exceeded by shrimp, spotted sea trout, mullet, 

 and red snapper (tables 4 and 5). The princi- 

 pal gear is Chesapeake Bay-type crab traps. 

 The area is reported to produce fine blue 

 crabs that yield an average of 14-17 percent 

 meat. 



Biology of the blue crab has not been studied 

 in the Cape Canaveral Area. There follow some 

 general statements regarding the biology of the 

 blue crab in Chesapeake Bay (VanEngel, 1958) 

 which we believe would apply, at least partly, 

 to the Cape Canaveral Area. Mating of blue 

 crabs begins in the spring and continues until 

 fall. Spermatozoa will live in the female 

 receptacles at least a year and are used as 

 often as spawning occurs--which may be twice 

 or more. "Spawning is delayed at least two 

 nnonths after mating, and occurs from early 

 May through September. Eggs are carried on 

 the abdonnen of the female for about two weeks 

 before hatching." Numbers of eggs in the 

 sponges may vary from about 700,000 to over 

 2 million. "Many of the eggs do not hatch, 

 and still fewer larvae and very small crabs 

 live to become adults. On the average only 

 one ten-thousandth of one percent (0,000001) 

 of the eggs survive to become mature crabs." 



"There are two larval stages- -four or five 

 zoeal molts and the n-iegalops--lasting about a 

 month. Adult size may be reached in one year 

 to a year and a half, shedding 18 or more 

 times after the last larval stage. 



"The diet of blue crabs includes fresh and 

 decaying fish or meat, and vegetation. Young 

 sets of clams and oysters nnay occasionally be 

 destroyed, but on ground in open waters the 

 blue crab is not generally considered a serious 

 pest." 



Spot 



The fishery for spot is more seasonal than 

 the fisheries for black nnullet, spotted sea 

 trout, and blue crab. The months of highest 

 average landings are August, September, and 

 October, and the lowest, December through 

 March. Spot ranks fifth in poundage of the 

 Cape Canaveral Area fisheries (4-year aver- 

 age of 272,725 pounds), exceeded by mullet, 

 shrimp, blue crab, and spotted sea trout; and 

 seventh in value (4-year average of $27,784), 

 exceeded by shrinnp, spotted sea trout, mullet, 

 red snapper, blue crab, and ponnpano (tables 

 4 and 5). Most of the catch is made with gill 

 nets. Little research has been done on the 

 biology of the species. 



Pompano 



The pompano fishery can be considered 

 seasonal, with highest production in the months 

 of May through September and lowest during 

 the winter. Pompano ranks eighth in poundage 

 of the Cape Canaveral Area fisheries (4.year 

 average of 42,050 pounds) and sixth in value 



(4-year average of $28,372) (tables 4 and 5). 

 Fishing is by gill nets and hook and line. This 

 is a specialty fishery, and the species brings 

 a very high price per pound. Most of the 

 production connes from Indian River, 



Our knowledge of the biology of the species 

 is scant. Fields (1962) described the larval 

 and jevenile stages and presented sonne data 

 in support of the belief that the common 

 pompano ( Trachinotus carolinus ) spawns in 

 the open ocean near the Gulf Stream, In southern 

 Georgia the young pompano first appear on the 

 beaches in late April or early May at a length 

 of about 11-20 mm,--recruitnnent of young 

 continues until October, 



Shrimp 



There is no commercial fishery for shrinnp 

 in the inside waters of the Cape Canaveral 

 Area. However, a major bait shrimp fishery 

 exists but is unrecorded in any statistical tab- 

 ulations. De Sylva (1954) indicated there were 

 probably 400 to 600 bait shrimp fishermen in 

 the Cape Canaveral Area catching more than 

 $250,000 worth annually. The principal types 

 of gear are push nets, dip nets, and cast nets. 

 A few of the fishermen are regular fishermen, 

 but the majority are casual. 



Miscellaneous 



Two species not included in the dominant 

 group are worthy of special nnention. 



Although the production of oysters is not 

 large (4-year average production of 20,850 

 pounds of meats worth $6,211), the species 

 grows well on many small, natural oyster reefs 

 in the inland waterway section. The state has 

 granted several private leases in the past 2 

 years, and these leased grounds have been 

 planted. Few oysters have been harvested 

 from them as yet, but the planters' interest 

 is high. 



The red drunn or redfish (4-year average 

 landings of 71,575 pounds worth $10,310) is 

 an important species in the sport fishery in 

 addition to the commercial catch (which is 

 made largely with trammel nets). 



ATLANTIC OCEAN ADJACENT TO COAST 



The fishing grounds in this geographic sub- 

 division lie within a few miles of the coast and 

 are most productive near Ponce de Leon Inlet 

 and south of Cape Canaveral to Melbourne, 

 Sand and shell bottoms predominate with some 

 areas of mud or clay off Ponce de Leon Inlet 

 and south of Cape Canaveral. 



Of the eight dominant species in the Cape 

 Canaveral Area fisheries, shrimp and king- 

 whiting comprise fisheries in this geographic 

 subdivision. The commercial shrimp fishery 

 is carried on exclusively in these waters, 

 and over 80 percent of the king whiting are 

 captured here (table 5). 



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