waters are well mixed by wind and tidal action. 

 The intracoastal waterway traverses the lower 

 portion of the estuary and forms a connection 

 with Neuse River through Core Creek (Adams 

 Creek Canal). A second connection with the 

 Neuse River is formed by an abandoned canal 

 linking Harlowe Creek to Clubfoot Creek. Ex- 

 change of waters with the Neuse River through 

 these canals may have some effect upon the hy- 

 drology and species composition of Newport 

 River. 



METHODS 



To facilitate the description of fish distribu- 

 tion and the location of hydrological observa- 

 tions, the river was divided into six zones, three 

 in the upper river between the forks and the 

 estuary and three in the lower river or estuary 

 (Fig. 1). The end of navigable waters, at river 

 km 34.87, determined the upstream boundary 

 of Zone 1. Zone boundaries downstream were 

 spaced as evenly as possible and located at points 

 with conspicuous land marks. 



A variety of collecting gear was used to sam- 

 ple for a wide range of species in different hab- 

 itats. A haul seine was used in shallow littoral 

 areas and bottom trawls (two sizes) and a sur- 

 face trawl in deeper waters. Anchored gill nets, 

 the only stationary gear employed, were fished 

 from surface to bottom in open waters. 



Physiograjihy of the system dictated the types 

 of gear fished in each section of the river. The 

 surface trawl (8 stations) and small bottom 

 trawl (4 stations) were fished only in th6 upper 

 river, while the haul seine (6 stations) and large 

 bottom trawl (5 stations) were fished only in 

 the lower river or estuaiy. Gill nets were fished 

 in each zone throughout the system (3 stations 

 in the upper river, and 3 regular and 2 alternate 

 stations in the lower river). The surface trawl 

 was limited to fishing in the upper river because 

 of the greater amount of net avoidance encoun- 

 tered in the broader expanse and more transpar- 

 ent waters of the estuary. A larger bottom 

 trawl was used in the estuary than in the upjjer 

 river to provide a more representative sampling 

 of the larger waters. The larger trawl could 

 not be maneuvered in the narrow confines of the 

 upper river. Steep banks and soft mud bottoms 

 precluded haul seining in the upper river. The 

 total amount of eflfort expended in each zone dur- 



ing 1970 is summarized in Table 1. Generally, 

 each station was occupied monthly and all sam- 

 ples taken within a 2-week period. 



Two bottom trawls of similar construction but 

 of diflferent sizes were used during the surveys. 

 The smaller net was 2.7 m across the headrope 

 and 3.0 m along the footrope, and the larger was 

 5.8 m across the headrope and 6.1 m along the 

 footrope. A 5-mm diameter chain was fastened 

 along the footrope of each trawl for weighting 

 the bottom line. The trawls were made of 19-mm 

 bar mesh knotted nylon in the body and wings 

 and 6-mm bar mesh in the cod. Otter boards 

 of appropriate size were fastened directly to the 

 ends of the wings. A tickler chain (5-mm di- 

 ameter) , about 0.5 m shorter than the footrope, 

 was suspended between the otter boards to stir 

 the bottom in front of the trawls. Three 8.9-cm 

 diameter floats were attached to the headropes 

 to open the mouths of the trawls. The larger 

 net was towed by a 7.6-m inboard-outboard 

 vessel using two 18.3-m lengths of rope attached 

 to separate warps. The smaller net was towed 

 between two 4.9-m outboard motorboats by two 

 9.1-m length ropes. The small trawl was towed 

 for 5 min at each station, and the large trawl for 

 10 min at a station. 



The haul seine was 1.2 x 21.3 m with a 1.2 m- 

 center bag. The wings of the seine were 5-mm 

 and the bag was 3-mm (bar measure) woven 

 nylon mesh. The seine was pivoted in a 15.2-m 

 radius around a focal point on the shoreline ; 

 one semi-circular sweep covered an area of 

 363 m-. One haul was made at each station. 



The surface trawl, modified from a net ori- 

 ginally described by Massmann, Ladd, and 

 McCutcheon (1952), had a mouth opening 6.7 

 X 0.9 m and tapered 6.1 m to the cod end. The 

 wings and body consisted of 6-mm and the tail 

 bag of 3-mm nylon mesh. The trawl was towed 

 downstream between two outboard motorboats 

 for 5 min at each station. A chain attached to 

 the footrope and floats attached to the headrope 

 kept the mouth of the trawl open while under 

 tow. 



Experimental gill nets were 2.4 m deep by 

 38.1 m long and consisted of five equal panels 

 of 2.5-, 3.8-, 5.1-, 6.3-, and 7.6-cm bar mesh mono- 

 filament nylon webbing. Additional nets of 1.9-, 

 3.5-, and 10.2-cm mesh were fished occasionally. 

 The nets were anchored at both ends and fished 

 for a recorded period of time at each station. 



