10 
Joseph W. Smith 
Table 3. Von Bertalanffy parameter estimates by sex describing the growth of cobia 
from North Carolina and adjacent waters, 1983-94; CL = 95% confidence limits. Richards’ 
(1977) estimates shown for comparison. 
Sex 
Parameter 
Estimate 
Asymptotic 
SE 
Asymptotic CL 
lower upper 
Richards’ (1977) 
estimates 
Males 
1« 
105 
1.85 
101 
108 
121 
k 
0.37 
0.04 
0.29 
0.45 
0.28 
to 
-1.08 
0.29 
-1.65 
-0.51 
-0.06 
Females 
L 
135 
3.82 
127 
142 
164 
k 
0.24 
0.03 
0.18 
0.31 
0.23 
to 
-1.53 
0.39 
-2.30 
-0.77 
-0.08 
coral patches of low relief (Huntsman 1976). By early May, cobia 
were found on nearshore artificial reefs and under navigation buoys 
in the vicinity of Beaufort, Ocracoke, and Hatteras inlets (Manooch 
et al. 1981). The earliest record for cobia caught by hook-and-line 
in North Carolina estuarine waters during the study was 8 May 1990. 
Initial spring catches in the sounds coincided with inshore water temperatures 
reaching 20 C and higher. Most “inshore” angling activity for cobia 
was concentrated in Bogue and Back sounds adjacent to Beaufort and 
Bardens inlets near Cape Lookout, and Pamlico Sound adjacent to 
Ocracoke and Hatteras inlets near Cape Hatteras (Fig. 1). Traditional 
fishing locations for cobia in North Carolina’s inlets, sounds, and 
coastal rivers were poly- to mesohaline waters >5-6 m deep. These 
sites were characterized by long, straight troughs or embayments (up 
to several kilometers long and/or wide), often with adjacent feeder 
creeks or channels, e.g., Bogue Sound, Newport River, and Wallace 
and Blair channels of Ocracoke Inlet. 
Peak catches of cobia in the North Carolina sounds occurred 
during June, and declined thereafter (Table 4). The latest record for 
an adult cobia taken by hook-and-line in the Carolina sounds during 
this study was 18 August 1988. Cobia were captured during summer 
in the nearshore ocean adjacent to buoys and fishing piers, and over 
artificial reefs and live bottom areas. Catches were often incidental 
to bottom fishing or live-bait fishing for other species. During May 
1988 and June 1991, catches were poor in the sounds following the 
passage of unseasonable cold fronts that quickly chilled estuarine water 
temperatures from 26 C to 19 C and 28 C to 22 C, respectively. 
Juvenile cobia also occurred in North Carolina sounds during 
summer. Young-of-the-year (based on length frequency distributions 
