166 
BULLETIN OE THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
spot situated on the lateral line being at the apex . This character, together with the more numerous 
gill rakers, readily separates the summer flounder from its relative and associate in more southern 
waters, Paralichthys albiguttus. 
The food of the summer flounder, as shown by 41 specimens examined for us by Dr. Edwin 
Linton, consists mainly of fish. Squids, shrimp, crabs, and Mysis also were eaten. This is the 
same general diet reported in published accounts. One author, at least, adds to this list small 
shelled mollusks, worms, and sand dollars. This fish is frequently seen on sandy shores, partly 
buried in the sand. Its movements, however, are rapid when in pursuit of bait. Color adaptation 
is developed to a very high degree, as it is able to assimilate to a very remarkable extent the color 
of the bottom that it inhabits. For an account of its color adaptation see Mast (1916, pp. 177 to 
238, pis. XIX to XXXII). 
Comparatively little is known of the spawning habits of the summer flounder. The eggs 
quite certainly are deposited during the winter. Specimens taken in Chesapeake Bay during October 
had comparatively large gonads. The large individuals appeared to be more advanced in this 
respect than the smaller ones. The senior author, working at Beaufort, N. C., has given consider- 
able attention to the spawning of this flounder and during the fall and early winter has found 
numerous individuals with partly developed gonads, but never any that were even nearly ready for 
spawning. By March and April the fish appear to be fully spent. It seems probable that this 
flounder may go to deep water to spawn. Further evidence that this flounder is a winter spawner 
is given in the following table enumerating the young caught in Chesapeake Bay in collecting seines: 
Date 
Locality 
Number 
of 
specimens 
Inches 
May 21 
Cape Charles (beach) 
1 
0.9 
May 20. . _ 
Lyimhaven Bay (creek)... . .. .. .. .. ... . 
3 
.9-1. 1 
June 24 
Buckroe Beach (creek) 
2 
2. 0-2. 4 
June 25 
Back River (creek) _ 
1 
2.4 
July 1 
Willoughby Point (beach) 
3 
1.9-4. 1 
July 10 . 
Lower York River (sandy flats) _ _ 
8 
2. 5-4. 3 
July 26 
Lower Rappahannock River-.!.. 
2 
, 
3. 0-5. 0 
A study of length frequencies of young fish indicates that by December and January following 
hatching, or at about the age of one year, the flounder has attained a length of 12 to 18 centimenters 
(4.7 to 7.1 inches); that by the next October, when about 1 % years old, the length ranges from about 
20 to 26 centimeters (7.9 to 10.2 inches); and that by May, or at a little over 2 years of age, the 
length centers around 27 and 28 centimeters (10.6 to 11 inches). During December and January 
no fish smaller than 12 centimeters or larger than 18 centimeters were caught, and there was a 
complete absence of fish below 20 centimeters in the seine catches from May to November. 
The summer flounder is a valuable food fish in Chesapeake Bay. During 1920, among the 
food fishes of the bay this species ranked twelfth in quantity and eleventh in valqe, the catch being 
285,100 pounds, valued at $13,763. 
In Maryland it ranked twelfth in quantity and thirteenth in value, the catch being 26,746 
pounds, worth $1,150. About 60 per cent of this amount was caught in pound nets, 38 per cent in 
fyke nets, and 2 per cent with haul seines. The counties leading with the largest catch were Somer- 
set, 9,118 pounds; Dorchester, 5,520 pounds; and Talbot, 4,411 pounds. 
In Virginia it ranked tenth in quantity and eleventh in value, the catch being 258,354 pounds, 
valued at $12,613. About 77 per cent of this amount was caught in pound nets; 9 per cent in fyke 
nets; 8 per cent with haul seines, and 6 per cent with lines. The counties having the largest catch 
were Norfolk, 51,200 pounds; Warwick, 36,230 pounds; and Accomac, 34,080 pounds. 
The summer flounder is caught in the Chesapeake throughout the fishing season, from March 
until November. In the lower part of the bay, pound nets are set for shad early in March. Begin- 
ning about the middle of that month stray flounders are taken, generally one or two in the catch 
of one net or a set of nets. During the first week or two of April the daily catch per net generally 
varies from one to six flounders. For the last half of April, however, the daily catch may vary 
from 25 to 500 pounds per set of two or three nets. The largest catches of this flounder through- 
