58 • Wetlands: Their Use and Regulation 



Table 7.— Game and Fur Animals Identified by State 

 Game Managers as Found in Wetlands 



Small game: 



Grouse, ruffed 

 Grouse, sage 

 Grouse, sharp-tailed 

 Hungarian partridge 

 Mourning dove 

 Plieasant 

 Quail, bobwfiite 

 Quail, Gambel's 

 Quail, valley 

 Rabbit, cottontail 

 Rabbit, swamp 

 Snowstioe hare 

 Snipe 



Squirrels (gray and fox) 

 Woodcock 



Big game: 



Antelope 



Black bear 



Black-tailed deer 



Elk 



Mouse 



Mule deer 



White-tailed deer 



Fur animals: 



Beaver 



Bobcat 



Fox (red and gray) 



Opossum 



Otter 



Raccoons 



Skunk 



Weasel 



SOURCE: S. T. Shaw and G C. Fredine, Wetlands of the United States. U.S. De- 

 partment of the Interior, Fisfi and WiMlife Service, 1971 



Plant material produced by wetlands may be an 

 important link in the food chain. In bottom land 

 hardwood areas, decomposing leaves serve as the 

 base for springtime explosions in populations of in- 

 vertebrates, which are an important source of pro- 

 tein for egg-laying waterfowl. Many researchers 

 also have examined the importance of detritus from 

 estuarine marshes as food for commercially and rec- 

 reationally valuable estuarine fish. Wetlands gen- 

 erally produce a great deal of plant material, some 

 of which is flushed into the estuary in the form of 

 detritus. In some estuaries, such as those found 

 along the Georgia and Louisiana coasts, where the 

 ratio of marsh to open water is high, detritus is a 

 major component of the diet of estuarine fish. 



Potential Importance of Estuarine Fish and 

 Shellfish From Wetlands. — Table 8 shows the 10 

 most recreationally important species of marine 

 fish, judging by estimated number offish landed. 



Table 8.— The 10 Most Recreationally Important 



Marine Fish in the United States in 1979 



Ranked by Number of Fish Landed 



Thousands of fish 



Estuarine Nonestuarine 



Flounders (summer and winter) 38,649 



Bluefish^ 27,332 



Seatrout (3 species) 22,440 



Sea catfishes 20,727 



Spot 18,480 



Atlantic croaker 16,505 



Pinfish 12,811 



Perch (4 species) 9,556 



Snappers (Several) 9,363 



Grunts (several) 8,606 



Total 105,630 (57%) 78,839 (43%) 



Disagreement over estuarine dependence. 



SOURCE: National Marine Fisheries Service. "Fisheries of the United States, 

 1980," Current Fishery Statistics No 8100, 1981. 



Out of an estimated 2.98 million marine fish caught 

 by recreational fishermen in the United States in 

 1979, 5 out of the top 10 species, or 57 percent by 

 number, were estuarine-dependent. By weight, 

 they comprised about 62 percent of the total catch 

 of 438.6 million lbs. 



The percentage of estuarine-related fish and 

 shellfish out of the total U.S. fisheries harvest is 

 high.* Table 9 shows the 15 most important species 

 or groups of species commercially harvested by 

 U.S. fishermen in 1980, ranked by their dockside 

 value. '^ Eight of these fifteen species commonly are 

 found in estuaries at least sometime during their 

 lifecycles. They represent 61 percent of the dock- 

 side value and 77 percent of the total weight of the 

 catch of the 15 groups listed. Commercial landings 

 by U.S. fishermen for fish and shellfish in U.S. 

 ports totaled 6.48 billion lb in 1980, with a dock- 

 side value of $2.23 billion. Approximately 4.08 bil- 



*It should be noted that there is disagreement on which fish should 

 be considered "estuarine." This rises partially from different defini- 

 tions of the term and partially from lack of knowledge regarding many 

 of the details of marine fish life histories. For this discussion, we have 

 used Stroud's (1971) survey of 15 fisheries biologists on the estuarine 

 dependence of nearly 100 fishes. 



"Estimated total catch, all regions, from National Marine Fisheries 

 Service, 1981. Estuarine dependence based on McHugh (1966) and 

 Stroud (1971). 1) National Marine Fisheries Service. "Fisheries of 

 the United States, 1980," Current Fishery Statistics No. 8100, 1981; 

 2) J. L. McHugh, "Management of Estuarine Fisheries," A Sym- 

 posium on Estuarine Fisheries, American Fisheries, Soc. Spec. Publ. 

 No. 3, 1966, pp. 133-154; 3) R. H. Stroud, "Introduction to Sym- 

 posium," A Symposium on the Biological Significance of Estuaries. 

 P. A. Douglas and R. H. Stroud (eds.) (Washington, DC: Sport 

 Fishing Institute, 1971). 



