Fish and shellfish of the middle atlantic coast

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Clemson Universit III CONSERVATION BULLETIN NUMBER 38 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/fishshellfishofmOOcars / /.72: 5# Fish and Shellfish of the s# >sj Middle Atlantic Coast By Designed by RACHEL L KATHERINE CARSON L HOWE CONSERVATION BULLETIN NUMBER 38 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Harold L Ickes, Secretary OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR OF FISHERIES Ira N Gabrielson, This publication is one of a series of regional accounts of the fishes and fisheries of the United States, published as Conservation Bulletins of the United States Department of the Interior The following bulletins FOOD FROM THE SEA: FISH Deputy Coordinator in this series have already been prices indicated: AND SHELLFISH OF NEW ENGLAND by Rachel L Carson Conservation Bulletin No 33 15c FOOD FROM HOME WATERS,: FISHES OF THE MIDDLE WEST by Rachel L Carson Conservation Bulletin No FISH is- sued and may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, at the 34 15c AND SHELLFISH OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC AND GULF COASTS by Rachel L Carson Conservation Bulletin No 37 10c UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE—WASHINGTON— 1945 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, 25, D.C —Price 10 cents CONTENTS Page The fishery resources Economics Fishing gear Fishing grounds Conservation Oysters (Ostrea virginica) Blue crab 10 (Callinectes sapidus) Croaker (Micropogon undulatus) 12 Porgy (Stenotomus chrysops) 13 Striped bass (Roccus saxatilis) 14 Weakfish fCy/iosctorc 15 Summer regalis) 16 flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) Shad (Alosa sapidissima) 17 Butter fish (Poronotus triacanthus) 18 Spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) 19 Mackerel (Scomber scombrus) 20 22 23 24 25 27 27 27 28 Menhaden (Brevoortia spp) River herring (Pomolobus spp) Sea bass (Centropristes striatus) Eel (Anguilla rostrata) Whiting (Merluccius / bilinearis) Kingfish (Menticirrhus spp) Bonito (Sarda sarda) Mussels (Modiolus demissus) Scallops Bay (Aequipecten plagioctenium irradians) Sea (Placopecten grandis) Hard shelled clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) Surf clam (Mactra solidissima) 28 28 29 29 Appendix Nutritive value of fish and shellfish General guides for selecting and preparing Bibliography fish 30 30 32 FISHING GROUNDS * y^ Middle Atlantic fishing grounds are divided into two distinct areas: the He near the edge of (depth, about 100 offshore grounds which the continental and fathoms) include grounds grounds the are shelf the bays inshore and fished in grounds which sounds winter, Offshore inshore summer Fishing operations are by the migrations of the fish, which are generally inshore and north in spring, offshore and south in autumn in controlled Spring migrations Fall migrations Summer fishing grounds Winter fishing grounds — THE FISHERY RESOURCES Atlantic region is a natural division of the Atlantic coast in both a geographic and a biolog- The Middle ical sense Its geographic boundaries are clearly denned: on the south Cape Hatteras, the most easterly seaward projection of the North Carolina shore; on the north Cape Cod Biologically, the fauna of this long, curving Middle Atlantic shore is distinct from that of the North and South Atlantic coasts Cape Hatteras and Cape Cod are natural boundaries of the marine world There is some straying beyond them, some overlapping of ranges, but for the most part the truly southern, tropical or semi-tropical fishes live belo-v Hatteras, the typi- water fishes beyond and north of Cape Cod cally cold Most characteristic of the Middle Atlantic fauna is a group of 60 or more species collectively known as shore fishes They are a migratory group, their migrations are seasonal, and for generations their movements have determined the character of the fisheries of the region In the spring and summer, shorefish move in to coastal waters, including bays, sounds, sometimes river estuaries They tend at this be more concentrated season toward the northern to part of their range In the fall and early winter they migrate to offshore more southerly wintering grounds Formerly shorefish were taken only during the spring, sum- the fall, when on the inshore grounds No one knew exactly where the fish went in winter, nor how to follow and capture them About 1930, however, the offshore winter home of the shorefish was discovered; gear and vessels were mer, and To avoid duplication of material presented in other publications of this series, only that portion of the Middle Atlantic area from Cape Hatteras to the eastern tip of Long Island is treated in this bulletin New England have been Bulletin No 33 The fishes of southern described in Conservation developed which were suitable for fishing these grounds in stormy winter weather Now intensive winter fisheries have grown up, working the offshore area from about 80 miles off New York City all the way to the vicinity of Cape Hatteras, and shorefishes come into the markets throughout the year While the shorefishes are most of the Middle Atlantic fauna, they are not the most valutypical able aquatic resource of the region This distinction falls to oysters, the product for which the region is best and most widely known Since the earliest beginnings of the oyster industry, the Chesapeake Bay has held first rank as a producer of The area as a whole now provides more than half of all the oyster harvest taken in United States waters, and its fishermen receive approximately eight million dollars for this single aquatic crop (Fishermen's income from all Middle Atlantic fishery products: about 22 million dollars.) oysters Other special resources give the Middle Atlantic region a unique position as a source of aquatic foods Nearly two-thirds of the catch of Atlantic coast crabs is taken in this area, mostly in Chesapeake Bay Receiving the drainage of the mightiest rivers of the Atlantic coast the Hudson, the Delaware, the Susquehanna, and the Potomac the Middle Atlantic region is the center of the fisheries for shad and river herring, species which live most of their lives in the sea, but enter fresh water to spawn The area provides more than half the total catch of menhaden, first ranking Atlantic coast fish in volume of production Its waters yield the first mackerel, swordfish, and tuna of the season, since each of these oceanic wanderers enters coastal waters north of Hatteras as it turns shoreward in — spring ECONOMICS Menhaden 3SS million pounds *£S£3££&S£^£3££2 £*£* Oysters Croakers Crabs Sea trout River herring Flounders Porgy