snapper and grouper populations near Florida. The increasing use of fish 

 traps to catch snappers and groupers in Southwest Florida waters has been 

 strongly opposed by sport fishermen and has led to various legislative actions 

 to restrict or prohibit the use of fish traps. 



King Mackerel 



King mackerel ( Scombermorous cavalla ) is a valuable sport and commercial 

 fish in the coastal waters of Southwest Florida. Annual commercial landings 

 in Florida averaged 2.7 million lb in 1970-80, but the sport catch was roughly 

 estimated at about three times that much. The fishery management plan cur- 

 rently under preparation by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Regional 

 Fishery Management Councils (Public Law 94-265) seeks to allocate 9 million lb 

 annually to the commercial fisherman (approximately 5 million lb to nets and 4 

 million lb to hook and line) and 29 million lb to sport fishermen. Competi- 

 tion between sport and commercial fishermen (and even between various types of 

 commercial fisheries) has been severe and stimulated legislative attempts to 

 control one type of fishing or another (e.g., make net fishing illegal, or 

 declare the species a game fish which cannot be taken by commercial fishing). 

 These proposals have been highly controversial and none has become law, but 

 legal attempts for greater control undoubtedly will continue. 



Yearly landings of king mackerel in Southwest Florida ranged from 1.2 

 million lb in 1972 to over 6 million lb in 1974, and averaged about 2.7 

 million lb. Seasonal catches are quite pronounced. Heaviest landings are 

 usually in December through March whereas lowest landings are from June 

 through September. The value of the 1980 catch of $1.8 million in Southwest 

 Florida was less than half the total State value of $4.5 million. 



King mackerel usually first spawn at ages three (males) and four (fe- 

 males) primarily from May to September. Spawning has been well documented off 

 Texas and Northwest Florida, and from Florida to North Carolina along the 

 Atlantic coast (Beaumariage 1973). Relatively little is known about the juve- 

 niles, which are seldom seen except for a few taken near shore in shrimp 

 trawls. The adults may live 13 or 14 years but most are less than 7 years 

 old. Adult mortality is estimated to be about 50% per year. 



Tagging studies have shown extensive migrations. King mackerel tagged in 

 winter along the Southeast Florida coast usually migrate into the Gulf of 

 Mexico in spring and move as far west as Texas and eastern Mexico in the 

 summer. A return migration in fall and winter has also been documented. Fish 

 tagged in Southeast Florida have been caught as far north as Virginia. These 

 and other continuing studies indicate that there are probably two popula- 

 tions of king mackerel with some evidence of mixing in the south Florida area. 



Despite heavy exploitation of king mackerel, biological evidence indi- 

 cated that the abundance of the species has remained relatively stable for 

 many years (Beaumariage, personal communication). 



The availability of the fish stocks sometimes change sharply because of 

 their migratory habits and response to changing currents, climate, and other 

 conditions. Whatever the cause, sport and commercial fishermen tend to blame 

 each other when their catches are below their expectations. 



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