Ocean View Research Articles

Preliminary results from a survey of lava tube caves in the southwest region of the Ka’ū district of the Big Island, Hawai’i

The discovery of troglobionts in lava tube caves on the Hawaiian Islands archipelago altered our understanding of how species may evolve and permanently inhabit subterranean environments. To date, 74 troglobionts are reported from the islands with 44 known from the youngest (Big Island). Previous lava tube cave surveys on the Big Island have focused on the wetter, eastern side of the island and in lava tubes at higher elevations. Along with members of Cave Conservancy of Hawai’i, we surveyed 24 lava tube sections on the drier, western side of the Big Island, primarily in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates in the Ka’ū District. Surveys occurred during late November and early December of 2015–2017. Species present in each cave were documented by observation and limited collections of specimens for identification purposes. Significant species were discovered in these caves, representing new locations for rare and limited species previously documented from different regions on the island, and/or new, undescribed species from significant lineages that are federally listed on other islands. The most significant species observed included a reduviid thread-legged bug (Nesidiolestes sp.), a terrestrial amphipod (Spelaeorchestia sp.), a microvellid (Cavaticovelia sp.), and a new cave-adapted planthopper (Oliarus sp.). While identification of the collected specimens is ongoing, documenting these significant species from lava tube caves in Ka’ū District illustrates the need for continued bioinventory work in this area.

An Ocean View of the Global Surface Warming Hiat

An Ocean View of the Global Surface Warming Hiat

Towards a Sustainable Sun, Sea, and Sand Tourism: The Value of Ocean View and Proximity to the Coast

Coastal tourism is expanding worldwide, mostly owing to the attraction to relevant ecosystem services such as the scenic beauty and recreational activities. The aim of this study was to analyze the value of these, using hedonic analysis by assessing how prices of hotel rooms are related to the scenic view, location, non-ecosystem amenities, and size of the hotels in three touristic areas of Veracruz, México. We found that, besides the size of the hotel and the number of non-ecosystem amenities, room prices increased by 8% and 57%, depending on the ocean view and accessibility to the beach, respectively. These results help to understand why hotels are built very close to the coastline, despite the high risk of extreme and frequent meteorological events. The unorganized and intense development of the tourist industry may act in contrast to the necessity for conservation of the natural ecosystems, rendering this activity highly unsustainable. The question is how to deal with the dilemma of tourism growth and conservation. We suggest some alternatives that might help with the conservation of natural ecosystems, while maintaining the combined provision of simultaneous coastal ecosystem services such as an aesthetically pleasing view and recreation, as well as additional services such as storm protection.

Two Dimensional (2d) Experimental of Piling up Behind Submerged Break Water

This research was done because of the continuous alert of coastal erosion due to sea level rise and also due to the fact that habitats and living beings will be affected. All these will be affected because of a submerged breakwater structure constructed near the shoreline to reduce the effect of strong waves without disturbing the ocean view. Further on to this, the study will see whether there are other disadvantages of constructing the submerged breakwater or not. A 2D experimental was done consisting of 60 simulations with four different types of submerged breakwater models heights, and one simulation is using no structure. The results were then recorded to get the piling-up of the runnings for the different structures. What was found out was that the piling-up is influenced by certain parameters. Those parameters are (1) piling-up is influenced by structure parameter in terms of structure depth, Rc and (2) piling-up also influenced by wave parameters in terms of Period, T. From the study, it is concluded that the influenced of piling-up to wave parameters, Rc is directly proportional and with respect to Period, T the piling-up is inversely proportional.

