Publications

Recent NMFS Scientific Publications

One bait boat sent from Japan, toprovide technical training, and fourother vessels (three Ecuadorian andone Colombian) will conduct fishingfor the company out of Buenaventura.The planned catch during the firstyear is 3,000 tons of skipjack worthabout $1.5 million. The new companyplans to build in Buenaventura a 1,000­ton capacity cold storage plant, whichreportedly will be the largest coldstorage in Colombia.Source: Suisan Keizai Shimbun.

JAPAN IMPORTSLESS SALMON

Japanese salmon imports weresharply down last year owing to poorharvest in the United States and Can­ada, the two major suppliers, and thedepressed market in Japan. In recentyears, between 5,000 and 8,000 tonsof salmon were imported annually,

NOAA Technical Report NMFSSSRF-677. Gilmore, Gil, and LeeTrent. "Abundance of benthic macro­invertebrates in natural and alteredestuarine areas." April 1974. 13 p.

ABSTRACT

The abundance of benthic mac­roinvertebrates during March-Octo­ber 1969 in West Bay, Tex., wascompared between 1) a naturalmarsh area, 2) an adjacent marsharea altered by channelization, bulk­heading, and filling, and 3) anopen bay area. Animals representingfour phyla were caught. Abundanceindices (areas combined) of thefour groups in terms of numberswere 66.4 percent polychaetes, 29.6percent crustaceans, 2.5 percentpelecypods, and 1.5 percent nemer­teans; volumes were 44.0 percentpolychaetes, 40.8 percent pelecypods,10.7 percent nemerteans, and 4.4percent crustaceans.

When all organisms were com­bined, they were slightly more abun­dant numerically and over twiceas abundant volumetrically in themarsh than in the canals and wereleast abundant in the bay. Poly­chaetes were most abundant inthe canals and least abundant inthe bay; abundance was highest atstations with low to intermediateamounts of silt and clay or wherevegetative matter was composedmostly of live sea grasses or detritus.

and in 1973 the purchases jumped to

15.000 tons. Sharp gains in 1973were attributed to increased consump­tion in Japan of salmon and otherNorth Pacific species which gainedpopularity as "clean" fish amidst theuproar over local fish contaminationby PCB, mercury and other pollutants,and to heavy buying by trading firmsspeculating on sharp price increasesfor salmon.

However, in 1974, the Japanesesalmon market weakened. adverselyaffected by the tight money situationand consumer resistance to high-valueseafood. This situation. coupled withhigh prices in the salmon producingcountries because of poor fishing, dis­couraged the tradi ng firms from im­porting the product which they couldnot sell at above cost. Total Japanesesalmon imports in 1974 to 30 Sep­tember 1974 were 2,990 metric tons.Source: Suisan Keizai Shimbun.

Crustaceans were more abundantin the natural marsh than in theother two areas and showed a def­inite preference for sandy substratein marsh areas. Pelecypods werenumerically most abundant in thebay but volumetrically the marshhad the highest standing crop. Ne­merteans were most abundant inthe marsh and least abundant inthe bay.

In general, the seasonal abun­dance of polychaetes and nemer­teans varied little during the study.whereas crustaceans and pelecypodswere abundant only during thespring and early summer. An ex­ception to this seasonal abundancepattern was the reduction in num­bers of polychaetes at the upper­most canal station where the habi­tat was apparently unsuitable dueto low oxygen levels during thesummer and early fall.

NOAA Technical Report NMFSSSRF-678. Ellis, Robert J. "Distribu­tion, abundance, and growth of ju­venile sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchusnerka, and associated species in theNaknek River system, 1961-64." Sep­tember 1974.53 p.

