Maturation of Nineteen Species of Finfish off the Northeast Coast of the United States, 1985-1990

Observations on maturation stages of nineteen species of economically important finfish off the Northeast coast of the USA were analyzed to examine relationships between fish size or age, and maturity. Maturation schedules and median lengths (L50) and ages (A50) at maturation were derived by fitting the logistic model to the observed proportions. Analyses were generally restricted to observations from 1985 to 1990 obtained during stratified random bottom trawl surveys conducted in spring and autumn by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries in waters of the continental shelf from Nova Scotia to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Butterfish, Peprilus triacanthus, attained sexual maturity at the smallest median length (11.4 cm, males) and pollock, Pollachius virens, at the highest (41.8 em, males). Median length at maturity for gadiforms ranged from 22.2 to 41.8 em. Within the pleuronectiforms, median length at maturity ranged from 19.1 to 30.4 cm. Median lengths for the pelagic and miscellaneous demersal species were in the same ranges as the pleuronectiforms. Butterfish also attained sexual maturity at the youngest median age (0.9 yr, both sexes) whereas redfish, Sebastes fasciatus, were the latest to mature (5.5 yr, both sexes). For gadids, the median age at maturity ranged from 1.3 to 2.3 yr. Within the pleuronectiforms, median age at maturity ranged from 1.3 to 4.4 yr and, for pelagic species, from 0.9 to 3.0 yr. Median lengths and ages for many species are lower than those reported in earlier studies of the same general region of the Northwest Atlantic. (PDF file contains 72 pages.)

Marine Flora and Fauna of the Eastern United States: Dicyemida

This manual treats the six species of dicyemid mesozoans that have been reported in three species of hosts (Octopus vulgaris, O. joubini, and O. briareus) from the eastern coast of North America and the Gulf of Mexico, including the Florida Keys. All are parasites of species of Octopus and are in the genus Dicyema, family Dicyemidae. In the introduction, the life cycle, as known, and the general morphology of dicyemids are briefly described, and methods are given for collecting and preparing material for study. These are followed by a key to species and by an annotated checklist, which includes data, some hitherto unpublished, on their known prevalence in hosts from various localities including Bimini and Bermuda.(PDF file contains 20 pages.)

Marine Flora and Fauna of the Northeastern United States: Erect Bryozoa

Forty-nine species of erect Bryozoa from a broad range of Cyclostome, Ctenostome, and Cheilostome families are described and illustrated, and an artificial dichotomous key is provided for their identification. In general, the marine bryozoan faunas of the northeastern coasts of the United States are poorly known; species records are sparse and voucher collections few, and it is certain that many more species occur in this region than are presently known. The species described here occur in intertidal, coastal or offshore habitats; some are well known and have been recorded on numerous previous occasions, others have been only rarely reported, while a few are known to occur commonly in the north of the region but have yet to be recorded south of Cape Cod. Some of the species described have not been recorded at all on northeastern coasts of the United States, but are widely distributed in North Atlantic continental shelf habitats and perhaps occur in similar parts of the outer shelf of this region. This fauna is thus provisional, but is intended to stimulate further work on the Bryozoa. (PDF file contains 52 pages.)

Marine Mammal Strandings in the United States: Proceedings of the Second Marine Mammal Stranding Workshop, Miami, Florida, December 3-5, 1987