Ocean view: a first assessment of the littoral, crustose lichen biota of south Brazil

AbstractThe crustose lichen biota of coastal rocks in South Brazil was investigated. Several distinct lichen zones were found: a littoral black zone, a supralittoral yellow zone and a grey zone with species restricted to either exposed granite, dry overhangs, damp overhangs or places subjected to run-off. Dendrographa austrosorediata is newly described, with a crustose, flat to partly curling up or blister-like thallus which is much dissected, whitish grey, 0·1–0·2 mm thick; surface minutely densely cracked, rimose, with cracks intersecting at each c. 0·1 mm; soredia whitish to bluish grey but asymmetrically blackened in the direction facing the light, originating on the thallus surface, in initially discrete convex soralia. The phylogenetic position of this new species was traced by molecular methods. Stigmidium marinum, generally regarded as a lichenicolous fungus, was found as a free-living lichen, thousands of kilometres away from the nearest known occurrence of any purported host.

Latest Advances in Plant Development and Environmental Response: The Inaugural Cold Spring Harbor Asia Plant Biology Meeting in Japan.

With stunning ocean views over Osaka Bay, Awaji Island played host to the first Cold Spring Harbor Asia Plant Biology meeting in Japan. The meeting, 'Latest Advances in Plant Development and Environmental Response' (CSHAPB), provided a platform to promote scientific communication and collaboration in the pan-pacific region. The event welcomed almost 200 scientists from around the world to showcase their cutting-edge research. Exemplary speakers from diverse research fields presented their latest discoveries, ranging from developmental mechanisms to host-pathogen interactions, environmental responses and stress memory. Here we seek to review the meeting and highlight some of the salient themes that emerged over the course of the 3 d.

Benefits and ancillary costs of natural infrastructure: Evidence from the New Jersey coast

This paper empirically estimates the economic impacts of a large-scale public investment in natural infrastructure aimed at adapting to climate change and increasing coastal resilience. I utilize temporal and spatial variation in investment in dunes to provide a hedonic property value estimate of the economic benefits. I identify the net effect of treatment utilizing the doubly robust Oaxaca-Blinder estimator and show that coastal housing price increases attributable to constructed dunes are approximately 3.6%. A decomposition of the average impact suggests that the policy intervention generates ancillary costs related to impaired ocean views and privacy concerns that partially offset large protection benefits.

The Impact of Foreign Real Estate Investment on Land Prices: Evidence from Mauritius

AbstractThis paper examines the impact of foreign real estate on land prices in Mauritius. Using a panel dataset comprising price, quantity and other information for a variety of luxury villas and apartments, we show that the price of land paid by locals has been pushed up by a modest 4–22% in total as a result of these developments. We also examine the determinants of the prices of the dwellings in these schemes, finding that they are strongly related to the sizes of the plots, whether they have ocean views, and the desirability of the region in which they are sited, although there remains considerable unexplained heterogeneity.

Ocean View from a Hotel Balcony in the Off-Season

Ocean View from a Hotel Balcony in the Off-Season

Habitat Disturbance Combined with Life History Traits Facilitate Establishment ofRapana venosain the Chesapeake Bay

ABSTRACT The veined rapa whelk (Rapana venosa) invasion of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States was first observed in 1998. Chesapeake Bay rapa whelk population demographics, age-at-length relationships, and invasion progression (temporal, spatial) from 1998 to 2009 are described. Between June 1998 and November 2009, 27,624 rapa whelks, ranging from 11- to 195-mm shell length (SL), were collected fromthe lower Bay.Using a Von Bertalanffy age-at-length model (R 2 = 0.99), the 195-mm-SL whelk collected in 2007 was 26 y old, making 1981 the estimated year of first introduction. Age-frequency distributions for Ocean View, Hampton Bar, and the lower James River showed increased whelk numbers per age class and consistent representation of Age 2–3 through Age 7–8 whelks throughout the time series indicating recruitment and establishment. Whelk range expansion into James River oyster habitats began in 2004 and continued through 2009. Whelks occupy shallow areas during warmer months, move into deeper habitats d...

