Ecology of Buzzards Bay : an estuarine profile ecologyofbuzzard00howe Year: 1996 ECOLOGY OF BUZZARDS BAY: An Estuanne Profile 89 late 1800's, as many petitions were introduced to control certain fishing methods to protect their ap- parently declining stocks. Often the declines of many fish species were blamed on the voracious and rela- tively nonselective feeding of bluefish. which are fre- quently found to have not only scup in their stom- achs but also rock crabs, eels, sand lances, and a whole variety of other species. Remarks presented by a gentleman named Atwood at the 1870 Con- ference
Ecology of Buzzards Bay : an estuarine profile ecologyofbuzzard00howe Year: 1996 ECOLOGY OF BUZZARDS BAY: An Estuanne Profile 89 late 1800's, as many petitions were introduced to control certain fishing methods to protect their ap- parently declining stocks. Often the declines of many fish species were blamed on the voracious and rela- tively nonselective feeding of bluefish. which are fre- quently found to have not only scup in their stom- achs but also rock crabs, eels, sand lances, and a whole variety of other species. Remarks presented by a gentleman named Atwood at the 1870 Con- ference of the United States Commissioner of Fish- eries stated that 'all present' (including the com- missioners of Rhode Island and Massachusetts) at those meetings agreed 'scup, tautog, sea-bass and striped bass had within a few years diminished in Buzzards Bay,' (Atwood 1820:117) but that over- fishing was not a clear cause of this decline. These petitions also referred to concern over the threat of overfishing to mackerel. Mackerel are migratory and. swimming in large schools, provide a substan- tial catch if found. Their transient nature, however, made them somewhat unreliable as a sustainable fishery, and although mackerel were easier to cure than codfish, anglers were often more inclined to fish for other more dependable species. Nevertheless, mackerel were abundant, and their surface swimming behavior made them a frequent catch in fish weirs. A representation of historical changes in catch compiled for the Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan by Moss and Hoff (1989) is shown in Fig. Records prior to 1920 indicated about 190 species of finfish spent some portion of their life cycle in Buzzards Bay. Unfortunately, few data exist from 1920 to 1960; however, for the post-1960 period 100 species of finfish have been identified. Combining the two periods, over 203 species offish have been recorded in Buzzards Bay (Moss and Hoff 1989). This in- formation
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