BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY 255 



A general impression that in North Carolina the faunas of the north and 

 south meet is true to some extent, but is not always, as generally assumed, to 

 the angler's advantage, as tropical fauna and northern fauna may appear here 

 only as stragglers. Nor is Cape Hatteras as sharp a barrier as customarily 

 indicated in angling literature. In summer, the water temperatures south of 

 there are more or less constant with that of the Florida Straits. In the region 

 of the Cape they begin to cool, but this is very gradual and a sharply colder 

 barrier is not achieved until Cape Cod. Therefore in summer there is no real 

 barrier for southern forms at Hatteras, although tropical stenothermal ^ 

 forms would find one in the cooling water. In winter there is more of a barrier 

 caused by the cooling of the North and Middle Atlantic Bights at that time, 

 in addition to the presence of the warmer water of the near-by Gulf Stream 

 in the region of Hatteras. These matters are discussed in detail by Dr. Nelson 

 Marshall.' 



For many years anglers have believed that the Gulf Stream off North 

 Carolina was the haunt of some of the more spectacular game fishes, par- 

 ticularly the blue marHn and the bluefin tuna. This idea appears to be based 

 on the capture of two blue marlin off Diamond Shoals, and on an impression 

 that the bluefin tuna must pass North Carolina in migration. No account has 

 been taken of the fact that such fishes may be part of population units and 

 may touch this coast only rarely and as stragglers, or that if they pass on a 

 migratory route, they may do so either at a depth or a distance offshore 

 entirely inaccessible to anglers. 



Dr. Marshall has discussed another prevalent idea that the Gulf Stream is 

 moving closer to shore. ^ 



FACILITIES FOR SPORT FISHING 



North Carolina has a number of features which should make her coastal 

 area particularly appealing to anglers. The main roads, rail, plane, and public 

 transportation services are all good, although some long stretches of lonely 

 road are in need of service stations. It would also be advantageous to 

 facilitate transportation from mountain area to shore area in order to attract 

 to the coast some of the visitors who now go only to the mountainous section 

 of the State. 



Hotels, guest houses, and anglers' cottages are fairly numerous, above 

 average in comfort and below in cost. 



The State could well advertise its coast as an ideal section for learning to 

 fish. On its reasonably priced party boats, from its piers and bridges, and in 



1. I. e., animals which can tolerate or live only within a narrow range of temperatures. 



2. For maps, charts, tables, etc., and other geographical and meteorological data of the North 

 Carolina coast, see Part I of this Survey, by Dr. Nelson Marshall, 



3. Loc. cit. 



