On the other hand, the most ab-ondant un- 

 wanted fish notes in this study, the mullet, 

 was t^en inadvertently, similarly to the 

 alewives reported by Smith (I896). 



The percentage of other fishes taken 

 in the purse-seine catch for Mississippi 

 is considerably greater than that recorded 

 in earlier studies. This may be the result 

 of different methods of sairpling. In 19U8 

 and 19h9 fish were brailed from the purse 

 seine; in the present study the fish were 

 removed by suction puiips. Smith (I896) 

 reported only 9ii,79'^ fishes among almost 

 28,000,000 menhaden or approximately 0.3 

 percent other fishes. The figures reported 

 by Miles and Simmons (1950) from western 

 Louisiana waters were 7,826,000 menhaden 

 and 9,U92 other fishes, or about 0.1 per- 

 cent. Counts during the present study 

 totaled 2,179 other fishes and 53,770 men- 

 haden, or 96.1 percent menhaden and 3.9 

 percent other fish. When weighted by haul 

 size, 97.2 percent were menhaden. This is 

 a more meaningful percentage. 



OTHER ANIMALS IN THE PURSE SEINE 

 FISHEHI 



Seventy-two invertebrates of various 

 species were counted in the samples. One 

 valve of a freshly killed Area sp. was 

 recorded on July 11, 19?8, in Breton Sound. 

 The squid, Lolligunculus brevis , was pre- 

 sent in one sanple and was observed once 

 in the net. The ornate crab, Callinectes 

 omatus , was recorded from five stations; 

 10 specimens were counted in four samples. 

 The blue crab, Callinectes sapidus , the 

 most common invertebrate, was recorded from 

 17 stations, 25 specimens counted from 11 

 sanples. The hermit crabs, Clibanarius sp. 



and Pagurus sp., and the stone crab, Menippe 

 mercenaria , each appeared at one station. 

 Large specimens of the brown shriirp, 

 Penaeus aztecus, were recorded at 17 sta- 

 tions. Twenty-three specimens were counted 

 in 11 samples. The white shriirp, Panaeus 

 setiferus , occurred at eight stations, and 

 10 specimens were counted from five sanples. 

 Echinoderms were represented by one specimen 

 of Luidla clathrata , seen hanging in the net> 

 and one unidentified holothurian. The 

 bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, was 

 common on the fishing grounds. On August 

 19, 1958, in Mississippi Sound five dolphins 



were surrounded by the net on one set. Two 

 of these went through the net, leaving holes 

 that required mending, and three were 

 rolled over the cork line by the crew. 



SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 



The Mississippi purse-seine fishery 

 is carried on in shallow, low-salinity 

 water. Nets nearly always reach the bot- 

 tom; consequently rough bottom must be 

 avoided to prevent extensive damage to 

 gear. 



The list of fishes other than menha- 

 den recorded from the Gulf purse- seine 

 fishery corrprised 80 species, including 

 those listed from western Louisiana waters 

 by previous workers. In the present study, 

 over 90 percent of all fishes other than 

 menhaden are included in 10 species. These 

 are Mugil cephalus , Micropogon undulatus , 

 Leiostomu^ xanthurus , Dorosoma petenens e, 

 Bagre ma rina, G aleichthys felisT^ynoscion 

 arenar^s , Poronotus triacanthus , Cynoscion 

 nothus, and Lagodon rhomboides . Similar 

 results were obtained in earlier studies in 

 westerTi Louisiana waters, but the dominant 

 species varied. 



Although the figures indicate that 

 the percentage of fishes other than menha- 

 den in the Mssissippi fishery is greater 

 than shown by investigations of the Port 

 Arthur fishery in 19U8 and 19U9, the differ- 

 ence may be due to sait5)ling method, or to 

 the effects of fishing in shallow water. 

 Approximately 3 percent of the purse-seine 

 catches are fishes other than menhaden; 

 largely striped mullet and croaker. The 

 number of invertebrates taken is negligible. 



LrCERATURE CITED 



GUNTER, GORDON. 



1936. Studies of the destruction of 



marine fish by shrimp trawlers in 

 Louisiana. Louisiana Conservation 

 Review, vol. 5, No. h, pp. l8-2h, 

 U5-li6. 



19h5. Studies on marine fishes of Texas. 

 Publications of the Institute of 

 Marine Science, vol. 1, No. 1, 

 190 pp. 



