UNIT 7 



ATLANTIC COASTAL MIGRATORY PELAGIC FISHERIES 



41 



INTRODUCTION 



"Coastal pelagic" fishes, which range from 

 the shore to the outer edge of the U.S. 

 continental shelf, include king, Spanish, 

 and cero mackerel; dolphin fish, and cobia. 

 They are found from the Gulf of Maine 

 southward into Cuban, Central American, 

 and Brazilian waters. 



In general, coastal pelagics swim fast, 

 form schools, feed voraciously, grow rap- 

 idly, mature rather early, and spawn for 

 extended periods of time. They are sought 

 by both sport and commercial fishermen 

 who, respectively, caught 8,000-17,000 t 

 and 5,000-10,000 t/year during 1979-89 

 (Fig. 7-1). 



U.S. and Mexican commercial fishermen 

 have fished Spanish mackerel since the 

 1850's and king mackerel since the 

 1880's. The Spanish mackerel fishermen 

 began fishing near Mew York and Mew 

 Jersey with trolling gear, but the most com- 

 monly used gear since the 1 950's has been 

 the gill net, especially the runaround gill 

 net. About 1900, the U.S. fishery shifted 

 southward until most of the commercial 

 harvest was taken in the southern and Gulf 

 states, as it is today. In 1990, over 90% of 

 the commercial catch was landed in Flor- 

 ida. The Spanish mackerel recreational 

 fishery is equally significant, and anglers 



now catch about half of all the Spanish 

 mackerel taken. 



Commercial king mackerel fishermen 

 have used gill nets, troll lines, handlines, 

 purse seines, otter trawls, and pound nets. 

 Runaround gill nets and troll lines were the 

 primary gears used in Florida until the late 

 1970's, when purse seines began to boost 

 harvests. Purse seines are now banned 

 under the Coastal Pelagic Fishery Manage- 

 ment Plan (CPFMP). King mackerel are 

 commercially fished from Chesapeake 

 Bay southward. Four major production 

 areas are Morth Carolina; Port Salerno to 

 Sebastian, Fla.; the Florida Keys; and Ma- 

 ples, Fla. Grande Isle, La., a fifth area until 

 the early 1980's, was believed to harbor 

 older females and serve as a major spawn- 

 ing ground for Gulf king mackerel. Catch 

 was believed to be very high on these fish 

 during the late 1970's and early 1980's. 

 Few fish are now taken in this region and 

 it no longer contributes much to the fish- 

 ery. A large king mackerel sport fishery 

 also exists off Panama City, Fla., and off 

 other southeastern states. Sport landings 

 are thought to have been hurt by the ex- 

 panding commercial fisheries in the 1 970's 

 that were mostly unregulated until the 

 1980's. 



Figure 7-1.— Atlantic coast 

 migratory pelagic fish landings 

 and abundance (biomass) indices 

 for king and Spanish mackerels, 

 1979-90. 



o 

 o 

 o 



c 



1975 



1980 



1.4 



1.2 



0.8 



0.6 | 



0.4 



0.2 



1985 



1990 



