Table 3. — Industrial bottomfish landings by trawlers operating in the north-central Gulf of Mexico, 1959-63 



6,700 tons in 1963, which corresponded with 

 a marked reduction in effort. 



Each year, landings reached a peak during 

 January or February and were followed sea- 

 sonally by little or no production between 

 June and August. These seasonal variations 

 correspond with those observed for the off- 

 shore grounds west of the Delta. 



West Delta-nearshore --A v e r a g i n g 2,000 

 tons, 1959-61 annual production was relatively 

 stable. An increase in 1962 to almost 8,000 

 tons was apparently the result of a fivefold 

 increase in fishing effort. Each year, the 

 total catch and effort nearshore were con- 

 sistently less than offshore. 



East Delta-nearshore --P r o d u c t i o n re- 

 mained almost the same each year with a 

 maximum of about 20,000 tons being landed 

 in 1961. The total annual catch of bottomfish 

 from nearshore waters was greater than that 

 from deeper waters offshore. 



Seasonal variations in yields were similar 

 to those on the nearshore grounds west of the 

 Delta, with each year's peak production oc- 

 curring somewhat later between July and Oc- 

 tober. 



Geographical Distribution of Effort 



The total number of hours spent trawling 

 during 1959-63 was plotted by month on the 

 basis of sub-subareas delineated by 10 minutes 

 of latitude and 10 minutes of longitude. Be- 

 cause the effort data reflected seasonal changes 

 in fishing intensity, monthly values were 

 combined as follows: December through May 

 (winter and spring) and June through Novem- 

 ber (summer and fall). 



In general, fishing in winter and spring 

 (figure 5) was conducted from shore to depths 

 of 20 to 30 fathoms between Point au Fer 

 and Southwest Pass, La., and from Pass a 

 Loutre, La., to the vicinity of Perdido Bay 



