Spanish Mackerel 



The sport and commercial importance of the Spanish mackerel ( Scomberomo- 

 rus maculatus ) is similar to that of the king mackerel, but it is smaller in 

 size, and does not live as long (8 years). They first spawn at age group II 

 over the inner continental shelf at depths of 40 to 165 ft from May through 

 September (Powell 1975). Spawning has been documented from Cape Sable to off- 

 shore waters of Mobile Bay and from Georgia to Chesapeake Bay. Little is 

 known about the juveniles, but they grow rapidly and enter the fishery at age 

 one (second year of life), which is also the dominant age group of the catch. 

 Migratory patterns are suspected to resemble those of king mackerel, but large 

 scale tagging studies have not been attempted. 



Spanish mackerel landings vary considerably from year to year in Florida 

 waters. In 1970-80, Southwest Florida landings ranged from 1.1 million to 7.5 

 million lb annually, and statewide annual landings ranged from 6.4 million to 

 17.3 million lb. Catches are highest in October through April. Landings of 

 11.9 million lb in 1980 were valued at just over $3 million dockside. 



Spotted Seatrout 



The spotted seatrout ( Cynoscion nebulosus ) is highly sought by sport and 

 commercial fishermen (Perret et al. 1980). Although there are no sport catch 

 statistics, the sport catch probably equals or exceeds commercial landings. 

 Commercial catch data are complicated by the large proportion of trout in the 

 market that were caught by sport fishermen and sold. Some markets in Florida 

 are heavily dependent upon sport catches to meet their demands. 



Commercial landings of speckled trout in 1970-80 in Southwest Florida 

 have been remarkably stable, ranging from 1.2 to 1.8 million lb annually and 

 averaging 1.5 million lb--about half of the State total. The State's landed 

 value in 1980 was almost $1.7 million, an average of 68it per lb. Landings 

 were heaviest from October through January. 



Commercial landings in 1951-76 declined markedly in some areas of Flori- 

 da, possibly because of over fishing, but more likely because of the altera- 

 tion of habitat. Examples are dredge and fill operations, pollution, low 

 freshwater inflow into estuaries, and the conversion of wetlands to residen- 

 tial and industrial use. 



The spotted seatrout is an estuarine-dependent fish that spends most of 

 its life in estuaries. Some populations are so distinct that they exhibit 

 different racial characteristics among major estuaries. Speckled seatrout 

 spawn in the deeper waters of estuaries in spring and summer months in April - 

 July. (In southern Florida some spawn year round.) Males first spawn when 1 

 to 2 years of age; females at 2 to 3 years of age. Adults may live to be 

 10 years old. 



Striped Mullet 



The black or striped mullet ( Mugil cephalus ) is one of five species of 

 mullet in Florida and is the most important mullet commercially (Cato et al. 

 1976). Landings in Southwest Florida averaged about 16.6 million lb annually 

 from 1970-80, and ranged from 15.9 to 20.1 million lb. Statewide landings 



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