cations and at times when shrimping for food is illegal. Part of the justifi- 

 cation for this leniency is the self-limiting nature of the shrimp bait fish- 

 ery. For shrimp to be kept alive, the vessel must be equipped with recircu- 

 lating water holding tanks and a small shrimp trawl that is towed for only 

 short periods of time. Short hauls with small trawls keep shrimp mortality at 

 low levels and reduces the catch of other fishes. 



The size of the bait industry will continue to be closely tied to the 

 success of the sport fishery. 



MARICULTURE 



Mariculture is the commercial cultivation of marine fish or shellfish. 

 The high reproductive potential of most marine species and the increasing 

 value of most seafood has drawn much attention to the possibility of "farming 

 the sea." Most mariculture experiments in Florida used pompano ( Trachinotus 

 carol inus ), freshwater shrimp ( Macrobrachium spp.) and brackish water shrimp 

 ( Penaeus ~spp. ). 



Attempts have been made to cultivate saltwater shrimp. One company in- 

 vested several million dollars and produced several hundred thousand pounds of 

 shrimp a year, but there are many problems that are yet to be solved. Their 

 greatest success was in two 300-acre ponds into which the cultured postlarval 

 shrimp were stocked and fed until they were of harvestable size. In earlier 

 years, the company attempted to cultivate shrimp in 2,500 acres of fenced bay 

 Dottom, which required the first State "mariculture" lease. A continuing 

 series of problems ranging from hurricanes and high tides, to having the nets 

 sink from an accumulation of fouling organisms (e.g., barnacles) ultimately 

 forced them to abandon this method. 



Despite a number of experiments, mariculture in Florida is still in the 

 developmental stage. Major problems have been the high cost of labor and 

 land, low winter water temperatures, and biological problems associated with 

 mass culture. The most successful mariculture prospects in Florida were moved 

 to Central or South America where these problems were much less troublesome. 

 One of the better potentials for mariculture is in saltwater aquaria. Some of 

 the brightly colored reef fishes may sell for over $50 each and their culture 

 could be extremely profitable as long as the market price remains stable. 



RESOURCE CONCERNS AND ISSUES 



FLUCTUATIONS IN CATCH 



One of the long-established biological characteristics of marine fish is 

 their fluctuating abundance. Despite years of study, there is little direct 

 evidence that points to the causes. Although there is speculation that unusu- 

 al weather changes are partly responsible, unusually low water temperatures 

 many cause high natural mortalities among estuarine species. Low freshwater 

 inflow may cause excessively high salinity and poor reproduction. Low salini- 

 ties after major floods may produce the same results. 



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