Abundance And Size Of Dominant Winter-Immigrating Fish 

 Larvae At Two Inlets Into Pamlico Sound, North Carolina 



William F. Hettler, Jr. 



National Marine Fisheries Service 



National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 



Southeast Fisheries Science Center 



101 Pivers Island Road 



Beaufort, North Carolina, USA 28516-9722 



ABSTRACT— Weekly sampling for the larvae of six species of ocean- 

 spawning, estuarine-dependent fishes was conducted from October 

 1994 to April 1995 inside Oregon Inlet and Ocracoke Inlet, two major 

 inlets into Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Atlantic menhaden, 

 Brevoortia tyrannus, were similar in average density at both inlets; 

 Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus, and summer flounder, Par- 

 alichthys dentatus, were more abundant at Oregon Inlet; spot, Leiosto- 

 mus xanthurus, pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides, and southern flounder, P. 

 lethostigma, were more abundant at Ocracoke Inlet. Atlantic croaker 

 were significantly larger at Oregon Inlet at the beginning and end of the 

 ingress season, whereas Atlantic menhaden were significantly smaller 

 at Ocracoke Inlet at the end of the season (ca. 12 mm vs. 27 mm). Abun- 

 dance data from Oregon and Ocracoke inlets were compared with abun- 

 dance data collected during the same period at Beaufort Inlet and with 

 data from a previous monthly survey conducted six years earlier at the 

 same stations at Oregon and Ocracoke inlets. Winter temperatures were 

 similar at both inlets, but Ocracoke Inlet was warmer during spring. 

 Oregon Inlet was less saline than Ocracoke Inlet at every sampling 

 event. 



Pamlico Sound, the largest barrier island estuary in the United States 

 (5,200 km 2 ), supports numerous fisheries either indirectly as juvenile habitat or 

 directly as fishing grounds. Major fisheries include species of Clupeidae, Paral- 

 icthyidae, and Sciaenidae. Most species of these families spawn in the ocean, 

 after which their larvae pass through inlets before reaching estuarine nurseries. 

 Data on the ingress through inlets of larvae of these species are essential in 

 understanding variability in annual recruitment. The only publication describing 

 the seasonal abundance of fish larvae in inlets to Pamlico Sound was based on 



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