Drums

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Drums are so named for their ability to make drumming sounds with their swim bladder. Actually, many fishes are capable of making sounds, from squeaks to growls, although not all Drums can "drum". Kingfish lack a swim bladder but still vocalize by grinding their pharyngeal (throat) teeth.


Northern Kingfish

Menticirrhus saxatilis

Profile by
Heather Corbett
Assistant Fisheries Biologist

The Northern kingfish, Menticirrhus saxatilis, is popular with many saltwater anglers, and it's no wonder. These fish are known to put up a good fight, and their tasty, white meat is well worth the effort.


Weakfish

Cynoscion regalis

Profile by John McClain Principal Fisheries Biologist

The Weakfish is a member of the croaker family. The family name is derived from the ability of the males to make a drumming or croaking noise.


Atlantic Croaker

Micropogonias undulatus

Profile by John McClain, Principal Fisheries Biologist

The croaker is a member of the Sciaenidae, or drum family, which includes the black drum and weakfish. Their name comes from the sound they can make by vibrating their swim bladders.


Spot

Leiostomus xanthurus

Size
to 14"
seldom that big

Habitat
Shallow coastal waters, bays, estuaries.

Description
These diminutive drums form an important fishery, both commercial and recreational.


Industrial Pollution

pollution

In the United States, industry is the greatest source of pollution, accounting for more than half the volume of all water pollution and for the most deadly pollutants. Some 370,000 manufacturing facilities use huge quantities of freshwater to carry away wastes of many kinds. The waste-bearing water, or effluent, is discharged into streams, lakes, or oceans, which in turn disperse the polluting substances. In its National Water Quality Inventory, reported to Congress in 1996, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concluded that approximately 40% of the nation's surveyed lakes, rivers, and estuaries were too polluted for such basic uses as drinking supply, fishing, and swimming. The pollutants include grit, asbestos, phosphates and nitrates, mercury, lead, caustic soda and other sodium compounds, sulfur and sulfuric acid, oils, and petrochemicals.

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