                    E
                                                               0

                      200-
                                                                         0
                                                           0'0
                              0-0-0. .0.
                           @0'    @5     60     65     70    75     80     8 b
                                               Year (19--)



              Figure 35. Annual commercial landings of black sea bass, Centropristis
                        striatus, in North Carolina by winter trawls from 1950-1985.







                                           91










               1982-83 to 71.4% in 1984-85 (Table                consistent.    North Carolina trawlers
               25).                                              fish    out of    Oregon, Ocracoke, and
                                                                 Beaufort inlets, as well as Chesapeake
                    Consistent with that reported by             Bay.     Initially,    Atlantic    croaker,
               Pearson (1932), the catch of black sea            weakfish, and butterfish are targeted
               bass by trawlers was greatest from                (September-October)     with   flynets    or
               January through April.       Al though not        combination nets from False Cape to
               observed during this study, black sea             Wimble Shoals; summer flounder catches
               bass were the dominant species            in      are occasionally     landed from fishing
               April    offshore   trawl     catches     in      efforts north of     Del aware Bay.     From
               1930-31.    Commercial    landing   trends        November through     January,     nearshore
               from the Gulf of Maine to the mid-                flounder    fishing   with   flounder     or
               Atlantic    region and those by North             combination nets     dominated from off
               Carolina  trawlers have paralleled one            Chincoteague, VA     to Ocracoke Inlet.
               another.    Both peaked in 1952 (21.8             From January through April,        flynets
               million   and 1.9 million lbs, respec-            are used nearshore         for weakfish,
               tively), declined through the early               bluefish, Atlantic croaker, and spot
               1970s,   then    peaked again in 1977             from Wimble Shoals to Cape Lookout to
               (5.3 and 1.2 million        lbs, respec-          west of Beaufort Inlet; also, flounder
               tively).   Since 1978, total U.S.      com-       nets, combination nets, and flynets
               mercial landings have ranged from 2.4             are used in deep water (20-60 fathoms)
               to 4.6 million lbs, with North Caro-              for summer flounder, black sea bass,
               lina trawlers accounting for 20-63% of            scup, and squid from Baltimore Canyon
               these landings.                                   to Norfolk Canyon, off the Cigar and
                                                                 offshore of Oregon Inlet.          Fishing
                    The catches of black sea bass                effort is determined by fish availabi-
               consisted of larger fish in 1930-31               lity,   marketability,    gear conflicts
               than were observed during this study.             (flynets-vs-sink nets off Cape Hatte-
               Modal lengths of 260-360 mm FL, with              ras), and Oregon Inlet shoaling and
               most fish 230 to 460 mm TL, were                  channel     conditions,     among      other
               reported by Pearson (1932).       We found        things.
               modal lengths of 240 to 260 mm TL with
               most fish 200'to 380 mm TL.
                                                                       Today's    fishery     retains    many
                    Size composition data from com-              characteristics of the winter trawl
               mercial landings indicate that black              fishery during its inception in the
               sea bass are recruited to the trawl               early   1930s,   although several impor-
               fishery by age III, although the op-              tant changes are apparent. The pri-
               timum age for harvesting,         based on        mary    species   sought then     and    now
               yield-per-recruit analysis is age VI              include    Atlantic     croaker,      summer
               (NEFC 1986).                                      flounder, scup, and black sea bass.
                                                                 Spatial -temporal patterns of fishing
                                 SUMMARY                         activity during the early 1980s were
                                                                 also characteristic of the 1930s fish-
                    The North Carolina winter trawl              ery.    The development of flynets and
               fishery is a complex    fishery in terms          other high profile trawls,         coupled
               of geographic areas fished,         fishes        with increased availability during of
               sought and captured, and gears used.              the 1970s and 1980s, resulted in the
               Although   within    a   fishing    season        addition of bluefish and weakfish to
               (September-April) the spatial distri-             the list of dominant species landed.
               bution   of   fishing   activity    varies        The average sizes of the scup, black
               temporally from year to year, the                 sea bass, summer flounder, and Atlan-
               fleet's seasonal fishing pattern is               tic croaker landed during this study

