of several large predatory species such as 

 bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix, and Spanish 

 mackerel , Scomberomorus maculatus , that 

 move over large distances but are 

 attracted to jetties because of the 

 increased density of prey that occurs 

 there. The fourth group contains species, 

 like the smooth dogfish, Mustelus canis , 

 that are attracted to jetties during their 

 northerly migration in spring or their 

 southerly migration in fall (Van Dolah et 

 al . 1984, 1986). The fifth and least 

 important group contains various tropical 

 fishes (e.g., butterflyf i shes of the 

 family Chaetodontidae and surgeonf ishes of 

 the family Acanthuridae) that occur as 

 strays during the warmest months of the 

 year. Only fishes in the first and second 

 groups are truly residents of rubble 

 structures. 



Although the fishes of the South 

 Atlantic Bight are well known (Bohlke and 

 Chaplin 1968; Dahlberg 1975; Manooch 1984; 

 Robins et al . 1986), very few studies have 

 focused specifically on the fishes using 

 nearshore rubble structures. Van Dolah et 

 al . (1984, 1986) conducted extensive 

 investigations of the fishes associated 

 with the large jetties at Murrells Inlet, 

 SC, and Lindquist et al . (1985) studied 

 those on smaller jetties at Masonboro 

 Inlet, NC. Data collected by Van Dolah et 

 al . (1984, 1986) are the most extensive 

 presently available and the patterns they 

 document agree well with those seen on 

 offshore artificial reefs (Parker et al . 

 1979; M. Hay, pers. obser.). We consider 

 their findings to be broadly 

 representative of the patterns that occur 

 on most jetties in the South Atlantic 

 Bight. During their investigations at the 

 Murrells Inlet site, Van Dolah et al . 

 (1984, 1986) collected 93 species of 

 fishes representing 43 families. A few of 

 the most common species are discussed 

 below. For illustrations and species 

 descriptions of all the fishes discussed 

 in this text, see Robins et al . (1986). 



The smooth dogfish, Mustelus canis , 

 and the clearnose skate, Raja eglanteria , 

 are often abundant near jetties during the 

 spring when they are migrating from deeper 

 to shallower waters or from southern to 

 more northerly waters. The clearnose 

 skate is the most common species of skate 

 in inshore waters between Long Island and 



North Carolina and grows to have a disc 

 width of slightly less than 1 m (Robins et 

 al . 1986). It feeds primarily on fishes 

 and larger crustaceans (Hildebrand and 

 Schroeder 1928; Van Dolah et al . 1986) 

 and, as its name suggests, has broad clear 

 areas on each side of the snout. The 

 smooth dogfish is a small (up to 1.5 m in 

 length) shark that occurs between the Bay 

 of Fundy and Uruguay. It has several rows 

 of small, pavement-like teeth and, like 

 the clearnose skate, feeds on larger 

 crustaceans and small fishes (Hildebrand 

 and Schroeder 1928; Van Dolah et al . 

 1986). 



Bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix , are 

 found between Nova Scotia and Argentina, 

 although they are rare or absent in the 

 Caribbean. During the spring and summer, 

 they are common in coastal areas along the 

 South Atlantic Bight. These large (up to 

 1.1 m in length and 12 kg in mass) 

 predators form aggregations when actively 

 feeding that often drive schools of prey 

 fishes into shallow waters near swimming 

 beaches. On such occasions, swimmers and 

 surfers have been bitten. Although 

 bluefish are not resident on jetties, they 

 often feed on the fishes that do reside 

 there and are often caught by anglers 

 casting from jetties. Bluefish are 

 primarily piscivorous but may also consume 

 nereid worms, crustaceans, and cephalopods 

 (primarily squids) (Hildebrand and 

 Schroeder 1928; Grant 1962; Richards 1976; 

 Gall away et al . 1981; Van Dolah et al . 

 1986). 



Other common piscivores are the 

 Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus macul atus , 

 and the conger eel , Conger oceanicus . 

 Like bluefish, Spanish mackerel move 

 widely between many habitats but frequent 

 jetties to feed on resident jetty fishes. 

 They attain lengths greater than 80 cm, 

 weigh up to 5 kg, and can be distinguished 

 from most other mackerel by the many 

 large, dark brown and brassy spots on 

 their sides. The conger eel is dark brown 

 to bluish gray, grows to a size of 2.3 m 

 and 40 kg. It is often caught by anglers 

 fishing on jetties, docks, or piers in the 

 mid-Atlantic States (Robins et al . 1986). 

 Spanish mackerel and conger eels occur 

 between Cape Cod and the Gulf of Mexico. 



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