NATURAL HISTORY OF REDFISH, ETC., OF TEXAS 



175 



Table 17 shows the changing food habits of the drum according to its size. The 

 smaller drum feed largely on fish and annelids, represented by 36 and 32 per cent; 

 the medium-sized drum cease feeding on the softer foods and consume larger amounts 

 of mollusks (33 per cent) and crabs and shrimp (28 per cent), a 37 per cent mixed- 

 food content consisting of mollusks and crabs; and the older drum confine their 

 food largely to the mollusks (74 per cent) and crabs (16 per cent). In general, the 

 food habits of the black drum may be correlated with the environment. In the more 

 shallow, muddy lagoons and bays the greatest numbers of Mulinia are found, and it is 

 in such waters that drum Uve in the greatest abundance. In an environment where 

 extremely turbid water prevails throughout the year; where the water temperature 

 ranges from 80 to 90° F. in summer and as low as 40° F. in winter; where during the 

 ^ summer salinity often is twice as great as that of ordinary sea water and during the 

 rainy season a brackish condition exists; and where the average depth rarely is 

 more than 4 feet, the black drum attains its greatest abundance along the coast of 

 Texas. 



COMMERCIAL CONSIDERATIONS 



Texas produces about 70 per cent of the total annual black-drum catch of the 

 United States. The species attains its greatest abundance in the Gulf States, 

 although it occurs in commercial quantities as far north as New York. The trade 

 always has had some aversion for the drum because the larger adults are likely to 

 become infested with parasitic worms, which virtually destroy the marketability of 

 the fish unless the flesh is cut into fillets or steaks. In most sections of Texas the 

 drum is sold under the name of rockfish. The smaller fish (one-half to 3 pounds) 

 are preferred by many people to either the redfish or the spotted sea trout. 



The following record of commercial catch, taken from the publications of the 

 United States Bureau of Fisheries, shows the extent of the fishery : 



Table 18. — Catch of black drum (Pogonias crornis) in the United States 



Approximately 432,000 pounds of drum were landed from January, 1926, to 

 May, 1927, at Corpus Christi, Tex. (from records of the three leading fish dealers), 

 as compared with 134,000 pounds of redfish and 138,000 pounds of spotted trout 

 (fig. 44). 



While the fishermen generally receive but from 3 to 5 cents a pound for drum 

 that retails for 25 cents a pound, spotted trout bring nearly 10 to 12 cents a pound 

 to the fishermen and 35 cents to the retailer. On the basis of the retail value, the 

 drum exceeds in value the redfish and trout combined. 

 15499—29—4 