ABSTRACT

The Naknek River system con­tains eight interconnected and gen­erally biologically discrete basins,

44

each with a different ratio of spawn­ing grounds to rearing area forsockeye salmon, Oncorhynchusnerka, and different densities ofjuvenile sockeye salmon and asso­ciated species of fish. Juvenile sock­eye salmon and other pelagic specieswere sampled with tow nets atnight. Sockeye salmon were themost common and abundant speciesin all basins, followed by threespinesticklebacks, ninespine sticklebacks.and pond smelt. Eighteen otherspecies of potential competitor orpredator fish were present.

In the summers of 1961 to 1963,juvenile sockeye salmon in thepelagic areas had a characteristicpattern of abundance for the entiresystem: abundance (catch per tow)of age 0 increased from earlysummer to midsummer and thendeclined to late August. The abun­dance in late August varied aboutthreefold and, in general, was inde­pendent of variations in the numberof parents from 1960 to 1963.

In July the abundance of age 0fish in each basin was proportionalto the amount of known contiguousspawning ground, but by late Au­gust this relation no longer existed.This change was at least partly dueto migration of the age 0 fish­generally from basins of greaterabundance of fish to those of lesserabundance. The larger and fastergrowing fish were the first to migrate.Not all basins were involved inthese migrations.

The production of sockeye salm­on smolts in the Naknek systemis relatively stable. At least threemajor factors probably contributeto this stability: (I) the presenceof several major spawning units orraces in widely separated spawninggrounds of different types, (2) thepresence of several connected lakes,and (3) the migratory behavior ofjuvenile sockeye salmon during thefirst summer.

A mechanism which prevents thepopulation of juvenile sockeye salm­on from exceeding some upperlimit is not apparent in the Nakneksystem. A reduction in growth inareas of high density was not ap­parent in the Naknek system in196 \-64 and apparently did notoccur in 1957-65. Many kinds ofpredators on juvenile salmon arepresent but probably are not limit­ing production of smolts.

The data on abundance andgrowth of juvenile sockeye salmonand the distribution of the escape­ment and spawning grounds indicatethat it should be possible to increasethe production of sockeye salmonin the Naknek system. Two of themajor basins, North Arm andBrooks Lake, which constitute about35 percent of the system, are now

producing juveniles at very lowlevels. North Arm appears to sufferfrom too little spawning area,whereas Brooks Lake appears tohave adequate spawning area buttoo few spawners.

Three factors in the biology ofjuvenile sockeye salmon of the Nak­nek system are of special signifi­cance to the managers of the re­source and should be investigatedin any effort to enhance the produc­tion of sockeye salmon in the Nak­nek system: (I) the abundance ofsmolts each spring is fairly con­stant for the system as a whole andnot closely related to the abundanceof the parents or, from 1961-64,even to the original abundance ofage 0 fish; (2) the apparent growthof juvenile sockeye salmon andpotential competitor species is notrelated to the abundance of thesefish in any lake of the Nakneksystem; and (3) two major lakes,constituting about 35 percent of therearing waters, do not receive age 0sockeye salmon from other basinsand are supporting relatively fewsockeye salmon.

The question of what escapementof adult sockeye salmon is neededto ensure full production of juvenilesis considered. The present studyindicates that escapements in therange of 600,000 to 1,000,000 fish,as recommended by other studies,would probably fully use the pres­ent combination of spawning andrearing areas without danger ofoverburdening the food supply.

NOAA Technical Report NMFSCIRC-389. Williams, Austin B. "Ma­rine flora and fauna of the northeasternUnited States. Crustacea: Decapoda."April 1974. 50 p.

ABSTRACT

The manual includes an intro­duction to general classification, anillustrated key, an annotated sys­tematic list, a selected bibliography,and a systematic index to the marinedecapod crustaceans of the inshoreand continental shelf waters of thenortheastern United States.

NOAA Technical Report NMFSCIRC-390. Engett, Mary Ellen, andLee C. Thorson. "Fishery publications,calendar year 1973: Lists and index­es." September 1974. 14 p.

