BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY 131 



five and one-half to six inches by October. The adult fish also move into the 

 sounds during the summer where they are taken commercially as well as by 

 hook-and-line sport fishermen. During the colder winter months, the fish 

 move out of the sounds into the ocean, but apparently stay closer to shore 

 than the older fish. 



In recent years, the fishery has been extended to the winter months and 

 offshore with the use of large trawlers. This winter fishery has been of impor- 

 tance to the fishermen because the winter season was previously a slack 

 period. But other fish being scarce, the croaker commands a fair price on the 

 winter market and thus tides the fishermen over the formerly lean season. 

 The smaller operators also find croakers coming into shallow waters during 

 warm spells in the winter. 



The croaker, both young and adult, is primarily a bottom feeder. The 

 chief items of food reported by Hildebrand and Schroeder (1928) are small 

 Crustacea, annelids and mollusks, in the order named. Fish are occasionally 

 found in croaker stomachs, although the principal food forms are those 

 which have no direct commercial value. 



As was previously pointed out, the chief croaker fishery is located in the 

 Chesapeake Bay region. Not only are more croakers taken in Chesapeake 

 Bay than in North Carolina, but the northern croakers are also considerably 

 larger than those taken locally. The average size of croakers marketed in 

 North Carolina is seven to ten inches; these are considered ''pin-heads" in 

 Chesapeake Bay. 



The annual production of croakers in North Carolina has varied from 

 300,000 pounds in the 1880- 1890 period to a high of nearly ten million 

 pounds in 1937. Since 1937, the production has declined to about four mil- 

 lion pounds in 1945. The records since 1888 show at least three distinct peaks 

 of abundance, each succeeding one being larger than the previous one. One 

 peak in 1902 shows a production of about two million pounds, followed by a 

 decline to 387,000 pounds in 1918. Another peak occurred in 1928-1929, 

 with 7.7 million pounds in 1929. This peak was followed by a decline to 4.3 

 million pounds in 1934. A peak also occurred in 1936-1937, this time to 

 nearly ten million pounds. This species, like many others, is subject to wide 

 fluctuations in abundance. The present slump may therefore be expected to 

 be followed by an increase in production. 



MINOR COMMERCIAL SPECIES 



KING WHITING (SEA MULLET ) — MeuticirrhuS SPECIES 



As in the case of the jumping mullet, the sea mullet taken commercially in 

 North Carolina includes at least two species, M. americanus and M. saxatilis. 

 Other names for these fish are kingfish, sea-mink and hake. Sea mullet is the 