Over a decade ago, in August 1977, the First Marine Mammal Stranding Workshop was convened in Athens, Georgia. That workshop, organized by j.R. Geraci and D.J. St. Aubin, not only considered biology and pathology of stranded marine mammals, but it also served as a springboard for the formation of regional marine mammal stranding networks in the United States. The ramifications have been extremely important to the field of marine mammalogy since, for some species, examination or rehabilitation of stranded specimens serves as virtually the only source of information on distribution, anatomy, physiology, reproduction, and pathology. The First Marine Mammal Stranding Workshop led to increased awareness of the marine mammals themselves, as well as the logistic and legal factors associated with effective handling of the animals. A number of individuals indicated that they felt that a Second Marine Mammal Stranding Workshop held prior to the Seventh Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals (Miami, Florida; December 1987) would be both timely and productive. Accordingly, we organized the workshop and scheduled it to occur on 3-5 December. Our goals for the workshop were several, including 1) providing descriptions of some research, especially new techniques, regarding stranded marine mammals; 2) providing a forum where scientists could interact and possibly initiate cooperative research activities; 3) presenting information regarding procedures used effectively to handle stranded animals; 4) assessing ways to standardize data and specimen collection, archiving, and retrieval; and 5) providing a forum for assessing accomplishments and status of regional stranding networks to date, as well as for making recommendations regarding future activities of the networks. Nearly 100 individuals representing Federal and State governments, academic institutions, the oceanarium industry, consulting groups, conservation organizations, and the private sector attended the workshop (see Workshop Participants, this volume). (PDF file contains 166 pages.)

Marine Flora and Fauna of the Eastern United States: Copepoda, Cyclopoida: Archinotodelphyidae, Notodelphyidae, and Ascidicolidae

This manual includes an introduction to the general biology, a selected bibliography, and an illustrated key to 11 genera and 17 species of copepods of the Crustacea, Subclass Copepoda, Order Cyclopoida, Families Archinotodelphyidae, Notodelphyidae and Ascidicolidae, associated with ascidians from the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Species distributed from the Gulf of Maine to Long Island Sound are emphasized. An annotated systematic list, with statements of the world distribution and new records of association with hosts, and a systematic index are also provided. (PDF file contains 44 pages.)

Marine Flora and Fauna of the Northeastern United States Echinodermata: Crinoidea

The crinoid fauna of the continental margin (0-1500 m) of northeastern North America (Georgia to Canada) includes 14 species in 13 genera and 5 families. We introduce the external morphology and natural history of crinoids and include a glossary of terms, an illustrated key to local taxa, annotated systematic list, and an index. The fauna includes 2 species found no further south than New England and 8 that occur no further north than the Carolinas and Blake Plateau. Comactinia meridionalis (Agassiz) is the only species commonly found in shallow water «50 m). No taxa are endemic to the area. (PDF file contains 34 pages.)

Benthic macrofauna and habitat monitoring on the Continental Shelf of the northeastern United States: I. Biomass

Information on long-term temporal variability of and trends in benthic community-structure variables, such as biomass, is needed to estimate the range of normal variability in comparison with the effects of environmental change or disturbance. Fishery resource distribution and population growth will be influenced by such variability. This study examines benthic macrofaunal biomass and related data collected annually between 1978 and 1985 at 27 sites on the continental shelf of the northwestern Atlantic, from North Carolina to the southern Gulf of Maine. The study was expanded at several sites with data from other studies collected at the same sites prior to 1978. Results indicate that although there was interannual and seasonal variability, as expected, biomass levels over the study period showed few clear trends. Sites exhibiting trends were either in pollution-stressed coastal areas or influenced by the population dynamics of one or a few species, especially echinoderms. (PDF file contains 34 pages.)

Species composition, distribution, and relative abundance of fishes in the coastal habitat off the southeastern United States

Ichthyofauna of the coastal «10 m depth) habitat of the South Atlantic Bight were investigated between Cape Fear, North Carolina, and the St. John's River, Florida. Trawl collections from four nonconsecutive seasons in the period July 1980 to December 1982 indicated that the fish community is dominated by the family Sciaenidae, particularly juvenile forms. Spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) and Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) were the two most abundant species and dominated catches during all seasons. Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortin tyrannus) was also very abundant, but only seasonally (winter and spring) dominant in the catches. Elasmobranch fIShes, especially rajiforms and carcharinids, contributed to much of the biomass of fishes collected. Total fish abundance was greatest in winter and lowest in summer and was influenced by the seasonality of Atlantic menhaden and Atlantic croaker in the catches. Biomass was highest in spring and lowest in summer, and was influenced by biomass of spot. Fish density ranged from 321 individuals and 12.2 kg per hectare to 746 individuals and 25.2 kg per hectare. Most species ranged widely throughout the bight, and showed some evidence of seasonal migration. Species assemblages were dominated by ubiquitous year-round residents of the coastal waters of the bight. Diversity (H') was highest in summer, and appeared influenced by the evenness of distribution of individuals among species. (PDF file contains 56 pages.)