The amenity value of Abu Dhabi's coastal and marine resources to its beach visitors

Abu Dhabi, marketed as a centre of economic development in its geographic area during the post-oil era, is renowned for being a choice destination of high value individuals and tourists, due to its rich coastal and marine resources as well as the high quality of services. Outbreaks of harmful algae blooms (HAB) (red tides) due to increased eutrophication as a result of a decline in water quality, however, is posing a serious threat to the amenity values the tourist can appreciate. The amenity values include beach and ocean views, recreation and sport opportunities and facilities, as attractions, among others. To investigate the amenity value of the coastal and marine resources of Abu Dhabi to the beach visitors, we use a contingent valuation assessment after collecting data from a sample of 103 beach visitors. We conducted an econometric analysis to examine factors that potentially affect their behaviour. We determined firstly if the respondents were willing to accept compensation for visiting another beach in the event of an outbreak of HAB and its amount; or in another scenario if they would be willing to pay an annual fee, and its amount, for restoration and mitigation of the beach pollution.The results show that the beach amenity value, therefore, is estimated at between US$8.3million/ha and US$13.8million/ha based on the beach size. Factors such as the travel time from place of current residence the beach, the residence status, the number of beach visits and household size and income have affected the willingness-to-accept (WTA) of the respondents.

Value of urban views in a bay city: Hedonic analysis with the spatial multilevel additive regression (SMAR) model

This paper attempts to assess the value of urban views in a bay city (Yokohama), Japan. Firstly, three types of views, open view (goodness of visibility), green view (visibility of open space), and ocean view (visibility of ocean), were quantified employing the viewshed analysis implemented on the GIS with airborne LiDAR data and 0.5m×0.5m high resolution aerial photos. Secondly, hedonic analyses were conducted to test the capitalization of value of those views into condominium prices using the spatial multilevel additive regression (SMAR) model, where possible non-linearity, multilevel structure of condominiums (unit-building), and spatial dependence were considered. This study implies that “very nice” open view (in terms of the amount of visibility) and ocean view may have a positive premium, whereas “slightly nice” open and ocean views may not. Also, a “moderate amount” of green view may raise condominium prices, but “poor” and “too much” green view may reduce condominium prices. These results indicate that the effects of views are indeed non-linear, and therefore it may be misleading to interpret the results obtained by linear models as existing studies have done.

Urban amenities and Real State Value: An Empirical Analysis for Recife City

Este trabalho fornece estimativas da influência das amenidades sobre o valor dos imóveis residenciais em Recife, cidade particularmente marcada pela presença de praias e rios. Para tanto, considera-se um modelo de preços hedônicos com correção para diferentes tipos de dependência espacial e utiliza-se um rico banco de dados fornecido pela Prefeitura, que inclui informações sobre imóveis vendidos e amenidades urbanas. As evidências obtidas indicam que “vista ao mar” e “proximidade ao rio” são as amenidades mais valorizadas na cidade, enquanto o valor dos imóveis tende a ser negativamente afetado pela proximidade às ZEIS (Zonas Especiais de Interesse Social), aos metrôs e aos locais violentos.

Effects of the Coastal Environment on Well-being

In this study, we evaluated whether coastal zones influence well-being and we examined differences based on gender and age. We selected a residential housing area in Hyogo Prefecture as the survey site, and administered questionnaires to 518 respondents from two groups: those with ocean views from their homes, and those without. The findings showed that: (1) Compared to residents who lived inland, those who lived by the seaside showed higher positive psychological effects and had lower negative psychological effects. (2) Coastal environments exerted significant influence on both males and females; however, the positive effects were stronger for females than males. At the same time, the negative impacts were weaker for females than males. (3) The younger, middle-aged, and elderly groups living on the coast experienced more positive effects than those living in non-coastal areas. The positive consequences of exposure to the ocean were strongest for the elderly group. These results suggest that coastal zones positively affect individual well-being.

