Life History of Cobia 
11 
Table 4. Number of cobia processed that were and caught by hook-and-line in North 
Carolina by month and date, 1983-90 (date intervals arbitrarily chosen). 
Dates 
May 
June 
July 
August 
September 
1-7 
1 
45 
8 
0 
0 
8-15 
5 
100 
5 
0 
1 
16-22 
27 
6 
3 
1 
0 
23-31 
20 
33 
5 
0 
0 
Totals 
53 
184 
21 
1 
1 
and otolith analyses) were collected in pound nets and long haul nets 
from Pamlico Sound in August and September (Fig. 3). Age 1 fish 
occurred in the sounds from late May through mid-September, and 
most specimens were taken by hook-and-line. 
Food Habits 
During 1989-1990, 140 cobia stomachs were examined, of which 
72.1% ( n - 101) contained representative food items. IrV s were computed 
from these samples and nine additional stomachs with food items from 
1987 to 1988. Twenty-four species groups of crustaceans, 16 species 
groups of fishes, and one cephalopod were identified from 110 stomachs 
(Table 5). 
After pooling data from all three sampling areas, the blue crab, 
Callinectes sapidus, had the highest iri, followed by the blackcheek 
tonguefish, Symphurus plagiusa, and unidentified fish remains. Other 
identifiable fishes in the diet with high iri’s were pipefishes, Syngnathus 
sp., and the smooth dogfish, Mustelus canis. Items apparently incidentally 
ingested included eelgrass ( Zostera marina) blades, small fragments 
of oyster shell ( Crassostrea virginica), and small gastropods. 
In the Beaufort area, the blue crab (Table 6) had the highest 
iri, followed by the smooth dogfish, pipefishes, and dasyatid sting 
rays. Abundant crustaceans included the iridescent swimming crab, 
Portunus gibbesii, the brown shrimp, Penaeus aztecus, and the mantis 
shrimp, Squilla empusa. High-ranking food items from the Hatteras- 
Ocracoke area (Table 6) were the blackcheek tonguefish and the blue 
crab. Important food items from offshore waters (Table 6) included 
the coarsehand lady crab, Ovalipes stephensoni, unidentifiable fishes, 
the blotched swimming crab, Portunus spinimanus, and rock shrimps, 
Sicyonia sp. 
Among individual prey taxa, elasmobranchs were the largest prey 
