COMMERCIAL AND SPORT FISHERIES 



Edwin A. Joyce 

 Route 1, Box 1804 

 Tallahassee, FL 32312 



INTRODUCTION 



OVERVIEW 



The State of Florida is known for its valuable coastal resources and 

 their potential. The State has 11,000 miles of tidal shoreline (second long- 

 est in the United States) and over 15 major estuarine systems. Climatic con- 

 ditions range from sub-temperate to tropical. The vegetation ranges from 

 tropical hammocks of the Keys to the massive mangrove stands in southwest 

 Florida, and to the juncus and spartina marshes of northwest Florida and the 

 panhandle. These habitat types are undergoing more and more stress. About 

 75% of Florida's more than nine million residents (1980 Census) live within a 

 few miles of the coastline and over 60% of the 36 million tourists who come to 

 Florida annually engage in fishing, swimming, sun bathing, boating, beach 

 combing, and other water-related forms of recreation. In combination, these 

 activities are depleting or threatening Florida's natural coastal resources. 



This paper concerns the sport and commercial fishing industries, the 

 fishes and their biology, and fish production, value, and management. Much of 

 the catch data are from the National Marine Fisheries Service annual catch re- 

 ports. Much of the economic analysis is provided in publications by Cato 

 (1973), Prochaska (1976), Prochaska and Cato (1977), Prochaska and Morris 

 (1978), and Prochaska et al . (1981) at the University of Florida in Gaines- 

 ville. Much of the biological data are from Steidinger (1980). 



Northwest Florida (Bay, Escambia, Franklin, Gulf, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, 

 and Walton Counties) is not as heavily developed as other areas of Florida 

 largely because it is not as densely populated. It has some of the most 

 beautiful beaches in the State, and abundant, varied, and highly valued sport 

 and commercial marine fish species. Despite increasing growth, there is still 

 ample time to more effectively consider fish and wildlife resources and their 

 habitats in the planning of water and land use, and for protecting aquatic re- 

 sources. For example, planning could consider potential environmental damage 

 caused by dredging and filling, saltwater intrusion into groundwater supplies, 

 loss of fresh water to the estuaries, and the effects of pollution on estua- 

 rine waters. Many of the findings and much of the data in this report were 

 based upon or reported from Tables FSH-1 to FSH-51, in the Data Appendix. 



195 



