5 00- 

 4 8 — 

 460 — 

 4 40- 

 4 2 0- 

 4 00- 

 3 8 0- 

 3 6 

 3 4 — 



3 2 0- 



(/) 



Z 3 00- 



UJ 



S 2 8 0- 



o 



UJ 2 6 0- 



"'2 40- 

 2 2 — 

 2 00 

 80 

 60 

 4 

 20 

 00 

 8 0- 

 60 

 40 

 2 0- 

 



tr 

 in 



3 



MALE 

 FEMALE 



lo N O 

 f* r- CD 



TOTAL LENGTH (MM) 



Figure 4. — Length frequency of 9,145 bait shrimp from Old Tampa Bay and lower Tampa Bay. 



stores were estimated at $750,000 for 1954. 

 It is obvious, therefore, that the Tampa Bay 

 estuarine system is an important economic 

 asset to Florida and toadjacent States deriving 

 fishery products from Gulf of Mexico com- 

 nnercial fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico. 



The increase in population of Floridk and 

 a trend toward more outdoor recreation will 

 continue to broaden the demand on water 

 resources, while available water areas are 

 rapidly being altered and reduced. Kidd (1963) 

 stated that the population of Florida in 1960 



was almost twice that of 1950 and that by 1970 

 the population will have increased by another 

 50 percent. He further stated that the partic- 

 ipation of Floridians in outdoor recreation is 

 increasing 65 percent faster than the State's 

 population growth. 



Results of the bait shrimp study, the finfish 

 investigation (Sykes and Finucane, in press), 

 and other current biological studies by the 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries indicate the 

 need for preventing further loss of estuarine 

 habitats by dredging and filling. 



12 



