Fishes of the Western North Atlantic i ly 



enemies, to shake off remoras or irritating parasites, or to play. Also, it often executes 

 great leaps when hooked, evidently trying to free itself; as most Tarpon fishermen 

 know from experience, these efforts are frequently rewarded with success. 



Habitat. The Tarpon, a coastal fish, is seldom if ever seen more than a few 

 miles out from the land. To be sure, it has been credited with extensive seasonal off- 

 shore migrations, even across the Gulf of Mexico (p. i i8), but not with any definite 

 supporting evidence. The Tarpon may be taken in either salt or brackish water, and 

 not infrequently it lives in freshwater streams and lakes. It has long been known to 

 inhabit Lake Nicaragua, a body of water a hundred feet above sea level, and more 

 recently it has been reported as plentiful in the rapid San Juan River, via which the 

 Lake discharges into the Gulf of Mexico (j [1936]: 19-20). This fish is exceedingly 

 abundant, sometimes at least, in fresh or virtually fresh water at the base of the 

 spillway of Gatun Dam and also in Gatun Lake below Madden Dam. It occurs 

 regularly also in other parts of Gatun Lake and in the small freshwater lake be- 

 tween Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks (j6: 240). To reach these lakes the 

 fish must pass through the locks of the Canal. The smaller fish also abounds in 

 fresh and slightly brackish streams, as around southwestern Florida. The young fry 

 is often reported as occurring in great numbers in very stagnant brackish pools and 

 lagoons that were not connected to the sea when the collections were made (22: 80; 



3- 145; 5: 34; 12: 154). 



Migrations. Knowledge of this aspect of the Tarpon's life is scanty. It is probable 

 that the great majority of the larval Tarpon passes through the metamorphosis close 

 to the land, and many do so in estuaries, such as the Grande Afiasco River, Puerto 

 Rico {21: 146), and the Indian River, Florida {32: i). However, some drift so far off- 

 shore that they almost certainly are lost to the Tarpon population : one, for example, 

 was taken about 150 miles to the east of Brunswick, Georgia, well out in the Gulf 

 Stream (27: 236). 



The reported scarcity of fish less than three feet or so off the open coast, con- 

 trasted with their abundance in estuarine situations, even in drainage ditches, suggests 

 that most of them tend at first to work inshore. Indeed, great numbers of small fry 

 have repeatedly been encountered in brackish pools in mangrove swamps, in landlocked 

 lagoons, and in small pools around Florida, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, and on An- 

 dros Island in the Bahamas, access to which is possible only during periods of very 

 high water. Many of the fish that are trapped in this way are no doubt lost to the 

 population when the pools dry up. (For an interesting summary of recorded instances 

 of this sort, see Babcock, i [1936]: 24, 32-46.) But many of them probably find their 

 way out again. It is only in situations of this sort that the Tarpon fry has ever been 

 taken in any great numbers, at least around Florida (information from Dr. J. E.Ran- 

 dall). It is to be found in such situations around southwestern and southern Florida 

 throughout the year. The postlarval stages have recently been taken in such numbers 

 in the salt marshes of the Indian River on the eastern coast of Florida as to show that 

 this is an important center of dispersal for them (j2: 9). Little Tarpon 1-1.5 feet 