ABSTRACT

The following series of fisherypublications of the National Ma­rine Fisheries Service, National Oce­anic and Atmospheric Administra­tion, in calendar year 1973 are

listed numerically (with abstracts)and indexed by author, subject, andgeographic area: NOAA TechnicalReport NMFS CIRC (formerlyCircular); Data Report; FisheryFacts; NOAA Technical ReportNMFS SSRF; and NOAA Techni­cal Memorandum NM FS.

NOAA Technical Report NMFSSSRF-675. Shomura, Richard S., andFrancis Williams (editors). "Pro­ceedings of the International BillfishSymposium, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii,9-12 August 1972. Part 2. Review andcontributed papers." July 1974.335 p.

(No abstract)

Data Report 85. Clark, StephenH., Dennis A. Emiliani, and RichardA. Neal. "Release and recovery datafrom brown and white shrimp mark­recapture studies in the northern Gulfof Mexico, May 1967-November1969." July 1974. 152 p. on 3 micro­fiche. For sale by U.S. Departmentof Commerce, National TechnicalInformation Service, 5285 Port RoyalRd., Springfield, VA 2213 I.

ABSTRACT

During seven mark-recapturestudies conducted in the northernGulf of Mexico during the periodMay 1967 to November 1969, per­sonnel at the Galveston Laboratoryreleased 75,947 brown shrimp (Pen­aeus aZ/ecus) and 38.628 whiteshrimp (P. sellfems) marked withbiological stains, fluorescent pig­ments, and plastic tags. Recoveryof 6,192 brown shrimp and 917white shrimp. provided data ongrowth, mortality, migration. anddistribution by area and depth.Data for individual recoveries andother pertinent information aresummarized in this report.

Data Report 86. Weber, DouglasD. ''Observations on growth of south­eastern Bering Sea king crab, Para­li/hodes call1/schatica. from a tag­recovery study, 1955-65." August1974. 122 p. on 2 microfiche. Forsale by U.S. Department of Commerce,National Technical Information Serv­ice, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield,VA 22131.

ABSTRACT

Growth data from a lO-yr tag­recovery study of southeastern Ber­ing Sea king crab, Paralithodescall1/schatica, were evaluated forsources of error and the usablegrowth information documented.

45

For simplified analysis of growthdata the adult male crab growthincrements may be combined sincethe increase in carapace length permolt averages 17.5 mm irrespectiveof size. For female crabs the growthper molt decreases with increasein carapace length.

The crabs' migratory pattern.molting stage at time of tagging.area of recapture, and selectivityof the fishery can influence inter­pretation of the growth data. Theinteraction of these parameters arepresented, and it is suggested thatthese factors be considered in dataapplication.

Data Report 87. Collins, L. Alan,and John H. Finucane. "Hydrographicobservations in Tampa Bay and adja­cent waters, May 1971 through April1973." August 1974. 146 p. on 3microfiche. For sale by U.S. Depart­ment of Commerce, National Tech­nical Information Service, 5285 PortRoyal Rd., Springfield, VA 2213 I.

ABSTRACT

Hydrographic data are given forwater temperature, salinity. dis­solved oxygen and turbidity. Addi­tional data include chlorophyll a, b,and c. astacin and nonastacin carot­enoids, and primary productivitybased on chlorophyll a extractionfor 29 stations in Tampa Bay andthe adjacent coastal waters fromClearwater south to Sarasota, Fla.Data on air temperature. watertemperature, salinity, and turbidityfrom daily observations at threesport fishing piers are provided.Tables summarize mean, range,and number of observations foreach of the parameters by themonths in which sampling occurred.

Data Report 88. Petersen, Duane H."Trawl catches and oceanographicdata from NMFS surveys of the Gulfof Alaska pandalid shrimp resource,1970-72." August 1974. 573 p. on 9microfiche. For sale by U.S. Depart­ment of Commerce, National Tech­nical Information Service, 5285 PortRoyal Rd., Springfield, VA 22131.

ABSTRACT

Trawl catch and oceanographicdata collected from five NationalMarine Fisheries Service cruises toassess the relative abundance of thepandalid shrimp resource in theGulf of Alaska during 1970-72 arepresented.

