KISHKRY BULLETIN: VOL, 86, NO. 1 



Table 1. — Total number, months of occurrence and monthly density of 

 sciaenid larvae collected in west Louisiana shelf waters from December 1981 

 to April 1982. 



from 15 to 36 ppt (Table 2) and at station depths 

 ranging from 5 to 70 m, but most were collected 

 inside the 18 m isobath. Larval sand seatrout 

 density increased in April with many stations ex- 

 hibiting densities in excess of 250 larvae/100 m'^; 

 the larvae appeared to be associated with a 

 freshet of water on the shelf, probably issuing 

 from the Atchafalaya River east of the study area 

 (Shaw et al. 1985a). The presence of riverine 

 runoff on the shelf, which was most evident in 



March and April 1982, caused the development of 

 an oceanic salinity front referred to as the coastal 

 boundary layer, 10-35 km from shore (Wiseman 

 et al. 1987). 



Observed spawning seasonality and location 

 for sand seatrout are in part consistent with pre- 

 viously published information (Shlossman and 

 Chittenden 1981 for review). The presence of a 4 

 mm TL larva in January indicates some spawn- 

 ing had taken place at least 2 months earlier than 



Table 2. — l^onthly data summaries at time of capture for three sciaenid larvae 

 (Cynoscion arenarius, Micropogonias undulatus. and Leiostomus xanthurus) col- 

 lected in west Louisiana shelf waters from December 1981 to April 1982. 



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