FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 81, NO. 4 



months and along the south Florida and Louisiana 

 coasts year-round, especially during the winter. In 

 contrast to recreational fisheries, the commercial 

 king mackerel fisheries are conducted almost com- 

 pletely in Florida. In 1976, for example, 96.5% of the 

 king mackerel caught commercially along the east 

 coast of the United States was landed in Florida, 

 while almost 100% of the fish landed commercially in 

 the Gulf of Mexico was caught off Florida's west coast 

 (Manooch 1979). 



STUDY AREA AND METHODS 



King mackerel were sampled from commercial and 

 recreational landings at seven locations (Fig. 1). King 

 mackerel were caught by 1) recreational hook and 

 line in each area, 2) commercial gill net off south 

 Florida, and 3) commercial hook and line off Mis- 

 sissippi (snapper boats), south Florida, and North 

 Carolina. 



Baits used by recreational fishermen to catch king 

 mackerel vary among areas and could influence the 

 sizes of king mackerel that are caught. The baits dif- 

 fer in size, and large king mackerel consume larger 

 food items than do small king mackerel ( Saloman and 

 Naughton 5 ). The most frequently used baits and 

 their comparative sizes by area are Texas — Atlantic 

 cutlassfish, Trichiurus lepturus (large); Louisiana — 

 sand seatrout, Cynoscion orenorius and Atlantic 



'Saloman, C. H., and S. P. Naughton. 1982. Food habits of king 

 mackerel in the southeastei n United States. Unpubl. manuscr., 28 

 p. Southeast Fisheries Center Panama City Laboratory, National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Panama City, FL 32407. 



croaker, Micropogonias undulatus (large); northwest 

 Florida — ballyhoo, Hemiramphus brasiliensis 

 (small); Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina 

 — strips of cut bait and live fish of several species 

 (small to large). 



King mackerel that were sampled from commercial 

 snapper boats were caught incidentally during the 

 snapper fishing. Standard bottom rigs with three to 

 six hooks were baited with pieces offish or squid. The 

 king mackerel were caught in an area east of the 

 mouth of the Mississippi River, where water depths 

 ranged from 50 to 130 m. 



Most king mackerel landed by commercial fisher- 

 men in south Florida are caught by runaround gill 

 nets or hook and line (Beaumariage 1973; Austin et 

 al. 1978; Manooch 1979). The nets are from 360 to 

 640 m long, about 22 m (200 meshes) deep, with a 

 stretched mesh of 12.1 cm. The nets are fished in 

 water depths as great as 21 m. In the commercial 

 hook-and-line fishery, spoons or feathered jigs, 

 sometimes with strips of mullet or squid, are trolled 

 behind boats (Harris 1974). 



Length and sex data on king mackerel were 

 obtained by personnel of the Florida Department of 

 Natural Resources and by personnel of the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service. Data were summarized by 

 number of fish in relation to sex, location, capture 

 gear, and time (Tables 1, 2). 



Length measurements were taken from uncut, gut- 

 ted, or filleted fish. Fork Length (FL) was measured 

 from the tip of the snout ( mouth closed) to the fork of 

 the tail to the nearest millimeter or 0.1 in. 

 Measurements, in inches were later converted to 



SOUTH 

 FLORIDA 



FIGURE 1. — Sampling locations in the southeastern United States. 



710 



