Table Jt. --Commercial fishery landings. 



Cape Canaveral Area, for eight dominant species, 

 dollar values by month, 1959-1962 



all others combined; four-year average pound and 



Shrimp 



Eight dominant species 

 Black mullet Spotted sea trout Red snapper Blue crab, ^ard 



Spot 



Fompano 



Pounds Dollars 



Pounds Dollars Pounds Dol "inrs Founds Dollars 



Founds Pol 1 ars Pounds Pol 1 ars Pounds DonaY-g 



January 



February 



March 



April 



May 



June 



July 



August 



September 



October 



November 



December 



Total 



285,050 



3't,'t25 



12,525 



5,825 



1(,125 



9,950 



2't,375 



22,250 



26,550 

 173,525 

 329,300 

 '•49,750 



95,686 



11,923 



5,013 



2,611 



2,041 



3,809 



9,672 



8,816 



li,345 



66,783 



144,841 



184,173 



107,850 

 111,800 

 122,725 



96,425 

 11.4,000 

 116,575 

 147,475 

 171,175 

 167,500 

 181,100 

 184,525 



99,150 



5,629 

 5,687 

 5,993 

 4,701 

 5,612 

 5,678 

 6,988 

 7,994 

 8,l4o 

 8,850 

 8,839 

 4,734 



70,050 

 45,600 

 40,000 

 35,000 

 33,050 

 36,100 

 30,325 

 31,600 

 22,600 

 26,850 

 31,250 

 48,675 



15,892 

 10,769 

 9,769 

 8,438 

 8,074 

 8,847 

 7,443 

 7,751 

 5,513 

 6,568 

 7,495 

 11,257 



28,100 



27,075 



25,475 

 25,325 



29,100 

 33,500 

 18,050 

 12,350 

 13,200 

 7,125 

 12,600 

 19,575 



8,311 

 7,607 

 7,127 

 T,66l 

 8,299 

 8,918 

 5,137 

 3,641 

 3,820 

 2,175 

 3,778 

 5,732 



76,525 



69, n5 



81,700 



91,075 



118,575 



129,225 

 138,525 



145,525 

 113,125 



104,800 



97,250 



89,975 



4,147 

 3,678 

 4,089 

 4,614 

 5,985 

 6,388 

 6,699 

 7,052 

 5,520 

 5,272 

 4,924 

 4,560 



50 

 825 



3,450 

 10,375 

 17,025 

 37,400 

 20,925 

 45,725 

 58,800 

 61,300 

 11,675 



5,175 



5 

 85 



344 

 1,071 

 1,729 

 3,910 

 2,200 

 4,797 

 5,964 

 5,875 

 1,209 



595 



1,000 



475 

 1,900 



825 

 4,125 

 6,925 

 8,325 

 8,525 

 5,025 

 3,150 

 1,425 



350 



750 

 340 

 1,327 

 567 

 2,774 

 4,647 

 5,363 

 5,656 

 3,406 



2,220 



1,062 



260 



1.377.650 546.718 1.620.300 78.845 451.100 107.616 251.475 72.: 



