FISHERIES OF PAMLICO AND CORE SOUNDS 61 

Migrations.—Very little is known regarding the migrations of the 
gray trout. Welsh and Breder report that in the Chesapeake and 
Delaware regions the fish appear in April, move up the bays until 
brackish water is encountered, and then turn back and move seaward, 
spawning just within or near the mouths of the larger estuaries. 
After spawning, the fish return to the ocean, remaining near the 
coast until July or August, when they again seek the bays and sounds. 
No such distinct routes of migration have been recognized in Palmico 
Sound; however, there is some evidence to indicate a westward 
movement of the larger fish from Ocracoke Inlet, but our stations are 
not close enough together to determine the route of travel. It is 
well known that fish become very scarce early in November, and it is 
supposed that they return to the Atlantic Ocean. 
Regarding the movements of the gray trout (weakfish) in northern 
waters, Bigelow and Welsh remark that ‘‘it is now generally as- 
sumed that their autumnal migration takes place to avoid falling 
temperature and that they either move offshore to pass the cold 
season on the continental edge, or southward.’’ While a considerable 
southward migration of fish in the region about Cape Cod and Long 
Island Sound is quite conceivable, it seems less probable that such 
movement occurs on the Carolina coast where Gulf Stream temper- 
turesand shallow bottoms are within easy reach of the coast. 
The records of fish taken at Gull Rock indicate that here is a 
concentration of the smaller sizes of trout. Not only are the larger 
age groups very scarce, but the average size of the younger fish is also 
less than in other localities. Some have argued that this is a distinct 
race of the species, which is localized in Hyde and Dare Counties on 
the northwestern side of Pamlico Sound, but we have no evidence 
to support this contention. Our measurements indicate the presence 
of the Il-group and in all probability of the I-group throughout the 
season. The III-group is present early in the season but dwindles in 
importance as the season progresses. Whether or not this reduction 
in number is due to their migration to the sea or to their destruction 
by fishing gear is a question difficult to answer. It may be confidently 
stated, however, that the immature fish that are present in the 
sounds in the spring remain in inside waters throughout the entire 
fishing season. 
EFFECT OF PRESENT FISHERY REGULATIONS 
Regulations establishing minimum size limits are ordinarily enacted 
by the various States theoretically as conservation measures to protect 
the immature fish. Since the supply of fish in North Carolina waters 
is inadequate to meet the demand, it is but common sense to seek to 
prevent the useless waste of the present supply. But minimum size 
limits are actually designed to protect the dealer from the necessity 
of accepting from the fishermen fish too small to market profitably. 
Little attention is given to the protection of the species, for the limits 
are not placed high enough to protect the fish until they reach a 
spawning size. Whatever may be the merit of this principle, the 
present 9-inch minimum limit in North Carolina does not operate as a 

Z 2 —-5---— 
13 Fishes of the Gulf of Maine. By Henry B. Bigelow and William W. Welsh. Bulletin, U. S. Bureau 
of Fisheries, Vol. XL, 1924 (1925), Part I, p. 275. Washington. 
