Table 6. --Relative abundance of the principal fishes taken by gill nets in 

 the Newport River, 1970. 



the next two, 4'^r. Although the remaining 97 

 species each contributed less than 1 '^r of the total 

 catch, some nevertheless were taken in consider- 

 able numbers. The three next most common spe- 

 cies were golden shiner, rough silverside, and 

 tidewater silverside (Menidia beryllina); only- 

 one freshwater species, golden shiner, ranked 

 among the 10 most numerous fishes. Other spe- 

 cies occurring in substantial numbers were blue- 

 back herring (Alosa aestivalis) , hogchoker, and 

 bluefish. Because of their abundance, all of these 

 species are important components of the estuary 

 (Zones 2 through 6). 



SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION OF 

 MAJOR SPECIES 



Numerically, the fish population within the 

 river system was of course dominated by small 

 fishes and larvae and juveniles of larger species. 

 All of the dominant species used the system as 

 a nursery area and three of the estuarine species, 

 bay anchovy, Atlantic silverside, and tidewater 

 silverside, apparently resided within the system 

 throughout their lives. The capacity to which 

 most of the dominant species utilized the system 

 was inferred from their seasonal and areal dis- 

 tribution, sizes, and numbers in the collec- 

 tions. 



Atlantic Menhaden 



Samples collected by haul seine in the estuary 

 and surface trawl in the upper river best describe 

 the cyclic distribution of menhaden within the 

 system (Table 7). Menhaden spawn oflF the 

 North Carolina coast from November to March 

 (Higham and Nicholson, 1964). Larvae enter 

 the estuary, transform into juveniles and usu- 

 ally remain most of their first year of life. Larval 

 and postlarval menhaden were first taken in the 

 estuary in February. By March some fishes at- 

 tained juvenile proportions (about 35 mm in 

 length), and many had moved into the upper 

 portion of the river. Salinity was Oy,, through- 

 out the upper river at the time of menhaden in- 

 flux into that area. Menhaden moved well up- 

 stream and into Zone 1 by May and remained 

 until August. Peak numbers were encountered 

 in May and June and most of the population 

 was centered in Zone 3. During these two 

 months the population of young menhaden in 

 the system was spread along a very wide salinity 

 gradient, ranging from a mean of O.l^f in Zone 1 

 to a mean of 28.3';, in Zone 5. After July the 

 number of menhaden in collections diminished 

 abruptly. By August the juveniles had emi- 

 grated from Zones 1 and 2, but some remained 

 in Zone 3 at the mouth of the river until Novem- 

 ber. After departing from the upper river, 



13 



