Distribution of Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, purse-seine sets and catches from southern New England to North Carolina, 1985-96

Sets and catches of Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, made in 1985-96 by purse-seine vessels from Virginia and North Carolina were studied by digitizing and analyzing Captain's Daily Fishing Reports (CDFR's), daily logs of fishing activities completed by captains of menhaden vessels. 33,674 CDFR's were processed, representing 125,858 purse-seine sets. On average, the fleet made 10,488 sets annually. Virginia vessels made at least one purse-seine set on 67%-83% of available fishing days between May and December. In most years, five was the median number of sets attempted each fishing day. Mean set duration ranged from 34 to 43 minutes, and median catch per set ranged from 15 to 30 metric tons (t). Spotter aircraft assisted in over 83% of sets overall. Average annual catch in Chesapeake Bay (149,500 t) surpassed all other fishing areas, and accounted for 52% of the fleet's catch. Annual catch from North Carolina waters (49,100 t) ranked a distant second. Fishing activity in ocean waters clustered off the Mid-Atlantic states in June-September, and off North Carolina in November-January. Delaware Bay and the New Jersey coast were important alternate fishing grounds during summer. Across all ocean fishing areas, most sets and catch occurred within 3 mi. of shore, but in Chesapeake Bay about half of all fishing activity occurred farther offshore. In Virginia, areas adjacent to fish factories tended to be heavily fished. Recent regulatory initiatives in various coastal states threaten the Atlantic menhaden fleet's access to traditional nearshore fishing grounds. (PDF file contains 26 pages.)