I 



ust Passing Through 



By Sarah Friday 



Just as sure as the seasons 

 change, animals migrate. Fall 

 brings birds, fish, butterflies, 

 dolphins and other marine 

 mammals passing by our ooast. 

 It's a phenomenon that 

 fascinates us, but frustrates 

 scientists. No one can fully ex- 

 plain yet what makes animals 

 migrate. 



This month, Coastwatch 

 takes a look at the creatures 

 that make North Carolina one 

 of the most popular bird watch- 

 ing and fishing spots on the 

 East Coast. 



T~T * 



Ask any North Carolina fisher- 

 man his favorite time of year and 

 chances are he ; ll say the fall. 



The weather's cook the crowds 

 are gone and ; of course, the fish 

 are running. Thousands of mullet ; 

 blues and mackerels pass by the 

 coast like tourists on the way to 

 Florida. 



But ask a fisherman why the 

 fish migrate this time of year and 

 the answers are not quite as clear. 



Some say it ; s temperature 

 changes in the water. Others say 

 it's to spawn ; or to find new 

 sources of food. 



Scientists seem just as perplexed. 

 Coundess theories ranging from 

 celestial navigation to magnet-like 

 "compasses" in a fish's snout at- 

 tempt to solve the mystery. 



Still another school of thought 

 suggests the key to migration may 

 be related to light and a fish's 

 hormones. 



While scientists search for 

 answers, angler Harvey Elam 

 waits in the surf off Bald Head 

 Island for a run of red drum. 



"It's a fisherman's dream when 

 you catch a 30- to 40-pounder/ 7 

 Elam says. 



Sometimes in the fall Elam can 

 snag a drum up to 55 pounds. 

 The fishing's best from mid- 

 September to mid-October 7 he 

 says. And he doesn't miss a day. 



In more than 40 years of fish- 

 ing ; Elam's learned the ebbs and 

 flows of North Carolina's migrat- 

 ing fish. 



And there are plenty of them 

 here. 



"North Carolina is geographical- 

 ly located where we see a lot of 

 northern species of fish 7 a lot of 

 southern species of fish and some 

 tropical fish/' says Sea Grant ad- 

 visory agent Jim Bahen. 



The warm waters of the Gulf 

 Stream keep the larger and more 

 tropical fish cruising by the state 

 most of the year ; Bahen says. 



For other species, "The fish 

 basically come about the same 

 time of year/' Elam says. In the 

 talk fish such as swordfish 7 blue- 

 fish and tuna bypass North Caro- 

 lina on their way south to Florida. 



"You know they're coming/' 

 Elam says. You wait and watch for 

 the schools ; he adds. You know 

 you've hit one when you start 

 catching one fish after another. 



In the spring ; offshore species 

 swim to cooler waters off the 

 coasts of New Jersey ; Maryland, 

 Virginia and other more northern 

 states. 



A round trip for larger fish such 

 as tuna ; marlin and bluefish can 

 cover as much as 1,000 miles ; says 

 Charles Manooch ; a research biol- 

 ogist with the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service in Beaufort. 



But migrating doesn't always 

 mean a north-south trek. Inshore 

 species such as menhaden and 

 cobia take a different route. Some 

 saltwater fish classified as 

 anadromous species migrate from 

 the ocean to fresh water. 

 Catadromous fish ; or freshwater 

 fish ; move out to sea— most often 

 to spawn. 