1.256.075 62.928 272.725 27.784 42.050 28.372 



King whiting 



Total 

 for 

 eight species 



Percent of 

 total catch 



All other species 



Percent of 

 Total total catch 



All species 



Pounds Dollars Pounds Ito liars Pounds Dollars Pounds Dollars 



631,700 

 335,225 

 297,050 

 267,900 

 320,775 

 371,600 

 392,175 

 439,225 

 407,700 

 566,350 

 710,225 

 778,550 



135,612 

 43,766 

 34,476 

 29,933 

 34,584 

 42,367 

 43,875 

 45,956 

 43,798 

 98,478 

 175,816 

 216,959 



93 

 92 

 91 

 86 

 82 

 87 

 90 

 91 

 95 

 95 

 94 

 92 



95 

 91 

 90 

 86 

 82 

 89 

 91 

 92 

 95 

 97 

 97 

 96 



47,100 

 29,850 

 29,275 

 44,450 

 72,725 

 55,075 

 44,400 

 42,400 



22,875 

 30,100 

 43,150 

 68,425 



6,700 

 4,255 

 3,815 

 4,880 

 7,345 

 5,172 

 4,344 

 4,115 

 2,287 

 3,540 

 5,729 

 9,231 



9 



14 



18 



13 



10 



9 



5 



5 



6 



5 



9 



10 



14 



18 



11 



9 



8 



5 



3 



3 



4 



Founds 



678,800- 



365,075 



326,325 



312,350 



393,500 



426,675 



436,575 



481,625 



430,575 



596,450 



753,375 



846,975 



Dollars 



142,312 



48,021 



38,291 



34,813 



41,929 



47,539 



48,219 



50,071 



46,085 



102,018 



181,545 



226,190 



247,100 20,951 



5,518,475 945,620 



94 529,825 61,413 



6,048,300 1,007,033 



increase is about 17 mm. a month. Mullet 

 from the earliest spawning (October) would 

 reach a minimum length of about 160 mnn. 

 standard length by the end of the first year. 



Spotted Sea Trout 



The fishery for spotted sea trout is also 

 year-round--the heaviest average landings 

 occur from December through March, with the 

 lowest period of production during September 

 and October. Spotted sea trout ranks fourth 

 in volume of the Cape Canaveral Area fisheries 

 (4-year average of 451 , 1 00 pounds), exceeded 

 by black mullet, shrimp, and blue crab, and 

 second in value (4-year average of $107,816), 

 exceeded only by shrimp (tables 4 and 5). Gill 

 nets are the principal gear, but trolling is 

 also used. Tabb (1960) said, "Spotted seatrout 

 netters rely upon the seasonal movements of 

 the species and produce their heaviest catches 

 during winter when the fish are concentrated 

 'in small areas by cold weather or during the 

 concentration of fish at spawning time." 



A study of the biology of the spotted sea 

 trout in the Indian River was conducted and 

 reported by Tabb (1961). He summarized his 

 findings as follows: 



"Sexual dimorphism in growth and life 

 span is exhibited with females growing 

 faster and living longer than males. Few 

 males live longer than six years. The 

 maximum age observed was 10 years and 

 the maximum weight 13 pounds, 12 ounces. 

 The species is carnivorous and will eat 

 any prey available. In the brackish lagoons 

 pink and brown shrimp, mysid shrimp, 

 and small fishes make up the bulk of the 

 diet. The species feeds sporadically and 

 can ingest relatively large prey. Spotted 

 seatrout 15 inches long produced 15,000 

 eggs; those 20 inches long, 150,000 eggs; 

 23 inches long, 400,000 eggs and28 inches 

 long, 1,100,000 eggs. Spawning takes place 

 in the deeper holes and channels of the 

 Indian and Banana River lagoons. The 

 spawning season appears to be shorter in 

 the Indian River system than in other parts 

 of the range (mid-April to late July com- 

 pared with mid-April to October of other 

 authors). Adult spotted seatrout exhibit 

 local movements and concentration dur- 

 ing the spawning season and are subject 

 to intensive fishing pressure at that time." 



Blue Crab 



"This species exhibits a rapid growth 

 rate. Average growth rates of 16, 8, 7, 6, 

 and 6 centimeters were obtained by the 

 scale calculation method for the first five 

 years of life. Growth rates for the species 

 were found to be slightly higher in the 

 Indian River area than in other portions 

 of its range. 



Blue crabs support a year-round fishery. 

 The months of highest average production are 

 May through September, and the lowest, 

 January through March. Blue crab is third in 

 poundage of the Cape Canaveral Area fish- 

 eries (4-year average of 1,256,075 pounds), 

 exceeded by black mullet and shrimp, and 

 fifth in value (4-year average of $62,928), 



