52 FISHING-GEOUNDS OF :N0RTH AMERICA. 



THE COAST FEOM CAPE CHART.ES, VIRGINIA, TO SOUTHERN FLORIDA. 



The shores of this coast consist almost entirely of long, sandy beaclies and a great nnmber 

 of low, marshy islands, separated by diffusely branching tide channels. These channels some- 

 times have a considerable width at high tide, but at low water are usually narrow, leaving broad 

 flats exposed. Good fishing-grounds exist along almost the entire coast, but fish are now mostly 

 taken on the sandy shores near the deeper holes an<l in the various inlets only in the vicinity 

 of the larger towns and cities, as iu such localities only can a market be found for the catch. 

 Fish are more abundant in the inlets than on the outer shores. Mullet' are taken along the outer 

 and inner shores of both North and South Carolina by fishing crews, who build temporary camps 

 to last only during the fishing season. Bluefish are found along the entire coast, from Cape Cod 

 to Southern Florida, and constitute one of the most important species south of Chesapeake 

 Bay. There are two principal localities where bluefish are taken in gill-nets in the late fiill and 

 winter. One of these is situated off Cape May, in the vicinity of Five Fathom Bank. The other 

 is on the coast of North Carolina, beginning a few miles below Cape Henry and extending to 

 Cape Hatteras Inlet. 



Vicinity of Cape Lookout. — On the south side of Cape Lookout, and within a short 

 distance of the beach, mullet, Spanish mackerel, drum, and sheep's-head abound, and toward the 

 end of the cape large quantities of menhaden. are seined. In this vicinity, a fishery for porpoises 

 and whales is also carried on, usually at a short distance from the shore, by means of small boats. 

 In the sound, inside of the outer beach, mullet and several other species of small fish are common 

 in their season. 



Beaufort Harbor, North Carolina. — At and off the entrance to this harbor there are 

 good bluefishing-grounds in summer. To the eastward of the entrance, along the beach of 

 Shackleford Banks, "sea trout" are seined for in the spring and fall, and drum and mackerel are 

 caught in the fall. Inside of these banks sea trout, sheep's head, hogfish, and spots are also taken 

 in the fall. West of the entrance, along the outer shore of Bogue's Banks, for a distance of 



' The scientific names of the several species of fish referred to on pages 52 to 55 are as follows : 



Bass Sciwnops ocelJatus. 



Bastard Snapper IihomhopHtes aurorubens. 



Black Grunt Hcmmdon formosum. 



Blackfish or Sea Bass Cetitroprintis atrarius. 



Bluefish ...Pomalomus aallatrix. 



Butter-fish SIromatvus alepidotus. 



Coljia Elacate aUaiitica. 



Drum I'ogonias cliromiK. 



Grunts ."1 IJwmvlon (various spotMcs). 



Hogfish Fomodasys fulroninciilatus. 



Jack Caranx hippos, and other carangoids ; the name is also ap- 

 plied to the Ponip.ano. 



Menhaden Brevoortia ti/rannus. 



Mullet Mngil brasiliensis and .\f. albitla. 



Porgees Stcnotomiis acidcatuSjtfc. 



Red Snapper .1.. Lutjaiius Illackfoi-dii. 



Sailor's-Choico Lajodon rlioiiibohles. 



Sea-trout CijnoHvion maciilaliiin. 



Sheep's-head Archosanjus probaiocephulus. 



Spanish Mackcnl Scombirtmorus macitlalits. 



Spot lAostonuis ohUqum. 



Spotted Bass. (5feBass.) 



Squirrel-fish Diplevtrum fasdculare. 



Tautog Tauloga onilis. 



Tom-cou or Kingfish Aleiiticirrtis nebulosiia. 



