508 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



of the northern and western Gulf, Gunter ranks 

 the species as follows: 



1. Anchovy, Anchoa mitchilli diaphana. 



2. Mullet, Mugil cephalus. 

 Menhaden, Brevoortia sp. 

 Croaker, Micropogon undulatus. 



3. Silverside, Menidia heryllina peninsulae. 

 Sheepshead minnow, Cyprinodon variegalus varie- 



galus. 



4. Catfish, Galeichlhys felis. 

 Sandtrout, Cynoscion arenarius. 



5. Red drum, Sciaenops ocellata. 

 Speckled trout, Cynoscion nebulosus. 

 Black drum, Pogonias cro7nts. 



It will be noted that the species at the top of 

 the list are preponderantly plankton feeders. 

 They must form one of the chief layers in the food 

 chain, linking the macroplankton to the preda- 

 ceous fishes. 



The food fishes in the Gulf I have grouped 

 according to their habitat into at least five cate- 

 gories that seem to fit reasonably well with the 

 known facts: 



1 . The bank fishes that are taken chiefly on the 

 offshore banks. The best known is the red 

 snapper, Lutianus aya, taken throughout the 

 Gulf on numerous banks including the Campeche 

 Bank. 



2. Stenothermal species that are not found in 

 abundance around the northern perimeter of the 

 Gulf. This applies to many species in the Florida 

 Keys such as the grunts {Haemulon spp.). 



3. Inshore species whose abundance, because 

 of their life history, is largely dependent on the 

 ecological conditions in the inner bays and shal- 

 lows. Examples are the red drum, Sciaenops 

 ocellata, the croaker, Micropogon undulatus, and 

 the mullet, Mugil cephalus. 



4. Offshore species whose life histories make 

 them more or less independent of the waters 

 between the mainland and the barrier islands. 

 These include the menhaden, Brevoortia, the 

 pompano, Trachinotus carolinus, the butterfish, 

 Poronotus triacanthus, and the Spanish mackerel, 

 Scomheromoru.s maculatus. 



5. Anadromous and estuarine species that 

 either go into fresh water at certain times or live 

 in fresh or brackish waters. E.xamples are the 

 gizzard shad, Dorosoma cepeclianum, the striped 

 bass, Roccus saxatilis, the sea catfish, Galeichthys 



elis, and the snooks, {Centropomus spp.). 



The offshore bank fishery has been described 

 by Jarvis (1935). There are in reality two 

 fisheries: one by small boats that fish along the 

 shores of the Gulf, especially along the west coast 

 of Florida and among the Florida Keys, the 

 other by large vessels sailing from Pensacola and 

 a few minor ports. These larger vessels also fish 

 the shores of the Gulf out to the 100-fathom 

 curve (but not close inshore). However, they 

 take the bulk of their catch from the numerous 

 offshore shoals lying north and west of YucatAn 

 and known collectively as Campeche Bank. 



In the waters fished by the offshore vessels 

 (about 15 to 100 fathoms) the catch consists 

 largely of groupers and snappers, the latter pre- 

 ferring the deeper water. Of the snappers the 

 most abundant is the common red snapper, Lut- 

 ianus aya. The silk or yellow-eye snapper, Lut- 

 ianus vivanus, is caught in deeper water than the 

 red snapper. The Caribbean red snapper, Lut- 

 ianus aya (regarded by Ginsburg 1930, as a sepa- 

 rate species), is fairly abundant on the eastern 

 part of the Campeche Bank. The black-fin snap- 

 per, Lutianus huccanella, abundant in the Carib- 

 bean, is taken in small quantities from the deeper 

 waters of Campeche Bank. The smaller vessels, 

 when fishmg in the shallower waters along the 

 Florida coast and amongst the Florida Keys, take 

 several other snappers, especially the gray or man- 

 grove snapper, Lutianus griseus, the schoolmaster, 

 L. apodus, the muttonfish, L. analis, the Lane 

 snapper, L. synagris, and the ycllowtail, Ocyurus 

 chrysurus. 



The offshore vessels also make large catches of 

 groupers consisting principally of the red grouper, 

 Epinephelus morio. Among the Florida Keys 

 there are several groupers usually taken: the yel- 

 lowfin grouper, Mycteroperca venenosus, the black 

 grouper, M. bonaci, the gag, M. microlepis, the 

 scamp, M. falcata, and the jewfish, Promicrops 

 itaiara. 



The fisheries in the vicinity of Key West are 

 described by Schroeder (1924). The most striking 

 feature is the large number of species taken among 

 the Florida Keys and along the southern tip of 

 Florida that are either absent or scarce in the 

 northern Gulf. 



The western and northern shores of the Gulf 

 are fringed by narrow barrier islands and reefs 

 that cut off long, shallow bays parallel to the 



