266 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
The pinfish apparently does not spawn in Chesapeake Bay. According to present evidence 
it is a winter spawner. Bean (1903, p. 562) states that spawning takes place in the Gulf of Mexico 
in winter or early spring. Smith (1907, p. 300) records that specimens examined at Beaufort, 
N. C., in June and July had no obvious reproductive organs, but that eggs were noted in a female 
on August 6, and a ripe male was taken on November 20. The capture of young fish in Chesapeake 
Bay in the spring is further evidence that spawning may occur durng the winter. The collection 
of numerous larval pinfish by one of us (Hildebrand) at Beaufort, N. C., during the winter of 
1925-26 proves beyond a doubt that at Beaufort, at least, spawning takes place during late fall 
and winter. The following two catches of young pinfish were seined in Chesapeake Bay: May 22, 
1921, creek tributary to Lynnhaven Bay, three fish, 23 to 29 millimeters to 1)4 inches) in length; 
May 22, 1922, Cape Charles, Va., many specimens, 20 to 27 millimeters (% to 1 inch) in length' 
The only midsummer catch of pinfish consisted of seven fish, ranging in length from 96 to 105 
millimeters (3% to 4 )4 inches), and was taken with a seine in the lower York River on July 10. 
During October the majority of the fish caught were from 136 to 160 millimeters (5)4 to 6)4 inches) 
long. One catch of pinfish, taken on October 10 in a 300-fathom haul seine, consisted of 850 pin- 
fish, 170 to 185 millimeters (6M to 7)4 inches) in length. As the average length of the individuals 
of this lot was 1 inch or more greater than of other fish caught during October, it seems probable 
that they were older fish. 
The pinfish in Chesapeake Bay inhabits only the southern section, where fish of marketable 
size are taken in small numbers during the summer and fall. Its commercial importance is very 
small, and the marketable catch of 1922 probably did not exceed 1,000 pounds, valued at about 
$40. Small fish, 4 to 7 inches long, are sometimes very common in the fall but are discarded by 
the fishermen. One day in October, 1922, about 5,000 fish of this small size were caught in a 
pound net at Lynnhaven Roads, Va.; and at Ocean View, Va., many were taken in haul seines 
throughout the month of October. Fishermen operating a set of two pound nets at Lynnhaven 
Roads caught and marketed 3,500 pounds of pinfish from .May 7 to 11, 1918. These fish were 
somewhat larger than usual and represented an unusual run. 
The fish caught in the Chesapeake are marketed chiefly in Norfolk, Va. The average size of 
fish observed in the markets is about one-third of a pound. The maximum size recorded for the 
species is 13 inches. (Schroeder, 1924, p. 26.) The following weights were obtained from 130 
pinfish caught in Chesapeake Bay: Five inches, 0.9 ounce; 5)4 inches, 1.4 ounces; 5)4 inches, 
1.6 ounces; 5% inches, 1.9 ounces; 6 inches, 2.1 ounces; 6)4 inches, 2.4 ounces; 6)4 inches, 2.8 
ounces; 6% inches, 3.1 ounces; 7 inches, 3.4 ounces; 7)4 inches, 3.5 ounces. 
Habitat . — Massachusetts to Texas; common from Virginia southward. 
