ECONOMICS OF THE FISHERIES 433 



In these price relationships the effects of terrestrial latitude and the 

 succession of seasons are clearly evident in giving the State the much 

 desired "corner" or advantage in the market for those items (shad, soft 

 shell crab) which occur in the early spring in North Carolina when they 

 fetch the highest prices before they become plentiful farther north. Such 

 advantages as these should obviously be pressed for all they are worth. In 

 the case of the oyster the seasonal factor is probably reversed to the dis- 

 advantage of the State. A further, more extensive and detailed study of 

 these factors as they affect all of the State's fishery produce should yield 

 valuable results. 



Statistical History of the Menhaden. Table 58, Appendix, is a historical 

 record of the commercial menhaden fishery of all regions from 1880 to 

 1945. The money values are those reported by the Government agency but 

 are rather nominal than competitive, being the seasonal figures used by 

 boat owners in settling with the crews. 



NORTH CAROLINA FISHERIES GEOGRAPHICALLY 

 CONSIDERED 



The production of North Carolina food fish (i.e., not including menhaden) 

 for several years has been in the neighborhood of 40 to 60 million pounds 

 annually, worth, before World War II, around $1,500,000, and in 1945 

 about $4,500,000. These quantities and values with efficiency could be 

 handled by a small number of dealers, say, a dozen or so. The problem, 

 however, is made difficult by the geographical configuration of the coast. 



The fisheries of the State are spread over a coastline about 300 miles long, 

 not considering indentations. This coastal area is cut by several deep 

 estuaries running inland for distances of 60 to 75 miles from the Outer Bank 

 so that north-south transportation is difficult. 



The whole coastal region divides itself naturally into three productive 

 areas : 



a. Northern Production Area, from the Virginia line inland to Pamlico 

 River, and along Outer Bank to Ocracoke; it includes the fishing counties 

 of Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank, Chowan, Bertie, Dare, Hyde, and 

 Beaufort, and the fishing communities, Elizabeth City, Manteo, Colerain, 

 Edenton, Belhaven, and Washington. The water in the sounds (Currituck, 

 Albemarle, Roanoke, Croatan, and the northern part of Pamlico) becomes 

 less salt or brackish with increasing distance north and west of Ocracoke 

 Inlet. Accordingly the characteristic species undergo change in the same 

 sense, i.e., in western Albemarle Sound and Chowan River, the production 

 is mostly anadromous shad and alewives (early spring), striped bass, and 

 the fresh water catfish, and carp (especially in Currituck), while seaward 



