Industrial Bottomfish Fishery of the Northern 

 Gulf of Mexico, 1959-63 1 



By 



CHARLES M. ROITHMAYR, Fishery Biologist ( Research) 



Bureau of Commercial Fisheries 

 Biological Laboratory, Galveston, Tex. 



ABSTRACT 



Distribution of fishing effort, composition of landings, harvesting operations, 

 and processing methods are described for the industrial bottomfish fishery of the 

 northern Gulf of Mexico. The more important fishing grounds are located between 

 the Mississippi River Delta and the entrance to Mobile Bay. The Atlantic croaker 

 contributed, on the average, 56 percent by weight to the total annual bottomfish 

 landings during 1959-63. 



Analysis of annual production, catch per unit of effort, and total fishing effort 

 indicated that the bottomfish population maintained itself at reasonably productive 

 levels over the 5-year period. Recommendations concerning complete utilization of 

 the bottomfish resource of the area are suggested, 



INTRODUCTION 



Bottomfish averaging less than one-half 

 pound each are commonly caught by com- 

 mercial fishermen trawling for shrimp along 

 the coast of the northern Gulf of Mexico. 

 Prior to 1952, this resource was not utilized 

 because no market existed for the small fish 

 that were discarded at sea. In 1952, the 

 petfood industry established a cannery at 

 Pascagoula, Miss., to manufacture animal 

 food products from the bottomfish resource 

 of the Gulf. Initially, trawlers delivered fish 

 caught incidentally with shrimp, but insuf- 

 ficient quantities of fresh fish supplied in 

 this manner ultimately resulted in the plants 

 employing vessels that sought bottomfish ex- 

 clusively. Reduction plants also began proc- 

 essing fish for fish meal in Louisiana. They 

 were furnished raw material by shrimp 

 trawlers making catches during the off- 

 season for shrimp, as well as by vessels 

 retaining fish caught when shrimp were abun- 

 dant. Other firms in Louisiana and Mississippi 

 have developed processing and transportation 



facilities to supply Midwest mink-food markets 

 with frozen bottomfish. 



In 1958 the Gulf States Marine Fisheries 

 Commission recommended that funds be made 

 available to the Bureau of Commercial Fish- 

 eries to undertake a study of the industrial 

 fishery of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Later 

 that year the Bureau began a biological and 

 statistical survey to assess the extent and 

 value of the bottomfish fishery. The objectives 

 of the continuing research program were to 

 determine the following: (1) composition of 

 the commercial landings, (2) areas, seasons, 

 and amount of fishing effort, (3) population 

 size, (4) vital statistics of the important spe- 

 cies, and (5) relation between variations in 

 population size and fishing effort. 



This report describes the industrial bottom- 

 fish fishery, including types of vessels, gear, 

 method of operation, species composition 

 of catch, areas and seasons of fishing, and 

 measurements of catch, effort, and bottom- 

 fish abundance. 



Contribution No. 202, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Biological Laboratory, Galveston, Tex. 



