The mid~Atlantic Bight is that area of the western no:rth bounded by Cape :i-a:ltteras on the south, Cape Cod on the north and the coast lines and fall lines of the various tributaries in the west, Figure 1. The eastern boundary is more ditficult to define but might be considered as the Gulf Stream or even beyond. Neither of these boundaries is clearly defined except the shoreline; but even this clear demarcation is somewhat illusory because there are zones of transition on the beach . The land merges with the sea more gradually in the salt marshes than on the sandy beaches. F all lines may be broached by determined anadromous and catafromous fishes. The salt lagoons, great bays and smaller estuaries are also part of the Bight. This is a large, complex geographical entity
