BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY 265 



Good angling on the northern part of the coast is fairly definitely limited 

 to the April-June, September-October seasons. 



FAUNAL DISCUSSION* 



AMBERJACK 



(Genus Seriola) 



At least two, and probably three, species of Seriola have been identified 

 from North Carolina, but to anglers they are all amber j ack. 



The adults of this southern fish occur from at least as far south as Brazil 

 to Cape Cod, where they are found as stragglers. Species of this genus are 

 also found on our own Pacific coast, off Europe, Africa, and Austraha. On 

 our Atlantic coast it is most numerous off Key West in winter and is there 

 fished commercially. Off North Carolina it is found from May to October 

 on the grounds with dolphin, feeding on small fishes and crustaceans and 

 congregating around wrecks and buoys. 



Fifty-pound amberjack are fairly common around Key West, but the 

 average weight off North Carolina is 12 pounds. The maximum recorded 

 size for the genus is 134 pounds, and the record rod and reel catch, taken 

 off Florida, 106 pounds. 



Young amberjack have been taken off Beaufort from June through Sep- 

 tember. Hildebrand and Cable (1930) state that the fry in the vicinity of 

 Beaufort "occur chiefly at sea where spawning no doubt takes place during 

 the summer." They further note a female of thirteen inches with somewhat 

 distended ovaries, showing that the fish may be sexually mature at this 

 length. 



Anglers rate this fish very high as a hard fighter of great strength. It is 

 one of the most numerous and important game fishes in North Carolina, 

 especially around the wrecks off Cape Lookout, Cape Hatteras, and Cape 

 Fear. 



BARRACUDA 



(Genus Sphyraena) 



Here again there is confusion about species. For many years both the 

 great barracuda, S. barracuda (Shaw) and the northern barracuda, S. 

 borealis (DeKay), were reported off North Carolina. However, Hildebrand 

 and Schroeder (1928) reported that the only two species of Sphyraena 

 recorded from waters north of Florida were borealis and guachancho. This 

 Hmits barracuda, a typically West Indian species, to a more tropical range. 



Barracuda are present in warm offshore waters all over the world and 



4. Species marked by an asterisk are further discussed by Dr. Roelofs in the chapter in Part II 

 on "The Edible Finfishes of North Carolina," beginning on p. 109. 



