rine Investigations of the Bureau of Commercial 

 Fisheries include studies of nutrients and primary 

 crops of estuarine waters, as well as studies of the 

 dependence of animals such as finfish, crabs, and 

 shrimp upon nutrients and planktonic organisms 

 (Sykes, 1965). The research, therefore, is being 

 conducted near both extremes of the food chain 

 and at intermediate points. Although the value 

 of an estuary to our social and economic system 

 should not be measured entirely in terms of its 

 contribution to a commercial fishery, the harvest of 

 edible and industrial species is a major consider- 

 ation and is logically one of the factors motivating 

 estuarine research. It was, therefore, important 

 in our investigations to determine and study the 

 important commercial species in Gulf of Mexico 

 fisheries that utilize estuaries as rearing and devel- 

 opmental areas. 



TAMPA BAY, WEST FLORIDA COAST, AND 

 GULF FISHERIES 



In evaluating the importance of Tampa Bay as 

 a nursery area for commerical species, the size and 

 economic value of commercial catches of the Gulf 

 of Mexico should be considered. 



Fisheries in the Gulf have grown notably in the 

 past quarter-century. In 1936, 187 million pounds 

 or 4 percent of recorded landings were from the 

 Gulf; in 1961, this area yielded 1.3 billion pounds 

 or 27 percent of total recorded U.S. fishery land- 

 ings (Power, 1961). Of the average annual Gulf 

 catch for 1958, 1959, and 1960, 12 percent 

 (131,369,000 pounds) was landed on the west 

 coast of Florida (Power, 1960, 1961, 1962a, 1962b). 

 Size and value of the west Florida landings were 

 second to Texas and exceeded Louisiana, Missis- 

 sippi, and Alabama. 



A summary of valuation showed that the total 

 U.S. exvessel landings in the Gulf of Mexico were 

 worth an annual average of $85 million for the 3 

 years cited. West Florida landings accounted for 

 $20 million of that amount. Catches landed in 

 the three counties surrounding Tampa Bay 

 (Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Manatee) averaged 26 

 million pounds for the 3 years and accounted for 

 $6 million of the total (U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, 1959; Rosen, 1959; Rosen and Robinson, 1960). 

 Pinellas County is dominant among the three 

 ((unities in landings of seafood. It has the most 

 extensive offshore commercial and sport fishing on 

 the Florida west coast. The county supports the 



PERCENTAGE OF 0ULF CATCH 



Figure 1. — Three year average (1958-59-60) of commer- 

 cial landings on the Florida west coast and in Tampa Bay 

 compared with total Gulf catches. 



second largest fleet of commercial boats, the third 

 largest fleet of party boats, and the sixth largest 

 fleet of charter boats in the State (Moe, 1963). 



Catch data were assembled for the important 

 commercial species common to Gulf of Mexico, 

 Florida west coast, and Tampa Bay fisheries (table 

 1). For a determination of percentages of the 

 total Gulf catch landed on the Florida coast and in 

 Tampa Bay (fig. 1), annual landings of these 

 species were averaged for the three divisions of 

 Gulf fisheries for the years 1958-60. 2 Two of the 

 leading Gulf species, menhaden and oysters, were 

 included even though their commercial catch in the 

 Tampa Bay area was negligible. 



More than 90 percent of the Gulf landings of 

 silver mullet, Spanish mackerel, pompano, striped 

 mullet, and grouper were made on the Florida west 

 coast (fig. 1). Annual landings of these species 

 for 1958-60 averaged 12 million pounds in Tampa 

 Bay, 45 million pounds on the west coast, and 

 47 million pounds in the Gulf. Species comprising 

 25-90 percent of Gulf catches landed on the west 

 coast were crevalle jack, permit, spot, spotted 

 sea trout, mojarra, blue crab, red drum, white 

 sea trout, and sheepshead. Annual landings of 

 these species for the 3 years averaged 1.5 million 

 pounds in Tampa Bay, 19 million pounds on the 

 west coast, and 38 million pounds in the Gulf. 

 Landings on the west coast of the two most impor- 

 tant commercial species in the Gulf (shrimp and 

 menhaden) were each below 25 percent of total 



1 The species in table 1 and Tib. 1 are listed according, to percentage of ( lulf 

 catch landed on the Florida west coast rather than rank in the total Uulf catch. 



370 



U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