Station data are arranged in tabu­lar form and provide informationon location, depth, time and dis­tance trawled, type of fishing gear

Floating Breakwaters, Fisherman EcologyAre Subjects of Two New URI Volumes

used, and species catch by weight.Bottom temperatures and salinitiesfor some studies are also included.

Data Report 89. Turner, WilliamR., George N. Johnson, and HerbertR. Gordy. ''Compendium of juvenilemenhaden surveys in coastal streamsof the northern Gulf of Mexico." Au­gust 1974. 189 p. on 3 microfiche.For sale by U.S. Department of Com­merce, National Technical InformationService, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Spring­field, VA 2213 I.

ABSTRACTCatches of juvenile Gulf men­

haden with two-boat surface trawlsin coastal streams along the north­ern Gulf of Mexico are compiledfor the period from 1964 through1969. The catches are presentedchronologically with accompanyinghydrological data (including Secchidisc measurements, salinity deter­minations, and surface water tem­peratures) collected at each sam­pling station. Maps are provideddefining the various areal designa­tions, streams, and sampl ing stations.

Data Report 90. Saloman, Carl H.,and L. Alan Collins. "Hydrographicobservations in Tampa Bay and ad­jacent waters--1972." August 1974.176 p. on 3 microfiche. For sale byU.S. Department of Commerce, Na­tional Technical Information Service,5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA2213 I.

ABSTRACTHydrographic data include water

temperature; salinity; total phos­phorus; total Kjeldahl nitgrogen;pH; dissolved oxygen; turbidity;water transparency; chlorophyll a, b,and c, astacin and nonastacin carot­enoids; and primary productivitybased on chlorophyll a extraction.Methods of collecting and analyzingsamples are described. Tables sum­marize data collected from 30 per­manent stations by month and area.Additional tables summarize themean, range, and number of obser­vations of samples taken twice dailyat the Laboratory dock.

Data Report 93. Trent, Lee, Ed­ward J. Pullen, Genevieve Adams,and Gilbert Zamora, Jr. ''Catch perunit effort and mean total length ofbrown shrimp, Penaeus aZlecus Ives,taken by trawl in the Galveston Baysystem, Texas, 1963-67." September1974. 42 p. on 1 microfiche. For saleby U.S. Department of Commerce,National Technical Information Serv­ice, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield,VA22131.

ABSTRACTThis report presents catches per

unit effort and mean lengths forbrown shrimp, Penaeus azlecus Ives,taken with a trawl and trawl codend cover from the Galveston Baysystem, Tex. during 1963-67 bypersonnel of the Estuarine Program,National Marine Fisheries Service,NOAA, Galveston, Tex. The num­ber of stations at which sampleswere taken ranged from 58 in )963to 16 in 1967. Sampling frequencyvaried from weekly to monthly;in 1967 samples were not takenthroughout the year. Stations werelocated within three habitats-pe­ripheral, open water, and channel­within each bay area of the systemexcept West Bay. Catch per uniteffort was defined as the numberof brown shrimp caught per 5-mintow in a 0.6 X 3.0 m otter trawland the number caught per tow inthe cod end cover.

Data Report 94. Hall, John R., andWilliam N. Lindall, Jr. "Benthicmacroinvertebrates and sedimentsfrom upland canals in Tampa Bay,Florida." September 1974. 221 p. on4 microfiche. For sale by U.S. Depart­ment of Commerce, National Tech­nical Information Service, 5285 PortRoyal Rd., Springfield, VA 2213 I.

