SUMMARY STATEMENTS 



Considering the size of the area involved and 

 our estimations of fishing use and catch, both 

 commercial and recreational, we believe that 

 the Cape Canaveral Area is one of the most 

 productive of areas along the south Atlantic 

 coast of the United States. A great deal of 

 this productivity relates to the unique river- 

 lagoon complex. 



COMMERCIAL FISHERY 



Average annual production for the commer- 

 cial fishery in the Cape Canaveral Area for 

 the 4-year period 1959-62 was a little over 

 6 million pounds worth about $1 million. Of 

 this, eight dominant species (shrimp, black 

 mullet, spotted sea trout, red snapper, blue 

 crab, spot, pompano, and king whiting) con- 

 tributed 91 percent of the weight, 5-1/2 

 million pounds, and 94 percent of the value, 

 $945,000. Shrimp, the most valuable of all 

 the Cape Canaveral fisheries, contributed 

 23 percent of the weight and 54 percent of the 

 value of the entire fishery. Black mullet con- 

 tributed the greatest poundage, 27 percent of 

 the total, but only 8 percent of the value. 

 Spotted sea trout (the most important sport 

 fish taken in the Cape Canaveral Area) is also 

 an important commercial species, contrib- 

 uting 7 percent of the pounds and 11 percent 

 of the value. 



Of the total landings of the five most im- 

 portant commercial species on the Florida 

 east coast, the Cape Canaveral Area con- 

 tributes, in decreasing order of value, 20 

 percent of the shrimp, 15 percent of the blue 

 crabs, 41 percent of the red snapper, 49 per- 

 cent of the spotted sea trout, and 67 percent 

 of the black mullet. 



In pursuit of the commercial fishery in the 

 Cape Canaveral Area, an annual average of 

 628 fishermen, 112 motor vessels, 194 motor 

 boats, and 44 other boats are employed, 

 utilizing a variety of gear, such as shrimp 

 trawls, crab pots, gill nets, trammel nets, 

 and handlines. 



RECREATIONAL FISHERY 



Catch 



For the three seasons, spring, summer, and 

 fall, we estimate the sport fishery catch in 

 the Cape Canaveral Area to total about 

 2,233,000 fish (spring, 857,000; summer, 

 590,000; and fall, 786,000) or 2,292,000 pounds 

 (spring, 939,000; summer, 595,000; and fall, 

 758,000). We estimate the winter season values 

 at least equal those for the spring. Therefore, 

 on an annual basis, we estimate the sport 



Table 63. — Estimates of average weight per fish for species enteriisg 

 the sport fishery catch of Cape Canaveral Area, These 

 weights were used to convert numbers and estimates of 

 numbers of fish to estimates of weight in pounds in the 

 several tables in this report 



Amber jacX 15.00 



Barracuda 8.00 



Black margate 1.00 



Bluefish 1.50 



Cabio 9.00 



Catfish, gaff topsail.. 0.T5 



Catfish, sea 1.00 



Croaker 0.50 



Cutlassflsh 1.25 



Dolphin , 8.00 



Drum, hlack.il N... 1.50 



S... 13.75 



red. 



Drum, 



Eels 



KLounders .^ . 

 Groupers. '■—. 



.N.. 



S. . 



2.00 

 2.00 

 1.25 

 0.50 

 10.00 



Plgfish 0.25 



Plnf Ish 0.25 



Pompano 0. 50 



Porgles 2.00 



Puffers 0.50 



Rays 1.00 



Sea bass, bllnck 1.00 



Sea bass, rock 0.25 



Sea robin 0.25 



Sea trout, gray 1.50 



Sea trout, silver 1.00 



Sea trout, spotted 1>T5 



Sharks 3.50 



Sheepshead 1.25 



Snapper, red 8.00 



Snapper, mangrove 0.50 



Snapper, other 3-00 



Spadefish 0.50 



Spanish nackerel 1.75 



Spot 0.50 



Tenpounder 1.00 



Triggerfish 2.50 



Yellowtall 0.25 



Unclassified fish 0.25 



Grunts 0.50 



Jack, creval 1 e 1. 50 



Jack, other 1.00 



King mackerel 8.00 



King whiting 0.75 



Little tuna 6.50 



Mojarra 0.50 



Mullet 1.00 



/L Different average weights were used in northern {N. ) and 

 southern (S. ) sections because of difference in sizes of 

 fish generally observed for species between the two sections. 



fishery catch to be 3,090,000 fish weighing 

 3,231,000 pounds. 



We estimate the Southern Section contributes 

 58 percent of the total numbers and 57 percent 

 of the poundage (based on the total for three 

 seasons). The catch from bridges and cause- 

 ways in the entire area is estimated to be 53 

 percent of total numbers of fish and 43 percent 

 of total weight. 



The nine donninant species in the sport 

 fishery catch in numbers of fish, in decreas- 

 ing order of importance, are: spotted sea 

 trout, pinfish, puffers, sea trout (other), cat- 

 fish, king whiting, sheepshead, bluefish, and 

 croaker. These nine species account for 76 

 percent of the total numbers taken and 73 

 percent of the pounds. By seasons, the num- 

 bers of these species represent 82 percent 

 of the total for the spring, 74 percent for the 

 sunnmer, and 72 percent for the fall. Spotted 

 sea trout, the most important sport fish, 

 represented 20 percent of the total numbers 

 of fish and 33 percent of the weight. 



We estimate the spotted sea trout catch in 

 the commercial and sport fisheries combined 

 exceeds 1-1/2 million pounds annually, over 

 two-thirds of which comes from the sport 

 fishery. 



Fishing Effort 



Estimates of annual total effort of sports 

 fishermen in the entire area (based upon our 

 data for three seasons and an estimation of 



76 



