et a1. (1978). A study identified offshore charter boats, inshore/offshore 

 charter boats for bays, offshore guide boats for back country fishing, and 

 head boats. Head boats carry large numbers of passengers and operate on a per 

 customer basis rather than by charter (Table 7). 



In Southwest Florida in 1980, there were 253 offshore charter boats, 17 

 inshore/offshore charter boats, 129 guide boats, and 44 head (party) boats. 

 Offshore charter boats fish largely near reefs for snapper and groupers in the 

 spring and fall. Reef fishes and tarpon ( Megalops atlantica ) are the most 

 important species caught by inshore/offshore boats. Tarpon are fished primar- 

 ily out of Boco Grande and Tampa. Snook ( Centropomus undecimalis ), red drum 

 ( Sciaenops occelatus), tarpon, and seatrout also are taken in abundance, 

 especial ly from guide boats. Snapper and groupers contribute about 65% to 75% 

 of the catch by head boats, followed by grunts and seabass. The Key area has 

 the greatest variety of fishing, about one-half of which is in the blue 

 waters. Dolphin ( Coryphaena spp.) and billfish, usually classified as big 

 game fish, are abundant. Bonefish ( Albula vulpes ) and tarpon are the most 

 highly valued guide boat species. 



The average number of fishermen per boat trip and the percentage of fish- 

 ermen from out-of-state (in parenthesis) were 6.3 (63%) for all boats, 6.0 

 (78%) for inshore/offshore boats, 4.0 (49%) for guide boats, and 6.4 (60%) for 

 head boats. 



The net revenue for offshore charter boats in 1960 was $5,106 per vessel 

 in the Gulf of Mexico and $11,428 per vessel in the Keys. Inshore/offshore 

 boat revenue was $4,371 per boat and guide boat revenue was $8,130 per boat. 

 In 1960 there were 254 charter boats and 37 head boats; in 1977 there were 259 

 and 45, respectively. 



As indicated before, the total value of saltwater sport fishing in Flor- 

 ida is $18.7 billion based on 58.74 million fishing days. On that basis, it 



Table 7. Location of charter fishing boat marinas (adapted from Browder et al 

 1978). 



Type of boat Activity center 



Offshore charter Islamorada, Marathon, Key West, Clearwater, 



Fort Meyers Beach, Naples, Marco Island 



Inshore-offshore Boca Grande, Naples, Marco Island, Key West 



Guide-boat centers Sanibel-Captiva, Marco Island, Everglades City, 



Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine Key 



Head boats Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Key West 



181 



