626 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
during June and July. In the latter part of the summer the growth rate appar- 
ently falls off somewhat, but the exact figure has not been determined because 
of the admixture of another class of fish known as “cape mullet.” 
The next larger size group, which is found in the sounds during the winter 
and spring months, ranges from 110 to 180 or 190 mill'meters in body length. 
The mean size does not increase until the middle of April, when growth is 
observed in this group, also. By the end of April spring growth has begun in 
this group, and the same formation of a winter check (by the inclosing of the 
scale by concentric circuli) is noted. At this time the fish bear on their scales 
a distinct winter check, which in every way is comparable to the check inclosing 
the so-calied “ juvenile scale.” It is the second winter mark, therefore, and is 
formed when the fish is approximately 17 months of age. I have ealled all the 
fish up to this time the 0 group, and those after the formation of this winter 
ring, at a size of approximately 150 millimeters, the 1 group. The 1 group 
grows rapidly during May and at a maximum rate during June and July. By 
August these fish have reached a modal size of 265 millimeters body length and 
then appear in the commercial fishery as small mullet. In September they 
are mixed with the smaller fish of the next older year group, when they are 
termed “fat mullet.” They are also taken in reduced quantities during October 
and November when mingled with the spawning fish. 
These fish are considered resident in the vicinity of Beaufort, N. C. They 
are present in the sounds throughout the year, and the observed progress of 
the modal size is so constant that there can be little doubt of the real identity 
of this class of fish. In late August, or sometimes in September and October, 
another class of fish, known as “cape mullet,” appears in the sounds. They 
are caught in greatest abundance by the menhaden purse-seine vessels while 
at sea in the vicinity of Cape Lookout before they enter Beaufort Inlet. They 
are taken in considerable quantities, also, by haul seines situated on the beaches 
inside the inlet, and southwestward along Bogue Bank. These cape mullet are 
distinguished chiefly by size, which ranges somewhat larger than the local 
0 class in the fall and considerably larger than the 0 class in the early spring— 
that is, from 140 to 200 millimeters, with a modal length in September of 180 
millimeters. They are also of the 0 class—ihat is, they bear only the juvenile 
winter mark on the scales. When last seen in October, however, they are 
nearly 50 millimeters larger than the 0 class in the early spring, and hence form 
a group that lies between the sizes of the local 0 group and the local 1 group. 
According to popular belief, they come from the north and are occasionally 
referred to as Virginia mullet. They certainly enter Beaufort Inlet from the 
sea, and are most abundant in the ocean outside the sounds. Their origin 
and the part they play in supporting the stock in this region are still a problem. 
North Carolina fishermen believe that the migrating schools of mullet that 
leave the sounds in the fall proceed southward along the coast, always swim- 
ming, as they say “ with their right eyes to the beach,” and proceed to Florida. 
As dense schools are seen leaving the sounds in the fall and none are observed 
returning in the spring, the fishermen believe that the mullet remain in Florida 
and never return to North Carolina. This view, in part, is supported by Jacot, 
who made a brief investigation of the mullet at Beaufort during 1914—15. 
He believed that the mullet migrated to Florida in a leisurely fashion, feeding 
as they went, but that they returned in the spring singiy, making a continuous 
voyage, and that the strain of this travel caused the formation of the winter 
check. His idea, however, was not supported by observations, and we have 
shown that the winter check is not formed by migration but by normal spring 
growth, which begins when the water warms to about 20° C. 
This idea as to the one-way migration to Florida has had serious effect in 
opposing any regulation of the fishery in the interest of conservation, for the 
fishermen argue that if the mullet are not caught in North Carolina they will 
be lost to the State and will be caught in Florida. We therefore determined to 
examine the evidence of such migrations and whether or not the stock of 
mullet in North Carolina and Florida consists of a single intermingling popuia- 
tion. Two methods of study were employed—the first by searching for morpho- 
logical characters that might serve to prove the identity or the segregation 
of stocks in both States, and the second by tagging the fish.- Numerous 
measurements were made of physical proportions of Florida and North Carolina 
fish, and it was found that the ratio of head length to body length of fish 
of the same size from the two localities was distinctly different. The same 
was true of the length of snout and eye, but the width of the interorbital was 

