BROOKlNGS-HARBOR PILOT, BROOKINGS, OREGON
PAGE EIGHT
suggested th a t the argum ent s ta rt
over the Cobia. Here are a few
F O N E W IS H E S to get in to a p e rfe c tly acceptable names fo r
m isunderstanding
about
the this m arine fish : Cabio, Sergeant-
Kcom m on names of a fish it is fish, B lack Salmon, Lemonfish,
Coal fish, C rabfish. C rabeater and
Black Bonito. W h ile the sh was
listed as Cobia in the 1952 set of
w ild life stamps published by the
N a tional W ild life Federation, in
the 1949 series it was figured and
labeled the Sergeant fish. The sci
e n tific name Rachycentron ¿ana-
dun was the same in both cases.
It was described in considerable
detail in the F e d e ra tio n ’s O fficial
C alendar fo r 1953.
Possibly one reason fo r th is con
fusion centers around the great
v a ria tio n to be found in color and
to some extent the v a ria tio n in
form in fishes o f d iffe re n t age.
The record fish taken w ith a line
weighed 113 pounds and measured
5 feet 9 inches. An average sized
Chesapeake Bay fish is around 15
pounds but
m any are taken
w eighing tw ice as much. The o u t
line of the ta il in young 4-inch
A bountiful,
anim als is convex to the rear
merry Christmo«
w hile in a dult fishes it is concave.
Cobias are usually d a rk to lig h t
b u ff and show a d a rk s trip e ru n
to ono and all.
ning from the snout to the ta il
base on e ith e r side.
In young
fish this strip e is conspicuously
bordered w ith w hite. The young
V. '
fish swim ch ie fly through the use
of the large p a in'd fo rw a rd fins
but this behavior changes as the
fish grow older. The young have
some resemblance to the rem oras
o r shark suckers.
Cobias are taken on hook and
lines using crabs and s im ila r a n i
mals fo r bait.
Once hooked, a
Cobia puts up a g a llant and v ig
orous b a ttle fo r its freedom. F ish
ing is most com m only done about
buoys, wrecks, reefs and s im ila r
Thursday, December 25^ 1952
areas most com m only in bays and
harbors. T hey are not sufficient
ly abundant to lx» considered as
com m ercial fish but do rank high
w ith some as game fish. Com
p a ra tiv e ly lit t le
seems to be
know n about the breeding habits
of the Cobia and since young fish
have been taken at considerable
distances fro m the know n breed
ing grounds, it is plain th a t there
are as yet unrecognized breeding
grounds.
found o ff the coasts o f South
A fric a , Cape Verde, Guinea, M ex
ico, the W est Indies. A u s tra lia
and Japan. S tra n g e ly enough in
a fish of such a cosm opolitan na
tu re it has not been found on
♦he P a cific coast in the U nited
States. Its abundance is irre g u
lar. Som etim es it is most com
mon in the Chesajx'ake Bay area
w here it is supposed to breed
d u rin g the sum m er months. A t
o th e r tim es i t m ay appear in
Cobias range from Cape Cod abundance o ff M ississippi on our
to B ra z il on the A tla n tic coast G u lf coast.
o f the Am ericas. They also are
The flesh o f cobias is w h ite
C O B IA
I
1 and excellent as food and the
food of cobias m ay include such
bottom feeders as flounders or
the m ore open-w ater species such £
as w eakfish. They are vigorous
as fighters and as feeders and
m ay s h ift th e ir diet fro m the
la rg e r fish to crabs, shrim ps and
s im ila r sm all anim als.
H ttP SQMETHIWsQ
^WANTABS
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I ¡ulelîdc!
i
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t9 S 2
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Shop
We hope you are the •
very image of happiness
this Christmas.
DAVIS TRUCK AND TRACTOR
NAPPY
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sing with the
true joy of
t i ’
Christmas time.
./
»952
M a y the joy
of Christmas
abide in you all.
CHETCO HOME and AUTO SUPPLY
PON CRAIG
VIRG GOLDSBERRY
BROOKINGS FEED AND SEED
CARL AND HAZEL YAHR
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