Aquinas and the Cry of Rachel: Thomistic Reflections on the Problem of Evil by John F. X. Knasas

Reviewed by: Aquinas and the Cry of Rachel: Thomistic Reflections on the Problem of Evil by John F. X. Knasas Karina Robson Aquinas and the Cry of Rachel: Thomistic Reflections on the Problem of Evil by John F. X. Knasas (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2013), xvi + 304 pp. Professor John F. X. Knasas (University of St. Thomas, Houston), known as an “existential Thomist” for his emphasis on Aquinas’s metaphysics of being, has taken on one of the most hotly debated topics in philosophy of religion: the problem of evil. In Aquinas and the Cry of Rachel: Thomistic Reflections on the Problem of Evil, Knasas does not shy away from addressing the “hard cases.” Along the way, he considers an impressive array of alternative positions, which makes sense since one of Knasas’s aims is to argue that there are several philosophically viable answers to how God and evil can coexist. Knasas also unfolds an innovative, metaphysically grounded philosophical psychology that helps explain why our prima facie intuitions about certain instantiations of being, their inherent preciousness, and evil are often incorrect, or at least philosophically unprovable. Finally, Knasas has clearly done his textual homework; in the course of the monograph, he probes myriad texts from Thomas on evil, most of which he translated by himself (often with additional references to other translations and related debates). There is a fluidity between Knasas’s interpretive and constructive projects that might present an obstacle to some interested readers. Even so, Knasas’s work is valuable well beyond the Thomistic discussion, due to its treatment of so many key alternative accounts, as well as the challenges he poses to them. Chapter 1 sets up the work via a discussion of Jacques Maritain’s insistence that human persons are irreplaceable “wholes” unto themselves. Although this sentiment is widespread and plays an important role in the literature on evil, Knasas argues over the course of the book that the truth of this idea can only be known theologically (viz., via [End Page 720] special revelation). In a purely philosophical context, even a theistic one, we can at most verify that human beings are “principal parts” of the universe. For Knasas, this means that other parts of the universe are generally, but not exclusively, oriented toward the good of such higher parts and that human beings have special obligations to each other on account of their status. Philosophy cannot prove, however, that human persons are ends in themselves whose individual flourishing God can never override for the sake of another individual, the species, or the universe more broadly. As Knasas moves into his initial exposition of Aquinas on the metaphysics of being, human psychology, and evil in chapters 2–4, he draws on the psychology of three paradigmatic reactions to evil noted in chapter 1: Rachel’s inconsolable cry for her dead children (Matt 2:16); the retreat of the survivors to small, earthly joys in Albert Camus’s The Plague; and the insistence on fatherly love in Anthony Flew’s “Theology and Falsification.” Knasas holds that these responses to evil, while certainly understandable psychologically, are limited in their ability to raise philosophical doubts about the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and all-good creator God. “[T]he problem of evil,” Knasas says, “is generated by an inappropriate aggrandizement of persons and other things” (16). Knasas’s philosophical psychology draws on the metaphysics of being so prominent in this and his other works. The crux is this: Human persons are not just beings—potential forms endowed with existence. They are also “intellectors of being,” which renders them special “epiphanies” of being, and thus also of the good. In virtue of their ability to appreciate existence itself, the whole of created being, and its Source, human beings have a privileged status before God and moral obligations to their fellow intellectors. At the same time, Knasas argues, human persons are not philosophically quite as important as is often assumed, and the process of discerning being can play tricks on the human mind. Mentally taking in existents that lie at spatial, temporal, or conceptual extremes—a vast ocean view, a single atom, a fast...

¡Hablamos!

