HYDROGRAPHY OF THE MARINE WATERS 71 



warm through the winter may have an important bearing on the importance 

 of these waters as a nursery habitat or center of dispersal for many fish 

 populations. Referring to the North Carolina and more southern populations 

 commonly thought to move farther south in winter, it is quite possible that 

 some of these populations move into the Hatteras region and have as yet 

 remained undiscovered or unrecognized. From experience fishermen occa- 

 sionally speculate as to the great untouched offshore resources to be expected 

 south of Hatteras in winter. The hydrographic data seem to support such 

 speculation. The occurrence of uncharted rocks on the bottom in this area 

 has discouraged exploration of such potentialities by privately owned 

 trawlers; however, with the aid of modern detecting devices and sampling 

 gear, it is a reasonable undertaking for a research organization, and is now 

 being pursued by the Institute of Fisheries Research of the University of 

 North Carolina. 



The greatest annual fishery yield credited to all these North Carolina 

 marine waters is less than one per cent of the estimated potential annual 

 production of basic food. The food chains of many of the fishes harvested are 

 so long and the loss in poundage at each food chain level is so great that this 

 low percentage is readily understood. The North Carolina harvest compares 

 favorably on an acre per acre basis with many other fishery areas including, 

 for example, Georges Bank, but there is good reason to expect greater yields. 

 One obvious suggestion is to look to fishes that feed low on the food chain, 

 such as shad, menhaden, shrimps, oysters, and clams. Where these are not 

 yielding up to expectations, the difficulties can often be discovered through 

 basic research. 



Probably the greatest gap in the story of the hydrography of North Caro- 

 lina marine waters is with respect to chemical contributions and exchange. 

 This involves the basic nutrients from which production must stem. A great 

 deal should be done to trace the history of such nutrients to answer such 

 questions as: what nutrients are contributed by river discharge, how are they 

 utilized, are they lost with silt deposition, are nutrients contributed to the 

 continental shelf area from oceanic circulation? The subject of pollution 

 should be handled as well, especially with respect to fish that depend on good 

 fresh water. conditions for spawning up the river mouths. 



Though "some suggestions have been made, recommendations for future 

 study can best be made as detailed programs are analyzed and planned. 

 Certainly hydrography and quantitative ecology should be pursued inten- 

 sively in future investigations. In the past we have been preoccupied with 

 species studies, attempting to find basic difficulties from clues suggested by 

 fisheries forms that are just the partial end points of production systems. A 

 more basic approach has always seemed beyond our means both as to financ- 

 ing and as to the complexity of the problems involved. It is time to take a 



