270 MARINE FISHERIES OF NORTH CAROLINA 



In outside waters light tackle is frequently used for it, but closer inshore 

 heavier tackle is necessary because of the danger of fouling the line on the 

 rocks or wreckage about which the fish is often found. 



The rod and reel record catch weighed 113 pounds; the average weight 

 is from 10 to 25, but 40 pounds is not uncommon. 



CERO, ALSO CALLED KINGFISH AND KING MACKEREL 



Scomberomorus cavalla (Cuvier & Valenciennes) 



This popular anglers' fish is chiefly taken by trolling. It averages around 

 seven pounds and is said to reach a weight of 75. The rod and reel record 

 taken off Bimini, B.W.I. , in February, 1935, weighed 73^ pounds. The 

 fish is often present among schools of Spanish mackerel (5. maculatus 

 (Mitchill) and spotted cero (S. regalis [Bloch]), but commercial fishermen 

 distinguish easily between the commercially profitable Spanish mackerel 

 and the commercially unpopular cero whose sharp teeth are destructive to 

 nets. Reports of the cero's edible quality are conflicting. 



The cero is a southern fish whose northern limit on our coast is about 

 North Carolina although it straggles up as far as Cape Cod. It runs south 

 to the Gulf of Mexico and to Brazil and is reported off Africa. Other 

 Scomberomorus species are plentiful in the Pacific. Concentration points 

 are from South Carolina to Key West and the Gulf coast. In winter the cero 

 is absent north of Florida where it is very abundant. It occurs all along 

 the North Carolina coast but is most frequently caught off the Beaufort- 

 Cape Lookout section in spring and fall. Records at Morehead City show 

 a number of cero taken in October and November and weighing between 15 

 and 30 pounds. They are said to average about 10 pounds in July in this 

 region, and about 20 pounds in October. Large runs of them are reported 

 for the Wilmington-Southport area in October, where it is suggested by 

 various anglers experienced with Cero fishing in Florida that the North 

 Carolina anglers are not fishing deep enough for them. 



* CROAKER 



Micropogon undulatus (Linnaeus) 



The croaker is so abundant off North Carolina for such an extended 

 season that its commercial value is based not so much on its abundance but 

 on the lack of it; during slack seasons if caught it brings higher prices. 

 This is a smallish fish, marketable at a weight of >4 pound and reaching 

 slightly over five pounds. It occurs from Cape Cod to Texas and is most 

 abundant from Maryland south. It spawns irom August to December in 

 the northern parts of its range and probably later farther south. Fish with 

 well developed roe have been found in Chesapeake Bay during October 