Marine flora and fauna of the eastern United States Mollusca: Cephalopoda

The cephalopods found in neritic waters of the northeastern United States include myopsid and oegopsid squids, sepiolid squids, and octopods. A key with diagnostic illustrations is provided to aid in identification of the eleven species common in the neritic waters between Cape Hatteras and Nova Scotia; included also is information on two oceanic species that occur over the continental shelf in this area and that can be confused with similar-looking neritic species. Other sections comprise a glossary of taxonomic characters used for identification of these species, an annotated systematic checklist, and checklists of the 89 other oceanic species and 18 Carolinian and subtropical neritic species that might occur occasionally off the northeastern United States. (PDF file contains 30 pages.)

Marine flora and fauna of the northeastern United States. Echinodermata: Echinoidea

The echinoid fauna from littoral to abyssal depths off the northeastern United States (Cape Hatteras, NC, to northern Nova Scotia) comprises 31 species, in 26 genera and 19 families. An introduction to the external morphology, distribution, and natural history is given along with an illustrated key to the species, an annotated systematic list, and an index. The fauna Includes 17 species with wide-ranging distributions on continental slopes or abyssal plains. The remaining 14 species occur in shallower waters on the continental shelf or upper slope. Of these, eight are tropical in distribution with their northern range extending to the northeastern United States and three are mainly boreal with the northeastern United States at the southern limit of their range. Two species occur only off the eastern United States and one species is cosmopolitan. (PDF file contains 33 pages.)

Configurations and relative efficiencies of shrimp trawls employed in southeastern United States waters

Common shrimp trawl designs employed in the southeastern United States shrimp fishery are the flat, balloon, semiballoon, jib, and super X-3. Recent innovations in trawl design and rigging, including the twin trawl rigging and tongue trawl design, have improved the efficiency of shrimp trawling gear. A description of the construction techniques for the different designs indicate differences which affect gear performance. Measurements of horizontal spread and vertical opening for 76 trawl configurations indicate the relative efficiencies of the different designs. Maximum horizontal spreading efficiency was achieved by the "twin" and "tongue" trawl designs followed by the super X-3, jib, balloon, and semiballoon designs. Designs having the greatest vertical openings were the tongue and flat trawl designs followed by the semiballoon. Maximum total gape dimension was demonstrated by the "Mongoose" tongue trawl. Comparison of trawl spreading efficiency and door area to headrope length ratio indicates that a range of 70-80 in square (per door) of door area is required for each foot of trawl headrope length for maximum efficiency with conventional trawl designs and 66-75 in square per foot of headrope for tongue trawl designs. (PDF file contains 18 pages.)

Using productivity and susceptibility indices to assess the vulnerability of United States fish stocks to overfishing

Assessing the vulnerability of stocks to fishing practices in U.S. federal waters was recently highlighted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as an important factor to consider when 1) identifying stocks that should be managed and protected under a fishery management plan; 2) grouping data-poor stocks into relevant management complexes; and 3) developing precautionary harvest control rules. To assist the regional fishery management councils in determining vulnerability, NMFS elected to use a modified version of a productivity and susceptibility analysis (PSA) because it can be based on qualitative data, has a history of use in other fisheries, and is recommended by several organizations as a reasonable approach for evaluating risk. A number of productivity and susceptibility attributes for a stock are used in a PSA and from these attributes, index scores and measures of uncertainty are computed and graphically displayed. To demonstrate the utility of the resulting vulnerability evaluation, we evaluated six U.S. fisheries targeting 162 stocks that exhibited varying degrees of productivity and susceptibility, and for which data quality varied. Overall, the PSA was capable of differentiating the vulnerability of stocks along the gradient of susceptibility and productivity indices, although fixed thresholds separating low-, moderate-, and highly vulnerable species were not observed. The PSA can be used as a flexible tool that can incorporate regional-specific information on fishery and management activity.

