Larval flatfishes, representing 4 families, 17 genera, and 15 species, were identified from collections taken during a 1-yr survey designed to locate spawning grounds and trace dispersion of fish eggs and larvae on the continental shelf. Most flatfishes began spawning in the spring, a time of marked seasonal temperature change. The seasonal distribution of larvae indicated that: 1) bothids had longer spawning seasons than pleuronectids; 2) pleuronectids spawned largely in the northern half of the survey area during the spring; 3) most bothids spawned in the southern half, beginning in spring and continuing through early fall; 4) although cynoglossids spawned incidentally off North Carolina, most of their larvae were transported into the survey area from spawning grounds south of Cape Lookout; 5) the few representatives of the family Soleidae originated south of Cape Lookout; 6) spawning that began in the spring proceeded from south to north as the season progressed, but spawning that began in the fall proceeded from north to south, suggesting that the onset of spawning is triggered by spring warming and fall cooling; 7) most species spawned within a relatively narrow range of temperature; 8) salinity had no apparent influence on spawning.

An apparently contiguous stock of American lobsters, Homarus americanus, is concentrated along the outer continental shelf margin and slope from Corsair Canyon westward and southward to the region of Baltimore Canyon. Between April 1968 and May 1971 we captured, tagged, and released a total of 7, 326 lobsters at 52 localities between Corsair Canyon and Baltimore Canyon. As of December 1972, 945 recaptures (12.9% recovery) had been reported, providing a basis for interpretation of seasonal and long-term movements, as well as measurements of growth rate and moult frequency. A classification scheme is developed and applied to distinguish between apparently directed seasonal movements (migrations), localized movements of less than 10 nautical miles (18.5 km), and long-period (>120 days) dispersions of 10 miles or more. This last category includes point to point tracks that cannot be objectively resolved in terms of directionality and may represent random dispersal, a summation of seasonally directed tracks, or both. We conclude from the track analyses that at least 20% of the offshore lobsters annually engage in directed shoalward migrations in spring and summer with return to the shelf margin and slope in fall and winter. This conclusion is reinforced by independent analysis of the time/depth/temperature associations of tagged lobsters at recapture which, of itself, suggests that an even larger proportion of the offshore lobsters annually effect directed migrations in response to seasonal temperature variations.

Catch data of the Japanese tuna longline fishery from 1964 to 1967 were analyzed to determine the distribution, abundance, and movement of skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis, in offshore waters of the Pacific Ocean. Large skipjack tuna, as well as larvae, were found to be concentrated mainly in the east central equatorial Pacific. Movement of skip-jack tuna stocks was determined by following the shifting of high-CPUE (catch per unit effort) cells from one quarter to the next. The apparent movement of skipjack tuna stocks in the Pacific appeared to coincide with the circulation of the major ocean currents; counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere and clockwise in the northern hemisphere, except in the eastern Pacific where the current flow is counterclockwise. The movement patterns of high CPUE suggested that skipjack tuna adults or their progeny could move from one area to the next. The movement pattern was used also to determine the probable migratory routes followed by skipjack tuna tagged in the eastern Pacific and recovered near the Hawaiian and Christmas islands.

The families, genera, and species of all larval fishes are tabulated and the abundance, length frequencies, and distribution of 12 species and 2 families are summarized utilizing data collected on 8 ichthyoplankton surveys of the Gulf of Maine-Georges Bank area. The segregation of coastal and oceanic species north and south of the coastal/slope water boundary during December is evidence in a comparison of the distribution of upper 100-m integrated temperature and Atlantic herring. Myctophidae, and Paralepididae larvae. All larval barracudinas and laternfishes occurred in areas where the integrated temperature was above 11° and 13°C, respectively. Ninety-one percent of positive larval herring tows were in areas where the integrated temperature was below 13°C.