are probably two populations of king mackerel but that there is some evidence 

 of mixing in the South Florida area. 



Despite heavy exploitation of the king mackerel, biological evidence in- 

 dicated 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. 



Spanish mackerel . Spanish mackerel ( Scomberomorus maculatus ) also are 

 important to sport and commercial fishermen in Florida. Spanish mackerel are 

 smaller than king mackerel and usually do not live as long (maximum age is 

 about eight years). Age 2 and older fish spawn in waters over the Inner Con- 

 tinental Shelf (40-165 ft) from May through September (Powell 1975). Spawning 

 has been documented in coastal waters from Cape Sable to Mobile Bay and from 

 Georgia to the Chesapeake Bay. The biology of juveniles is not well document- 

 ed, but they grow rapidly and enter the fishery in their second year of life 

 when they are most abundant. 



The commercial catch in Northwest Florida in 1980 was about 613,979 lb 

 (18% of the State total), valued at $170,494 dockside. The monthly landings 

 for 1965, 1970, 1975 for the west coast of Florida are given in Table FSH-25 

 of the Data Appendix. 



Spotted Seatrout 



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

 commercial fishemien. 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 fishemien and sold. Some fish markets in Florida are heavily 

 dependent upon sport catches to meet their demands. 



Spotted sea trout in Northwest Florida is considered one of the most im- 

 portant estuarine sport fish. Commercial landings in 1980 were 192,072 lb 

 valued at $131,399 dockside (less than 10% of the statewide landings). The 

 1980 landings were the lowest in 1970-80 and the 1976 landings (432,657 lb) 

 were the highest. 



The spotted seatrout is an estuarine dependent species that spends all or 

 most of its life in estuaries. Some populations are so distinct that they ex- 

 hibit different racial characteristics from those in adjacent bay systems. 

 This species spawns in the deeper waters of estuaries in the spring and sum- 

 mer, mostly in April to July. In southern Florida, some spawn year round. 

 Males first spawn when 1 to 2 years of age; female at 2 to 3 years of age. 

 Maximum age is generally 8 years. A literature review of the life history of 

 the spotted sea trout in the Gulf of Mexico was reported by Lassuy (1982). 



Commercial landings of spotted seatrout in 1951-76 have declined in some 

 parts of Florida. Some loss may be due to overfishing, but most scientists 

 believe that degradation of habitat by dredge and fill operations, pollution, 



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