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. Five additional small dams are found in the Goldsboro-Smithfield area; two on Little River, one in the Army Corps of Engineers' constructed waterway joining two sections of the Neuse below Quaker Neck Dam, dn Beaverdam Creek, and the other on Black Creek (Figure 3).

LITERATURE REVIEW

Street and Han (1973) compiled a bibl-iography concerning anadrorr.ous fish in North Carolina that provided reference to all previous research conducted on these species in the Neuse River through 1972. Bayless and Smith (1962) described the streams in the Neuse River Basin, reporting several occurrences of anadromous fish in the tributaries of the Neuse. Documentation of anadromous fish nursery areas in the lower Neuse River appeared in a report by Spitsbergen and Wolff (1974). 10

Baker (1968) est·imated the recreat ona1 rvest 5 bass, can shad, river herring, and hickory 1 h ina, fi the Neuse River is the major stream the recrea rvest can shad and hickory shad. He also collected striped bass, cal shad, ver herring eggs in the Neuse River. Tobaben (19 y desert tagging operations for striped bass in the lower Neuse River. Walburg (1957) did an intensive study on total catch, fishing effMt, fi ng rate, size of spawning run, and spawning escapement of American shad for the so ver in 1953,

Several aspects of the 1i history of hi in the lovier ver were reported by Pate ( 1 ) . nte ("i age growth rates of American shad in the Neuse River. chols (I r·ivers on the Atlantic st, including the Neuse, contai discrete j le ~~erican shad. l'igration of American shad in the Neuse severe:! other Atl an c coast r'ivers was reported by Sykes and Talbot (1 ). Wal and Nichols (1967) wrote an extensive report of the Atlantic coast funerican shad fishery, describing each state's recrroationa·l and commercial fishery for rticuhr r·iver systems.

Keup and Bay·! ess ( 1964) r·ecorded the re·l ati onsh·lp of severa 1 anadromous species to varying sa,linities in the Neuse River. Jl.n investigation of reduced oxygen tol era nee and petro·!eum '~'Ox'i cHy of American shad juveni1 es from the Neuse River was conducted by Tagatz (1961).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Spawning Area Sampling

Potential spawning areas were sampled during ea y March to late May in the Neuse River. Gi11 nets were utilized in the mainstream and tributaries to capture adults, and to determine the limits of upstream mig on in the Neuse. Capture of running ripe adult females was regarded as one cr-iterion for classifying river sections as spawning areas. Ten, twenty, and forty meter uni of 63.5 mm (2.60 in), 69.9 mm (2.75 in), 82.6 mm (3.25 in), 101.6 mm) 4 in), 123.7mm (4.88 in), and 139.7 rrun (5.50 in)stretched mesh monofilament gill net were set for 24 hr periods. Fork 1ength ( Fl, mm) measurements were recorded on a 11 captured adult anadromous fish. Each anadromous fish was ex ami ned to determine sex and spawning condition, and scale samples were taken for age determination and evidence of previous spawning. ll s i ng

when taken from ~i towed c!en

ng di

All cr with ther an ocular

ng the s suitable nurst::;ry arecc ·ing sites were sel in the' preliminary 1i A total 104 tes viaS i nves t·i gated, for regul r sampl Bo ne (B) and traw1(40)stations were sampl monthly fnm: Dec:c:miJer, 1976··77. The tota 1 station number was to 37 during 1978-79, wt 9 ne and 28 trawl stations being sampled monthly ( gure 4). The seine stations were pulled with a seine fitted with a 1/4 in (6.3mm) bar· seine '!!OS cons one unit-of-effort. All trawl stations (7,9 m) wing trawl con ~t• Hi (. 'l 5 in the wings to in (6.3 fn the ta i 1 ( ~ring trawl vias fitted vJi th to avoid 1978-79 only in'l (2l)wel'O', These stations were located on t Rivet and on In 1978-79 estuarine into primary and secondary stations according to " s 1 on by Purvis (1976) and Spi and Wolff (1974). sta ons (5) were pulled with a 13ft (3. m) head rope at l/4 in 1976-77 \"Ji ng (\ trawl u \~Ji ng 1978-79 ~ travvl .!978-79 Primary § $rawl • ~ 1978-79 econda w"' trawl 0 1977-79 Seine A miles ' Figure 4 -Monthly (May-December) juvenile sampling stations in the Neuse River, NC, 1976-79. N Seine •

1976~77 Wing trawl ..,.... 1976-79 wing trawl - 1978-79 Seine ~

0 s 10 L---MILES_j_-----~--'

Figure 4 - continued 14 '

(6.3 mm) bar mesh knotted wings and body, wi a 1/8 in (3.2 mm) bar mesh knitted tail bag. Secondary stations (2) we;·e samp'led w'ith simi"lar gear, except that the bar mesh was 3/4 in (19.2 mm) in the ngs and tail bag, and the head rope was 21 ft ( 6. 4 m) long. Both trav1l s were f-Itted w'lth bottom towing doors.

Wing trawl stations were purled for ve minutes "1800 revolutions per minute (rpm) by a 17 foot (5.2 boat equ·ipped with an horsepower outboard engine. Primary nursery area stations were sampled for one minute all 1900 rpm, and secondary stations, five minutes at 2200 rpm with the same boat. A one minute tow was considered one unit-of-effort.

All species were identified and counted in each sample, with a maximum of 30 fish per species measured at each station. Water temperature and salinity were measured with a salinity-conductivity meter.

Adult Fish Harvest

Adult anadromous fish landings were sampled at seven locations along the lower Neuse River to determine species composition, sex ratios, and age-class structure of anadromous fishes (Figure 5). Each sample site was visited weekly beginning in mid-February. Sampling ended when catches dropped to a level which did not warrant sampling. The principal gear util'lzed in the lowe1· Neuse River was staked gill nets, set primarily for striped bass and American shad. The principal species sampled in these areas was 1\merican shad; however, a few striped bass, hickory shad, and river hen·ing were encountered. Samples taken at these locations were cons·idered to be representative of the catches in each area. Very few unculled samples were available to determine spec·ies composition and sex ratios.

A haul seine, located upstream on the Neuse R·lver near Pitchkettle Creek was also visited regularly during the fishing season in 1976-77. In 1978 the seine was moved near the SR 1470 bridge. The haul seine IJY'ovided smal unculled catches of American shad and river herring.

Fork lengths of adults were measured to the millimeter. Scales of clupeids were taken from the left side, below the insertion of dorsal fin, and just above the mi d-1 i ne as suggested by Rothschrl d ( 1963) and Marcy ( 1969). Striped bass 6cales were taken just behind the tip of the pectoral fin. As suggested by Gating (1953), twenty scales were taken from each fish to alloid loss 15

- "------·-·------·--r 76

II COASTAL NORTH CAROUNA ' ,.

A. Hobucken S. Lower Broad Creek C. Pound net site D. Oriental E. New Bern F. Pitchkettle G. SR 1470 bridge

"1'

0 ()

~

ATLANTIC I OCEAN I \) ! I • Samp 1 i ng site i I i I ,. SCAL£ I ·~ _ _1__ __"1.._ __~~ .. ---- -1>~-'JC [Jt

w e '" ~@ w .. .,. '!}ill '""""!1~<~.$ II ..__~ ___ _.l.. _ _J.______..J., ----"'--··---' ,, FY "i; l L - ·------·-- ~--- ·- -- -·------·---·------·-----·····------'' ' ----·------.. ·------

Figure 5. Location of Neuse River commercial fish sampling sites. 16 of data due to high incidence of regenerated scales. Scales were read on a microfiche rrader at 24X magnification. At least tht'ee of the most legible sea 1es were read from each fish. The sea 1e edge was counted as a year mark, as it was assumed that each fish had completed a full year's growth at the time of capture.

Tagging

Two separate tagging programs were conducted during 1 on the Neuse River: (1) from January through April, 1977-79, an captured anadromous sh in suitable condition were tagged in the lower m·iddle River i:l.nd tributaries, and (2) during October through December·, 1 , striped bass- were tagged in the middle Neuse River.

Fall striped bass tagging was accomplished by the dr'OP method described by Tobaben (1971) and Marshall (1976). Drops ~Jere made in the Neuse River just above New Bern with a net 365.7 m (400 yd) long, composed 101.6 mm (4 in) stretched monofi 1 ament nylon webbi The drop net was fished two ways: (1) the net was deployed in a U-shaped pattel"n encircling a nt of land, and (2) the net was dropped along an area where pilings or other bottom obstructions existed. In both cases a disturbance was created in the drop net area to drive fish into the net. This method was most effective at night when there was little wind.

Staked gi 11 nets were set during January-March, 1977-79 to capture anadromous fish for tagging during their spring spawning migration. These nets were composed of the same mesh sizes as those previously described under· "spawning area sampling." Nets were fished daily and checked early each day to ensure maximum survival.

A pound net was set during 1 ate winter and early ng 1979 near Greene Creek (Figure 5) for tagging purposes. The pound net consisted of a 273.4 m (300 yd) lead composed of 152.4 mm (6 in) stretched mesh wi'rich connected to a pound made of 101.6 mm (4 in) stretched mesh. The net was checked daily from February to late March.

A rented haul seine was also utilized as a taggi device during mid-March through April, 1977-79. The seine was located near Pitchkettle Creek in 1977 and near the SR 1470 bridge in 1978-79 (Figure 6). The hzufl se·ine was checked weekly when river conditions were favorable. ~Goat sa~pling site sampling si+e

0 5 SRI700 . m!les Fi 6, Sampling sites for spawning area survey in the Neuse Rive1· NC, 1977·79. ~--}?

~rl225~ M,mz"

.. . " ·' ~ US 7Gr

0 Boat sampling site x Bridge sampling site

0 5 10 MILES

Figure 6- co~tinued. N 64 ()

~- Impassable 1 owhead dam l_J- Passable lowhead dam ,,y - Bridge sampling site

n

Figure 6 continued 20 All fish were tagged with F"loy FD-68B anchor tags placed below the Insertion of the dorsal fin. Each fish was measu1·ed (Fl, mm) and scales taken for age determi­ nation. The tagging program was pub 1 i ci zed by p 1 acing posters throughout the study area. Rewards of $1.00, $5.00, $10.00 and $25.00 were offered for returned tags.

RtSUL TS AND DISCUSSION

Spawning Areas

ion of spawning arees in the Neuse River and butaries were occurrence of only one or more following cr'i a: (1) observation spawning activity, (2) re rurming- females, (3) of eggs or recently-hatched larvae, U and Mor·ar1 (1974) and ueti Hardy (1967) provided cr·iteria for ·ident·l cat·ion of eggs l

River herring

River herring spawned in the Neuse River and tributaries from 15 March to 30 May during the three year study. Water tempera during spawning ranged from no - 260C, pH from 6.4 - 8.9, and dissolved O<~ygen 1 s from 4 - 12 parts per million (ppm). Most river herring spawning occurred in the smaller tributaries and flooded low-lying areas adjacent to the main section of the river. Table 2. _ Location and results of egg net samples in the Neuse River and its tributaries, 1977~1979,

Total sample Eggs ~ I . Area Sample Site Time(min) Species N r:gqs m1 n, "-~-<···~· Larvae/min Slocum Creek SR 1746 155 Herting 90 0,32 5 0.03 NC 101 15 Herring 3 0.2 Tucker Creel< us 20 15 No catch Hancock Creek NC l 01 25 Herring 2 0.08 Cahoogue Creek 5 No catch Clubfoot Creek SR 1700 30 No catch S<:wth River 15 No catch Duck Creek 20 No catch Northwest Creek 15 No catch Upper Broad Creek SR 1620 15 No catch SR 1617 15 No catch NC 55 45 No catch Boat Sampling site 60 Herring 55 0.92 Goose Creek SR 1129 15 No catch NC 55 30 No catch SR 1100 15 No catch Boat Sampling site 75 No catch Beards Creek 40 Herring 5 0. 13 [1av1son Creek 40 Herring 96 2.40 NC fork 5 Herring 1 0.20 Greene Creek 15 No catch Kershav1 Creek 60 Herring 14 0,23 Smith Creek 20 Herring 17 0,85

N Tabl~ ~. - \Cont1nued)

Total sample Larvae Area Sample Site Time(min) Spe~ i es_~~,,-~--N~--,- , ,.. ~lliii:[rrrir1.,,~ .. __N~-- larvae/min Broad Creek 30 No catch Brown Creek 40 No catch Bay River South prong 20 No catch North prong 20 No catch Trent Creek 10 Herring 2 0.20 Vandemere Creek 15 No catch Trent River (Mainstem) us 17 45 No catch SR 1121 15 Herring 1 0.07 SR 1001 90 Herring 4 0.04 American shad 1 0. 01 Hickory shad 1 0.01 SR 1300 75 Herring 2 0.03 NC 58 105 No catch SR 1129 45 Herring 1 0. SR 1130 45 No catch SR 1153 75 Herring 5 0.07 1 .013 Brice Creek SR 1101 80 No catch SR 1111 60 Herring 32 0.53 Boat Sampling site 60 Herring 4 0.07 Reedy Branch SR 1340 15 No catch Island Creek SR 1004 115 No catch Island Creek Mouth 5 No catch Mii1 Creek SR 1004 75 Herring 18 0.24 Mouth 5 No catch

N N Table 2. - (continued)

