the Sounds 



Menhaden fishermen 



Though millions manage to slip 

 through the few inlets on the Outer 

 Banks, millions more don't make it 

 into the sounds. 



The latter usually end up as food 

 for other fish or as part of the con- 

 veyor belt migration that takes 

 them southward toward the large 

 bay surrounding the mouth of the 

 Cape Fear River. 



The fish that don't make it to 

 the nursery grounds could be a key 

 ingredient in determining the future 

 management of the Albemarle- 

 Pamlico system. 



In recent years, much attention 

 has been focused on dwindling 

 fisheries in and around Albemarle 

 and Pamlico sounds. Most people 

 blame man-made pressures such 

 as pollution, development and over- 

 fishing for the decrease in fish 



stocks. The numbers of fishermen 

 have increased significantly plac- 

 ing more pressure on the low- 

 volume system. 



"The first thing you think is the 

 sounds must be polluted, that 

 there's something wrong some- 

 where," Miller says. "We need to 

 know whether this is right or not.' ' 



The low fish count could be due 

 in part to the inability of some in- 

 fant fish to make it through the in- 

 lets, Miller says. Fluctuations in 

 water currents, winds and weather 

 may help explain why some years 

 are good for fishing and others bad. 



There should be enough space 

 and food for millions more infant 

 fish in these large sounds, Miller 

 says. 



But overfishing is only one prob- 

 lem humans bring to the sounds. 



Man's intrusion into other facets of 

 this fragile migration system can 

 already be seen. 



Poorer water quality — the result 

 of agricultural runoff, too much 

 development and other factors — 

 could toss a monkey wrench into 

 the natural workings of the sound. 



Environmental pressures caused 

 by habitat-destructive trawling in the 

 sounds could also weaken some links 

 in the migration chain, Miller says. 



Both researchers agree that 

 man's actions could have serious 

 consequences for the annual fish 

 migration patterns. 



"But right now, all we know is 

 that it's mostly affected by nature," 

 Pietrafesa says. "Nature controls 

 water temperatures, winds, air 

 temperatures, and all that deter- 

 mines how many fish make it 

 through the inlets.' ' ■ 



