BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY 279 



off Beaufort. There is no rod and reel record. Other "game" sharks reported 

 to be off the North Carolina coast are the following: 



The thresher shark, Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre). The record, caught 

 off New Zealand, weighed 922 pounds. 



The tiger shark, Galeocerdo arcticus (Faber). The record, caught off 

 Australia, weighed 1382 pounds. 



The three sharks belonging to the mackerel shark family: the porbeagle 

 shark, Lamna nasus (Bonnaterre), the record of which was caught off 

 Florida and weighed 1009 pounds; the man-eater shark, Car char odon 

 carcharias (Linnaeus) the rod and reel record for which was caught off 

 Australia and weighed 1919 pounds. The third shark in this group, the 

 mackerel shark, is classified by anglers with the mako, which has been put 

 into a separate genus by some ichthyologists. Our mackerel shark is hums 

 tigris (Atwood). The record mako weighed 1000 pounds and was caught 

 off New Zealand by a young flying officer in 1943. It was the first fish he 

 had ever caught. 



SUMMARY 



North Carolina offers anglers good spring and fall, some summer, and a 

 small amount of winter angling for a large number of inside, surf, inshore, 

 and offshore fishes. 



The small number of so-called big game fishes ever taken off this coast, 

 combined with the expense and difficulties of fishing their grounds, does not 

 warrant exploitation of these fishes, although their presence or absence could 

 be profitably investigated by ichthyologists. On the other hand, the State 

 has fine angling quantities and good seasons for dolphin, amberjack, cabio 

 and sailfish, channel bass, striped bass, sea trout, and bluefish, all of which 

 are first class game fishes, as well as many others. 



Facilities in the State are excellent in standard, but lacking in number 

 and certainty. This is particularly true of boats, the great majority of which 

 are commercial craft used for anglers only when there is no commercial 

 run. There is insufficient information on fishes, exact seasons, localities and 

 quantities of non-commercial fishes, and prices. 



While the profit ultimately to be derived from a long-term scientific survey 

 of game fishes only would not balance the expense of such an enterprise, 

 the marked absence of any coherent records and the small amount of reliable 

 information available is a definite deterrent to prospective anglers. Even so, 

 the general prospects of angling well warrant promotion of North Carolina's 

 entire coast as an angling-vacation spot for a long season, from May to 

 November, and, to some extent, as a winter resort. Recommendations follow 

 with a view to immediate improvement of several conditions now hindering 

 game fishing in the State, 