---·-- Total sample Eggs Larvae Soec:ies N Eqgs/min Area Sample Site Time(min) ------··· N Larvae/min Little He11 Creek NC 58 30 No catch t·li 11 Run NC 58 90 Herring 18 0.20 14 0,2 Jumping Creek SR 1002 15 Herring 'l 0,07 Crooked Run NC 41 45 No catch Mussel shell Creek SR 1001 15 No catch Beaver Creek SR 1316 30 No catch Cypress Creek NC 't 1 30 No catch Tuckahoe Swamp SR 1142 60 No catch us 258 30 No catch Neuse River ( ~1a ins tem) SR 1400 80 Herring 0 4 ,05 SR 1470 65 Herring 6 .09 5 ,08 NC 55 135 Herring 160 1.19 Striped bass 22 ~ 16 American shad 1 • 01 Hickory shad 1 • 01 US 70 Business 155 Herring 24 • 15 2 • 01 Kinston American shad 1 • Ol 1 ~ 01 US 70 Bypass 90 Herring 2 .02 1 .01 Kinston Striped bass 6 .07 American shad 1 • 01 NC 11 105 Herring 2 .02 i • 01

N w Tab 1e 2. _ ·· (contfnued)

~--~~-~~·"~"~-·~~"-~=-.,.-~, Total sample Eggs Larvae Area Sample Site Time(min) .. .--?Joeci es_~~~-~N_ Egqs/ml_!l~~~····l!. ___.Jarvae/mi n

Neuse River NC 11 105 Striped bass ~ 01 ~ (Mainstem) llsneri can shad L .02 4 .04 SR 1152 195 Herring 2 • 01 Striped bass i3 .07 1 • 01 American shad 3 .02 SR 1002 150 Herring 2 . 01 Striped bass 57 .38 /Isner i can shad 2 .01 2 • 01 Hickory shad 2 • 01 SR 1731 130 Herring 1 • 01 Striped bass 89 .68 American shad 6 .05 Hickory shad 4 .03 NC 111 105 Herring 141 1.34 Striped bass 4 .04 American shad 1 • 01 SR 1915 135 Herring 5 .04 Striped bass 10 ,07 American shad 2 .01 2 .01 us 117 45 No catch SR 1926 ·30 American shad '' ~03 1 • 03 SR 1008 120 Herring 1 ~ 01 1 • 01 American shad 1 .01 1 .01 SR 1224 1 205 Striped bass ' • 01 American shad 2 • 01 2 • 01 SR 1201 60 No catch NC 96 70 American shad 1 .01

~ us 70 115 American shad L .02 Smithfi e 1d Hickor·y shad 2 ,02 N., Table 2. _ (continued}

Total sample Eggs Larvae Area Sample Site Time(min) Soeci es N Eggs/min N larvae/min

Neuse River US 70A 45 American shad 1 .02 (Mainstem) Smithfield SR 1908 60 No ca NC 42 45 No catch SR 1708 90 Herring 1 ·~ 01 SR 2509 60 Hickory shad 3 .. 05 SR 2555 60 No catch SR 1007 30 No catch us 64 45 No catch ft Creek Above SR 1440 bridge 20 No catch SR 1482 75 Herring 1 .01 SR 1440 120 Herring 40 33 1 "01 American shad 1 SR 1478 50 No catch NC 118 105 No catch NC 102 15 No catch Little Swift Creek us 17 60 No catch SR 1627 45 Herring 1 .02 SR 1624 15 No catch Ba tche 1or Creek Mouth 20 Herring 2 • 10 SR 1401 60 Herring 4 .07 27 NC 55 60 Herring 3 .05 1 .02

N "' Table 2. _ (continuPd)

----~------r~~~------~~~-~-- Total sample Eggs Larvae Area Sample Site Tim~11i!!l_ Species N Eoas/min N Larvae/min -" -.. ~--~-----·~---~~~><·---~-~---,·-----"""-d--~~----~~~----~--- . Batchelor 1 .01 2 Q? Creek us 70 90 Herring ' - SR 1224 15 No catch Pinetree Creek Mouth 55 Herring 5 • ooJ 4 .,07 AC Taylor Cr·eek ~1outh 35 Herr'ing 16 ~--rv ? Hickory shad ~ .09 Turkey Quarter Creek Mouth 94 Herdng 8 ~09 2 ,02

NW fork 25 Hel'ri ng 18 0 72 Hickory shad 1 .04 sw fork 24 Herr-! ng 2 .08 9 .38 Hickory shad 1 .04 Pitchkettle Creek Mouth 74 Herring 160 2.16 21 .28 Hickory shad 1 .01 IP Back 15 Herring 7 • '! Cove Creek Mouth 15 No catch NC 55 120 No catch SR 1245 30 No catch Kitten Creek r,louth 10 Hen'ing 118 11.8 Village ~ 11.6 Creek Mouth v Herring 58 Halfmoon Creek ~louth 5 Herring 29.6 Hickory shad 3 .6 Table 2. - (continued)

-·~-~·--·~----~--~---''m-~. ~~""~-. Total sample Eggs Larvae Al~ea Same1 e Site Time(min) S[leci es N Eogs/min N Larvae/min ""{( "/iwh Grindle Creek Mouth 15 No catch Back 12 No catch Contentnea Creek NC 118 120 No catch NC 11 15 No ca SR 1004 60 Herri 3 .05 NC 123 60 No catch us 13 105 Herring 1 ' • 01 SR 1222 30 American shad 1 .03 SR 1225 60 Jl.meri can shad 1 • 02 Hickory shad 1 .02 Little Contentnea Creek NC 102 120 No catch SR 1125 45 No catch us 13 45 No catch SR 1139 30 No catch Jericho Run Creek SR 1809 75 No catch NC 11 30 No catch Southwest Creek SR 1804 45 No catch Falling Creek SR 1340 75 No catch us 70 15 No catch Bear Creek SR 1311 15 No catch N Walnut Creek SR 1730 15 No catch . " Table 2. _ (continued)

Total sample rvae Area Sample Site Tim~ ~c:J_min) ____-""SLpe c i_es_~-~--- !L __ _ fqqs/min N larvae/min --~-~---~,.~"4--·~ -~------· ~--~-~-~-,--~--~-·- Little River NC 581 75 Herring • 01 American shad 1 "01 5 .07 us 70 15 No catch SR 1234 110 1\meri can 1 "01 NC 42 15 Hickory shad 3 Beaver·dam C1·eek Mouth 15 No catch Mi 11 Creek Mouth 15 No ca

SR 1200 235 Hickor'y :J 1 .nJ-' Herring 2 '01 SR 1009 105 American 3 "03 SR 1185 30 No ca tell Black Cn::ek I-95 15 No ca tell ddle Creek NC 210 60 Hen·i ng 4 .07 Swift Creek NC 210 40 No catch

Total 8,683 1 '518 457

N CD 29

Table 3, Observations of runn1 1es and spawning act:i by anaGromous fish in the Neuse River, 'L

Location Date es

Dawsons Creek Ill 3/ 77 Al A1 Al fe Hancock Creek Blueback Slocum Creek 77 Bl herring Beards Creek Bl ng 3/31/ Bl ng 4/01 Bl herri Bri ces Creek 3/1 77 Bl herring 31/77 Blueback her•ri /Tl Bl ng

~,/07/77 B1 ng 4/08/77 Blueback ng 4/Hl/77 B1 herring 4/20/77 Blueback herri 4/21/77 Bl ng Batchelor Creek 4/"11/78 Blueback herri Taylor Creek 4/05/78 Blueback herri Pitchkettle Creek 4/04/77 Hickory shad 4/07/78 Blueback herring 4/11/78 Blueback herri 3/30/79 Hickory shad Swift Creek 4/05/78 Bl 4/25/78 B'I herring Little Swift Creek 4/07/78 s·lueback herring Vi 11 age Creek 4/0l /78 Blueback Herring Contentnea Creek 4/06/78 Alewi 4/11/78 Blueback herring Neuse River 3/30/78 ·American shad Quaker Neck Dam 30

utn ization such areas agrees th s-lnrnar (Street et al 19 \'H"' ( Mtt l"S 0115 river

herring egg and larvae t distt~ibu ·inq areas beyond those recorded by (F·luun~; 7), ver h ng larvae were collected as far upstream as sn 1708 bri ( 6) :, approx1ma 70 river nti es above ) ~ alteration•:, on Slocum nc; areas ''·9 \ n lower 2·a on projects the f-!C l l 'I 968). ous river herring dbit~t ng san

t::lC:' more nq aY"e(;_:;, 1ocum th, l m.ver Ncu r:: e, or"}< anu nl"i l e ; i k in the upper Neuse. River h co: y ftorn SR 1740 bridgo above New Bern to just 0\ff river mile 42 to r·iver m11 128)m nq cons i der·atJI e flooding that expanded river herring npawni areas ·Jnto f1 OO(ied low~ lying swamps adjacent to the river during 1977 and 1

ve r herring were rnany se River's tributaries: Beards, Hancock, Kershaw, and Trent in e:, Jump·ing, ce, Mi 11, and Mi 11 Run in t River;, Li or, netree, Village, Kitten, Halfmoon and tnea in middl Neuse, and Little River and llicJdle In the upper Neuse River. ng,·!'ipe fema'le alewife and blueback herring were first ta on 18 March in ower se River and were captured throughout t spawning iod in several River butaries (Table 3). Water frmn 1 fn 1 and 1978 increases in river herring egg catch cou 1 d be corre I a ted tr•nmc,rature ·j ncreases (Figure 8), Two spavming peaks could be seen in 1 i by parallel increases in water temperature. A similar d also seen in the river herring egg capture in 1978. River herring larvae ca a.l so corresponded somewhat

with water temperature ir:creases. Larval ~ten? too 1 ow to consider during 1977 and 197Q, and egg nwnbers too low in '

SOUND

1l KfRSCN POiNl

a Spavm i ng a rea s

0 I ~-----m-,~,e-,----~ Figure 7 - River herring spawning areas in the Neuse River w 32

Spawning areas

0L______L.5 ______J 10 MILES

Figure 7 - cont1nued. N 33

Spawning areas

SMITHFIELD

n ~ '------_ _.J ·1 1, es

Fi~ure 7 - continued 34 ,75 1977 Hater temperatun: u .o~ 1977 R·iver herri119 egg CPUE 24 ()) .60 w 22 CJ -!-" G 20 -" "'(I! • 4 5 "'(l) 3 ~ :J"' 18 ""(j) Ql .;J u"' 16 ,, .30 "' (!) '"'(j) .;J 4 <1l 14 ,;:"" 3 15 12 _.,. •. ,.-,.;# 10

10 J.l 12 l:l l 15 16 18 i''Jeek l'JOm ,75 .1978 W;n:e1· he t~'"'i CPUE (j) 1978 River w .60 /// -22 ::> ~o.,~~·~• 1978 ped bass egg CPUE ""'!tJ /' / t·..,'20 w ·"' ()) w .4 5 ,-" :'·. l "''"3 F- ""'""' ~: ~" ~ 18 "" (l. _ .. =""""""'.,., """ ~ . . ()) "u .p>""" • ~ I .w"' ""~"""" ~ . . ' w ' ' 16 w"' C! .30 ,P . . '" ..., ~ ' "'-~-·~-- .... ':. t I]) / l1l ,;:> -~ ~ -~ -- ! \ .15 --- ..... :... f'12 _.· :. l.O

l.O ll 12 lJ 14 '·""" 16 l7 18 19 20 2l 22 \'leek No . . 75 u l 1978 Water temperature 0 ' 24 1a rvae CPUE 1978 River herring w .60 22 "'::> ~ .w 20 X w _ ... ()) '" .. w p.'" :::> .45 - 3 ~ "' - 18 llJ u ·-- Qj.;J '" / .... - ---- ... ' l1l ' .... _.,., ""' --- 16 "'k '"'Q) .30 - ... -- - ..._- "' 5J ------11) -- 14 :. --- "'"" .15 -- -- 12 10

10 11 2 13 14 15 16 17 20

1-Jeek Nr; ~ Figure 8 - Catch per unit effort for rive"" ·,er'ri ng eggs and larvae and striped bass eggs in relation to water temperature and week in the Neuse River, 1977--1978. 35

River, Trent River, Slocum Creek, Hal , Kitten , Taylor , PHchkettle , and Little River. were a 1so co 11 in mah1 stem of the Neuse from the SR 1400 bri ver mile 44) to the SR 1 (river mile 140) in Goldsboro, and at the 1700 bri Neuse"' The exact location al il.ocurate ned due to the difficulty ·in sepa '! a_rvae from r.m;c:p of alewife. As mentioned earlier, gill not wete found pr marily in the lower Neuse 1e was captu1·ed in tentnea Creek and seven These catches indicate that alewi do utilize the upper Neuse ver area.

