Evening star., 1960-01-01


no letup in scientific re-
search.
A few weeks ago Virginia
and Maryland scientists ranged
over 1000 miles Of the Bay and
its tributaries in search Of this
years brood of young hardhead
or croakers. They found some.
but whether it means better
fishing next season won't be
known for awhile.
Croakers rate high as a Bay
sport fish. With some anglers.
they rank No. lat least in
eating qualities. Although last
seasons hardhead were larger
than usual, fishing was as
spotty as it had been the pre-
ceding year.
CrOakers Killed by Cold
In fact, Clarence E. Richards.
Virginia biologist, reported that
sport fishermen had to fish for
10 or IL hours during 1859 to
catch as many croakers as they
did in one hour in 1867.
This was blamed at least in
part by a kill Of young fish
both last winter and the win
ter Of 1957-S.
Croakers are known to spawn
in the ocean outside Of the Vir-
ginia Capes. The young enter
the bay in fall and winter and
move up into fresh water where
they spend the first few months
Of their lives.
For two winters we found
young croakers in the rivers
during the late fall but later
on they were killed of, appar-
emily by the unusually severe
cold" William H. Massmann of
the Virginia Fisheries Labora-
tory at Gloucester Point said.
In fact. when the Virginia SCI
entists surveyed the Bay last
spring they found no young
croakers anywhere.
Search Entire Bay
This falls survey was headed
by MaSsmann. Also aboard the
Virginia research vessel Path+
finder were DR.. Romeo Man
Suetti and Charles Frisbie of
Maryland's Chesapeake Labo-
ratory at Solomons Island.
The search extended from
the mouth to the head Of the
Bay with samplings being made
every is miles. It produced, in
DR.. Mansuetti's words, "a few
young croakers." Better luck
was experienced in the Poto-
mac where fair amounts we're
taken and in the James River
where fairly large quantities
weresfound.
Now the biologists have
turned their attention to the
outer Bay and coastal waters
to find where croaker eggs are
laid and larval fish develop.
The first expedition of the
Pathfinder early in December
covered so miles Of the coast
and extended so miles to sea.
Plankton tows were made with
large nets and special deep
water sampler. Most of the
work was done at night because
larval fish would be nearer the
surface.
New Survey to Be Made
This study is helpful, but
whether fishermen can expect
more hardhead in 1860 won't
be known until early spring
when a fresh survey is made
OF the Bay to see how the
young fish survived the winter
AS for rockf1sh, we'll, next
seasons angling promises to
equal or exceed the record
breaking 1858 harvest.
Dr.. Mansueti made this op-
timistic forecast after pound
net samplings in the Potomac
He said the crop of 11a-year-
oldS which have been teeming
throughout the Bay area should
reach the legal 12-inch mini
mum by April or May.
The operations of DR.. Man.
sueti and his aides are part of
a three-year project involving
scientists from the Chesapeake
and Virginia laboratories and
the Fish and Wildlife Service.
$500 ROckfish Tagged
Completing its first year, the
research is aimed at sketching
the rocks life history in a.
typical Bay estuary and dis
covering how fast they are
caught and by whom.
Since last winter $500 rock
have been tagged with oblonp
yellow plastic tags fastened
with nylon thread through the
flsh's back. Each is worth 81 to
the fisherman who mails the
tag plus information on where
when and how the fish was
caught, to the Fish and Yildlife