NOAA TR NMFSSSRF-642 A UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PUBLICATION NOAA Technical Report NMFS SSRF-642 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service O ^•^=-' Jt p p Atlantic Menhaden (Brevoort/a tyrannus) Resource and Fishery- wAnalysis of Decline KENNETH A. HENRY j. Marine Biological Laboratory LIBRAlRV SEP 1 3 1972 Woods Hole, Mbsb. I SEATTLE, WA. August 1971 NOAA TECHNICAL REPORTS National Marine Fisheries Service, Special Scientific Report-Fisheries Series The major responsibilities of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) are to monitor and assess the abundance and geographic distribution of fishery resources, to understand and predict fluctuations in the quantity and distribution of these resources, and to establish levels for optimum use of the resources. NMFS is also charged with the development and implementation of policies for managing national fishing grounds, develop- ment and enforcement of domestic fisheries regulations, surveillance of foreign fishing off United States coastal waters, and the development and enforcement of international fishery agreements and policies. NMFS also as- sists the fishing industry through marketing service and economic analysis programs, and mortgage insurance and vessel construction subsidies. It collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on various phases of the industry. The Special Scientific Report—Fisheries series was established in 1949. The series carries reports on scien- tific investigations that document long-tei-m continuing programs of NMFS, or intensive .scientific reports on studies of restricted scope. The reports may deal with applied fishery problems. The series is also used as a medium for the publication of bibliographies of a specialized scientific nature. NOAA Technical Reports NMFS SSRF are available free in limited numbers to governmental agencies, both Federal and State. They are also available in e.xchange for other scientific and technical publications in the marine sciences. Individual copies may be obtained (unless otherwise noted) from NOAA Publications Section, Rockville, Md. 20852. Recent SSRF's are: 586. The Trade Wind Zone Oceanography Pilot Study. 601. Eff^ect of flow on performance and behavior of Part VII: Observations of sea birds March 1964 Chinook salmon in fishways. By Clark S. Thomp- to June 1965. By Warren B. King. June 1970, son. March 1970, iii -|- 11 pp., 8 figs., 3 tables. vi -I- 136 pp., 36 figs., 11 tables. 602. Biological characteristics of intertidal and fresh- 591. A bibliography of the lobsters, genus Homarus. water spawning pink salmon at Olsen Creek, 1962-63. By R. D. Lewis. January 1970, i -1- 47 pp. Prince William Sound, Alaska, By John H. Helle. May 1970, iii -f 19 pp., 11 figs., 5 592. Passage of adult salmon and trout through pipes. tables. By Emil Slatick. January 1970, iii + 18 pp., 8 figs., 12 tables. 603. Distribution and abundance of fi.sh in the Yakima River, Wash., April 1957 to May 1958. By Ben- 594. Seasonal and areal distribution of zooplankton jamin G. Patten, Richard B. Thompson, and Wil- in coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine, 1967 and liam D. Gronlund. June 1970, iii + 31 pp., 26 1968. By Kenneth Sherman. July 1970, iii -|- figs., 37 tables. 8 pp., 6 figs., 3 tables. 604. The flora and fauna of a basin in central Florida 595. Size, seasonal abundance, and length-weight re- Bay. By J. Harold Hudson, Donald M. Allen, lation of some scombrid fishes from southeast and T. J. Costello. May 1970, iii + 14 pp., 2 figs., Florida. By Grant L. Beardsley, Jr., and William 1 table. J. Richards. May 1970, iii + 6 pp., 5 figs., 2 tables. 605. Contributions to the life histories of several penaeid shrimps (Penaeidae) along the south 596. Fecundity, multiple spawning, and description of Atlantic Coast of the United States. By William the gonads in Sebastodes. By John S. MacGregor. W. Anderson. May 1970, iii -|- 24 pp., 15 figs., 12 March 1970, iii + 12 pp., 6 figs., 7 tables. tables. 597. Fur seal investigations, 1967. By Bureau of 606. Annotated references on the Pacific saury, Colol- Commercial Fisheries Marine Mammal Biological ahis saira. By Steven E. Hughes. June 1970, Laboratory. March 1970, vii + 104 pp., 31 figs., iii + 12 pp. 79 tables. 607. Studies on continuous transmission frequency 599 Diagnostic characters of juveniles of the shrimps modulated sonar. Edited by Frank J. Hester. Penaeus aztceus azfccns, P. diiorarum duorarum, June 1970, iii + 26 pp. 1st paper. Sonar target and P. brasiliensis (Crustacea, Decapoda, Penaei- classification experiments with a continuous- dae). By Isabel Perez Farfante. February transmission Doppler sonar, by Frank J. Hester, Acoustic 1970, iii + 26 pp., 25 figs. pp. 1-20, 14 figs., 4 tables; 2d paper. target strength of several species of fish, by H. W. 600. Birectilinear recruitment curves to assess in- Volberg, pp. 21-26, 10 figs. fluence of lake size on survival of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) to Bristol Bay and fore- 608. Preliminary designs of traveling screens to col- cast runs. By Ralph P. Silliman. March 1970, lect juvenile fish. July 1970, v + 15 pp. 1st Traveling screens for collection of juvenile iii -|- 9 pp., 13 figs., 2 tables. paper, Continued on inside back cover. .