America:n s

spavmed ·in the !liver du

Water temperatures fol' th:; s ng peri from n° :s dis 1.eve1s, 4-12 or spawning areas American shad w:re 1oca in Vt'r New Bern to Smithfi a, an area re1a ·ive swi currents ( 9). s characteristic suppo observat·i on ttr (1 ) that American eggs require sufficient current to remain sus ·in the water co 1 umn. Chittenden (1976) also found that the major shad spawning grounds of Delaware River were located in the main Y'iver stem. Hov1ever, a fev1 American s eggs were found in the Neuse River's larger tributaries: Trent River, Contentnea Creek, Swift Creek, Little

River, and ~1ill Creek. Most these tributa es are typifi by da and deep water with relat·ively slow cur·rents that increase substant·ially during peri heavy rainfall,

Baker ( 1968) reported that American "'"'·~"" much farther found in this study. He s t the 1 e

Dam at Raleigh, while in th·is project l~m:rlccm shad wene only a.s as Smithfiela, a difference il.pprm

U1

SpawninCJ areas D 5 10 i------'------1 MILES

Figure 9 - ~mer1can shad spawning areas in the 'leuse ~iver. N 37

~ Spawning areas

Figure 9 - continued 38

1\meri can ver; the highest catch was six SR "1731 I OVI egg catch made estimation of a "larvae were found Kinston {river ( ver mile ]t:r,), ch

came Little River (NC can s was cap~ tured in the Neuse Riv0r on 4 April 1 ro, at a water tempr::ratur·e of l:_;~oc~

Hickory shad

sampli nq on ide fiab"le hi en i ng areas been ten lr ( f'·f ver rni . the ~:F\ 7 river mi 1 e vex I!! to th<" SR dge (river mile hi shad

Contentnea, oL

Hickory sha.d ~ much ·l·i k.e to sl dar~­ water trHwti:tr·ie" i'S spc:;;.Jf,; Baker Cl so shad often inhabit the smaller es of the Neuse

Hickory shac! spawninc1 o fr·om 27 Ilia rch to 4

18. soc for the spaw~ing duration were very similar to (1972). at a pH of 6.4 - 6.6, and at uissol ~i - 10 ppm. v1er·e ·insufficient to determine spawni pea H ·1 a rvae vJere in HaHmoon and Tur·key Quarter C "l r1arch and early April in Pitch e !"i'rnm•rr,tures 180C and 190C (Table 3),

Str·iped bass

Striped bass project, when investigations on area Eggs were col"lectecl fr'OITI bri to SR 1224 bridge above Go.ldsboro (f"iver· mile "145) (F"igrn·cr 1"1). · S ·in the 39

Spawning areas ___

0 !0 MILlS

Figure 10 - Hick"or·y shad spawning iH'eas in the Neuse River. 40 N

r• Spawning areas

SMITHFIELD

0 5

Figure 10.- continued 41

Spawning areas 0 5 10 MillS

Figure ll- Stdped bass spa~ming rlreas in the 'leuse River. N 42 +

• Spawning areas

SMITHFIELD

0.______, m lies

Figure 11 - continued 43

middle Neuse River from March 30 May at wa of ' pH concentrations of 6.4 - 6.9, and di 5 - Hl The spawning duration by Baker ("1968) in He con 1 to 13 May at 19° .. 21 (1968) also into inland waters is Neck di!m at Go! s study, one striped bass egg was d·isnv'm'""n "l ' i whne striped bass habitat does extend above st1·ibution ·is probably greatly hindered by the

The pr-incipal s ver lies the NC dge (river mile "1915 br·l ver mi e 1 ). This is the on 1y are a in the striped bftSS wev·e cons is Evidently, that on vc-·{' is turbtd 5 ped bass from settl to d i1 and Schroeder (1 ) s a cun·ent 1 r·equi rement for successful spawn"!

Although st low, ng could be t po::; Sb"l a tc d wl increases in wate1h (Figuv·e 8). Hi n\J1 ;\'J("'i s s \','(''i bass during week 15 (9-15 April), water temperatures rose c. Relatively larqo numbers (."17 eggs/min) continued to unti 1 water tempera­ tures dropped to an average of 1 S°C during week 16. temperatures were correlated with a lack of egg until 21 ( ) , v1hen the w;,1tPr temperature rose to 20°C, and catch eggs/min. No were taken after week 21. str"i ped bass 1 arvae was caught near the SR 1151 bridge in 1978.

Estimates of strf spawning tn l re ve 1 and 1979 seem to indicate a success r. na of currents produced by heavy ng rains mum ~111 tel' weeks 15, '16' and 21 probably contributed s y to the s stri bass spavm in 1978.

Juvenile Samp '11 ng

During Janua ~ December, 1976-79, a total of n, 1 j le anadromous fishes were captured In the Neuse River. The most abundant juvenile anadromous fish caught was blueback ng ('10,011), far surpassing f\Jnerican shad (716). 44 alewife {5fl), hickory shad (9'16), stri were ca.ught with wing tn1wls, flat s, seines The beach seine and surface wf were more fish than the flat trawl ove ra 1 Cl'UE in during June-October, was 2., , wfrl l e values were compared to an over'1rl Cl'UE of on·ly .l The difference is probab y due +:o appn rent blueback herring, to inha t s low or su et al. (I and eta (19 ' i groun 13 urbi ( 1, !ii j 1e ,ia.mt than with f1at neo less thall 1% ot th the tl at It s ld be noted t rno s i i '" at trawl were nvtde dovmstr't;r;m the p nc f nt.t ana ton1ous f s !:U (Figure 4).

81

Nursery Area - Su en;~ numbers tc ------""--'-"~· general delineation rnovernents and relative abundance" Catches of juvenile bl Neuse and Trent River upstream from New Bern. In the Neus numbers (3m: of the fouJ- year total) were found con~istent"iy ·in Three percent of the total blueback herring catch came r The principal area consistently utilized by juven 1 Flower's Gap to Cove Creek, an area covering approx

The downstream 1 imit of the b1 ueback he is at the transition of the river from a slow-mcvi t'; c:am to marsh-bordered estuary subj to t water intrusion~ t l s i to that found by Marshall (1976) h1 the Ta }' slow-flowing, black waters that in hardwood Z.E-: 'rent nursery ar·eas for blueback herring in thew-''"~"

'1ovement - Juvenile blueback herring were s Neuse River after spawning, inhabiting tributaries or of the river. Juveniles were coll R Bern Table 4, - Catch and catch-per-effort of juvenile anadromous fishes, by gear, from the Neuse verj. NC, June-October, 1976-1979

W1ng Trawl 17iP'lTatT'rawr ~rile~ YEAR 1976 1 1978 1979 1976-79 1976 1977 1978 1979 79 1 1978 19 1 EFFORT 624 1225 525 340 2714 0 0 21 50 21 14 33 56 39 142

Blueback herring Catch 169 2935 3282 1 6535 0 0 52 0 52 0 3 675 742 CPliE ' 2.4 6, . .,44 2. 0.0 OnO 2.5 0,0 0 n ~09 12~ 1 ~ 6 5. ;o Percent l 99.0 82.0 70.0 89~2 0 "'v '01 0~0 07 0 ' 1 17' 0 1 o. 1 Alewife Catch 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 8 0 6 n CPUE 0,0 ~ 01 .01 0,0 >' 1 0.0 0.0 .09 0.0 0 ,v 0~0 _[, ll U~V~ " n Percent 0 100 . 11 0 20.0 0 0 0 20 '~ 0 ~66 0 60 American shad Catch 19 23 66 8 116 0 0 1 0 1 0 479 105 14 528 CPUE .03 .02 • 13 .02 ,043 0.0 0.0 .05 O.Q '01 0,0 15.0 1 IJ 3.7 Percent 100 ~05 ,38 .36 16,2 0 0 .006 0 o 'I 0 .95 ,5 Hickory shad Catch 0 4 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 CPUE 0.0 .01 • 01 0.0 >. 1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .05 0"0 >. 1 Percent 0 100 .25 0 62.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .75 0 37$5 Striped bass Catch 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 CPUE 0.0 0.0 0.0 . 01 >. 1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 .07 0.0 >' 1 Percent 0 0 0 .33 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .67 0 .67

TOT.~L Catch 6660 55 1283 CPUE 2.45 .77 9.0 .., Percent . 83 l 16 "' 46

w ~ (j) ·'-'

V\

'>"")

cc Vl L' <{.,}"' 'F -~ V1 ~ ~ 47

, __llif1Pwc ?R R{l C'- \hl'-'- -o , ~--· :s u11Ll HHL- ~

8 CJpture s 1"te ~:;~ER 5 lO ' o L--_ - MILE-.~s,_---

Figure 12 - continued. 4B

t The SH 1 i fr·om h ; beinq taries, close to shore] ines, in river. t Street, et al, Cl bema r'l e Sound mnn blueback

movement of juven·!'~e nc j thi a

nation cf bluetJeck out of the tril;t!l.a es. area. j fa 11 ertd movcmen t jL\en, b1

River during late n an t f ) " r~ore than JIJVenile bluebacks they narch, Th·i~, p r n·ov into estua ne watr~rs was (1976) in northern Pamlico , and by Street, et aL (l ) ·t n Spitsbergen and Wolff (1974) reported that juvenile shallow muddy tribu es in brackish water nursery areas, Tota'l mi b1ueback.s into y occurs as the spring spawning on of adults ins. Information on and behavior of b1 very 'l'imited, 5tn,et, et aL (1 ) suages areas was size-related, HmveV!'I", Godwin and AcL;ms (1 on relationahip d'ili not app 1y to ueback Burbage (1974) s that juvenile blueback out hutrl survival rates in the upstream downstream sections bil ity, and river cu

I n Groi'Jth - Separate CUYVI?S the 1976, ·1 ''} of juvenile blueback ng have been plo in combining all year asses ( gure 14). 19 49

20.0 l Seine* I I 16.0 ~ I 12.0 ~ .:·I . . ..

8.0

\

4.0 ~

1977---- 197?------="'"'j---- .. .. . "'"'r----..---~ 1979 ...... June July Aug Sep Oct Nov f4o nth

20.0 "1

16.0 'Ji ng 1rnwl

12 01

A I \ P.O I \ I I \ I \ I \ ' I \ \ I \ '\, I \\ 4.0 I '-, I \ ' I \ ' I \ ...... " ...... ~~~. ' ' ... ···· ... .~" .. ' ... ···. '• .~· ··.. ' 1---f'·':...'--,---....;_:,· -r·:.··--.- .... ____:; ~1ay June July Aug Sep Oct Nov t1onth Figure 13 r1onthly catch per effort of juvenile blueback herring, ~euse River, MJy-•:ovember, 1977-1979. * Stations above 'lew ~ern were used for seine data 50

S: L71 o c- :2:: C':

0 GJ c cc CJ "' Q)

0 CD

c: 0 c• E r- cr, 11 c c: e- .--·· II r +' \ ~: '· c '•. ·.~ 1·. I .. I <.n \ I I l. \ \ '\ I •\ I I \ C"l ! \ 4- ··.\ \ 1- 0 ',• £ .p ~ I <= \ .. \ :¥: \ >, ~o" 0 4·

<..() r--- Q, 01 r--- r--- r-. r-. C'· 01 0'> o~ 51

as was growth ng 'l ana 1 The rates in '1976 and 1979 have may due to a vely small zr: which pr·obab ly was reflective of poorer classes .. The 1 l River "~'""'h resemble , Northeast Cape River, Cape r {, et>,") ""h1e flatness the growth curve ri July- may be r·e1ated to j 1e move­ ment, suggesting emi tlon of the larger s h, as S , e t a. L ('I and Johnson, et a:, ( 1 found for fll e

y p smaller b 1ueback herri rq 7- - the average ·in i en~] for LitE: corY'U~" cq rr< verr was approxima y 6 mm r-(::1at:ed to numey·ous ctm--s~ such as a la- bi 1 i di nq the t~10 systems, and I of s in

amp n nc; vii th ou;; trawls nes was conducted accord i mJ to to resu"its from samples taken with the same should how ve in juveni1 e abundance among year asses. Table 6 exhibits rel ve abundance of the 1977-79 year classes or bl ng for the NE:us e River, Greater abundance was evi- dent in 1977 1 re'in ve to 1979, The 1 year class was apparently quite poor in the Neuse River.

The small number· (58) of juvenile alewife collected during the study pre­ vented del ineat·ion of nursery areas in Neuse River" Of the 1, 48 were caught during a supplement;d sample near Beards Creek in Ju'ly, 1977 ( gure 15). Alewife were also captu•·ed ·in and around the mouth of the Trent River and From Duck Creek. The juveni'les ranged from a minimum of 35 mm in June to a maximum length of 82 mm in July. ~·lost of the juveniles were caught during ne samp"ling at night. Low numbers of juvenile a '1 e\vife in the Neuse River were a 'I so encountered by Spitsbergen and Wolff (1974). Spitsbergen and Wolff (1974) repo1·ted juvenile alew·!fe in many of the same areas as blueback herdng dur·lng November through f'1arGh in the lower Neuse River. Most of the alewife were caught during March and ranged in size from 55 to 95 mm. 52 Table 5. - Comparison of mean length (mm) of juvenile blueback herring by month from Neuse River and other North Carolina loca ons.

"~"-·----~-~·-~~-"~--·------location and Reference June July Aug. Sept. Oct.

