Two men operate a single trawl from a motor- 

 boat no longer than 26 feet. 



Regulations 



The Florida State Board of Conservation 

 imposed no regulations on the blue crab fishery 

 during the period of this study (Florida State 

 Board of Conservation, 1961). The operation of 

 shrimp trawls is subject to gear and locality 

 restrictions that indirectly affect the capture 

 of crabs. The maximum legal size of a net is 

 35 feet wide and 25 feet long; nets can be fished 

 only during daylight. In Duval County, which 

 encompasses Area 1 of this study, no trawling 

 is permitted downriver from Clapboard Creek 

 or upriver from the Arlington Bridge in Jack- 

 sonville. The trawl fishery is confined to ap- 

 proximately 15 miles of river in Area 1; trawls 

 take few crabs in Areas 2 and 3. 



Figure 2. — St. Johns River crab pots. A, wooden pot; B, 

 wire pot. 



weighted to prevent tumbling on the bottom and 

 are buoyed to designate location. Most St. 

 Johns River crabbers operated 40 to 100 pots; 

 the maximum number fished was 215. The 

 wooden pot is fished in Area 1 because its 

 shape and heavier weight give it greater sta- 

 bility against the current and wave action 

 characteristic of this section of the river. 

 Wooden and wire pots are fished in Area 2; 

 wire pots are used in Area 3. Wire pots are 

 usually preferred in localities where stability 

 is not a factor because their lighter weight 

 lessens the amount of work in fishing. Wooden 

 and wire pots are treated together inthis study. 

 Shrimp trawls fished for crabs in the St. 

 Johns River are constructed of 1-1/2 -inch 

 stretched mesh, and are 35 feet across the 

 mouth and 25 feet long. A few of the trawlers 

 convert to a trawl of 2- of 2- 1/4-inch stretched 

 mesh when fishing for crabs. The trawl doors 

 are attached to a bridle and single towing warp. 



Collection of Data on Catch and Effort 



Statistics obtained during 1961-62 on the 

 blue crab fishery of the St. Johns River in- 

 cluded catch by day, area, gear, and individual 

 fisherman. The number of gear units per 

 fisherman per day was also obtained. Initially, 

 all crab dealers and crab fishermen were 

 contacted; the program was explained and 

 their cooperation was requested. 



Most catch data were obtained by copying 

 sales slips provided by processing plants and 

 retail markets. Fishermen who retailed all or 

 part of their catches were provided with log- 

 books in which to record their daily landings. 

 Individuals who transported their catches and 

 those of other fishermen to markets on the east 

 and west coasts of Florida were given record 

 books in which to enter each fisherman's catch. 

 The records of each fisherman's daily catch 

 were collected monthly. Records of the catch 

 of all St. Johns River crabbers were obtained, 

 with the possible exception of casual fishermen 

 who fished few pots. 



Data on effort were obtained from interviews 

 with fishermen, from records kept by fisher- 

 men, and from information acquired by 

 processing plant and market operators. 

 Crabbers were contacted at least once each 

 month to determine the area fished and the 

 number of pots in use. Fishermen who main- 

 tained records of catch in logbooks also tabu- 

 lated the number of pots lifted each day. Some 

 processing plants and market operators en- 

 tered on their sales slips the number of pots 

 used by each fisherman. Effort was not re- 

 corded for every purchase but was entered 

 often enough to aid in detecting changes in the 

 amount of effort of individual fishermen. 

 Dealers indicated on their sales slips the 

 purchases from trawlers and thus helped us 

 to follow the trawl fishing. The unit of effort 

 for trawlers was considered as a trawl-day; 



