FISHES TAKEN IN THE MENHADEN FISHERY OF ALABAMA 

 MISSISSIPPI, AND EASTERN LOUISIANA 



by 



J, Y. Christmas, Gordon Gunter, and 

 Edward G. Whatley 

 Gulf Coast Research Laboratory- 

 Ocean Springs, Mississippi 



ABSTRACT 



A study was made of the fishes other than menhaden taken by menhaden puise seiners in 

 waters around the mouth of the Mississippi River and in Mississippi Sound during the 1958 and 1959 

 seasons. Samples were taken from catches which totaled nearly 2 million pounds, the equivalent 

 of one-fifth of one boat's seasonal catch. In numbers of fish, more than 91 percent of the sam- 

 pled catch were menhaden. The following 10 species, given in order of theii abundance, made up 

 over 90 percent of the other fishes caught: Muqil cephalus . Micropogon imdulatus . Leiostomus 

 xanthurus. Dorosoma petenense , Baqre marina, Galeichthys fells, Cynoscion axenarius, Poronotus 

 triacanthus . Cynoscion no thus , and Lagodon ihomboides . The preponderance of mullet resulted 

 because sets were made on schools of this species which had been mistaken for menhaden. Other- 

 wise, the mullet was not common in the catches. The estimated annual catch of fishes, other than 

 menhaden, made by the Gulf menhaden fishery is about 15 million povmds per year. The fishery is 

 generally prosecuted in shallow, low -salinity waters. Seventy percent of the sampled menhaden 

 catches were made in waters of salinities between 5 and 24 parts per thoiuand. 



INTRODUCTION 



Commercial fishing for menhaden in 

 Gulf of Mexico is carried on with purse 

 seines by approximately 60 vessels operat- 

 ing from Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas 

 ports. Over ^00 million pounds of menha- 

 den, mostly Brevoortia patronus , are caught 

 each year between April and October. This 

 is the largest fishery of the Gulf, and 

 occasionally concern has been expressed 

 about the numbers and kinds of other fishes 

 caught along with menhaden. The purpose of 

 this study was to determine the catch com- 

 position of landings at Mississippi ports. 

 Most of these catches were made in 

 Louisiana and Mississippi waters, with a 

 few from Alabama. 



Two other extensive studies of this 

 subject have been made. One concerned the 

 Atlantic menhaden fishery, and the other 

 the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. In I89U 

 the U. S. Fish Commission instxnicted two 

 agents to record the quantity of menhaden 

 and "the ntmber of each other kind of fish 



taken" on two menhaden vessels fishing out 

 of Connecticut and Virginia ports (Smith 

 1896), The total catch of the two vessels 

 was "27,965,755 menhaden". The report does 

 not indicate how these numbers or the 

 9U,795 other fishes recorded in the catch 

 were determined. Sixty- two species other 

 than menhaden were reported. Fishes of 

 the genus " Clupea ( pseudoharengus , 

 aestivalis , sapidissima , and mediocris)" 

 accounted for 93.5 percent of the other 

 fishes. Approximately 97 percent of the 

 clupeids were alewives, nearly all being 

 taken on the New England coast by one 

 vessel. About half of these were obtained 

 in one haul in Boston Harbor. A number of 

 large schools of alewives were released 

 after their identity was discovered. These 

 were not included in the count of other 

 fishes. The l,8l6 shad ( Clupea sapidissima ) 

 were taken under similar conditions, nearly 

 all being obtained in three hauls in July 

 at the mouth of the Kennebec River, Maine. 

 Bluefish ( Pomatomus saltatrix ) made up 2.\x 

 percent of the catch" The remaining U.l 

 percent was divided among 58 species. 