-·--~.b-·---~-~--·--·~· --"'···-~=------Northeast Cape Fear River 1

1975 39 44 45 47 1976 35 44 45 48

Cape Fear River2

1977 31 47 58 65 1978 27 """':):C" 49 A1 bema rl e Sound3

1972 41 44 49 1973 26 33 37 40 4'1 1974 41 41'1 8,0 49 1975 37 39 42 40 1976 35 48 1977 21l 35 35 4'1 42 1978 31l 42 51 52 4 Tar-Pam1 ico River

1974 31 37 47 46 58 1975 27 34 1+2 43 48 1976 41 45 50 1977 26 30 36 38 1978 29 34 39 38 39 1979 32 43

Neuse River 1976 47 50 54 55 1977 34 38 42 44 1978 32 38 40 41 48 1979 45 52 50 59

-·---~----~"·~-~··· lsho1ar 1977 2Fi scher 1979

o (1977), 3oata for 1972-73 from Street et al" (1975), for 19'7'!-76 from Johnson et a 1 and for 1977-·78 from Johnson et a 1 and Loesch et al (1978), 4oata for 1974-76 from Marshal'~ ( 1976) 53

Table 6. - Relat"iVe abundance of juvenile blueback herring captured by wing trawls the Neuse River, NC, ,June-October, 1977-1979.

------·--·---~""'---"·------=-~---~--~ Neuse River 1977 '1978 1979 N CPUE N CPUE N CPUE ·-----""~-·-~~"~'-~-·-----·-·""""'

June 871 iL29 1050 10.00 0* o.o July 431 4.10 596 5.67 no 1 • 05 August 207 1.97 259 2.46 3 .03 September· 1,000 9.52 544 5.18 10 • 10 October 332 3.16 833 7.93 0 0.0

Total 5.44 3282 5.21 123 .36

*No effort was expended (Only similar 1977-1979 wing trawl stations are used. Trent River data are combined with Neuse River data) I,'d ; l 54 I

$ Capture s'ite

Figure 1"5 - CaPtUI'e sites of juvenile alewi Nause River, NC, 1977-79. 55 No made due to the I ow on ver herring during s cate blueback herring are river The low juvenile popula on to bluebacks raises tat ect the the Neuse River is near of alewife (B ow and Schroeder 1953).

ve can s v1ere co 11 (716)' tentativr.? nu '1 i nea found v,ri th blueback ng, R·iver the Neuse River ups tr·eam Berna A large majori le shad were caught at the SR 1400 br~ near Pi Creek, where caught in June, 1977 during a s1n9lc e. r~any j 1es 'rJere a.·l so cauqht at SR 1224 bridge e tlam near Go1 ro, i icating that a signi cant amount of spawnin ttps tream The genera 1 area utili zed by J uvcn ·1 e s!rc:tU is from Duck II. ver mile 35) to the SR 1224 bri dqe ver mile 145), as shown in Figur~ 16.

Juveni 1c American shad were found ·j n the Neuse River from June through November with most fisli bei taken in ;June and •.lt(iy at a s·ize r·ange of 31-53 mm. Spitsbergen and vlolff (1974) tht'? capture of seven juvenile American shad in the lower Neuse River dur·ing ~lcn·ch, when the fish were ev·idently uti"lizing the lower estuar·ine waters as lv·intering areC~s, Movement - After '""'"·"nng, juvenile American shad were found throughout the middle and upper Neuse River. The shad appeared more abundant over sand or gravel bottom, similar to that by iJa1burg and Nichols (1967). However, this apparent habitat preference be dt.e to gear and sampling site "limitations. Water depth and obstructions 11 traw·l sampling to areas below the SR 1470 bridge, Up- stream areas were smnp1 1>1ith beach seines, wh·lch were effective only on sandy bottoms or in areas v.d beaches suitable for "landing the net. These limitations could have accounted for the apparent habitat preference. of American shad for sandy bottoms. 56

.,~

~l

C;) ~· < 0 0) X ~. "'c ·JP·· '"" 57

• Capture site 0 ~----~MWI},LE~S------110

Figure 16_ cont·inued. N 58

BlACK

5 0 --' -----,-n~11:es~- ~ l::::l Impassab 1 e dam '>'~;p Passable U l owhead dam -----. C) Capture site

Figure 1 6 _ c 0 0 t i n u ed · 59

Lapo ·in te ( 1958) stated that young-of- the~ year Amer·i can shad remained in the fresh or brack·ish waters of the Neuse until October· or November, when they migrated to the ocean. Godwin and Adams (1969) found that juvenile American shad "I eft the Altamaha River, Ga when they reached 90 - 100 mm, usually during October-December. Neuse River juvenile shad catches also decreased noticeably during October (F·igure 17). The highest catches of juvenile American shad were recorded in June and July. Sampling produced no evidence of size-related movement of shad as found by Godwin and Adams ("1969) in Gccorgia. The rnean 1 River· American shad increased steadily from June .. November, 1977-79, showi no sign of leveling (Figure lil). Street, et al. (1975), and God~1in and Adams (1969) suqgested that a flattened growth curve might indicate emigration of larger fish from the ver system. Sp'itsbergen and Wo"l (1974) found young American shad in the Neuse River as late as March, at a size range of 95 - 1 mm, Godwin and Adams (1 ) and Davis and Cheek ( 1967) reported that juveni 1e American shad movement was temperatur-e related, with more shad emigrating out of the rivers as water temperatures dropped. Due the unusually wann weather during Fall, 1977-79, Neuse River >•tater temperatures were still relatively high in early November (15- 190C). The high temperatures may have delayed migration of juvenile shad out of the Neuse until early winter. Growth - The mean fork length of each year class of juvenile American shad in the Neuse River during May-November, 1977-79 is shown in Fi 18, along with a growth curve combining all year classes. Sample sizes were quite small except for the 1978 year-class. Godvlin and Adams (1969)reported a high growth rate for shad from the Altamaha River, GA. Amer·ican shad from the Neuse River also exhibited rapid, steady growth. Juveni 1e American shad in the Neuse River during May-November ranged from 3"1 - 95 mm; sizes very similar to those also found by Walburg (1956) in the Neuse River.

Hickory shad

During May-November·, 1976-79, 916 j uveni 1 e hickory shad were co 11 ected in the Neuse River. Of this total, 905 juveni"les were captured through supplemental samp 1i ng in May, 1977. These juveni 1es were captured in the area of Pi tchkettl e and Turkey Quarter Creeks (Figure 19), and averaged 27 mm in length. Marshall (1977) 60

WJ 1 I• 1977 /1 l 978 I II I I 1 •••••• 0 ••• l 979 ' I I 7[; I I I Seine* 4 I I I I I I I I I ! I I I I I 60 I -1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 50 I / ~I ~ .. .J "'\I 0. C.\ I 6.01 ! I I I I 5.0 I I 4 I I I 4.0 i I I -' I I I I '3.0 I I I I .. I I ·. I I 2.0 \ ·. ' ,. 1/ .\ 1 . 0 I 0 .l ' \ \ ' --""! ~lay Jun Jul ,'\ug Sep Oct ~1ay Jun Jul .~ug Sep :Jet no nth ~1o nth

Figurel7- 'lonthly catch per effort of juvenile American shad, Neuse River, 'lay-8ctober, 1977-1979. *Stations above New Bern were used for seine data. I£ 61 l. t; C) r '-~ 0. V) "' 0:::: +' c 0 ~ :?: c .. w :::> <"' >.

Ql

> 0 z "'c: "'u

"-' u OJ 0 ~

0. ~ Q) 0 I VJ I -"' +' I c I c ~ 0 I ~ L,., "'"·~ '·""'.:.~ ...... , .....

t"'-·· 0.) O'o r---. r- r~ 0'\ 0'• C'

0 C)

l

• Capturt site

Figure 19. - Capture sites of juvenile hickory shad in the Neuse River, NC, 1977 - 1979. 63 and Pate (1972) reported that juvenile hickory s only a short time in upstream rursery areas b

St pod s

1y j 'le ten 5S \«fen::: "' Neuse ver ng the samp 1e peri 1 during I 1979. were seines be 1ov1 Nev1 Ben1 du y a. t ( stri (6) captured in l arE: though to be n·aturca -~ while 1 ( 4) we1·e probab 1y due to a stockfng program NC 1 i on in July on the Neuse ver, 1\1 young in 1978, those fi h could hec:n i lea ve· o ng season when consi vrith the catch eggs the spring of 197B ter catch of yearling stri late 11 1979. 1\lso, no ous of any juvenile striped bass from the Neuse River could be found during literature reviews.

Nursery areas of s tri bass have been recognized in the Cape Fesr River (Sholar 1977) and Albemarle Sound region (Street and Johnson 1977). Preliminary nursery areas v1ere also identified in the Tar--Pamlico River dur"ing, 1978 (Hawkins 1979). The low catch of juvenile striped bass prevented nite conclusions on movement, growth, and relative abundance. Growth did appear to be quite rapid, ~Ji 35 - 65 mm fish being caught in July, and 75 - 85 mm sh b being caught in August. ,Juverrile striped bass appeared to show no for fresh or brackish water areas. Interestingly, most (70%) of the young striped bass from the Neuse were caught with a beach seine, usually over sand bottoms and near grass beds.

Although striped bass juvenile numbers were low, the catch in 1978 appears to be significant. No young striped bass had been reported previously in the Neuse River, thus the capture of juveniles in 1978 provides a preliminary picture of 64

from the ) in Tar··Paml i co ver a succes s spawn! season in 1 a ve to previous years and 1

A l n s

c ,.Ja ' duri 1 i nd the ver Figure 20) r n h,nqt'' reg a stu popuL:tt, c rn the recr·eat onal re quite srna n ~

M.ul t a.na•'•••cm,·· }ed in ver during 1976 • set in the main stream na on co!T'mercial landi in f sh houses, and nation of recreationa catches. 11 net 11 ng consisted , shing ove I ' frl f qi 11 nr:t near New rn 1 road trestle over the Neuse These nets were s from m·i through mi rl r1a~·ch r varying mesh sizes mentioned previously.

Nets were a'so placed rn an tri i:~uta ez to n scale camples from March '1ay, 1977 - 79. Nr•ts wr•r·e es except ubfoot and Adams Crerks and Sou R ver ·in ven and Ca es, Southwest and Bear Creeks in Lenoir County, Walnut Creek in Wayne County, Black Creek in Johnston County. Clcbfoot and and South ver were not sampled due to extensive crop·! alterations in the ~eaclwaters, while other were too shallow to sample with ll Ui tribution adults was found to generally correspond wl ng ar·ea s, a ntl ls scus h1 some 1 within the spawning area section UL AND DISCUSSION- Spawning Areas).

B1 ueback herd ng

the most abundant anadromous species. ·inhabiting the tributaries of Neuse ver~ bei found in all major creeks and vers PAML!CQ SOUNC'

8 Capture site of young antic sturgeon .ol Capture site of juvenile striped bass 0 mile:, Figure 20 - Capture sites of juvenile striped bass and young Atlantic sturgeon in the Neuse River, NC, 1977-79, 66

between the mouth L1nd Go.ldsbcru Bay vet" and Broad~ , Northwest, and Falling Cree , and ta. r·f c-:s not The only tributary Goldsboro where adult bl k lircl'Ti vvere ca The most important spawning area for blueback herring in the lower Neuse was Brice a tri butar·y of Tren R·! ver Pi·tchkett.le$ T or Y"ter') and Creeks were obser·ved as being or adult habi s in the middle Neuse. In upper Neuse River, Mill Creek s the rrmst BluebacK rerring were also Cdurihl.: 1n 111 tern of the Neuse as ear'ly as Febr·uary 21, at a wJter temperature of !I i 1 clc:!Jr;l nd ( I that water temperature of 12oc must tle reac!H•d tleba~~k herring will enter a rver.

i)(! ( l /,~JCJ) l lng scale samples conmos it ion of b1 ue­ back herring ciur'inq i9l! Blueback herring in the Neuse River rc years Ma i es v1ere pr·edomi nate 1y four and five, and c·;r fr e, nd six (Ta e 8). The proportion of repeat co River and Sound.and

Street, .. a· ·t·, n:_, i " (Jos,,; I ing was almost equal for both sexes, with h es showing evidence of previous spawning. Mel as r·;.ny ,;s ree spawnIng marks and 1es, four. The mean fork 1 •1d1 •Je uvr,up re very s mn a~~ to those found in other North Carolina investigations, especi ly those examined in the Tar-Pamlico River (Table 9).

Alewife

On.ly 170 alewi le samples were ;;uitab~ie determination during 1977-79. These fish came from a combination of gi sampling and commet-cial and recreational Ci1tches. ~iost of the alewife v1ere caught in gill nets below New Bern, the major catch areas being Dawson and Slocum Creeks. In the middle· Neuse, alewife were captured in Pitchkettle and Taylor Creeks and in the upper Neuse, in Beaverdam Creek. Alewife was the dominant river herring species in the lower Neuse, apparently preferring the higher salinities of the area. Sholar (1977) and Bigelow and ~~e·lsh (1925) noted sirni'lar pr·eferences in the Cape Fear system and the New England area, respectively. The early river herring spawning runs were compsed primarily of alewife, similar to what Hildebrand and Schroeder (1927) found in Chesapeake Bay and Johnson, al (1977 noted in Albemarle Sound, ng in tne '!euse River, NC, 1977-79

2

lO g 191' ~0 3~4 20:1 <\56 43 "!· 31 7 24 ?7 77 5 90 106 "\":' i' 2 j,

Tallie 8 Size and age composit"ion of blueback herring in the Neuse River, NC, 1977-79

uta samples length(mm) Length range(mm) t~ F M F ~1 F

1 1 i ~ (\ p_ 4 l 237 245 225-25P 230-262 ' " l !J '')!t4 2 ():~ 43 33 247 253 230-266 2 30-271 " "=:1 7 24"1 40 40 251 263 230-295 240-289 g::; 1 06 11 1 R 262 272 242-278 257-289 -7 'IT! l 2 ,Jt 2 6 265 278 251-271 260-300 Vl I ! I'J 1 2 0 2 287 278-300 ______7.2L_ 6o7 _ Table 9 - Age and mean length of blueback herring examined during the present study compared to other North Carolina Investigations.

