probably westward with the prevailing currents so that 

 the catch in a grid zone offshore of a particular basin 

 may have little relationship to the ability of that basin 

 to provide for the needs of a species throughout its en- 

 tire Lfe history. An excellent example is the Sabine 

 Basin. The shrimp fishery offshore of Sabine is a thriv- 

 ing one, but in recent years the Sabine estuary has pro- 

 duced no commercial landings of shrimp (National 

 Marine Fisheries Service 1976). Therefore, most of 

 the shrimp caught offshore of the Sabine Basin use 

 other inshore areas as nurseries. 



The approach used in analyzing fishery data for 

 this report was that of Lindall et al. (1972). The total 

 offsliore yield in Louisiana was attributed to various 

 basins based on the relative densities of juveniles caught 

 inshore and the estuarine habitat area of each basin 

 (National Marine Fisheries Service 1976). Relative in- 

 shore juvenile densities were based on trawl catches 

 reported in the Cooperative Gulf of Mexico Estuarine 

 Inventory and Study, Louisiana (Perret et al. 1971). 

 This approach recognizes the value of the inland nur- 

 sery ground even though it is not the immediate site 

 of the fishery catch. 



A total of 244,511 t (539 inilhon lb) of fishery 

 products were harvested from the Chenier Plain in 

 1975 (table 3.19). (Appendbc 6.2 shows figures for 

 1970 through 1975.) Gulf menhaden accounted for 

 about 95% of the tonnage landed in the Chenier Plain. 

 Shrimp were a distant second with 2.9%. The only 

 other species of significant commercial value were blue 

 crab and American oyster. There are also small land- 

 ings of other finfishes, such as sea trout and red drum 

 (redfish). The catch of the estuarine-related freshwater 

 species is also recorded. Of these, members of the cat- 

 fish family are the only species currently reported. 

 Apparently no commercial harvest of wild crayfish 

 presently exists in the Chenier Plain, although landings 

 were reported as recently as 1972. 



In terms of dockside value, menhaden (49%) and 

 shrimp (44%) produce most of the income, followed 

 by oyster and blue crab. The total dockside value of 

 the industry in the Chenier plain was about $31 mil- 

 lion in 1975. 



Table 3.19. Weight and value of commercial landings of fish in western Louisiana 

 and the Galveston area in 1975 (U.S. Department Commerce 1976). 



Estuarine-related 

 freshwater fishery 



Catfish ic bullhead 

 Other species 



Subtotal 



Total 



124.6 

 384.0 



508.6 

 244.511.2 



trace • 

 0.002 



0.002 



93.9 

 65.0 



158.9 

 31,319.1 



0.003 

 0.002 

 0.005 



42 