^0 ATMOsp^^ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Maurice H. Stans, Secretary NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION Robert M. White, Administrator NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE Philip M. Roedei, Director NOAA Technical Report NMFS SSRF-642 Atlantic Menhaden (Brevoorf/a tyrannus) Resource and Fishery- Analysis of Decline KENNETH A. HENRY '..~* Marine Bi'^logic-I !. ^7~1 LIBRA SEP 1 3 1972 Woods Hole, iv.ass. SEATTLE, WA. July 1971 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - 45 cents Stock Number 0320-0019 CONTENTS Page Introduction 1 General biology and structure of the Atlantic menhaden population 3 Age of fish 3 Growth of fish 4 The fishery 6 Development of a unit of fishing effort 6 Changes in the distribution of landings and fishing effort 11 Dynamics of the population 15 Recruitment predictions 16 Mortality rates 19 Relation between catch and effort 21 Relation between spawning stock and recruitment 22 Summary 23 Acknowledgments 24 Literature cited 24 Appendix 25 FIGURES 1. Catch of menhaden, 1942-68 2 2. Cumulative annual catch of Atlantic menhaden at end of each month o f fishing season 2 3. Life cycle of Atlantic menhaden 3 4. Age composition (%) of Atlantic menhaden in purse seine catches, 1955-68 4 5. Catch of Atlantic menhaden per standard vessel landing day, by age group and fishing area, 1955, 1966-68 (Shaded areas denote catch of 2-year-old fish) 4 6. Average age of Atlantic menhaden in the purse seine catch by area, 1955-68 4 7. Percentage of the total annual catch of Atlantic menhaden which were 0-, 1-, and 2-year olds (solid line), compared to the average age of fish in the catch (dashed line), 1955-68 5 8. Average weight of Atlantic menhaden by fishing area, both sexes combined, 1955-68 5 9. Length-weight relation of female Atlantic menhaden, 1962 5 10. Fishing areas for Atlantic menhaden 6 11. Number of vessel and standard vessel landing days in Chesapeake Bay menhaden purse seine fishery, 1940-68 7 12. Average age, horsepower, gross tonnage, and landing days of Chesa- peake Bay purse seine vessels, 1955-68 7 13. Total vessel days fished, total vessel days fish landed, and total standard vessel days in Chesapeake Bay, 1964-67 8 14. Total vessel days fished, total vessel days fish landed, and total standard vessel days, Southport, N.C., 1963-67 8 in FIGURES 15. Total vessel days fished, total vessel days fish landed, and total standard vessel days at Wildwood, N.J., 1964-67 8 16. Relation between catch of Atlantic menhaden per standard vessel day and per vessel week in Chesapeake Bay, 1955-68 9 17. Relation between weighting factor for relative fishing power and gross tonnage of purse seine vessels in Chesapeake Bay 9 18. Relation between gross tons and net tons on Chesapeake Bay menhaden vessels 10 19. Relation between weighting factor for relative fishing power and length of purse seine vessels in Chesapeake Bay 10 20. Annual catch of Atlantic menhaden by area, 1940-68 11 21. Annual catch of Atlantic menhaden by area, 1959-68. (The shaded area indicates the portion of the annual catch that exceeds the 10-year average.) 11 22. Yearly deviations (%) from the average annual catch of North Carolina and Florida-South CaroHna Areas, 1959-68 12 23. Catch, fishing effort, and catch per unit of effort (C.P.U.E.) for the North Carolina and Florida-South Carolina summer fisheries, 1955-68 12 24. Catch of Atlantic menhaden in Chesapeake Bay by month, 1940-68. (Dark bars emphasize 10-year periods.) 12 25. Catch of Atlantic menhaden by area (%), summer fishery, 1955-68 ... 13 26. Atlantic menhaden fishing effort in standard vessel days by area, 1 941-68 14 27. Atlantic menhaden catch per unit of effort by area, 1940-68 15 28. Catch per unit of effort of 1- and 2-year-old menhaden in Chesapeake Bay compared to CPUE of 2- and 3-year-old menhaden (1 year later) in Middle Atlantic Area 15 29. Number of Atlantic menhaden of ages 0-4+ caught in the purse seine fishery, 1955-68 (black areas show 1958 year-class) 16 30. Total weight, by age, of catch of Atlantic menhaden, 1955-68. (Shaded areas show 1951 year-class; black— 1958 year-class) 16 31. Total weight, by age and year-class, of catches of Atlantic menhaden, 1951-68 17 32. Relation between relative index of juvenile abundance and total catch of Atlantic menhaden by year-class, 1962-68 17 33.