---·--··· e 3 4 5 6 7 8 -·--- Sex M F M F M F M F M F M F

Location Fork length (mm)

Neuse River 237 245 247 253 263 272 287 Tar-Pamlico River 232 244 254 256 264 270 290

Tar-Pam1 i co Ri ve·rl 239 242 240 249 251 257 263 275 280 291 Northeast Cane Fear Ri ver2' 231 239 242 247 253 262 264 275 275

Cape Fear River3 255 266 259 270 287 279 290

,!\ 1bema r1 e Sound4 229 244 237 248 247 257 251 264 259 270 270 280

1 Marshall, 1976 2 sho1ar, 1977 3 Fischer, 1979 4 Street, Pate, Holland, and Powell, 1975 69 Most of the alewife samples were four, five, and six years old (Table 10). Ma 1es were predominately ( 80%) four and five years o 1d and fema 1es ( 66%), five and six (Table 11). Joseph and Davis (1965) found similar alewife ages in lower Chesapeake Bay. Three-~ear old fish comprised almost 4% of the alewife sampled, somewhat lower than found by Johnson, et a1. (1977) and Street, et al. (1975) in Albemarle Sound. Samples were dominated by older females, as indicated by a high percentage (61%) of female repeat spawners. Thirty-one percent of the male alewife sampled exhibited evidence of previous spawning. Johnson, et al. (1977) reported that only seven per·cent of the alewife sampled (sexes combined) in Albemarle Sound had spawned previously.

American shad

Most of the scales taken from American shad for age analysis were sampled at commercial fish houses on the Neuse (MATERIALS AND METHODS Section - Adult Fish Harvest). Therefore, age and size composition of American shad are discussed in the commercial fishery section.

Hickory shad

Scales from 692 hick0ry shad were found suitable for age determination during 1977-79. Yearly age composition is shown in Ta~les 7-12 of the Appendix. The majority of the ,hickory shad sampled were captured in the Division's gill nets, with very few being obse1·ved in commercial catches. Hickory shad were captured predominately during rebruary and early March, being the first anadromous species to migrate up ~~euse River each spring. Most of the fish were caught at a temperature range of 5-15oc.

Hickory shad ranged from age II to age VIII (Table 12). Most of the males were three and four year old olds, while most females were three, four, and five (Table 13). Pate (1972) found a higher incidence of two year old males in the Neuse River; however the mean fork lengths for each year-class generally agree, indicating that our sampling gear was probably selective for larger males. Pate (1972) also reported that the female hickory shad population was composed mainly of three, four, and five year olds. Average fork lengths by age-class are compared to other North Carolina investigations in Table 14. 70

Table 10 Age and spawning frequency of alewife in the Neuse River, NC, 1977-79

Spawning marks 0 2 - 3 4 Tota 1 ~ex t1 ( r1 F M F f1 F M F fj F ~~~-e

I ! I 7 7 0 I '; ~ 1 12 42 12 ' l 6 lP 15 !-1 2 31 ?3 '!! 1 14 7 l 3 l p 2:0 ,' ; I 2 7 4 3 11 'JI r r 2 1 0 3 To to l 64 30 17 fq 11 20 7 0 l 93 77 Percent 69 39 18 25 12 26 q I) 1

Table ll Size and age composition of alewife in the Neuse River, NC, 1977-79

-Tot a 1 Percent of 'lean fork ' e nuMber samples l ength(mm) Length range(mm) '' F '1 F " F M F -'--~~--- r r r 7 0 p 0 245 237-252 IV ,12 1 2 45 16 248 255 23~-264 245-270 " 0? 2' 1'i 30 256 264 245-270 241-275 , r 0 21' 9 36 268 273 260-275 262-290 v r : 3 ll 3 14 27P. 282 275-294 257-298 \.' l I I 0 ,1 0 4 289 287-291 if] 77 71

Ta.t:!e 12 Age and spawning frequency for hickory shad in the Neuse River, NC, 197'7-79

Spdwn ng natks 0 2 3 4 5 Tot a 1 --F-- ~,ex r1 F ~1 ---r·- M F M M r1 F 11 ~-·----- F F se ; I l 4 4 14 4 y l I 6:5 91 32 5 95 96 IV 22 7f\ [\1 9Q 2 "l 5 128 1 f\2 ? ·: 5 v 3 ' 36 55 4 1 43 76 !Jl F: 6 !2 6 12 21 VI )_ 4 1 i 5 12 \I t " T T J l' 3 1 3 ToTaT- 1 oC-17 CT1T"ll9--5:tl 68 10--16 10 12 2 3 298 394 0 ercent 3~ 45 39 30 20 1 7 3 4 3 3 1 1 ----- ~"·-----·---

Table 13 Size and age composition of hickory shad in the Neuse River, NC, 1977-79

.",Qe number lJ'!!lJjl!_{E~m ) Length range(mm) ------'1 F M F 11 F II 1 4 4 5 1 295 302 272-323 296-~07 I ! I 95 96 32 24 31 8 3~7 260-:112 2P0~380 IV l2P 182 43 46 342 360 3l 0 -37P 325-400 v 41 76 14 19 353 37:1 '125-40'i 321-407 VI 1 2 21 4 5 374 393 320-400 363-420 VII 5 12 2 3 3P4 413 372-392 328-440 VI I I 1 3

Age 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 c c Sex M F t-1 ' M F r·'i M F ~1 F r~ F

Location

Neuse River 295 302 318 337 342 360 353 373 374 393 384 3 397 4H:

Neuse River1 294 311 332 354 346 376 356 395 357 369 Pamlico Sound2 ? and River 286 290 297 324 341 354 355 376 395 ,' 427

ft,l bemar1 e Sound3 289 341 325 341 350 355 371 387 360 384 365 390

'~------~-~rt ___ ,. _,_,«-~--u~n~•·-'

1Pate, 1972 2 Ma rsha 11 , 1976 3street, Pate, Holland, and Powe 11, 1975 73 shad in the Neuse vet, as GOtUWBnted Pate Ll9 ). S xty- ix percent of the males and 55% ot the females ng ma nn r scales. The percentage of repeat spawners lil o an!<±s of North CaroHna ·is also high, with Pamlico River and Albemarle Sound showing 50% and 1+9% respective"ly U•iar·st1all 1976; Street, et al 1975).

Striped bass

ned for age composition fr'om from one to ten years ( e 5) . t of trl ped be; s s encountered (84"0 "rer'e rrom one to ve years d, th a 1ength range of fi mm 1t I i ng cated that the s t ri " pop u- lation in the Neuse River was very low during 1977-79, as very few fish were encountered during intense spr·ing and fall net fishing and commercial sh house samp·l i ng.

Commercial Fishery Sampling

The commercial fishery of the Neuse River has historically contributed only sl y to the total North Carolina landings of anadromous fish (Table 1 ). The area of the Neuse River that can be fished commercially extends from the mouth of the river to the mouth of Pitchkettl e Creek, a tot a 1 of 55 mi ( 89km). The principal commercial gear utilized for anadromous fish from New Bern downstream is the staked gill net, set primarily for American shad and striped bass. Walburg (1953) reported that the predominant gears used in the commercial anadromous fishery were staked and drift gi 11 nets, haul seines, and pound nets. Pound nets were historically ut"ilized as the principal gear for harvesting American shad in the lower Neuse; however, in recent years pound nets have been set pr·imarily for non­ anadromous species. Haul seines were reported by Walburg (1953) between New Bern and Pitchkettle Creek in the middle section of the Neuse River. However, only one haul seine was operated on the Neuse during 1977-79, with only moderate success.

American shad

Walburg and Nichols (1967) stated that the Neuse River was the most important shad stream between the St. John River, FL and the James River, VA in 1896. Since 74

Tab 1e 15 ~ Aqe frequency, mean 1"'"wn, and 1 s ped bass from the Neuse River, NC, 1976-

t1ean Length Fa 11 1976-78 Spring 19Tl--79 I ength (mm) range (mm) Age Tota 1 no. Age Total no. Fa 11 Spring Fa 11 Spring

-~~~~~--·-···--~m--~~-~,,.=,~- "'-~·~~·~--~-·"~'"·-- "

I'"' 27 !I g 370 362 326-403 305-427 !!* 27 III 24 424 420 390-475 330-458 y J I* 13 IV 466 466 400-500 400-587 y \'* 1 ~ 10 v 12 542 505-568 498-625 V* 7 VI 6 587 569 530-658 522-645 VI* 2 VII 8 631 630 627-635 550-748

T"k ' 1 VIII 0 630 V!! l * 0 IX 3 767 745-895 IX* 0 X 785

87 86

*aged during growth period 75 1960 American shad 1andi in Neuse River for an average of 16% of the tota 1 North ina shad catch (Table 16). s proportion may be misleading, for fish outsi areas are sold to Neuse River fish dealers; however, from the a. re so d to lers in other areas. Therefore, these landings are the al catch avai1 e. primar·y gears ng can s in the River ar·e staked and drift gill nets. Staked gill nets are usua 1 set in .4 m (100 yd} sections, composed 1 mm (4 ·in) or· staked nets are primarily tween an(i mouth ver. Shad fishing in this area usuall ns in 1ate January con nues into March. Drift gi 11 ne are !lid -; n1 y from area just Bern to Pitchkettle nets range fr'om 23 to Am ( to 100 long 125 mm (4 7/8 in) or 140 mrn (5 mesh. t of can shad caught with drift nets are ona"l consumption; the excess is usually sold commercially.

Sampling of cornmerci a 1 t for· American s was initiated in early February at three 1ocat ons ·ir. study area. Hov1ever, no shad v1ere usually encountered until mid-F sh houses at Oriental and on Broad Creek provided most of the samples Neuse ver (Figure 5).

Sea 1es from 1, 1\meri can were found sui tab'l e for age determi on during 1977-79. Annual age-size composition for 1977-79 can be seen in Tables 13-18 in the Appendix. Ages ranged from three to seven for' ma 1es, and four to eight for fema 1es (Tab 1e 17). Age groups four and five made up 85% of the males sampled, very close to the 88% found by Johnson, et al, (1977) in Albemarle Sound, Females were predominately (92%) five and six year old (Table ·Is), again appearing similar to the 88% reported by Johnson, et al, (1977). Only 7.4% of the American shad observed had spawned previously, agreeing with Walburg's (1953) assumption that very few shad spavm repet'tively below Cape Hatteras. Walburg (1953) found that three percent of the Neuse R·iver shad he examined were repeat spawners. Chitterden (1975) found that on'ly three percent of the shad he examined from the Delaware River had spawned previously. Ninety-one percent of the males and 93% of the females from the Neuse River were virgin f'ish during the present study.

Mean 1 engths of Neuse River American shad are compared with those of other investigations in Table 19. The bulk of the female American shad harvested during 76 Table 16 - Relative importance of American shad and hickory shad in the Neuse River, NC, as shown by commercial landings (from unpublished data: NC Division Marine Fisheries and NMFS).

American shad American shad %American shad Hickory shad Year Hickory shad % Hickory sha NC ( 1b) Neuse River Neuse River NC ( 1b) Neuse River Neuse River ( 1b) ( 1b)

1960 507,000 104' 300 21 180' 703 41,600 23 1961 673,000 140,800 21 276,437 69,100 25 1962 765,000 1 ,600 17 171,650 59' 100 34 1963 693,000 71, 10 ,000 ,200 31 1964 640,000 159,800 25 232,000 30.900 13 1965 1,069,000 254,900 24 202,000 ,700 27 1966 701 ,000 113,449 16 196,596 87,806 45 1967 777' 000 110,700 14 130' 574 32,600 25 1968 840,000 86,300 10 141,305 49,700 35 1969 719,000 173,100 24 '100,716 16,600 16 1970 953,000 91 '000 10 61 ,424 15,500 25 1971 680,000 110,600 16 62,800 2'1 ,600 34 1972 468,000 81,800 17 69,190 5,400 8 1973 321,000 ,500 22 ,973 11 '700 18 1974 368,000 61 '1 00 17 41 '725 1,800 4 1975 241,000 27,700 11 29,202 2,100 7 1976 167,000 34,100 20 18,716 3,200 17 1977 121,022 6,100 5 22' 109 3,100 14 1978 402,017 31,746 8 20,507 5,600 27 1979 278,070 31,600 11 31 '716 3,100 10 77

Ta b1 e 17 /\gc and s.Pavminq~ freqtJency of. ,',me·~l·ca•J, . , s',··,,d" 1'n th e Neuse "'1"' ver,, NC, 1977 ·~ 1979 ..

ng

I I I 1 h 16 I) IV 1 21 116 ~~ 126 47 0 v 1.17 429 1 .) 12 1 1 vct:: 1 447 II "O ') "H' I ( •.J I •.. ;.} ,, 22 5 6 30 263 Iff ' ' I 5 5 1 2 3

Table 18 Size and age cornposit"icn of .\rnerican shad in the ~leuse River, NC, 1977 - 1979.

