Table 55. — Estimated sport fishery catch-per-unit-of-effort. Cape Canaveral Area, February-October 1963; all 

 species combined, in numbers of fish per hour of fishing, by section, by facility, by month 



Facility 



Feb. 



Mar. 



Numbers of fish per hour of fishing 

 Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. 



Oct. 



Average /l 



Southern Section 



Bridges and causeways 

 Ocean piers 

 Port Canaveral inside 

 Port Canaveral outside 

 Boat fishery 

 Average /l 



Northern Section 



Bank fishery 

 Bridges 

 Surf areas 

 Boat fishery 

 Average /l 



Cape Canaveral Area 



average /l_ — 1.08 1.11 1.09 .99 1.02 .84 



/l Total number of fish divided by total number of hours fished 



1.17 l.ll* 



1.05 



eating size to extremely small shrimp, only 

 slightly larger than grass shrinnp. For the 

 period we sampled, heads-on shrimp used 

 for bait were estimated to average 90 to the 



pound. The estimated numbers, poundages, and 

 values of the live shrimp sold for bait by 

 22 camp operators and bait dealers in the 

 Northern Section by seasons are: 



During the winter when fish camp operators 

 and bait retailers are forced to ship in live 

 shrimp, little or no profit is made because of 

 heavy mortality, and dealers handle live shrimp 

 merely for the convenience of fishermen. The 

 retail value of shrimp is estimated to vary, by 

 season, between $22,000 and $32,000, with an 

 annual value of $108,095. The estimated total 

 number of live shrimp sold annually is 

 4.323.800 or 48.042 pounds. This amounts to 

 $2.25 per pound to the consumer for whole 

 weight, or about $4.50 per pound if purchased 

 for tails alone. 



Shrimp are taken primarily by dipping when 

 they are abundant and moving, but some 

 operators take considerable numbers using 

 small beam trawls. Shrimp are also taken by 

 persons using push nets. 



Juvenile pigfish are preferred bait for trout 

 during June to October. After October the 



operators believe pigfish have grown too large 

 for trout to be interested in them. Pigfish 

 are captured by fish camp personnel using 

 hook and line, small beann trawls, push nets, 

 and traps. Traps and hook and line are the 

 preferred methods, Pigfish used for bait vary 

 from 2.5 to 4,0 inches total length and average 

 1 to the pound. Twelve camp operators sell 

 an estimated 224,840 pigfish or 22,484 pounds 

 annually, worth $28,105, Individual live pigfish 

 are sold by the dealers at 1 to 15 cents each, 

 or approximately $1,25 per pound. 



One bait dealer in Titusville reported he sold 

 squid shipped from Jacksonville, when avail- 

 able, and also sand fleas. 



Dead shrimp also are sold for bait by the 

 operators; however, it was not possible to make 

 an estimate of the poundage sold. One major 

 camp operator and a major bait dealer reported 

 selling 10,660 pounds annually worth $8,162. 



70 



