INVESTIGATIONS OF ANADROMOUS FISHES of the NEUSE RIVER, NORTH CAROLINA by Jess ~L H<~wkins North rol ina rtment Natural and Community Development Division of Marine Fisheries Horehe<>d C'i ty, NC 28557 Special Scientific Report Number 34 November 1980 Data for this report were collected during projects AFCS-10 and AFCS-·13, which were conducted under the Anadromous Fish Act (PL 89-304, as amended) and funded, in part, by the US Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service and US Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. ABSTRACT Investigations were made into the life histories of blueback herring, a·lewife, hickory shad, American shad, striped bass, and Atlantic sturgeon in the Neuse River, North Ina. Sampling began on 1 June 1976 and extended to 20 tember 1979, u lizing wing trawls, flat trawls, seines, planketon nets, and g'l1 nets. Spawning areas were identified in the Neuse River for blueback herring, ewife, hi shad, American shad, s Gt·owth of b1 ueback herring was determined fm' the r asses" Growth of American shad juveniles was ned on the 1977-1979 year asses. ative abundance was ned for b I ueback ng 11CJ 1 Yeac class composition and spawning repeti on was determined adult blueback •1err·ing, alewife, hickory shad and American shad. Striped bass year class composition was also determined for the same year. Tagging stud·ies were conducted on b1 ueback herr·i ng, alewife, American shad, hickory shad, striped bass and Atlantic sturgeon providing information on aduH migration in the Neuse R·iver. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT . i i I NTRODUCT! ON STUDY AREA 4 LITERATURE REVIEW 9 MATERIALS AND METHODS 10 Spa'v'tn i ng Sampling 10 Area Sampling 11 Adult Fish Harvest 14 Tagging ..... 16 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 20 Spawning Areas 20 Juvenile Sampling 43 Adu1 t Fish Sampl in~ 64 Division Sampling 64 Commercial Fishery Sampling 73 Recreational Fishery Sampling 81 Tagging 84 SUMMARY 94 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 97 LITERATURE CITED 98 APPENDIX . .1 02 I NTRODiJCTION Anadr·omous fishery resources have historically made important contributions to North Carolina's total commerci finfish harvest. During 1960-70, anadromous fish landings accounted for 49 percent of the total edible finfish landings in North rolina (Table 1). Hov1ever, for 1971-79, anadromous species comprised on'ly 20 percent of edible finfish 1 Two obvious reasons for the decline ·in anadromous fish landi are increases in al effort for and harvest finfish, a in1 of certain anadromous soeci es ng the same can river herring landings have cons·i y from the catches of which produced the greatest poundage both s es duri the yea1·s, Anadromous sh also contl·ibute signif"icant1y to the recreational fishery in North Carolina's estuaries and tributaries. Although no specific landings are available, the recreational harvest ·is estimated to be in the millions of pounds (Sholar 1977). A tota 1 seven species oiY'e considered to anadromous in North Carolina: American shad (Alosa sapidissima), hickory shad (Alosa mediocris), blueback herr·ing (Alosa aestivalis), alewife {Alosa pseudoharengus), striped bass {Horone saxat.ilis), Atlantic sturgeon (Ac.ipenser oxyrhynchus), and shortnose sturgeon ( Aci.penser brevi rostrum}. Blueback herring and a1 ewife are considered collectively as river herring, The shortnose sturgeon has not been ·identified in North Carolina in recent years and may be extinct within the state (Schwartz and Link 1976). All the major tributaries North Carolina's coastal sounds suppm·t commercial and recreational fisheries for anadromous species. The major American shad streams are the Neuse, Tar-Pamlico, Cape Fear, Northeast Cape Fear, and Chowan Rivers (Figure 1). The Neuse and Tar-Pamlico Rivers produce the largest landings of hickory shad in North Carolina (Marshall 1977). River herring are the most abundant anadromous fishes, and are widely distributed along the coast in major and minor tributaries. Striped bass are found in North Carolina's coastal waters year-round, ascending a~l l)lajor rivers to spawn. Sturgeon are caught commercially and recreationally in most of the major coastal tributaries. 2 ·in the r~ari ne Total bl e Year sh (lb) ver 47,0 I L2 'L. 9 ' ,r:oo L4 :ll ' ' "1 1 ? L1 c '')J 1 3 "4 3 (" 'I 4$ b!~F \0 ,\J 2 32, 7,000 "14 j 1 ~noo ,4 1.4 0 7 40, ,000 u:> ,0 1 0,6 3'' ~000 ! 7'; ,3 1 0.7 "' ' 1969 7,000 60.8 189' 0.8 ,000 "\4'11 ? 1 0.7 . " ' !