1\ge number sa~es 1en_.gtl:1~ Length range(rnm) /:' ~1 F " ' .'t F ,'t F I ll 16 0 5 0 370 347-397 I'/ 126 47 39 6 401 42fl 34P-452 368-463 v 1 s 1 447 46 5P 41 p 4oO 269-455 403-505 VI ?,Q 263 9 34 435 4~2 408-472 430-582 '!I I 3 10 l l 455 502 43P-434 460-526 VIII 0 l 0 I 547 126 -76P Table 19 - Age and mean length of American shad examined during the present study compared to other North Carolina investigations.

Age 3 4 5 6 7 8

Sex ri F M F i'l F r~1 F M F M F

···----~·-----· location

Neuse River 370 401 428 418 460 4'"vv 48? 455 502 547 Pamlico Sound and River 404 429 425 464 452 486 523 1 Neuse River 368 376 422 429 472 513 Neuse River2 393 420 448 445 450 503 Pamlico Sound 334 415 445 437 481 456 1\94 489 485 532 and River3

Albemarle Sound4 359 400 437 432 473 450 498 461 540 476 509

\apointe, 1958, calculated fork length in inches to mm 2Hass1er, W. W. and Pate, P.P., Jr. (unpublished data, !oology Department, NC State University at Raleigh) 3Marshal1, 1976 4street, Pate, Holland, and Powell, 1975 79 1977-79 with gill nets 430-490 mm ( gure ) ; a very similar to that found by Sholar (1977) in Northeast Cape ver. data from the commercial catch showed a increase in percentage of mm females from 1977-79, indicating a greater dependence on ve year-old females. Males were harvested at a significantly smaller size range, predominanaly mm, The male shad commercial harvest 1977 exhibited a lesser dependence on a particular size range than those harvested in 1978 and 1979.

Hickory shad

The contribution of Neuse River landings to No ina's co~nerci catch of hickory shad has varied from four to forty-five percent during 1960-1979 (Table 16). During 1968-79 commercial landings from the Neuse ver comprised an average of 19% of the catch. Reported Neuse ver hickory shad landings steadily decreased from a peak ,200 lb in 1963 to only 3,900 lb in 1977. Landings rose slightly again in 1978 to 5,600 lb, but then dropped again in 1979 to 3,100 lb (unpublished data NC Div. Mar. Fish. and NMFS). The commercial value of hickory shad is limited, mainly to a lack of a market for the species. The commercial catch consists mainly of large females taken as a by-catch of the American shad fishery, and small males caught with river herring nets, The recreational catch of hickory shad is thought to far exceed the commercial catch, with most of the fish being caught by drift gill nets or hook and line.

River herring

The commercial harvest of river herring is insignificant in the Neuse River. Only 1,100 "lb of river herring have been reported in the Neuse River since 1975 (unpublished data, NC Div. Mar. Fish. and NMFS). Most of the alewife and blueback herring captured in in·land waters are for personal consumption.

Striped bass

The striped bass commercial fishery is also very small in the Neuse River. Gill nets are the most common commercial gear used to capture striped bass, being set in late winter and early spring. However, most of the striped bass caught are taken by recreational fishermen for personal consumption. No striped bass have been reported in the commercial catch since 1976. 80

30

Females

20

' \ ' \ ', ' lG -

0 400 420 440 460 480 500 520 540

Fork Length (mm)

30 1977 Males 1978 .. 1979 : ... 20

··>~ / ',\ 10 ,-"" '\. ' I ·. \ ...- "'\ / ·. v \ I I ' ' / .... .·· ' ' 0 340 360 380 400 420 440 460 480

Fork Length (mm)

Figure 21 - Fork length frequency of commercially harvested American shad 1 Neuse River, NC, 1977 - 1979, 81 Sturgeon

Very few Atlantic stut'geon are landed ly in the Neuse River; those caught are usually the by-catch of other fisheries.

ona'i ing

s sh mouth Pi

Fi es and the 1 fishing occurs t of the pressure fi tn sareais a 11 nets and line. Other gears used in the i inc 1 set 11 nets~ nets, haul seines, and

According to Neuse River the 1 t and most productive recrea on a 1 can hi in NrH·~h Carolina. He ver sustained more sure a special devices (bow nets, gill nets, nes) than any coasta 1 ver, with over 2,100 fishennen making a 119 trips to take fi in 1967.

i Baker reported 60, h" shad, 75, can , and pounds of river hc:rring v1ere captured dut"ing the 1967 ng season. The recreational catch of American and hickory shad was more than the catch from 1 other coas ta 1 streams combined, Over ·1 ,000 striped s were a 1 so taken from the Neuse River during that period.

Lower Neuse River

Recrea t·i on a 1 fishing for ana dromou s fishes in the Neuse River below New Bern is limited mainly to dip--nc;tti ng ine fishing for str·iped ili ng was at only two 1 ons in the lower Neuse River, with the SR 1746 bridge over S'locum Creek in Havelock (Figure 6) appearing to be the most popu·lar locat-ion. The NC highway 55 bridge over upper Broad Creek had been reported as an excellent dip-netting site in the past, but in recent years has been unproductive. 82 Sport fishing for ped bass occurs in the Bern area during the fall and early spring. Artificial baits are ly troll or cast along the railroad and high"1ay bridges near New Bev·n. ons of river· herring are also used as cut bait to catch striped bass. Stripers taken in this area usually from two to ten pounds.

Trent River

The recrea onal fis in the Trent River involves using 11, dip, and bow nets, and hook-and- I i for ver can shad, and striped However, fishing areas are limi of access points above Pollocksville, therefore, bridges serve as major shi areas. River herring are the main ies gill and p nets in the Trent River. Set gill nets were in Brice and in the Trent River near the NC highway bridge (Figul'e 6). No sta nets were observed; a 11 were tied to trees and shoreline brush. Dip-netting ver herring occurs at the SR 1153 bridge at Pleasant Hill. ·is is proba y uppermost 1 imi t of shing vity in the area. on !3 ce +hn•co<"! ex 1ent 1 ons, but

Hook-and-line fi ng can shad is popular in the Trent River, with three fishing 'l ons reported; the SR 1129, the SR 1130, and the NC highway 58 bridges. Bow nets are a 1so utili zed in these areas to capture Amerl can shad. Set gill nets for shad were anly ubserved below the NC highway 58 bridge (Figure 6). Fishermen using cut bait for striped bass v1er·e encountered in the Trent River below Pollocksville during the spring. Striped bass were also taken in the lower Trent with artificial baits at other times of the year.

Upper Neuse River

Recreational fishing was observed in numerous areas throughout the region from New Bern to several miles above Goldsboto. Perhaps the most popular type of sport f"lshing during the spring spawning run is hook-and-1 ine shing for hickory shad. Marshall (1977) stated that the Neuse River 1o1as probably the most popular sport fishing area for hickor·y shad in North Carolina. Baker (1968) found that 83

60% of North Caro 1 ina l:i c t'l ( Neuse ver sport f'i s duri 7 w rch i tchkettle Creek is the most popui r sport sh·inq df'2d hickory shad hi the Neuse Riv<.:r. te (1972) conducted & creel census at Pitchkettle and hickory v:ere ht in the creek du ing lS7U, Hickory shad at·e usuo. by ling with artif cia1 lures (s the stil) tributaries ar1d sVJamps avvay from Ute: rna in vet" cha

rter ~d Cont~ntnea are a1so IKpu];n· hickm·y shad spor·t fishing areas.

and on the Neuse H ver between New Ber·n a 1 tor and fall, One of more popular fishing areas 1XO 11 i f:(j iS ower's Gap area, between New and Batchelor Cn•ek (Fiqur·e 12). Further upsUeam, fishermen use modified bottom gs baited with cut fish ly river , to catch striped s dud the spawning run. f~tsher-rnen usua1 1~y sh near ons in deeper sections of the river Hov.tevert striped bass are a1so in larger creeks the Neuse River, especially Swi One of more popu·l ar fi shi areas ·is the stri ing nds Kinston to Goldsboro (Figure 11).

Another important recrea onal acti ity in Neuse River is drift gill nettin9 for t\mPtican shdd 7 h·ickory shadJ and ver ng. Drift netting activity usually begins in late February or early March when the anadromous species begin their spawning runs. Various mesh sizes are utili each species; 63.5 mm (2 1/2 in) and 72,9 mm (2 3/4 111) stretched for r·iver herring, 82.5 mm ( 3 1/4 in) and 101.6 mm (4 in) stretched mesh for hlckory shad, and 123.7 mm (4 7/8 in) and 139.7 mm (5 l/2 in) stretched mesh for American shad. Popular areas for drift netting include the area close to the mouth of Swift Creek, the mouth of Pinetree Creek (Spring Garden), and the Pitchkettle Creek area (Figure 3). Drift netting is a socially significant activity on the Neuse River, with large crowds of people from the community and surrounding areas gathering to catch fish and eat. Often the fish caught in excess of those desired for personal consumption are sold to the pub1 ic.

Other devices such as bow nets and dip nets are not as popular now as in the past. Bow nets were only reported on the Neuse River near Go'ldsboro and dip netting was limited to some of the smaner tributaries of the Neuse River. One haul seine was operated from the first week in Apri 1 through May near Pitchkettle 84

Creek during 1977 and nerrr F l470 bridge in "1978-79 (Figure 5). Very few anadromous fishes were caught th the haul seine during 1978-79, although rela- tively good catc were entiJltn~ered in 1

Two fish wheels were o on Contentnea Creek ( Figur·e 22). One fish wheel operated at the NC 123 was samolrd se•ercl s; however·, only a small number of river herring were caught. S f i"()ID 1oca 1 ·f-i s her·men inc! i ca ted tha. t catch at the fish wheel below the NC ht' i also very small. The principal species sought with these wheels were r1ver ng and hickory shad.

n in y October> ·1 r; ng L)d:_.,s L:;,ing the net method. i ng i114 in ttte ldte winter y spring.

rop~-net ha not been er.v successfu sine&; 1976.

')nly nine ~~tr-:pc~'d ba>;:-.- t(J-(d! +Jetcc en durir;q the f 11 seasons of '197] 1978, con1pd red to 68 when nade a 1onq the r"'O i i r·oa.d ci hf

Td~Jqi · (.,.,,.,,. i ·: (lf_,'d (\nd CIJntivp_lf'd !au: Mdccn Uur1ng liJ// dnd 19/tL Necs 1Hen:~ set HlfLl 1 iy necu Ltlc' l'cillnJctL\ ~n-ll!tii'J at New Bern and fished daily. During 1978 additional nets were pla in the Neuse River tributaries as the a s fish migrated upstream. Six sizes of rnonofila- tnent webb1ng were used to captur·e each anadromous spec1es (See !ALS AND METHODS- Spawning Area Sampling). Only fish in good tion were tagged and released. The nets were removed when catches mortalities increased.

A pound net was set to uiiadr·omous fish cluri ng the spr·ing of 1979 near Greene Creek in the lower NeuseR ver (Figure 3). few fish wer·e caught by the pound net.

A haul se·ine was also u to fi tl Creek during 1977 and near the SR 1470 cl ll't i 1978 (Figure 5). seine was fished one day per week during mid-March - April. Catches wer·e excel"ient during 1977, but dropped significantly after the seine was moved to SR 1470 bridge. The haul ne was 85

Side view

End view

Figure 22. - Floating fish wheel 86 not rented during 1979 due to the poor results of the previous year, but was checked weekly during March-April to monitor catches.

A total of 37 str·iped bass, American shad, 393 hickory shad, 3rl blueback herring, eight alewife, and 13 Atlantic sturgeon was tagged during the spring seasons of 1977-79.

Striped bass

From the 114 striped biles during Fall, 1 ing, 1979, 18 tags ( l'i.81c.) were retusrk'c!. ihe numbet of n•i:ur·ns was ·insufficient to show any definite pattern of movem •nt percent of the returns were recaptured within 15 rni (25 km) of ing v1i lh some fish at "lan]e as long as 160 days. Apparently most the t ;; striped bass rar1ained in the v cini of New Bern (Figure 23). Thu tendency oi- striped bas of Paml ico to remain in the·ir native streams has been documented Marshall (1976). Three returns were reported outside a ten ile radius from the ing sites. striped bass, recaptured neiir Slocum Cr·eek (about 13 mi (2"1 krn) fr·olti the ing site) was at large only two days Arroth::r striper \AJdS n::capturc:d in the spring of 1979 near· Goldsboro, having traveled approximately 100 rni (167 km) in 198 days. The fish was four years old and may '"' ';een on a spavming nm. The last tag was r·eturned from nedr the midpo1nt of the Pamlico River, representing the only evidence of striped bass exchange between the Neuse and Tar-Pam1ico Rivers That five-year old striper was also recaptured in Spring 1977, after being out for days. The age distri- but ion of the tota 1 tagged striped bass from 1977-79 was from four to ten years in age.

