Abstract
Fish community composition on natural hard bottom reef areas off the cots of Maryland and northern Virginia was investigated by examining the species composition and seasonality of catch of the most frequently caught species from the black sea bass ( Centropristis striata) trap fishery. Hard bottom areas were sampled with wooden fish traps from April to early December 1987. Mean catch per trap and total length were determined for the most commonly caught species. Black sea bass comprised over 96% of the catch overall. The other abundant species were: spotted hake ( Urophycis regia), tautog ( Tautoga onitis), red hake ( Urophycis chuss), conger eel ( Conger oceanicus), scup ( Stenotomus chrysops), and ocean pout ( Macrozoarces americanus). The catches of each species fluctuated through time, apparently as a result of seasonal migration patterns. Most species appeared to migrate inshore in the spring and offshore in the autumn. Ocean pout had not previously been reported to occur south of Delaware and was most abundant during the time of the coldest temperatures. The fish community on hard bottom areas in the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) had not been adequately described previously owing to the limitation of trawl nets sampling rough bottom. The hard bottom reef fish community differs considerably from that reported from South Atlantic Bight reef areas as well as from smooth bottom areas on the MAB continental shelf. The present study also provides data to compare with future studies on fish communities inhabiting artificial reefs.
Published Version
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