294 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
In Chesapeake Bay, during 1920, the kingfishes ranked twenty-first, both in quantity and value, 
the catch being 17,933 pounds, worth $1,606. 
During 1920 the kingfishes were not taken in Maryland in commercial quantities. The catch, 
therefore, is credited entirely to Virginia. Considered among the fishes of Virginia, the kingfishes 
ranked twentieth in quantity and nineteenth in value. Of the total catch, 47 per cent were caught 
with lines, 30 per cent with pound nets, and 23 per cent with seines. The counties with the largest 
catches were Princess Anne, 6,600 pounds; Norfolk, 4,700 pounds; and Elizabeth City, 4,700 pounds. 
The kingfishes are caught from April until November, the bulk of the catch being taken in the 
spring and late fall. Records obtained from a set of two pound nets at Lynnhaven Roads, Va., 
give the earliest catches as follows: April 21, 1916; April 17, 1917; April 16, 1918; April 22, 1919; 
April 16, 1920; April 27, 1921; and April 11, 1922. The table on page 32 gives the monthly catch 
for the years 1916 to 1922, taken in the same set of two pound nets situated in the same part of 
Lynnhaven Roads for the entire period. 
According to this record, the catch of kingfish has been declining steadily since 1917, with a 
slight rise in 1922. The pound nets upon which this catch is based, because of their large size and 
peculiar location, probably yield more of this species than any other single set of apparatus in the 
bay. Because of this fact and the long period of time involved it is believed that these records 
indicate the general trend of abundance for the kingfishes in the Chesapeake. 
The kingfishes are taken with haul seines in small quantities from time to time during the summer 
and fall, but they are not abundant enough to support a special fishery. A few are taken with gill 
nets of a type known as the drift net. The drift net is sunk to the bottom by weights and is employed 
chiefly to catch croakers and striped bass. The kingfish bites freely on hook and line during the 
summer and fall, and the aggregate catch taken by anglers is rather large. 
This species is essentially a fish of the lower sections of the bay, but it sometimes is taken in 
small numbers as far north as Solomons, Md. However, it is rare above Solomons, and occurs only 
as a straggler at Love Point, Md. 
Most of the catch is marketed in Baltimore and the vicinity of Norfolk, but occasionally when a 
good catch is made it is shipped to New York, where a good price usually is obtained. During 1920, 
1921, and 1922 the price received by the fishermen was about 9 cents per pound, whereas the retail 
price ranged from 15 to 25 cents. During recent years these fish have not been caught in sufficient 
numbers to overstock the local markets, and the demand, although rather small, is constant. 
Various names have been assigned to these fish in the Chesapeake, the most common being 
“kingfish ” and “ round head.” They are sometimes called “ sea mullet,” “sea mink,” or “ whiting.” 
To avoid confusion with the Florida kingfish (Scomberomorus) and the New England whiting 
(Merluccius), the name “king whiting” has been proposed. 
The kingfishes are high-quality food fishes and are much esteemed by those who are well 
acquainted with them. For some reason they are not as well known generally as several other 
species that they surpass in quality. 
The weight of market fish ranges from % to 1% pounds and the maximum is 2% pounds. 
The following comparisons of length and weights of fresh fish may be of interest: Length 4 to 
4% inches (7 fish), average weight 0.4 ounce; 5 to 5% inches (5 fish), 0.85 ounce; 6% inches (11 
fish), 1.8 ounces; 7 % inches (1 fish), 2.1 ounces; 9 inches (1 fish), 3.8 ounces; 11 to 11% inches (9 
fish), 7.45 ounces; 12 to 12% inches (6 fish), 10 ounces; 13 inches (1 fish), 11 ounces; 14% inches 
(2 fish), 17.2 ounces; 15 inches (1 fish), 20.6 ounces; and 16% inches (1 fish), 30 ounces. 
Habitat . — New York to Texas; common from Chesapeake Bay southward. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: St. George Island, Md., Cape Charles city and 
Ocean View, Va. (6) Specimens in collection: From various localities, from Solomons, Md., 
southward. 
162. Menticirrhus littoralis (Holbrook). “Kingfish”; “Roundhead”; “Sea mullet”; Whiting; 
Surf whiting; Silver whiting. 
Umbrina littoralis Holbrook, Ichth., South Carolina, ed. 1, 1855, p. 142, PI. XX, fig. 1; South Carolina. 
Menticirrus littoralis Jordan and Evermann, 1890-1900, p. 1477. 
Head 3.45 to 3.75; depth 3.6 to 4.35; D. X-I, 24 to 26; A. I, 7; scales 72 to 74 (counting vertical 
series between the enlarged scale at upper angle of gill opening and base of caudal). Body elongate, 
