Table 1. --Monthly distribution of sampling effort in the Newport River, 1970. 



Fishing effort was expressed in units of shackle- 

 hours (Table 1) ; one shackle was equivalent to 

 a 7.6-m panel of net. 



Fish collections were preserved in 10 9r For- 

 malin and brought to the laboratory for proces- 

 sing. In catches so large that not all specimens 

 could be preserved, all of the rare species and 

 only samples of the abundant species were taken. 

 A representation of the species collected was 

 preserved in 40 9^ isopropanol and placed in the 

 fish collection at the Center. Processing of fish- 

 es included identification, enumeration, and 

 measurement of length (tip of snout to the end 

 of the median caudal ray) and weight. All sci- 

 entific and common names of fishes referred to 

 in this paper are in compliance with the Amer- 

 ican Fisheries Society (Bailey, 1970). Water 

 temperature and salinities were measured with 

 a portable induction salinometer during the sam- 

 pling for fish. 



SALINITY AND TEMPERATURE 



Salinities in the system ranged from CO^/r in 

 the upper river to 33.7'/r in Zone 6 (Table 2). 

 During the summer, salt water penetrated into 

 Zone 1 but during the late winter penetration 

 was only to Zone 4. Salinities were lowest 

 throughout the river during the February-April 

 sampling periods; highest salinities in Zones 3 

 through 6 were recorded in late summer and 

 early fall, and in Zones 1 and 2 in midsummer. 

 Salinities were most variable in Zone 3, and 

 ranged from O.O^^r during periods of greatest 

 precipitation (Feb.-Apr.) to 19.3^^^ in October. 

 Zone 3, however, was dominated by estuarine 

 waters (>0.6;^c salinity) during most of the 

 year. 



Water temperatures (Table 2) were lowest 

 in January, ranging from 6.3° to 6.5°C. High- 

 est temperatures were reached earlier upriver 

 than downriver. The peak temperature was re- 

 corded in Zone 1 during July (26.7°C). Peak 



