Reid (1955a) carried on an inten- 

 sive study of East Galveston Bay, Texas 

 from June 1 to July 9, 1954. Young 

 B. patvonus were abundant in the bay, 

 and almost 21 percent of seine collec- 

 tions from the shallow shore zones and 

 about 2 percent of the trawl collections 

 were this species. Adults were uncom- 

 mon in the bay. No BrevOOrtia were 

 caught in six strikes with a trammel 

 net. Little menhaden, ranging "in size 

 from 27 to 114 mm., with most of the 

 fish between 27 and 60 mm." (Reid, 

 1955b) ranked second in number in 

 minnow seine catches and sixth in 

 trawls. 



In 20 of 30 trawl hauls, 349 B. 

 patrotlllS were caught (Reid, 1955b). In 

 10 of 14 seining operations, l,539men- 

 haden were captured. Most fish were 

 taken in the low- salinity part of the bay, 

 at 4-12%o. Some were taken in plankton 

 tows. Reid (1955a) suggested that the 

 menhaden is a fish spawning offshore, 

 and that the young come in for only 

 a period of time. 



Reid (1956) found that the percent- 

 age of menhaden greatly increased in 

 trawl catches in East Bay after a pass 

 to the Gulf was cut at Rollover, but 

 greatly decreased in seine catches. The 

 trawl catch percentage for the 2 years 

 was 1.8 and 11.8; for the seine it was 

 20.7 and 1, respectively. The greatest 

 number of menhaden were taken in the 

 upper bays. The size range was 21 to 

 141 mm. standard length, with the 

 greatest number lying between 28 and 

 64 mm. The collections were made in 

 June 1955. 



Reid (1957) reported further 

 studies of East Bay, Texas, nnade in 



1956 following the closure ofthepassat 

 Rollover. He concluded in general that 

 physical characteristics and fauna of 

 the bay had reverted to the 1954 state, 

 before the pass was opened. However, 

 "the staggering number of menhaden in 

 the littoral zone during the 1956 study 

 is not explained." Trawl hauls were 

 comparable to previous years, yielding 

 1,000 menhaden, but 63,000 were taken 

 in seines. The same stations were 

 occupied as in previous years with 

 additional hauls being made in June. 

 The fish ranged from 18 to 60 mm. 

 standard length with a mode at 38 mm. 



Gunter (1956a) reported on larval 

 and postlarval B. patronus taken in 

 White and Grand Lakes, tributary to 

 Vermilion Bay in Louisiana. Table 6 

 shows salinity ranges at which men- 

 haden were caught. These fish were 

 around 1 inch long. The length frequency 

 data were lost. The menhaden con- 

 sidered in Gunter 's paper were nearly 

 all taken in minnow seines on shore and 

 approximately 1 ,800 of them were taken 

 in February 1952 and January 1953 

 (Gunter and Shell, 1958). 



Suttkus (1956) said the movement 

 of larvae of B, patronus , 20 to 30 

 mm. standard length, into Lake 

 Pontchartrain started in December in 

 1953 and 1954 and continued into March. 

 He assumed that spawning began in 

 October and ceased in February. The 

 text indicates that young fish of the 

 year generally left the area in August 

 to October, but according to tables 

 presented in the paper this was not the 

 case in 1954. 



At the time Gunter (1945) worked 

 in Copano and Aransas Bays, what he 



Table 6. --The salinity ranges where small Brevoortia patronus ^yere caught in Grande 



and White Lakes in Louisiana 



[Based on Gunter, 1956a] 



Salinity (^o) 



Number 

 caught 



Number 

 hauls 



Average 

 per haul 



0.13-0.29. 

 0.^1-0.93. 

 l.U-2.70. 



10 

 1,038 

 1,175 



8 

 15 

 13 



1.3 

 69.2 

 90.4 



16 



