Hobbies And Interests
Sharks and Rays
The hammerhead shark swims near the surface in the ocean and sometimes swims into estuaries. It's famous for its greatly depressed and laterally extended head. The eyes are at the edge of the expansion and give the shark vision in all directions as well as depth perception. They grow to 13 feet 9 inches long, and the biggest hammerheads are dangerous to people. The sharks are gray above and white below and found off the New Jersey coast. They eat fish and squid and attack not only people but members of their own species. The southern stingray grows to 5 feet wide. Its upper surface is light brown gray or olive depending on the surroundings. Below it's whitish or gray. It lacks a dorsal fin but has a long, whiplike tail with a spine near the base. The spine is poisonous and can inflict an extremely painful wound that is slow to heal. The southern stingray lives near the New Jersey shore and spends time half buried in the sand.
Codfish Family
The cusk is a long, cylindrical fish that grows to 3 feet 6 inches long. It's a dark slaty to reddish brown with yellowish sides. It lives on the sea bottom and on hard substrates from 10 to 100 fathoms deep, or from 60 to 600 feet deep off the New Jersey shore. It's an important commercial fish. The pollock also grows to about 3 feet 6 inches long, and is olive green or brownish green or gray above with a silver belly. It lives over banks to depths of 100 fathoms or 600 feet. Sometimes it lives in midwater or on the surface, also off the New Jersey coast. It usually swims in schools and is also an important commercial fish.
Jacks
The horse-eye jack grows to 25 inches long and can weigh 23 pounds. It's a long and deep fish, dark blue to blue-gray above and silver-white or golden below. It lives around islands or over sand or offshore from New Jersey southward. It's found in small schools and feeds on shrimp and other invertebrates. The bar jack is 22 inches long and lives in very clean shallow water over reefs from New Jersey southward.
Billfish
The white marlin is a 10-foot-long fish that can weigh 18 pounds. It has a long compressed body and a long snout that forms a spear. It's blue or brown above and silvery white below but has no bars or spots. It's found near the surface of the ocean and feeds on squid and other fish, including jacks and round herring. It's fished primarily between New Jersey and Cape Hatteras. The longbill spearfish grows to 6 feet long and looks very much like the white marlin, its relative. Like the white marlin, the spearfish is found on the surface of the ocean. It's migratory and is found from New Jersey southward.