consulted. Local experts were especially helpful in 

 providing estuary/species-specific information . They 

 also provided additional references and contacts, 

 and identified additional species to be included in the 

 ELMR data base. The names and affiliations of 

 these experts are listed in Appendix 3. 



The Louisiana Department of Fish and Wildlife 

 (LDFW) served as a primary source of data and 

 reviewers of the data sheets because of their 

 extensive estuarine fishery data base and knowledge. 

 Additional consultation and review was provided by 

 experts from colleges and universities with estuarine 

 research and academic programs. 



Results 



Data Summaries. The information compiled for 

 each species and estuary (387 data sheets) was 

 organized in three data summaries (pp. 17-56). 

 Tables 2 and 3 provide graphic presentations of the 

 spatial and temporal distributions and relative 

 abundance by life stage for each species by estuary. 

 The information shown represents the usual 

 distribution of a species in a particular estuary. Table 

 4 ranks the relative reliability of the information 

 presented for each species and estuary. 



Spatial distribution and relative abundance. Table 2 

 (pp. 19-26) summarizes the distribution and relative 

 abundance for each species by life stage and each 

 estuary by salinity zone. The highest level of 

 abundanceduringtheyearin each estuary is depicted. 



Temporal distribution. Table 3 (pp. 27-48) 

 summarizes thetemporal distribution of each species 

 by month and life stage for each estuary. This table 

 combines data over the three salinity zones, showing 

 the highest level of abundance for a particular life 

 stage by month. 



Seasonal Comparisons. To examine seasonal 

 trends, the numbers of species ranked as "common" 

 or greater were counted for each life stage by month 

 and by salinity zone (Figures 5, 6 and 7). In Figure 

 5, the number of species was averaged across 

 estuaries and plotted by month. In Figure 6, the 

 numberof species was averaged across months and 

 within seasons, allowing a comparison of estuaries. 

 The seawater zone is not represented because less 

 than half of the central Gulf of Mexico estuaries had 

 this zone present. Although not a statistical analysis 

 of abundances, these summaries do provide insights 

 into the seasonal distribution of selected species in 

 these estuaries: 



• Fewer species utilize the Central Gulf of Mexico 



estuaries duhng the winter than during any other 

 season. Estuarine utilization by all life stages is 

 highest in the summer and fall (Figures 5 and 6). 



• Juveniles and adults utilize the estuaries more 

 than any other life stages (Figures 5 and 6). 



• Spawning is important during the spring and 

 summer in the tidal fresh and during the spring and 

 fall in the mixing zone. The summer season supports 

 the greatest number of juveniles and adults in many 

 of these estuaries (Figures 5 and 6). 



• Although larvae are present throughout the year, 

 the number of species with larvae is fairly consistent 

 from April to September for all salinity zones. Minor 

 peaks occur in April in the tidal fresh zone. May in the 

 seawater zone, and September in the mixing zone 

 (Figure 7). 



• The Mississippi River appears to have fewer 

 species than theother estuaries (Figure 6). However, 

 this is the only true riverine system in the Central Gulf 

 of Mexico, and its riverine fauna is probably not well 

 represented by the ELMR species list. 



Quantitative Abundances. Louisiana is one of the 

 few states with an ongoing comprehensive fish 

 monitoring program in coastal estuaries. The 

 Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries began 

 its program in the early 1970's and has continually 

 expanded it. The state of Mississippi has a similar 

 ongoing monitoring program for Mississippi Sound, 

 also initiated in the early 1970's. Both monitoring 

 programs use bag seine, otter trawl, plankton and/or 

 gill net equipment to estimate abundances of fishes 

 and invertebrates. These long-term monitoring 

 programs make it possible to compare the relative 

 abundance of selected species across central Gulf of 

 Mexico estuaries. The annual catch records can be 

 monitored to witness or avoid crashes of particular 

 fisheries, and allow state and federal managers to 

 modify existing regulations as necessary. 



The data presented in this section were developed 

 from electronic data provided by the Louisiana 

 Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and 

 the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) in Ocean 

 Springs, Mississippi. The study locations are shown 

 in Figures for LDWFCoastal Study Areas (l-VII) and 

 GCRL's Mississippi Sound study area with the 

 comparable ELMR estuaries . Analyses of data from 

 the 1 6 ft otter trawls is presented because the trawls 

 are the most common method routinely used by both 

 state agencies. Because of gear bias in catch, the 

 fish caught are primarily juveniles of large species 

 and adults of small species. The data were analyzed 