¡Hablamos! Blake Sanz (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution [End Page 90] the first time emi and frida traveled to the United States, it was to appear as paid participants on a Jerry Springer–style, Spanish-language talk show filmed in Miami. ¡Hablamos!, Univision called it. Emi hadn’t known anything about it until one day when Frida came screaming into their shared bedroom. “¡Ganamos!” she yelled. We won! “¿Ganamos qué?” Emi replied. On a lark, Frida had entered them both into a contest, the grand prize being an all-expenses-paid, three-day trip to film an episode of ¡Hablamos! “¿Qué? Pero—okay,” Emi said. “Si lo dices.” That summer, Americans listened like classic gringos to “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” and Emi and Frida, her best friend, sang it aloud on the flight from Mexico City. They mimed dancing girls from the video as Frida belted out the silly words, SHE WILL WEAR YOU OUT! The panzón beside them pretended not to be bothered. Emi wasn’t surprised to notice how Frida’s perfect freaking figure undercut his annoyance. An airport shuttle picked them up and ushered them along the Dolphin Expressway, past downtown and over MacArthur Causeway to South Beach. As it eased along a main drag, skyscraper glass angled the sun down at them with a fierceness the smog of Mexico City never allowed. Gaps between buildings provided snippets of ocean views where tanned men on jet skis carved out sea foam from the green Atlantic. Lines of yachts floated in perfect rows behind them. A boardwalk teemed with half-naked white people desperate to be brown. They mocked this excess casually, much as they’d always mocked Americans from afar. As kids growing up in Frida’s house after Emi’s dad left and her mother died, they’d seen Miami Vice reruns and wondered how anyone could possibly say those sorts of things, act those crazy ways. Did Miami cops really take a full five minutes to watch a girl in a bikini oil herself up? Was a saxophone always playing in the background while it happened? Well, no, it turned out, but almost. The show had bought their plane tickets and reserved them a suite at the Grand Marriott. They offered to comp room service too, and the first thing—the first thing!—they did on arrival, was order a single hot dog. Frida’s idea, of course. Just for the fun of it. A bellhop brought it to the room on a silver platter, yellow mustard pretentiously dolloped onto a porcelain saucer. Already down to bare feet and boy shorts, Frida thanked the bellhop with a Marilyn Monroe knee-bend and blown kiss, which turned the boy red. Emi slipped him a bill and nodded in sincere thanks to make sure he didn’t get the wrong idea. Frida squealed when the door shut, clapping at the sight of the hot dog. [End Page 91] She grabbed it and jumped onto the bed laughing. Emi followed suit. Crumbs fell as Frida tossed the sheets in the air. Outside, the sun scattered diamonds into the ocean. Emi reached for the hot dog, but Frida gobbled down the whole thing. Emi yielded to the playfulness of the moment. “¡Puta!” she yelled. “Who, meeee?” Frida said, going into her character for ¡Hablamos! According to a treatment sent to them by Hugh, an assistant producer for the show, Emi and Frida were to be disgruntled sisters vying for the attention of their father, a copy shop employee of modest means named Rodrigo. This was ironic, given Frida’s family’s wealth. Hugh included a photo of the man cast to play the father. He could’ve played a part in Angel Rebelde, the telenovela on Univision. Emi’s estranged father had worked a similar job as a copy shop clerk long ago, but this man bore no resemblance to Manuel. In the role of disaffected daughter Conchita, Emi was to be sleeved with gang tattoos and wear a studded vest to show them off. Meanwhile, Frida—or rather, Maria—would wear a pink cardigan with a white collared blouse and designer jeans, so as...