#3 ,000 4. ' ' 1{ 47,8 0.9 40~ ,000 13 t 'I ,4 87' 0.6 1973 41.203,000 '10, 12 ,6 87, 0.9 1974 49,244,000 i 1L4 0.8 ' 1975 53,681,000 7 ',,c 14.'1 ,1 0.5 7 1976 53,754,000 I ,6 ,000 "14. 3 0.6 (l 1977 61,642,000 9,417, 15' 0 "' >o. 1 1978 75,166,000 7, HU ,346 0,5 1979 82,462,714 6,043,1 7.3 31,600 0.5 3 T ~ 7B li I' COASTAL NORTH CI\HOUNA II 56 . ' I' :I 0 '1.,. l\ :.1 I ATLANTIC 1: OCEAN I I•' , I • I I I If I 11 I SCALE ' '3~ I > I 'I I 0<1 & '" U> ~""' /J.'f< 1><\l r0ll:>,~1U:li .._ __,L,~---'~·--~·- ·- -'"------.~~ Figure 1" Neuse fUver n 4 The North Carolina Division of Madne Fisheries, in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Stervice a.nd the IJ S Fish and Wildlife Service, is conducting studies in an the major coastal r·lver systems of North Carolina to obtain data needed to manage anadromous fish resources. These programs are designed to pro vi de key information enab 1 i ng optimum utili on of anadromous species. Utt.le specific information was available for this purpose prior to the i tiation of the anedromous ~,-tudy programs, The objectives the North Carolina D"ivision of ne F·lshedes are to identify anadromous fish spawning and nursery areas, determine migra on periods and Y'OUti,S, invest"igate distri­ bution and r"elative abundance, and determine year class composition of adult stocks. Investigations of this type have been conducted in the Albemarle Sound area, Tar-Pamlico River, and northern Pamlico Sound, New River, White Oak River, and Northeast Cape r River (Figure 1). Studies are presently being conducted on the Neuse and Fear Rhers, and in the Albemarle Sound area. This report presents the results of a three year study on anadromous species in the Neuse River. STUDY AREA The Neuse River Basin, encompassing an estimated area of 1,603,666 ha is the second largest drainage basin lying entirely within North Carolina. The Neuse River, formed by the confluence of the Eno and Flat Rivers northeast of Durham, has an estimated dra"inage area of ~ ,449,826 ha. The river r!ows in a generally southeasterly direction from its origin to l~ilkinson Point below New Bern, ~/here the estuary turns to flow into Pa.mlico Sound (Figures 2 and 3). Bay River and Core Sound from Ocracoke Inlet to Drum Inlet were also included in the Neuse River Basin by Bayless and Smith (1962). The Neuse River and its tributaries drain all or a on of eighteen counties. The upper third of the river lies within the Piadmont Region of North Ca ro l"i na, with the fa 11 1i ne occurring halfway betHeen Ra 1ei gh and Smith fie 1d (Figure 2). The Piedmont tributaries are usually swift and turbid, flowing through relatively deep valleys and narrow flood plains. The waters of the Coastal Plain, which compr·ise the remaining two--thirds of the river basin, are dark and slow-moving. The average str·eam gradient within this region is only .6 foot' (.18m) per mile (Bayless and Smith 1962). 5 6 Cl ~3 ~ =-J '-'"~ :::;. ~ ~ ·~ "'(!J BROAD 7 >·- 0 -~wfy.,.-----15 10 MILES Figure 3 - continued ) f\1 Milburnre Dam 8 l-d 1mpassabie dam U Passable lowhead dam miles Figure 3. - continued 9 Neuse vet' ··~n a moder-ate imate averaging 61oF (160C) year­ rotmd" Much I is silvlcultural and agricultural use. There are seven urban areas ·in: Durham, Ra'leigh, Wilson, Go'ldsboro, Kinston, New , and Smi thfl bas·in a'lso offers a wide variety of lent hunfiing fishing ac vi 1?s ( Stat"? Board of Health 1959). nctpa 1 es of Neuse !{iver from its mouth to New Bern are: Broad , Turnag·l n South River, Smith and Greene Creek, Adams Creek, Dawson Creek, Clubfoot Creek, Hancock Cr·eek, Beards Creek, Slocum Creek, Goose Creek, Upp0;r B River 1~"'"";' tributary of the Neuse.(Figure 3). A11 of these tributaries lie within 34 mt ( of the mouth of the river. pri nci pa 1 es between New Goldsboro a.re Batchelor Creek (the best sport ing stream in the Neuse-Bay less and Smith 1962) ,Swift Creek, Cove , and Creek. These a.re all within 64 mi (103 km) of the Neuse River· mouth. Contentnea Creek, at ver mile 64 (103 km) is the last ma.jor tributary untn Little River is reached above Goldsboro at river mile 134 (216 km), Above Little River, thto only major tributaries are the Flat and Eno Rivers which jo·in to fat'rr. the Neuse. There are two 'low··head darns (approximately 12ft (3.7m) high) on the Neuse River between Raleiqh and the river mouth: Milburnie Dam near Raleigh and Quaker fJeck Dam at Goldsboro. ~1ilburnie Dam is an inoper·ative mill dam, while Quaker Neck Dam impounds cooling water for the Carolina Power and Light Steam Plant near Goldsboro.