142 



BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



SPAWNING AND EARLY DISTRIBUTION OF YOUNG 



In a consideration of the various phases in the hfe history of the redfish or red 

 drum the spawning habitat of the adult and the distribution of the young fish perhaps 

 are of the most general interest. It has been a subject for much debate in recent 

 years among those who profess an intimate knowledge of Texas coastal waters as to 

 the exact location of the spawning grounds of the redfish, and while the idea is now 

 generally established that the species spawns outside of the barrier islands in the 

 open Gulf of Mexico, no definite observations ever were recorded to support this 

 belief. 



From April to September, 1926, a considerable number of redfish, ranging from 4 

 to 108 centimeters (1.5 to 42.4 inches) in length, were secured from the various bay 

 and Gulf waters (Table 7). Examination of the sexual organs of all fish showed an 

 immature or resting condition. On September 17, however, a large school of adult or 

 "bull" redfish was observed in a regularly fished area in Shamrock Cove off Corpus 

 Christi Bay, and the capture of part of this school revealed, by the presence of well- 

 developed eggs in the ovaries of the females, that spawning time was approaching. 

 Coincidental with the capture of these nearly ripe fish were the reports of fishermen 

 that large numbers of "bull" redfish were traveling along the Gulf beaches and con- 

 gregating about the mouths of the passes. Intensive fishing in all sections of the 

 coastal area after the capture of these ripening fish failed to reveal any' newly-hatched 

 redfish until October 11, when along the shores of Harbor Island, inside of Aransas 

 Pass and near the Gulf of Mexico, several young fish, ranging from 11 to 24 milli- 

 meters in length (0.4 to 1 inch), were taken in a few feet of water by a small beach 

 seine. (See Table 4.) 



Table 4. — Collections of larval and young redfish (Sciaenops ocellatus) during the spawning season 



of 19S6 



' Approiimate. 



The exact locality where these young redfish were captured is known as Harbor 

 Island Bayou and lies about 1 3^ miles inside of Aransas Pass. This bayou consists 

 of a small, deepened channel, running from the^east shore of the island (Lydia Ann 

 Channel) into the interior of the land for several winding miles. On account of its 



