She won't be disappointed with the 

 afternoon schedule meant to test gear, 

 stamina and some preconceived notions. 



At the out-take canal side of the Point 

 on Lake Mattamuskeet, students fight a 

 steady wind and strong current to pull in an 

 experimental gill net they had set earlier. 

 The net has five sections, each with 

 differently sized mesh openings from one- 

 inch to five-inch stretched mesh. They will 

 inventory the catch according to mesh size. 



No matter what size the mesh, they 

 discover it's often difficult to extract the 

 fish from gill nets. The gar are fierce fighters 

 and weave themselves into mesh openings 

 with their needle-shaped noses. Some can 

 be removed only by snipping the net. 



Gar, which run in both fresh and salt 

 waters, top the inventory list for this 

 collection time and site. One fish measures 

 better than 86 cm. Bowfin are second in 

 abundance. 



Both are air breathers and can adapt to 

 low oxygen levels in water because they 

 surface to breathe, Norton explains. Their 

 swim bladders serve as lungs to absorb and 

 release oxygen. "It's a primitive adaptation 

 of fish," he says. The swim bladder is for 

 buoyancy, filling or releasing gas as fish 

 change depth. 



Talk about adaptation. The salinity is 

 zero, yet the catch includes ladyfish and 

 blue crabs — both saltwater species. 

 Moreover, the canals that lead from the 

 lake to the sound are fitted with flap gates 

 to keep brackish and saltwater — and salt- 

 loving creatures — from entering the 

 freshwater lake environment. 



"Obviously some critters get through 

 at some stage of their lives and thrive in 

 freshwater," Rulifson says. As though to 

 prove the point, a blue crab, measuring 

 about eight inches from point-to-point, 

 stubbornly clings to the net. 



"No commercial crabbing is allowed 

 at Lake Mattamuskeet, and recreational 

 crabbers can't use crab pots here," he adds. 



Water testing continues as a fyke net is 

 set on the opposite side of the point, where 

 the current is not as swift. Rulifson 

 describes the fyke net as a hoop net with 

 wings. 



This method of fishing dates back to 

 biblical times, Norton tells the students. It's 

 been modified according to geographic 

 region and culture. "It's definitely 

 multicultural and multinational in origin. 

 The material will vary according to what's 

 available. In the tropics, they might use 

 reeds, in South East Asia, probably 

 bamboo." 



The catch is slim this time. 



The students reset the gill net and 

 move on to an inner canal to explore the 

 confined, brackish canal water 

 environment. The wind 

 has died down. 

 Rulifson and Norton 

 expect some stratifica- 

 tion of the water 

 column, with freshwa- 

 ter at the surface. 



The pH of the 

 water tells something 

 about the water source 

 and the kinds of fish 

 that can live there. 

 Basically, they are 

 standing in a peat bog. 



Though not 

 bountiful, the fyke 

 yields some additions 

 to the day's inventory 

 — a bluegill or bream, 

 war mouth (another 

 type of sunfish), and a 

 three-inch threadfin 

 shad. 



Shadows are 

 growing longer, but 

 there still is work to be 

 done. The group 

 returns to the lodge. 

 While one team sorts 

 and stashes the catch, 

 another moves to sites 

 around the pond to 

 conduct water quality 

 testing. 



On a flood control 

 structure near the 

 lodge, Jason Reuter, a 

 graduate student in 



Continued 



BELOW: Steve Norton and students 

 are pleased with the catch. 

 BOTTOM: Handling a hoop net in 

 shallow canal waters can Pe tricky. 



COASTWATCH 9 



