Survey of the Fishes found in Gulf Area 20 from 2-17 Fathoms and of Post-larval Fishes in Aransas Channel - Analysis of Populations of Sports and Commercial Fin-Fish and of Factors Which Affect These Populations in the Coastal Bays of Texas

Abstract

Information in the adult fish report is based on data from 85 trawl samples producing an estimated total of 30,857 fishes of 94 species for an estimated total weight of 5,805 pounds. The two most abundant fishes were the croaker, Micropogon undulatus, and the Gulf sand trout, Cynoscion nothus. Zonation of species in the Gulf was found even within the narrow limits of job sampling. Many of the larger fish were taken in numbers and poundage commensurate with a possible commercial utilization. Post-larval fin-fish taken in Port Aransas Ship Channel had two peaks of abundance. One peak occurred in March and April and was due mainly to menhaden, Brevoortia sp., and pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides, 9 to 25 mm long. The next peak, in October and November, was composed of croaker 3 to 20 mm long. Post-larval menhaden and anchovies, Anchoa sp., were present in early spring, star drum, Stellifer lanceolatus, and croaker later in the year. Flatfish, mostly Paralichthys sp., were taken only on the bottom. Star drum were caught almost exclusively on the bottom. Croaker and pinfish showed some preference for moving at the bottom; anchovies, menhaden, and banded croaker, Larimus fasciatus, were taken mainly from levels above the bottom. By unit effort, the bottom beam trawl caught more fish than did the mid-water plankton net. No specific correlation between catch and temperature or catch and salinity was found.