178 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



SUMMARY 



1. The black drum spawns in the Gulf of Mexico near the entrances to the bays 

 and lagoons. The young drum enter the inland bays through the various passes 

 soon after hatching and make for definite localities within the inland waters. 



2. The spawning period occurs mainly from February to May and is preceded 

 by a marked migration of ripening adults from the bays and lagoons to the waters of 

 the Gulf. A secondary spawning period may occur in late summer and early fall 

 with some of the younger age classes. 



3. The black drum reach a total length of about 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) 

 by the end of the first year and about 37 centimeters (14.5 inches) by the end of the 

 second year, with scale study indicating that five years of age may be attained by 

 the time a length of 60 centimeters (23.3 inches) is reached. 



4. Sexual maturity is reached at the end of the second year, when the fish 

 generally has attained a total length of 35 centimeters (13.7 inches). 



5. The food of the younger drum consists largely of annelids and small fish, 

 while the older fish prefer molhisks and small crabs. A small mollusk, Mulinia, is 

 eaten almost exclusively by the larger-sized drum. 



6. The recommendation of a minimum legal size limit at 20 centimeters (8 

 inches) and a maximum legal size limit at 51 centimeters (20 inches) is made primarily 

 in order to conserve the smaller, less marketable fish as well as the larger, more 

 prolific drum that are caught in great numbers and are of relatively slight market 

 value. 



7. The recommendation is made also to allow stjine fishermen to fish in the present 

 closed waters of Nueces and Oso Bays, as well as Laguna Madre, after minimum and 

 maximum legal size limits have been adopted. 



NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SPOTTED TROUT, CYNOSCION NEBULOSUS 



CUVIER AND VALENCIENNES 



Spotted Sea Trout or Squeteague 



OtUithua nebutosus Cuvier and|Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Pois., V, 1830, p. 79. 

 Cynoscion carolinensis McDonald, 1882, p. 12. 



Ci(noscii)7i nebuloma Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1409; Welsh and Breder, 1923, p. 164; Hildebrand and Schroeder, 1928, 

 p. 296. 



DESCRIPTION OF ADULT 



The adult spotted trout has an elongate body, large, oblique mouth, and pro- 

 truding lower jaw. The teeth are sharp; two enlarged ones occur at the tip of the 

 upper jaw. The color is characteristic and serves generally to identify the species 

 in its adult stage. The upper half of the body is dark gray with sky-blue reflections, 

 while the lower half is pale silvery. The upper sides are marked with many round 

 black spots, which extend to the dorsal and caudal fins. (See fig. 28.) 



DESCRIPTION OF YOUNG 



The young of the species differ markedly from the adults, both in color and 

 shape of the caudal or tail fin. Young above 3 inches (8 centimeters) in length are 

 recognized easily, however, by the round black spots on the upper parts of the body 

 as well as on the dorsal and caudal fins. 



