Recreational and commercial finfish catch statistics for Texas bay systems, September 1977 - August 1978

From September 1977 through August 1978 weekend sport boat fishermen were surveyed in eight Texas bays. During this period 3,004,100 man-h were expended to catch 736,100 kg of finfish. Spotted seatrout constituted 36% of the landings while all other species landings each constituted less than or equal to 13% of the total. Annual catch rates (kg/man-hour) for weekend boat fishermen were low (0.16 - 0.20 kg/man-h) in the upper Laguna Madre, Aransas and San Antonio Bay areas; medium (0.26 - 0.28 kg/man-h) in the Matagorda, lower Laguna Madre and Galveston Bay areas; and high (0.38 kg/man-h) in the Corpus Christi Bay area. Trammel nets, gill nets and trotlines were the major gear types used by commercial fishermen. Rods and reels were used by commercial fishermen in Aransas Bay, Corpus Christi Bay and lower Laguna Madre. Commercially caught red drum (Sciaenops ocellata), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus) and southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) were generally larger than those caught by sport fishermen. Black drum (Pogonias cromis) caught by sport fishermen were as large as or larger than those caught by commercial fishermen.