sorting technique. Data relating to catch versus environmental character- 

 istics were collated from literature references and the data files of 

 several state and federal laboratories. Catch ratios, reflecting catches 

 above a threshold value, were computed and sorted into temperature, 

 salinity, seasonal and location classes and into various interaction 

 categories. 



Gross temperature, salinity, location and season ranges and optima were 

 established for menhaden ( Brevoortia patronus ), sand trout ( Cynoscion 

 arenarius ) , blue crabs ( Callinectes sapidus ), and white shrimp ( Penaeus 

 setiferus ) , pink shrimp ( Penaeus duorarum ) and brown shrimp ( Penaeus 

 aztecus ). Analyses of interactions among the environmental variables 

 verified several conclusions from single factor analyses, but also delin- 

 eated many details of habitats migration and estuarine utilization. 



The technique developed is considered to be capable of describing out- 

 side limits and providing management criteria for estuarine programs. (A. A.) 



Keywords: estuarine organisms, fisheries, menhaden, sand trout, blue crabs, 

 white shrimp, U.S. Gulf coast 



IV-C-6 



Sykes, J.E. 1968. Commercial values of estuarine-generated fisheries on 

 the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Pages 71-78 in J.D. Newsom, 

 ed. , Proceedings of the marsh and estuary management symposium. Louisiana 

 State University, Baton Rouge. 



The significance of estuaries in perpetuating portions of the marine 

 resource has been proved; and available information shows that, depending 

 upon geographical area, 65 to 90 percent of the commercial catch of finfish 

 in the United States consists of estuarine-dependent species. Clupeoid 

 fishes caught in the United States are estuarine-dependent and are harvested 

 largely for their value as protein supplement in diets of domestic animals. 

 The usefulness of the coastal zone to man will be more accurately seen when 

 the unrealized potential of these fishes is developed. 



Research scientists are convinced that estuaries are essential to 

 fish production and deserve more careful attention than they have received 

 in the past. Solutions to estuarine management problems have not been 

 developed because scientific programs have not generally adopted common 

 goals and the attention to estuarine ecological research is too new to have 

 become maximally effective. (A. A. and B.W.) 



Keywords: estuaries, fisheries, productivity, U.S. South Atlantic and 

 Gulf coasts 



157 