American shad

The number of American shad tagged and the number recaptured were also insufficient to show any pattern of movement. Of the 39 fish tagged, (15.4%) were returned (Figure 24). All the fish recaptured exhibited upstream movement after tagging, averaging 28 mi (46 krn) trave"led between tagging and recapture. Two shad tagged near Green Creek were later recaptured in the Pitchkettle Creek area, traveling approximately 45 miles (75 km). One shad traveled approximately 50 mi (83.5 km) from the Cove Creek area to Goldsboro in 12 days. All the shad were recaptured by various devices, including hook and line and drift gill net. The 87

PAMUCO SOUND

0 5 1 ! I I I t miles

~ Tagging sites e Recapture sites

Fiaure 23- Tagging sites and return locations of striped bass, 1976-1979. 88

8 Recapture sites A Tagging sites

0L------.mr.o----__jlO 5 MILES

Figure 23 - continued. \!Iii Recaptur·cHi ~" s'~ tt";.. s 0 Tagging site r· mile<> •~1gure 24 - Tagging and recapture sites of. ''meri' can s.h ad and hickory ]977-1979. 90

Recapture site Amer·i can shad ® Recapture site Hickory shad iljl Tagging site ... 0 5 10 L J__ MILES

Figure 24 - continued 91

years to six years.

ly l4 ( che hi re\easea duri 1 ~79 were recaptured. ern ·Jn the ationsh r the number' of directt0r and distance traveled. seven fish that were tht:? ing site were all ta within nine r a 38 mi (56 km) tream Figure \ '" areas u after s relationship may ind cate that hie srwd teacted to idly ir upstream m1grat on to 1ng areas. Most of tne hi with drift gi nets near Pitchkettle and Pinetree from four to five in age.

RlVer herTi ng

Poorest returns wer& from tagged blueback ng; of the 311 tagged,

l'!PY'(~ V-E•L'~, i only seven (2, ) '" •... ~ - - L< Five of the fish were within a week a i ng, vlh 1e were recaught 15 and 26 days, respectively. ~iost of the blueback herring recaptured exhib·ited downstream movement, traveling as far as 10 mi (16 km) (Figure 25). The blueback herring tagged ranged from four to six years old.

No retul'ns were received from eight a 1 ewife tagged.

Atlantic sturgeon

A total of 13 Atlantic sturgeon were tagged during 1977-79, of which two were recaptur·ed (Figure 26). One young sturgeon was at large four days and traveled three miles upstream. The other was tagged in Spring, 1979, near Oriental and recaptured 49 days later close to the Outer Banks. This sturgeon traveled at least 72 mi (116 km) when calculated wHh a straight line trajectory. The tagged sturgeon ranged in size from 370··700 mm, Fl. 92 J

<}i

c> -\:~~ip

c! " A. Tagging site • Recapture site_ 0 5 10 L- --~~----~ MILES

Figure 25- Tagging and recapture sites of blueback herring ·in the 'leuse :

11

II

I ; I I'. I COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA II ~ ~ 56 ) II

II ' ' e I I' r II I I ' ' 11 II II I 11 , 35 X i· e II

~ 1i ~ ~ 'I ~ n 0 ~ II 0 ~ ~I ~ ~ -~ ~ II

II A Tagging site SCALE • IOE!capture site II

78 76

Figure 26- Tagging and recaptur·e sites of .'.tlantic stllrgeon in the ~leuse 1\iver, ]q?l-1979. 94

SUMMARY l. River herring in the Neuse River and tributaries from 15 March to 30 May at water temperatures of 11°- 26°C. Spawning areas were designated in the main stem from the Flowers Gap area to the SR 1700 bl"i dge above Goldsboro. Tributades also designated as spawning areas include Smith, Kershaw, Dawson, Hancock, Slocum, Beards, Upper Broad, Batchelor, Little Swift, S"1ift, Pinetree, Turkey Quarter·, Taylor, K.itten, Village, Halfmoon,

Contentnea, t1i11, and f~"iddle , Little vel", Trent River, and its tributaries (Mi 1, Mill , and Jumping ks). Although no eggs or larvae v1ere found in Cove, Gtindle, Little Contentnea, Jericho Run, and Beaverdam Creeks, adults were captured in these tributaries, suggesting they are possible spawning areas. 2. River herring egg catches in 1977 and 1978 clnd larvae catches in 1978 appeared to be re 1a ted to increases in water temperatures. 3. Channelization on Swift, Little Swift, and Bear Creeks and cropland alter- ations alonq Slocum and Creeks and South River have significantly reduced river herring distribution and spawning areas in the Neuse River basin. 4. American shad spawned in the Neuse River from 31 March to 25 May at water temperatures of 110 26oc. The major spawning areas were located in the main stem of the river from just above New Bern to Smithfield. Eggs and larvae were also found in Trent River, Contentnea Creek, Swift Creek, Little River, and Mill Creek. 5. Hickory shad eggs and larvae were found "in the main stem of the Neuse River from the NC 55 bridge at Kinston to the SR 1731 bridge at Seven Springs. Tributaries where spawning was noted include Turkey Quarter, Pitchkettl e, Taylor, Halfmoon, Contentnea, and Mill Creeks, in addition to Little and Trent Rivers. Spawn"ing occurred from 27 March to 4 May at a temperature range of 13° - 18.5°c. 6. Striped bass eggs were col"lected in the main stem of Neuse River from the NC 55 bridge at Kinston to the SR 1224 bridge above Goldsboro. The principal spawning area lies between the NC 55 bridge and the SR 1915 bridge a distance of 65 mi (105 km). Spawning occurred from 27 March to 30 May at temperatures 95

of 13. pf:d v1en: and ated with water one dt drr \'>leek 1y tt:mpei"n tU'('e of (9-15 April) and the other )

7. Although anadromous fish utilize t ver above Quaker Neck dam at Goldsboro and the little e } migration appears to be tion is mai y imited to times of high water· when anadtomous sh can swim over the dams. 8 Nursery areas delinea the F o~'ter·'.s Gap Cove on the Tr'ent r.

9 was d"''''nn fo the 1 year classes of juvenile blueback herring in the Neuse River, Lh 6 and , and the 977 1 year classes exhibiting simil r gt·owth,

10. Catch-per· unit-effor·t d;;ta indicate that the magnitude of the 1977 and 1978 year classes of juvenile ueback herring were similar, and that both were much larger than the 1 yc:ar· c1ass.

11. Only S~ juvenile alewife were coll during 1977- , preventing delineation of nursery areas in the Neuse River.

juvenile 1\merican sl1ad i the Neuse River were from Duck Creek to the SR 1224 bri above Goldsboro.

13. Juvenile American s appeared to initiate movement out of the freshwater nursery areas of the se River during October, when catch-per-unit-effort values decreased not"i ceab-iy. Juvenile movement was prob11bly affected by the unusually warm fa.li seasons of 1977--79.

14. The mean monthly fork length of juven·ile Jlmer·ican shad h1 the Neuse River was calculated for 1977- 15. A total of 916 juven"ile hickory shad was collected duri the study period; however, 905 were captured in supp'lemental sarnpl'ing during one week in 1977. Juveniles were collected from Slocum Creek to Pitchkettle Creek. Juvenile hickory shad migration to estuarine waters apparently begins in June. 16. Only ten juvenile striped bass were collected from the Neuse River during 1977-79; four caught in 1979 were thought to be the result of a fry stocking program. The other six juveniles caught in 1978 represent the only known record of a natural juvenile stock in the Neuse River. 96

17. Nine nq ft t study period, ranging 370 700 mm 1 P 18. Blueback ng VifdS by far most a s ies inhabi ng the dark, sw.ilmtJ-Ilnrdered waters of the middle Neuse r~ 1 t:v.fi f e hi areas of lov1er Neuse River. 19. Adult bl c:back hetl"ing n age to years. with 83% of the males be·fnq and five yea Y'S o'td and t of the females being four, five} and six olCI. imately 53% of l'l adu t blueback herring

20. A1 in t in from thr·ee to eiqht Seventy- five percent r and five years old, while 66% of the f ema 1es wen1 ve s rx yc.H·s aieL Hales were dominated by virgin fish, (83:1.). v;hi le 39t the

21. Hickory shad ta t\1,/0 to eight ,yeats o-ld~ vrith the males dominated (75%) by three nd \'year· o'ld fish and the females (89%) by three, four, and five year olds. Six rercent of the total Neuse River hickory shad

1 samp 1ed ~vere rep::::a ~~:"Jd -·'Ter-s 0

22. Striped bass rant.J CroL-l cne to ten years old~ with sh one to five years old

comprising 84% of the sstrnp'i(~. 23. American shad in Neuse Hiver during 1977-79 ranged in age from three to eight years. Males were predominantly four and five years old (85%) and females were five and six years old (92%). Only 7.4% of the total sample exhibited evidence of repeat spawning. 24. The major commercial f·ishery for anadromous f'ish in the Neuse River is the set gill net f-ishery for American shad during February-April. The fishery is selective for 430-490 mm females and 390-430 mm males. 25. The most popular sport fishing activities for anadromous fieh in the Neuse River are the hook and line fishery for hickory shad, and drift netting for American shad, hickory shad, and river herring. 26. A total of 18 striped bass were returned from 114 tagged in the Neuse River during 1976-79. Returns indicate that Neuse River striped bass have a tendency to remain in their· native stream, being found most frequently in the New Bern area. 27. A total of 39 American shad, 393 hickory shad, 311 blueback herring, eight alewife, and 13 Atlantic sturgeon were tagged in the Neuse River, 1977-79. !nsuff·icient numbers vJere generally returned to dravJ any conclus·ions on migration or util'izat'ion. Tagged hickory shad exhibited an apparent tendency 97 to t r-a 1 dOlt¥ tiS tt·'e3:n: fO~"' s.evc·:ra -~ arter tagging and then proceed upstream to their spawning areasG

ACK

special appraciat on s extended to ~ Harine Technician, whose artistic talents, valuable fleld assistance, and experienc advice made this ect and its possible. S ncere thanks are also extende:i tc and Robert Brown. rary technician who grea y aided in f·fe d ii!ld labora WO rhanks a SO go t.O

Mar-ine Fisheries Technicians, Clifton Har·ve!l and J Da(Te17 ~iumford~ r assistance in field sampli and data preparation

Special grati is. reserved for sHe D. 11arsha1!, who initiated the project, wrote the initial pt'O s report and gave valuable advice on procedures and sampling techniques. Fisheries Management Chief, Michael W. Street, provided insight on most aspects of the project. Sincere appreciation is also extended to Ann Tynda"ll and Margaret Stafford for typing the manuscript. Finally, I would like to thank the fishermen and seafood dealers of the Neuse River for their assistance and cooperation. 98 LITERATURE CITED

Baker, W. 1968. A reconnaissance of anadromous sh runs into inland fishing waters of North Carolina. Completion report r Project 3. NC Wildl. Res. Comin. 33p.

Bayless, J. D. and B. Smith. 1962. Survey and classification of the Neuse River and tributaries, North Carolina. Finai for Project F 14~R, Job 1~1\. NC WildL Res. Comm, 33p. +

Bigelow, H. B. and C. 1953. Fishes of the Gulf Maine. US Fish and Wildl. . Fish. Bull.53, 577p.

Burbidge, C. 1974. Distribution, cn·owth, selective feeding, and energy transformations of young-of~thE'"·year biueback hen·ing, Alosa aest ..ivalis (Mitchell), in the James River, Virginia.. P.mer. Fish. Soc. 103(2): 297-311. eating, P. 1953. Determining age of Atlantic shad from their scales. US Fish and Wildl. Serv. Fish. BulL 5L!(il ) : 187 199.

Chittenden, E. 1975. Dynamics of American shad, Alosa sapidissma, runs in the Delaware River. Fish. Bull. ( ) 3:487-494.

1976. ··Pr.ese.ntand hi stori ca 1 spawning grounds and nurseries of American shad, Alosa sap .. idissma, in the Delaware River. Fish. Bull. (74) 2:343-352. Davis, R. and P. Cheek. 1967. Distribution, food habits, and growth of young clupeids, Cape Fear River system, North Carolina. Proc. 20th Ann. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Game and Fish Comm., p.250-260. Fischer, C. 1979. Anadr·omous fisheries research program - Cape Fear River system. Progress report for Project 15, Segment !. NC Dept. Nat. Res. and Comm. Dev. Div. Mar. Fish. 70p. Godwin, W. F. and J. G. Adams. 1969. Young clupeids of the Altamaha River, Georgia. GA Game and Fish Comm., Mar. Fish. Div., Contrib. Ser. No. 15, 30p. 99

Hawkins, J. iL 1979. Anadrcmous F'ishN·ies research p;·ogram ,, Neuse River·. Progress report fer D, %. NC . NaL Res. and Comm. Dev., Div. Mar. Fish Hildebrand, F. 1963. F 1y t..:"!u ·1dae., s J1J.osa pomolohus~ p .. In: H.B. Bigelow

et al 0 ~ f>Jshcs of the: v~e tETn No·rth At'L:1ntic. nd. for Mar. Res., Yale Un1 New Haven, CN.

\;!* c' Chesa i3ul·r US (Doc. 1024), 366p.

Johnson, II.B. : i :1\1 (l(ld ~-) 7 Y'O.li!Otl ii -,, coasta'J area. "lf~t"ion it' . Nat. Div. . Mar. ish. et. al Biology of mid­ ju is!.'.i'ict·ior-L repor·t for

:Ttm. Dev. 5 O·iv .. !~tar. Fish, VH~S. 175p.

Joseph, E. •nii<' 1t t; F the l"i ver of lower 0 11C!t''o Sc:.io , 23p.