ABSTRACTSamples from 34 stations in up­

land canals of Tampa Bay, Fla.contained 139 species and 66,326specimens of benthic macroinverte­brates. Collections were made fromAugust 1970 through November1971. Tables gi ve monthly countsby species, individuals, and totalindividuals per square meter. Asummary of the total number ofspecies and individuals, and theirmonthly range and mean is present­ed. Mean grain size, standard devia­tion, skewness, kurtosis, and weight

The Proceedings of the 1974 Con­ference on Floating Breakwaters areavailable from the University of RhodeIsland Sea Grant program. Papersprinted in the 304-page proceedingscover the topics of theoretical treat­ment of the different modes of wavesuppression, experiments performedon model and prototype breakwaters,descriptions and evaluations of com­mercially available floating breakwa­ters, materials for breakwater construc­tion, and the economics of floatingbreakwaters.

46

percentage of granule, sand, silt,and clay-sized sediment particlesare also recorded.

NOAA Technical MemorandumNMFS ABFL-3. Bailey, Jack E., andSidney G. Taylor. "Salmon fry pro­duction in a gravel incubator hatchery,Auke Creek, Alaska, 1971-72." No­vember 1974, iv + 13 p.

ABSTRACTSurvival and physical character­

istics of pink salmon fry, Onchor­hynchus gorbuscha, incubated intwo types of boxes, each box con­taining about I m3 of gravel, anda Heath incubator were comparedwith fry from natural spawning toevaluate the use of boxes to producefry. The gravel incubators wereseeded at densities of 74,200 to198,000 eyed eggs/m3 . Survivalfrom eyed eggs to emergent fryranged from 79 to 97 percent inartificial incubation, but the numberof incubators tested was too smallto define any relationships betweensurvival and incubator type or eggdensity. With artificial incubationin gravel, survival from potentialeggs in females to emergent fry was69 percent, whereas with naturalspawning and incubation in thecreek, survival was about 12 percent.

Fry emerged from gravel incuba­tors about 3 days earlier than fromthe streambed. The gravel incubatorfry were larger than tray fry butsmaller than creek fry. The smallersize of the gravel incubator frycould not be explained entirely onthe basis of early emergence.

Further studies were recommend­ed to determine whether the muskegsediment that accumulated in theincubators, the low oxygen level(57 to 69 percent saturation), orthe substrate particle size and com­position inhibited growth of theembryos.

The proceedings also contain a listof conference participants and a sug­gested list of nomenclature for useby researchers. Editor of the break­water conference report is TadeuszKowalski, URI professor of oceanengineering. The Floating BreakwatersConference was held last spring (1974)at Newport, R. I. The conference wasco-sponsored by the University ofWashington and URI.

Two centuries of history and apresent day sociological study of theRhode Island fishing community, Gali-

lee, are presented in a recently pub­lished book titled, Fishermen of Gali­lee. The book is the result of a studyby two University of Rhode Islandprofessors, John J. Poggie, Jr., ananthropologist, and Carl Gersuny, asociologist. The I 16-page illustratedbook has been published by URI'sSea Grant program.

Beginning with the Indians andearly settlers who fished the salt pondsand the shore with small nets, theauthors recount the history of thecommunity through its hardships untilthe present day prosperity with asmall, highly mechanized fleet. Theauthors examine the present-day com­munity in terms of human ecologywhich they believe is the most usefulapproach in understanding maritimeoccupational cultures.

Gersuny and Poggie tell how Galileehas coped with 20th century economicconditions with harbor improvementsand a new fishermen's cooperative.Taboos, the URI social scientistswrite, have enabled the fishermen tocontend with the danger and uncer­tainty of their occupation. Many oftheir observations are based uponinterviews with fishermen and a num­ber of textile factory workers.

By comparing fishermen with fac­tory workers, the social scientistsfound out that the fishermen have anunusual basic love for their occupa­tion. "It would appear," Gersuny andPoggie say, "that the fishermen con­sider success and advancement intheir occupation to be the main sourceof reward in their life, whereas thesense of the mill workers' responsesindicates that they would like to haveenough money to be free of theiroccupation."

