detrimental to an estuarine system. Agricultural pesticides, herbicides, and 

 fertilizers may pollute downstream estuaries and damming, and altering of 

 seasonal river flow may alter salinities in estuaries. 



In view of man's destruction and alteration of estuaries, many possibili- 

 ties for restoration have been examined. For example, a new spoil island or 

 an eroding dune can be artificially vegetated to increase stability and estab- 

 lish a viable habitat. For essential projects where habitat destruction is 

 unavoidable, mitigation may be required. 



Under certain conditions, natural areas may be made more productive by 

 the addition of new habitat features. For example, artificial fishing reefs 

 on flat or low relief bottom areas have been shown to attract and concentrate 

 fish so that they are more available to sport fishermen. The construction of 

 shell reefs in appropriate waters may sharply increase the area for attachment 

 of oyster spat and increase oyster abundance. Oysterbeds or reefs constructed 

 by the Florida Department of Natural Resources in Apalachicola Bay since 1949 

 now account for a major portion of the oyster fishing grounds of Florida. 

 This and other forms of restoration of lost or damaged habitat and even the 

 improvement of natural estuarine areas have been made possible through 

 extensive research and should be a prime consideration in marine resource 

 management. 



SPORT FISHERIES 



The clear definition of a sport and a commercial fisherman is a debatable 

 issue. There are, of course, commercial fishermen who fish for pleasure and 

 sport fishermen who sell their catch. Both tend to seek the same species, 

 sometimes in the same fishing grounds. Among the fishes that cannot be sold 

 no matter how they are caught are sailfish, tarpon, snook, and bonefish. 

 Almost all mullet and shrimp are taken commercially. Sport fishermen some- 

 times catch and sell fish caught with small seines, gill nets, and cast nets. 

 For some species in Southwest Florida, the sport catch probably equals or 

 exceeds the commercial catch. 



In Florida, the economic value of the sport fisheries is considerable. 

 There are now about 1/2 million registered boats, many of which are used by 

 sport fishermen, and 36 million annual tourists, many of whom go sport fish- 

 ing. Major sport fishes are king and Spanish mackerel, grouper, red snapper, 

 spotted seatrout, redfish, cobia, flounder, and whiting somewhat in that 

 order. Large numbers of other species also are caught. For example, a year 

 long creel census in Choctawhatchee Bay (Irby 1974) showed that although 

 speckled seatrout was one of the most popularly sought fish, fishermen actu- 

 ally landed more pin fish. In Choctawhatchee Bay, party and charter boat 

 fishing accounted for 50% of the fishermen and 75% of the sport catch, whereas 

 bay sport fishing from private boats, piers, and shore accounted for only 35% 

 of the sport fishermen and 16.4% of the catch. Tourists comprised 95% of the 

 fishermen using party and charter boats. In Southwest Florida, a large number 

 of fishing tournaments are conducted annually. Some tournaments sponsor 

 competition for catches of sailfish, tarpon, and sharks. Fishing contests for 

 sport fish are common along the Florida coast. 



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