Tattoo 2082

Tattoo 2082 Mary Helen Stefaniak (bio) Like the internal combustion engine, repurposing South Florida seemed like a good idea at the time. Everybody knew that old folks liked the weather down there, and many of the existing luxury towers with their great ocean views had been built to survive hurricanes and storm surges. They were well suited to rising waters, their AC and electricals strategically installed. Key West had already gone under in 2043 (all but the hilltop cemetery), its submersion followed for many years by apocryphal sightings of web-toed cats. By mid-century, when long stretches of the Florida coast were underwater, investors posed the question: Why not sell that melting real estate to those who wouldn’t need it for long? And so it was that friends and fellow residents Kyla, Caitlin, Jared, and Drew were playing a game of bridge one morning, girls against boys, in the newly remodeled canteen/solarium at Aventura Assisted-Living Condominiums and Resort (formerly Miami Lifestyle Condos) when an automated laser nurse floated through the room at just below hip level. Using technology developed in the early 21st century for eradicating mosquitoes, one male at a time, the AutoNurse laser-targeted each of the oldsters in turn, dispensed the right dosage of the right drugs, and then floated noiselessly into the breezeway beyond. Jared fanned his cards with gnarled fingers and remarked, “I hate that robot bitch.” Drew, a former Rhodes scholar and author of several well-received volumes whose subjects he could sometimes recall, pointed out that the AutoNurse was not, in the strictest sense of the word, a robot. [End Page 167] “Actually,” said Kyla, a former National Science fellow, “it is.” “Well, it’s certainly not a bitch,” Caitlin put in, laying her cards on the table. The four of them found it amusing to think that everyone used to play bridge with physical cards of plastic-coated paper—paper, mind you! When Drew’s great-grandson gave him a vintage boxed set of two decks in a molded polystyrene holder, the four amigos (as they sometimes called themselves, Caitlin being a former high school Spanish teacher) had taken to playing cards “in person.” They started playing in the old canteen on the 10th floor, back when the windows had offered a view of red tile roofs and the flashy tops of palm trees. The new canteen/solarium looked out from the 35th floor over nothing but sea and sky. You had to go up to the roof to spot the other residential towers poking up out of the water in an archipelago that stretched north and south as far as the aging eye could see. Both decks of cards were worn around the edges now and had acquired a greasy feel. Between tricks they reached for their iBreathe O2 inhalers. By 2082, atmospheric oxygen levels had dropped around the globe. The obesity problem having been long since solved by the invention of cellulose noodles, Americans now counted units of oxygen expended rather than calories consumed, and oxygen conservation—a marriage of time-motion studies and SCUBA-diving technique—was the fastest-growing field in the 49 states. Jared had made his fortune in it, having gotten in on the ground floor 70-odd years ago with an undergraduate research project to determine which was more oxygen-efficient: the twist-off cap or a hand-held bottle opener. The O2-measuring protocol that he designed was still in use. Millennials they used to be called. Images of tiny people holding hands as they [End Page 168] jumped from tall buildings were embedded in their collective unconscious. Three out of four of them had helped a grandchild build a tower of blocks and fly a toy airplane into the side of it to knock it down. An odd feeling of relief and expiation—the end of suspense, the emptying of guilt—always came over them as the blocks tumbled down to the sound of the grandchild’s laughter. In April 2010, when the Gulf oil spill began with a blast that became a rupture between all time up to that moment (i.e., time poised, as time...

Using a Choice Experiment (CE) to Value the Attributes of Cruise Tourism

ABSTRACTRecently, cruise tourism has drawn public interest in the Republic of Korea. In this study, we attempt to analyze people’s preferences regarding the attributes of cruise tourism, such as duration, accommodation, services, and cost. Thus, we applied a choice experiment (CE) to measure the marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for each attribute. The results show that the coefficients of the attributes of onboard activities are positive and statistically significant. MWTPs for increasing the cabin level from an inside to an ocean view and for increasing the level of onboard services from 4-star to 6-star are South Korean Won (KRW) 1,095,760 (USD 954.8) and KRW 671,264 (USD 584.9) respectively. Comparison of all the MWTP estimates indicates that people prefer onboard activities rather than visiting foreign ports of call above all other attributes. This study is expected to provide tourism managers with useful information for designing cruise tourism products that meet travelers’ needs.