Independence, challenge, disdainfor regimentation and love of theoutdoors are valued highly by fisher­men while factory workers concernthemselves with the steadiness of theirwork. the regular hours and security,the authors state. "In a sense," theywrite, "fishing is indeed a modern ver­sion of the primordial life way ofour species-the hunting and gather­ing way of life. Perhaps in manyways, man is structured to be a huntermore than he is to be part of bureauc­ratized life in urban industrial so­ciety."

Copies of "Fishermen of Galilee"are available at a cost of $3 each.Requests for publication P346 shouldbe mailed to the Marine AdvisoryService, University of Rhode Island,Narragansett Bay Campus, Narragan­sett, RI 02882. Copies of the FloatingBreakwaters Conference, Proceed­ings, publication No. P347, are avail­able for $5 each from the same source.

Bristol Bay StudyIs Published

A new report published by theUniversity of Alaska's Institute ofSocial, Economic and GovernmentResearch (ISEGR}--Bristol Bay, ASocioeconomic Study-surveys thesocioeconomic characteristics of thatAlaska region. Compiled and writtenby economist David T. Kresge andresearch assistants Susan R. Fison andAnthony F. Gasbarro, the report wasoriginally prepared under contract tothe U.S. Army Corps of Engineersas part of a larger report, 'The BristolBay Environment, A BackgroundStudy of Available Knowledge."

The original study was intended toprovide background information forpossible inclusion in environmentalimpact statements relating to petrole­um development in Bristol Bay. Thenew ISEGR report explores sevenmajor categories of socioeconomicimportance: population and education;labor force and employment; incomeand cost of living; housing and publicservices; industrial activity; transpor­tation facilities and costs; and landuse and land status.

ISEGR has published the report aspart of its Man in the Arctic Program,a long-range research effort intendedto develop a basic understanding ofthe forces of change in Alaska andto apply this understanding in dealingwith the critical problems of socialand economic development. ISEG Rhas chosen Bristol Bay as a region inwhich further intensive research willbe carried out under the Man in theArctic Program. Its new report, as acompilation of available current infor­mation and historical data, will serveas a baseline for further studies inwhich socioeconomic data not present­ly available will be compiled andanalyzed. Copies of the report can beobtained from ISEGR at $5 each.

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New AquacultureMagazine Debuts

Four fish farming magazines werecombined last fall into one new, bi­monthly publication, The CommercialFish Farmer and Aquaculture News.The first issue (September-October1974) was published last fall and dis­tributed to the combined circulationlists-more than 14,000 persons­of the predecessor publications.

The new magazine. largest of itskind in the world and devoted ex­clusively to fish farming and aqua­culture, is a consolidation of The Cat­fish Far/ner, Fish Far/nin)J Industries,A merican Fishes and U.S. Trout News,and The A merican Fish Farmer andWorld Aquaculture News. The CatfishFar/ner was the official publication ofthe Catfish Farmers of America, theLittle Rock, Arkansas-headquarterednational trade association of the cat­fish farming industry. A merican Fishesand U.S. Trout News was the officialpublication of the U.S. Trout FarmersAssociation which was headquarteredin Washington, D.C. until last fall.Fish Far/nin/:: Industries and TheA meriean Fish Farmer and WorldAquaculture News were independentpublications. The new magazine willbe the official publication of the Cat­fish Farmers of America.

Publisher and general manager ofthe new publication is Porter Briggsand the editor is Maurice Moore. Pub­lication offices are at 530 TowerBuilding, Little Rock, AR 7220 I.

U.N. Water ResourcesMaterials Are Listed

A checklist describing some 200United Nations System publicationson water is now available from Uni­pub. U.S. distributor for publicationsof the United Nations System, andrelated publishing programs. Subjectscovered in the checklist include irriga­tion, desalination, climatology, waterpollution, environmental protection.waste disposal, nuclear applicationsin agriculture, and hyd rology. Theinformation is presented in books,maps, and microform.

Copies of the water resources check­list are available free of charge from:Unipub, Box 433, Murray Hill Station,New York, NY 10016.