154 



BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OP" FISHERIES 



Actual iveight method: 



A total weight of 23 milligrams gave an egg count of 176 



One milligram, by calculation, equals 7. 052 



One gram of redfish eggs, by calculation, equals 7, 652 



Total weight of redfish eggs, in grams 447 



Total number of redfish eggs in 90-centimeter fish (3 feet) 3, 410, 000 



Maturity appears to be reached at the end of the fourth or fifth year of life. No 

 redfish under 75 centimeters (29.4 inches) were taken in a mature condition during 

 the field operations, and ripe fish are virtually unknown to the fishermen, who must 

 free all captured fish over the legal size limit of 81 centimeters (32 inches). On the 

 basis of the one collection of nearly ripe fish taken in September, 1926, it would 

 seem most likely that maturity is not reached before the end of the fifth year, certainly 

 not before the end of the fourth. 



Figure 12, showing the relation of weight to length in 222 redfish, indicates that 

 a weight of 10 pounds or over is attained before the time of first spawning (70 centi- 

 meters, or 27.5 inches in length, at least, being reached by the fish). 



FOOD HABITS 



The food of the redfish along the Texas coast is made up principally of the crus- 

 taceans such as the shrimps and crabs. The commercial shrimps (Peneus) appeared 

 to be the favorite food with some 236 redfish 6 to 72 centimeters long examined for 

 stomach contents. The common blue crab (Callinectes), when small or in a molting 

 condition, ranks second in abundance. (See Table 11.) 



Table 11. — Food preference of 236 redfish, prexcnled in percentage of total number of fish in each 

 length group that fed exclusively on the various organisms 



IMixed food usually a combination of shrimp, fisb, and crabs. Fisli taken from February to May, 1927) 



Fish are eaten to some extent, with the mullet, gobies, and Menidia being 

 identified in the greatest abundance among the food fragments. The larger redfish 

 are able to capture fish of considerable size, as shown by the presence of a 20-centi- 

 meter (7.9 inches) mullet (Mugil) in the stomach of a 68-centimeter (26.8 inches) 

 redfish. Surf casting for the larger fish along the Gulf beaches yields the best results 

 when small mullet are used as bait, while shrimp bring the largest catches of the 

 smaller-sized fish. 



Curious incidental food may be found in the stomachs of the fish at times. A 

 large marsh rat, squids, annelid worms, and small bivalves have been recorded from 

 redfish stomachs. The species undoubtedly has the ability to pursue its prey, 

 although it can and does adopt a semibottom-feeding habit at times. It may be 

 said to have a feeding habit intermediate between that of the drum, a strictly bottom 

 feeder, and the spotted trout, a pelagic feeder. 



