102 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Only a few of the smaller larvae at hand were caught in surface towings, and all 
the larger ones were taken in bottom hauls. Therefore, the indications are that 
the young of this species are chiefly bottom dwelling. 
GROWTH 
The number of young of the 0-class, consisting of only 126 specimens taken and 
measured, is entirely too small to cast much light on the rate of growth. However, 
the measurements parallel those of C. regalis rather closely, and indicate that the 
fish grow rapidly during the first summer of life, attaining a modal length of about 
170 millimeters (6% inches) when 7 or 8 months old. The size at which sexual matur- 
ity is reached remains unknown. 
CYNOSCION REGALIS (Bloch and Schneider) GRAY TROUT; GRAY WEAKFISH 
The gray trout ranges from Massachusetts to the east coast of Florida 11 . It is 
a commercially important species from Rhode Island to Florida. The States having 
the largest catches are New Jersey, with an average annual catch from 1928 to 1930 
inclusive of 9,160,346 pounds; 12 Virginia, 12,710,389 pounds; and North Carolina, 
4,415,059 pounds. This trout is reported to reach a maximum weight of 30 pounds. 
In Chesapeake Bay fish weighing 10 pounds are not particularly uncommon. How- 
ever, at Beaufort fish weighing 6 pounds are considered large ones and 9-pound fish 
are exceptional. 
The gray trout is a well-flavored fish and always commands a good price. This 
species and the spotted trout constitute the chief support of the haul-seine fishermen 
who generally go in pairs and fish the shallower inside waters in the vicinity of 
Beaufort. Their equipment consists of a small motor boat, which generally has a 
small cabin forward over the engine, a rowboat, and a 300 yard straight dragnet. 
Frequently two crews “pair”, that is, they unite their gear and power by lashing 
their nets together and making long drags, using the power of their motor boats. 
The gray trout is taken commercially at Beaufort from about March to Decem- 
ber, the length of the fishing season varying according to the annual fluctuation in 
the mildness, or severity, and duration of winter weather, for the large fish leave 
when cold weather comes and return as early in the spring as the temperature of 
the water again becomes agreeable. The large fish evidently are more sensitive to 
temperature than the smaller ones. Whereas, the larger ones leave the shallow 
waters, as already stated, upon the approach of cold weather, the smaller individuals 
remain there, except during the brief cold snaps that occur locally. Small gray trout 
were taken many times during the winter in Newport River, for example, during 
the several years of the present investigation. They were common also off Bogue 
and Shackleford Banks in a few to several fathoms of water. However, they pre- 
sumably withdraw to deeper and warmer water during cold snaps, but return within 
a few days after the temperature rises. Therefore they may make several migra- 
tions during one winter. The large fish, on the other hand, make only one migration 
11 In a study of the sea trouts of the Gulf coast, Ginsburg (1929, p. 83) found that the fish from that coast, formerly considered 
identical with the gray trout of the Atlantic coast, is a distinct species, which he named C. arenarius. Therefore, the range of the 
gray trout, previously thought to extend to Texas, is now restricted to the Atlantic coast. 
12 The statistics offered are taken from “Fisheries Industries of the United States”, for the years 1929, 1930, and 1931. The 
“average annual catch” is the arithmetical average for the 3 years, 1928, 1929, and 1930. The gray trout and the spotted trout are 
listed separately only for 1930. The spotted trout is unimportant, from a statistical standpoint, in all the States named, exclusive 
of North Carolina in which this species constituted 22.7 percent of the catch in 1930. However, to make the figures comparable the 
entire catch of trout is considered for each State. 