Impact of Surf Breaks on Home Prices in Santa Cruz, CA

The growing field of ‘surfonomics' attempts to document surfing's economic contribution to local and regional communities, as well as the consumer surplus that surf breaks provide to millions of surfers. To date, no research has examined the extent to which the value of surf breaks is capitalized into home prices. This study uses the hedonic price method with data from three distinct beach-adjacent neighbourhoods in Santa Cruz, CA, USA, to estimate whether proximity to surf breaks leads to higher home values. The authors find that, after controlling for proximity to the beach, ocean views, the specific characteristics of the homes and neighbourhood effects, proximity to surf breaks is a statistically significant contributor to overall home value. A home that is right next to a surf break is valued on average at approximately US$106,000 more than an equivalent home a mile away.

Panfish: Spot On

There's something about him when he's fried. You leave that skin on, cut him, and just eat him from the inside out. Spot is good, buddy, can tell you that. --overheard at the Bayford Oyster House, Virginia, November 21, 2011 I fry mine hard and eat the bones, the tail, and all ... always cook that head because like crunching on it. love crunching on it! leave the tail head and tail, leave on. --Katie White, Painter vie., Virginia, August 6, 2014 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Late summer the phone rings in the Bayford Oyster House on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Bayford, H. M. Arnold answers. Yes ma'am, he says a few seconds into the conversation, I don't have any spot today. They don't seem to be running. Nobody know has them. have some hardheads though, if you want to drive down and get them. Thank you. H. M. shakes his head and sits down in his plastic chair by the stainless steel counter where he shucks oysters for the winter trade from Thanksgiving to New Years. afternoon steams August hot, a bit of breeze ruffles the water on Nassawadox Creek outside the door. tide is rising and soon enough will seep under the sills and into the dock end of the venerable shucking house, sheeting over the old concrete floors, compelling H. M. and his visitors first to walk on boards and then to slosh their way past the soft-shell crab shedding tanks now all but closed down for the season. Tank, the monumental Chesapeake Bay retriever who lives up the hill, stands in the boat launch with a chunk of pine branch clenched in his jaws, waiting for someone--anyone will do--to seize the wood and pitch it into the water. Strangers shy away from the massive dog; regulars ignore him. Tank perseveres. And so do the callers seeking spot, a panfish deeply savored in this corner of the world. phone rings. Bayford, H. M. answers. Spot, it seems, have diminished in their numbers since 1890, when a fish census noted: Large numbers of young spot from 3 to 4 inches in length were seined in the bay at Cape Charles City. They were present in abundance, numerous schools being seen ... As a pan fish, the spot is the most highly prized of all fishes sold in the Norfolk market.' Writing from North Carolina, Hugh M. Smith reported in 1907, The spot, which gets its name from the round mark on its shoulder, inhabits the east coast of the United States from Massachusetts to Texas, and is one of the most abundant and best known of our food Smith concludes, The spot ranks high as a food and is by many persons regarded as the best of the pan fishes. There is a good demand for North Carolina spots in Baltimore, Washington, and other markets of the Chesapeake region, and the fish is also rated high as a salt fish for local consumption. (2) Spot, another observer reported, the smallest members of the croaker family that are sold with any regularity. Most specimens weigh only about 1/4 pound. Spots are easy to recognize by their spot right behind the gill opening. (3) spot's distinguishing markings, Pooh Johnson, oysterman and cook in Onancock, Virginia, asserts are the marks of Christ's fingertips imprinted when He divided the loaves and fishes for the multitude in Mark 6:41. (4) Communion of a different variety causes H. M.'s phone to ring. Uncommonly common in the lower Chesapeake and in North Carolina's sounds, the spot (also known regionally as Jimmy, chub, roach, Goddy, and Lafayette) lives inshore from late spring through autumn and winters in deeper offshore waters during the cold months: The waters of the Chesapeake Bay off Norfolk, Virginia, are such prime spot fishing grounds that out-of-town menus often list this small, sweet fish as 'Norfolk Spot' ... Prior to spawning season in the fall, the spot takes on a golden color much like its cousin the croaker. At that time the fish are often referred to as 'Ocean View Yellow Bellies' because they congregate to feed off Ocean View, a Norfolk neighborhood on the Chesapeake Bay. …