Trends in finfish landings by sport-boat fishermen in Texas marine waters, May 1974-May 1987

• Main Authors: Osburn, H.R., Osborn, M.F., Maddux, H.R.
• Format: Book
• Language: unknown
• Published: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Coastal Fisheries Branch 1988
• Subjects: fishermen; sport fishing; fish kill; pressure; spotted seatrout; red drum; sand seatrout; Atlantic croaker; king mackerel; red snapper; Red drum; Sciaenops ocellatus
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1969.3/20933

525 pgs. Since May 1974, private-boat fishermen have been routinely interviewed at boat access sites. Party and headboat fishermen have been routinely monitored since May 1983 by on-site and on-board surveys, respectively. The total estimated sport-boat fishing pressure and landings of finfish in 1986-87 was 7,264,600 man-h and 2,825,700 fish, respectively. Pressure and landings increased 14% and 29%, respectively, from 1985-86 to 1986-87. Sport-boat fishing in bays and passes accounted for 93% of the fish. In the same year, private boat fishermen exerted 95% of the pressure and landed 91% of the fish. The high-use season (15 May-20 November 1986) accounted for 65% of the pressure and 72% of the landings. Thirty-eight percent of the 8-year mean annual coastwide private-boat bay and pass fishing pressure and 44% of the landings occurred in the Galveston Bay system. Spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) comprised 38% of the 8-year mean annual coastwide private-boat bay and pass landings. Catch rates for spotted seatrout caught by private-boat fishermen declined from 0.20 fish/man-h in 1983-84 to 0.08 fish/man-h in 1984- 85 but increased to 0.14 fish/man-h in 1986-87. The routine sport-boat fishery monitoring program detected a reduction in most finfish landings following the coastwide fish kill in December 1983 and January 1984. A resurgence of some landings occurred during 1985-86 and continued in 1986-87. Party-boat fishermen bay and pass landings (+/- 1 SE) for 1986-87 (140,300 +/- 19,700 fish), although greater than the low of 67,600 +/- 15,000 fish (1984- 85), remain well below the 261,800 +/- 61,000 fish estimated for 1983-84. Forty-one percent of the pressure and 41% of the landings occurred in the lower Laguna Madre system compared to only 6% of the coastwide pressure and landings in Galveston Bay system. Spotted seatrout accounted for over 70% of all landings for party-boat fishermen in the bays. Forty-six percent of all spotted seatrout and 39% of all red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) landed by ...