Keu p, L. and J Is· 1 F-i~;fl u t: len at v ng saliniti in the River basin, North ins. (3): 119-123.

Lapointe, D r. atrct IJrcv<~th uf Amer-ican.. shad from three Atlantic coast rivers. Ttans. Amet~. Fl~; -i

Lippson, A. J. 1nd R, L !974. Manual for· identif cation of early lopment of fishes of the Potomac River estua Power plant siting program of the MD Dept. of Nat. Res.

Loesch, J. 1968. A ccntri tion to the life history of Alosa aesti.vaLis. MS Thesis. Univ. CN, Store, :rip. Mansueti, A. J. a11d H. Hardy, 1967. Develo~nent of fis the Chesapeake Bay on, an atlas of egg, larval, and juvenile s Part I. Nat. Res. lnst,, On v. Md, 202p.

Marcy, 8. C., ,Jr. 1969. Aoe determinations from sca·les of A.losa pseudoharengus (Wi'lson) and Alosa ae;·;tivalis (MitchirJ) in Connecticut waters. . Amer. sh. Soc., 98(4): 622-630. l 00

Marsha 11, M 0 1976. Anadromous fi ies research program- r River, Pamlico River, and Northern li Sound. letion report Project AFCS-10. NC Dept. Nat. and Econ. Res., Div. Mar. Fish., 90p.

s of hick01·y s in North Ca ro ina, p.33-45. (In) Proceedings of a workshop on American shad, . 14-16, 1976, Amherst, MA. US Fish and Wildl. Ser·v. and Nat. Mar. Fish. Serv. Nichols, P. R. 1966 Comparative of enile ica shad pupulat ons by fin ray and scute counts. sh and ~Jildl. Serv. Spec. Sci. Rep. - Fish. No. 525, lOp.

NC State Board of lth, Div. Wat. Poll. Cont. 1959. The Neuse River in-pollution survey report No. 7, 343p. Pate, P. P., Jr. 1972. Life history aspects of the hickory shad, Al.osa mediocris (Mitch ill), in the Neuse River, North Carolina. MS Thesis, State University, Raleigh, 67p.

Purvis, C. 1976. Nursery area survey of northern Pamlico Sound and tributaries. Completion report for Project 2-230-R. NC Dept. Nat. and Econ. Res., Div. of Mar. Fish. 60p. Rothschild, B. J. 1963. A critique of the scale method for determining the ages of the alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus (Wilson). Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc., 92(4): 409-413.

Schwartz, F. H. and G. W. Link, Jr. 1976. Status of Atlantic, Acipenser oxyrhynchus, and shortnose, A. brevirostrum, sturgeons in North Carolina (Pisces, Acipenseridae). ASC Bull. 23(2) April 1976, p. 94.

Sholar, T. 1976. Status of American shad in North Carolina, p.l?-31. (In) Proceedings of a workshop on American shad, Dec. 14-16, 1976, Amherst, MA. US Fish and Wildl. Serv. and Nat. Mar. Fish. Serv.

1977. Anadromous fisheries research program-Cape Fear River system. Completion report for Project AFCS-12. NC Dept. Nat. Res. and Community Develop., Div. Mar. Fish., Slp. Spitsbergen, D. L. and M. Wolff. 1974. Survey of nursery areas in Western Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Completion report for Project 2-175-R. NC Dept. Nat. and Econ. Res., Div. Com. and Spor·ts Fish., SOp. 101

, M l~" a n(i ;\ . B h d : 1 1973 l: b1 oqra of '.H:Ltdrocnou~; s North Carolina through 197:'. NC Dept. 'lt!L end Fe% Res-t [d Corn, and.::; s Fish, ' <,.;( ."1. Rep., No.

[) A. B. PovJe.l1. coa tal ·fon~ 1\Jorth Carolina. Fino and Econ. . , o·iv. t1ar. Fisil., 2Hlp.

H. . and Cornntun ·i ty fJ0:\i ·; ---~;

Sykes~ J. E. ~nd G. 19 gra 10n. (In) Proc. Gulf and ! ; lagatz, rL E l 1 ad e:-n to-ietz nee; and t>J>dcity 1eum products to juvenile knee can lwei. ke Sci 2(!02): -7L Tobaben, D. L 1971. Bio.loqy ·!:_t- the Tar and Neuse Rivers. Summa r·y repO\" rc ~"' f"r: i ldl. Res .. Comm., 6p.

vut (:r en ·h·w iil'id ~;Y'Dt!\1 ·ican s ~ A.losa :::;srn,.J. r,n ~-,. \ c:)L Soc, B6 ·

--l-9·5:-t·~-----Nt~li·s·e \v er ·1 nv e s t ·I t i on:;, ~ Fish

A P P E N 0 I X

103

Tab 1e 1 - Age and spawning frequency of blueback herring sampled in the Neuse and Trent Rivers, 1977.

Spawning 0 2 3 4 Total marks Age M F M F M F M F M F M F

I I I 24 6 24 6 IV 196 192 43 3 239 105 v 25 46 146 102 31 202 149 n 12 39 32 6 4 46 48 'Jl I 2 8 17 8 19 VI I I 1 2 5 8

--~--~·----.... ------.. ---·~--- Tot a 1 245 154 190 117 70 36 14 23 5 519 335 Percent 47 46 31 35 13 11 3 7 1

__ .... _.~-----~ .. ------.. ·---~--.. ~----"-""--

Table 2 - Size and age composition of blueback herring taken during spawning area surveys in the lower Neuse and Trent Rivers, 1977.

1\ge Total Percent Mean fork Length range (mm) number of samples 1ength (mm)

M F M F M F M F

I I I 24 6 5 2 236 246 225-250 237-262 IV 239 105 46 31 245 253 231-262 237-271 v 202 149 39 45 252 260 238-270 240-279 VI 46 48 9 14 260 269 242-276 257-288 VII 8 19 1 6 262 275 251-270 260-290 VIII ' 8 2 285 278-293 519 335 104 Table 3 - Age and spawning frequency of blueback herring in the Neuse River, 1978

Spavming marks

Ill 6 1 6 ,, IV 58 54 6 L 1 ') v 16 61 4 "!(.,_ V! 3 7 1 ·r V!l ! 6 2 g 3 14 Vlll ,, ' 2 0 3

j !0 2 '1 ' t 42 40 34 2 5

Table 4 - Size and age k herring in the Neuse River, 1978

length range (mm) Age number

F I I I 6 3 2Al 250 232-258 IV 64 56 31 31 2,52 258 237-266 245-270 v 95 62 47 35 257 267 240-270 250-283 VI 36 42 18 24 264 274 255-278 261-287 VII 3 14 l 8 269 281 266-271 265-297 VIII 0 3 0 2 289 283~292

204 178 105 Table 5 - Age and spawning frequency of blueback herring in the Neuse River, 1979.

··------·----- Spawning marks 0 I 2 3 Total ------Sex M F M F M F M F M F Age

III 1 0 IV 40 1[-2 41 42 v 8 19 "12 1l 20 30 VI 8 6 8 1 8 16

') VI I 2 L 2 2 4 VIII 0

-···------·--·-.. -----··------·~--"~"'~~-~--····- ·-·----~------.. ------Tot a 1 48 62 14 19 6 10 3 3 71 94 Percent 68 66 20 20 8 11 4 3 ------~-----.... ~.-~ .. --~----·

Table 6 - Size and age composition of blueback herring in the Neuse River, 1979.

---Totaf""" ______Per-,=erTof ____ l;feaiif ork_____ Age Number Samples length (mm) Length range (lll1l)

.... -~--~-----·-·-.. ---.... ------~---- M F ~1 F M F M F

I I I 0 0 I 230 IV 41 42 58 45 246 248 230-265 230--270 v 20 30 28 32 255 263 230-295 245-290 VI 8 16 11 17 264 272 254-270 260-289 VII 2 4 3 4 270 282 270-300 VIII 0 0 300

71 94 106 Table 7 - Age and spawning frequency fo1~ hickory shad samp"led in the Neuse River, 1977

Spawning 0 2 marks 5

ll 12 12 1 Ill 37 63 15 4 IV ·'" 27 16 46 18 74 v 3 7 9 29 3 13 VI 4 2 6 6 8 11 0 ,. VII l 4 J l :J 10 Vl I l 3 3

Tot a I 55 94 31 57 8 10 2 3 l 206 Percent 42 46 28 16 8 5 l

Table 8 - Size and age composition of h·ickory shad sampled ·in the Neuse R"iver, 1

(mm) number of samples 1 ength (mm) Length range

F ~~ M F F ll 12 9 294 307 272-323 Ill 52 67 40 33 336 343 282-356 297-380 IV 39 74 30 36 344 357 318-368 325-392 v 13 40 10 19 356 367 335-375 321-395 VI 8 l1 6 6 3Bl 386 372-391 363-418 VII 5 10 4 5 384 415 372-392 388-440 VI II 1 3 1 I 397 411 400··421

130 206

··-----·------··-----·-~------l 07

Table 9 - Age and spawn·ing frequency for hickory shad in the Neuse River, 1978.

•------Spawning Total Marks 0 1 2 3 4

~------~-~-----.... ·- Sex M F M F M F M F M F M F Age Ill 8 14 4 12 15 IV 16 49 66 50 5 4 87 103 v 6 27 24 1 2 29 32 VI 1[. 4 6 4 10 VII 2 0 2

--·---~·~·~·~----·---·-~------·-.. ~--- Total 24 63 71 57 32 32 5 8 0 2 132 162 Percent 18 39 54 35 20 4 5 0 1

--·------·--··---~·~·~------

Table 10 - Size and age co!nposition of hickory shad in the Neuse River, 1978.

------·------·- Total Percent of Mean fork Length range (mm) number samples 1 ength (mm)

--·~- ·~------~--·--· --.. .. M F 1'1 F ~l F M F Age !II 12 15 9 9 325 333 295-352 300-357 IV 37 103 66 64 343 362 322-378 334-400 v 29 32 22 20 352 369 325-4-05 343-407 VI 4 10 3 6 361 403 320-400 373-420 VIII 0 2 0 1 0 403 390-415 132 162 ----· ·------108

Table 11 - Age and spawning frequency of hie Neuse River, 1979.

Spawning 1 marks 0 2

Sex M F M F M F t1 F

Age

') I T 2 3 ("'" 3 Ill 18 14 i3 13 IV 2 3 2 5 '• 0 v L '" 1 4

Tota 1 21 19 15 5 0 36 26 Percent 58 73 42 19 0 8

Table 12 - Size and age composi on hickoty shad in the Neuse River, 1979

---·-~·-----~---·-'··----·-.. ---·------~--~~-- Total Percent of Mean Length range (mm) Age number samples 1 ength (mm) ------·--- M F ~~ F M F M F -·------

II 2 3 6 12 300 300 296-305 Ill 3"1 13 86 52 286 308 260-·315 280-326 IV 2 5 6 20 345 373 340--350 345-400 v 1 4 3 16 341 384 377-395

36 25

------·---- 109 Table 13 - Age and spawning frequency of American shad sampled in the Neuse River, 1977.

------.)pawning Total t.larks 0 2 3

Age M F M F M F M ------r II 13 l3 IV 42 4 46 24

'J 1 ",) 176 n 16 I 24 191 J[ 3 19 5 6 9 151 J!l 2 4 2 3 6

Total 73 328 39 7 6 2 95 373 Percent 77 10 7 2 2

Table 14 - Size and composition American shad sampled during a commercial harvest s in thP Neuse River, 1977.

------Total Mean fork Length range (mm) Age Number of samp 1 e'· length (mm)

------·--····---··---·-~-"------F M F------··-- ~~ F M F M I l I 13 14 375 357 IV 46 24 48 6 400 428 348-452 400-463 v 24 192 25 52 426 459 384-455 403-582 VI 9 1 51 10 40 441 483 420-472 430-582 VI l 3 6 3 2 455 494 438-484 460-511

95 373 no of

)pa1'n i ng marks 0 1 2 d.al

M

J 8 Ill

124 i 92 6 195 Percent 95 98 5 2

Table 16 - Size and age compos t Amed can in the Neuse ver, 1978.

Tota 1 Length range (mm) number

Sex M F F M F M F 1\il!£ 1 Ill ~ 2 0 352 347 IV 44 4 2 397 444 364--431 437-460 v 75 131 58 67 414 463 367-440 430-494 Vl 8 58 6 30 423 481 408-446 448-512 VII 2 0 521 510-532

Total 130 195

-··------·~------·· 111

Table 17 - Age and spawni frequency of American shad in the Neuse River, 1979.

------~-- Spawning rna rks 0 1 Total

F M Age

IV 36 l[l 1 '19 v l2:J -, .. ' VI 12 53 I l3 VII 0 2 vr r r 0 1

Total 100 196 II 101 200 Percent 99 98 2 ------·------

Table 18 - Size and age composition of American shad in the Neuse River, 1979.

Tot a 1 Percent of -Mean-fork- number Samples 1ength (mm) Length range (mm) ~~:_._ __'M' T __M ______F ----M------y -- M-----r--- -·--·---·------IV 36 19 36 10 403 425 364-445 368-460 v 52 124 51 62 421 462. 385-450 415-498 VI 13 54 13 27 439 482 422-470 460-513 VI I 0 2 0 1 507 488-526 VIII 0 l 0 <1 547

1Ol 200

---,~------·-----