                                                            92










             were smaller than were reported in the            ed mesh) and often catch large volumes
             1930s (Pearson 1932).                             in short tow times.      Culling by hand
                                                               is virtually impossible, so all fish
                   A persistent problem for this               are kept and brought       to the dock.
             fishery since its inception has been              Catches consist    of more scrap as one
             the excessive scrap or bycatch due to             progresses south from Oregon Inlet to
             the    non-selective    nature    of   most       off Beaufort      Inlet.   Age 0 z
             trawls used.    The areas fished are not          Atlantic croaker, spot, and weakfish
             only wintering grounds for adults, but            predominate these catches.
             also for juveniles and small indivi-
             duals of each species.      Large catches              The current fisheries management
             of small weakfish, Atlantic croaker,              strategy for regulating this fishery
             spot, scup, and black sea bass have               (at  least    one  segment   of   it)    is
             been observed at the docks regularly.             increased tailbag mesh size to reduce
             Even during the early years of the                the capture of small summer flounder
             fishery, this was a perceived problem:            (MAFMC 1987).    Even at the fishery's
                                                               inception, "it is virtually certain
             "Wasteful and destructive practices               that changes in   mesh of the cod end of
             are obviously fully as damaging to                trawls in the     winter fishery would
             their own     interests ....   It is gene-        eliminate the present waste" (Nesbit
             rally doubted if the present practices            1935). The multispecies nature of the
             of capturing and marketing small sizes            fishery    however,    complicates     this
             of scup and sea bass is profitable in             management    strategy,   and   at    least
             the long run." (Nesbit 1935).                     initially,     is   perceived    by    the
                                                               fishermen    as   "lost  dollars."     The
                   One persistent change observed in           proposed increased mesh       sizes    (t
                                                                                                         d
             the   fishery    today   is  the    smaller       4-1/2")    for  flounder   trawls woulo
             average sizes of fish captured. Scup,             eliminate   undesirable small summer
             black sea bass, summer flounder, and              flounder    (MAFMC    1987),   but     also
             Atlantic    croaker    caught  during the         marketable "pan trout," squid, small
             1930s were larger than those observed             bluefish    and    butterfish    in    the
             in this study      (Pearson 1932).      Not       nearshore   directed flounder fishery
             only   is the scrapfish     that is landed        and  "pan"   and "small" porgies, "mice
             a perceived problem,        but also the          and small" black sea bass, and squid
             bycatch that is discarded at sea.                 in   the     deepwater   fishery.      The
             This quantity is unknown for the North            management communities' assertion of
             Carolina winter trawl fishery and all             future    gains    with  reduced    growth
             other east coast trawl fisheries, as              overfishing of fish      stocks    cannot,
             well.       Once   again,     during    the       however,   be assured    due to natural
             fisheries' early years, this problem              population abundance     cycles and is,
             was noted.      Nesbit (1935) estimated           thus, greeted with much skepticism by
             that "by volume 20% and by numbers 40%            many fishermen.
             of the scup caught were destroyed and
             discarded at sea."                                     The winter trawl fishery is a
                                                               critical   segment    of U.S.     Atlantic
                   The    flynet    fishery      further       coast fisheries,     driving trends      in
             complicates      the    bycatch      issue.       landings for several species.         North
             Harvesting    primarily     weakfish    and       Carolina trawlers dominate east coast
             Atlantic croaker, the southern part of            commercial     landings      of     summer
             this     fishery     markets   fish     for       flounder,     black    sea    bass,    and
             industrial uses    and bait as well as            bluefish;    together with sink nets,
             for human consumption.      The nets used         they accounted for roughly    half of the
             have small mesh tail bags (2" stretch-            weakfish landings.      This fishery is

                                                          93










             possible because these species migrate          qualitative and quantitative informa-
             to wintering grounds off the Virginia           tion would be very useful.    The inclu-
             and North Carolina coasts.     Stocks in-       sion of Virginia CPUE and landings
             habiting wintering grounds are often            data would be advantageous since the
             compressed   spatially where hydrograp-         two fisheries are interrelated,       both
             hic   conditions   are suitable.      This      by species sought and vessels fishing
             situation offers opportunities for              out of both ports.
             trawlers    to   harvest   species    that
             during other seasons may not be
             available to trawl gears.      Harvesting                    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
             fish on these wintering grounds can be
             a management problem.     Fishermen per-             This report would not have been
             ceive that species are abundant when            possible without the field and techni-
             fishing on aggregations   of fish in the        cal  assistance of Beth Burns, Mark
             wintering grounds.     What they may not        Rockett, Steve Strasser, Lele Tison,
             realize    is  that    though  fish   are       Cliff   Harvell,   Greg   Judy,    Manley
             concentrated in certain areas,        the       Gaskill, Jack Guthrie, and Paul Moore.
             overall spatial distribution of       the       John Gillikin and Katy West provided
             stock    may    be   reduced.      Careful      invaluable help with computer process-
             definition      of  CPUE    to     include      ing and data retrieval.      We wish to
             searching as well   as fishing time may         thank Tom Hoff (Mid-Atlantic Fishery
             better define this situation at least           Management Council)     and Steve Ross
             to the scientific community.                    (North Carolina State University) for
                                                             suggestions and constructive reviews
                                                             of the manuscript; Sara Winslow, Rick
                   The    importance  of   the    North      Monaghan, and Linda Mercer also provi-
             Carolina winter trawl fishery, not              ded useful comments on the manuscript.
             only    to   North Carolina    commercial       We are sincerely appreciative of D.
             fishery landings, but the entire east           Willis, S. Russell and D. Tootle who
             coast   fisheries,     necessitates   the       provided much more than a first-class
             continued monitoring of this fishery.           job of typing and organizing the manu-
             Continued and improved analyses and             script.   Finally, we are especially
             definition of CPUE will be useful to            grateful   to    the   many    commercial
             understand population fluctuations.      A      fishermen and dealers who cooperated
             study of at-sea discard practices for           with this  project.



















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