Cross-shelf and seasonal variation in larval fish assemblages on the southeast United States continental shelf off the coast of Georgia

Seasonal and cross-shelf patterns were investigated in larval fish assemblages on the continental shelf off the coast of Georgia. The influence of environmental factors on larval distributions also was examined, and larval transport processes on the shelf were considered. Ichthyoplankton and environmental data were collected approximately every other month from spring 2000 to winter 2002. Ten stations were repeatedly sampled along a 110-km cross-shelf transect, including four stations in the vicinity of Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary. Correspondence analysis (CA) on untransformed community data identified two seasonal (warm weather [spring, summer, and fall] and winter) and three cross-shelf larval assemblages (inner-, mid-, and outer-shelf ). Five environmental factors (temperature, salinity, density, depth of the water column, and stratification) were related to larval cross-shelf distribution. Specifically, increased water column stratification was associated with the outer-shelf assemblage in spring, summer, and fall. The inner shelf assemblage was associated with generally lower temperatures and lower salinities in the spring and summer and higher salinities in the winter. The three cross-shelf regions indicated by the three assemblages coincided with the location of three primary water masses on the shelf. However, taxa occurring together within an assemblage were transported to different parts of the shelf; thus, transport across the continental shelf off the coast of Georgia cannot be explained solely by twodimensional physical factors.

Drawn to the Sea: Charles Bradford Hudson (1865-1939), Artist, Author, Army Officer, with Special Notice of His Work for the United States Fish Commission and Bureau of Fisheries

The biography of Charles Bradford Hudson that follows this preface had its seeds about 1965 when I (VGS) was casually examining the extensive files of original illustrations of fishes stored in the Division of Fishes, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. I happened upon the unpublished illustration of a rainbow trout by Hudson and was greatly impressed with its quality. The thought occurred to me then that the artist must have gone on to do more than just illustrate fishes. During the next 20 years I occasionally pawed through those files, which contained the work of numerous artists, who had worked from 1838 to the present. In 1985, I happened to discuss the files with my supervisor, who urged me to produce a museum exhibit of original fish illustrations. This I did, selecting 200 of the illustrations representing 21 artists, including, of course, Hudson. As part of the text for the exhibit, Drawn from the Sea, Art in the Service of Ichthyology, I prepared short biographies of each of the artists. The exhibit, with an available poster, was shown in the Museum for six months, and a reduced version was exhibited in U.S. and Canadian museums during the next 3 years.

Kumataro Ito, Japanese Artist on Board the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries Steamer Albatross During the Philippine Expedition, 1907–1910

Kumataro Ito produced hundreds of beautiful color paintings of fishes and invertebrates during and after the 1907-10 Philippine Expeditin of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries Steamer Albatross. The paintings are housed in the files of the Divisions of Fishes and Mollusks, United States National Museum of Natural History, and Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Few of those paintings have been published in color, but many have been publishes in black and white. Two years after the expedition, Ito came to Washington, D.C., in 1912 for an extended period to render final paintings based on preliminary color sketches made during the expedition. He did not completly render all the sketches during his stay, probably because he was asked to produced a large number of black-and-white illustrations of Philippine fishes, and a few of North American fishes. Most of the black-and-white illustrations have been published. Few publications containing Ito's Philippine and North American illustrations have acknowledged him. The very little that is known about Ito's life is discussed, examples of his black-and-white and colored fish paintings are reproduced, and his previously unacknowledged illustrations in various publications are herein acknowledged. Another Japanese artist, Yasui, about whom almost nothing is known, joined the Albatross during Ito's second tour on board the ship. It appears, with few exceptions, that Yasui produced only preliminary color sketches of fishes, which, if rendered as final paintings, were done by Ito.