216 



FISHES OF NORTH CAROLINA. 



The blue-fish is widely distributed in the Atlantic Ocean, and is also known 

 from the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is, however, nowhere 

 more abundant and valuable than in the United States, where it is one of the 

 most highly esteemed and economically important of food fishes. 



"Blue-fish", "green-fish", and "skip-jack" are among the names applied 

 to the fish in North Carolina, and of late "tailor", a Chesapeake Bay name, has 

 come into use at Beaufort. Lawson (1709) lists both "blue-fish" and "taylors" 

 among the fishes of the state. 



Fig. 92. Blue-fish. Pomatomus saltatrix. 



The species attains a large size. Some schools consist of fish weighing 8 or 

 10 pounds or even more, while other schools may be composed of 1-pound, 

 3-pound, or 5-pound fish. The larger fish remain at sea, while the smaller ones 

 enter bays, sounds, and rivers. Fish weighing more than 15 pounds are rare, and 

 the maximum authentic weight is less than 30 pounds. In " Forest and Stream" 

 for October 10, 1903, the writer published a note on what appears to have been 

 the largest recorded blue-fish; it was taken at the Maddequet Life-saving Station, 

 Nantucket, in the latter part of September, 1903, and was 3 feet 9 inches long 

 and weighed 27 pounds. Professor Goode, in his "Natural History of Useful 

 Aquatic Animals" (1884), gives the following data showing the relation between 

 the length and weight of the blue-fish: 



Length. Weight. 



14 inches ■ 1 pound 



17 " 2 



21 " 3 



24 " 4 



26 " 5 



26-27 " 6 



29 " 8 



The blue-fish probably spawns offshore in summer, but ripe examples have 

 rarely been observed and nothing definite is known as to the spawning time and 

 habits. At Woods Hole, Massachusetts, well-developed spawn is found in the 

 fish when they first arrive from the south about June 1, and young fish about 3 

 inches long appear in July. The young, 3 to 6 inches long, are abundant in 

 Beaufort harbor in summer. 



