Northern Barracuda 335 



Color: Blue-gray and green above; silvery below. Scales 

 on sides with dusky centers forming longitudinal lines 

 along sides. A bluish spot at base of pectoral fin. 

 Distribution: Occurs in temperate and warm water on both 

 sides of the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean, and in parts 

 of the Pacific Ocean. In the western Atlantic it is found 

 from Brazil to Cape Cod and as a straggler north to Nova 

 Scotia. 



Size: This species may grow to IVi feet in the southern 

 part of its range but seldom is over one foot and is usually 

 smaller in the north. 



General Information: The Striped Mullet is a common 

 shore species in the Middle Atlantic and Chesapeake re- 

 gions, particularly in the smaller sizes. Large schools are 

 frequently seen near the surface of the water. When fright- 

 ened these fish will leap from the water in a follow-the- 

 leader fashion. Spawning occurs offshore in late fall and 

 winter. The young come in to shore when about one inch 

 long. At this time they are a shiny silver in color and are 

 so unlike the adult that they were classified by early ich- 

 thyologists as a different species. The Striped Mullet feeds 

 mosdy on algae and to a lesser extent on microscopic 

 plants and animals. 



Economic Importance: An important species in the com- 

 mercial fisheries of our southern states. 



Northern Barracuda 

 Sphyraena borealis DeKay 



Color: Olive green above; sides and belly silvery. Young 



have dusky blotches along sides and back. 



Distribution: Cape Cod to Panama. 



Size: Reaches a length of about one foot but is seldom over 



7 inches in the north. 



