called Brevoortia sp., later named 

 gunteri by Hildebrand (1948), was the 

 most abundant menhaden in the bays. 

 Of 1,231 menhaden caught, 66 percent 

 were taken in Copano Bay and the 

 remainder in Aransas Bay, with one 

 batch, probably of the same species, 

 taken on the Gulf beach. Fish largely 

 left Copano Bay in midwinter and went 

 into Aransas Bay. One male and one 

 female, with running milt and eggs, 

 were taken in the bays in February and 

 March. The salinities and tempera- 

 tures where these two fish were caught 

 were 12.8 and 13.1%o and 10.5° and 

 14.0° C, respectively. The salinity 

 range at which this species was taken 

 was 2.0-33.7. The temperature range 

 was 9.10-31.0° C. Postlarvae thought 

 to be B. gunteri (as later designated) 

 21-30 mm. total length appeared in 

 Copano Bay in February 1942. They 

 were most abundant in April and could 

 be followed until May when they were 

 25-45 mm. total length. A few appeared 

 in upper Aransas Bay in April and 

 May. All individuals in a school were 

 near the same size. Fish more than 

 300 mm. in length were taken only in 

 June, October and February. The great- 

 est abundance was in April and May. 

 The larger fish were most abundant in 

 the lower bay. Smaller fish were taken 

 in Copano Bay from February to 

 August, in Aransas Bay only in April 

 and May. Larger fish were in general 

 found in the higher salinities. The im- 

 pression was gained that the spawning 

 season was in late winter and spring. 



Simmons (1957), referring to the 

 Laguna Madre of Texas, said: "Men- 

 haden, particularly Breyoorija gunteri, 

 were common in waters of moderate 

 salinity and present in waters of high 

 salinity. Menhaden definitely spawned 

 in the area in February 1956. Indi- 

 viduals from 15 mm. up were taken in 

 March, April and May . " B oth B. ^nteW 

 and B. patronus were listed among ani- 

 mals commonly taken at salinities 

 from 20 to 60 but rarely above. 



Springer and Woodburn (I960) re- 

 ported on B, patronus taken in the 

 Tampa Bay, Florida, area in 1958. One 

 specimen, 22.2 mm. standard length was 

 collected in February. In March, 569 



specimens ranged from 20.1 to 31.0 

 mna. standard length, with the average 

 size, 23.5 mm., coinciding with the mid- 

 class of the modal frequency. An aver- 

 age standard length of 27.0 mnn. was 

 recorded for 400 specimens, 17.5 to 

 47.5 mm. standard le'ngth measured in 

 April. Standard length of May speci- 

 mens ranged from 23.5 to 74.5 mnn. 

 with an average of 29.1 mm. All col- 

 lections from February through May 

 were from Cross Bayou Canal between 

 Old Tampa Bay and Boca Ciega Bay 

 where salinities ranged from 6.6 to 

 18.7%o and temperatures were 20.5° to 

 27.5° C . During July, a series of speci- 

 mens, average standard length 85.1 

 mm, were taken at Johns Pass, a cut 

 between Boca Ciega Bay and the Gulf. 



Springer and Woodburn reported 

 B, smithi and B. patronus were taken 

 together in May. The average size of 

 B, smithi, 23.3 mm., in May was about 

 the same as that of B. patronus in 

 March. Additional specimens of B. 

 smithi were reported for the months of 

 January, June, July and August in 

 salinity and temperature ranges of 

 fresh water to 31.6%o and 18.0-30.3°C. 

 Young menhaden were seen at a Gulf 

 beach station in March. 



Springer and Woodburn (I960) in- 

 dicated a winter spawning period for 

 B. patronus and a somewhat later, 

 spring spawning period for B, Smithi. 



Growth 



Gunter (1938b), in an analysis of 

 species taken in shrimp trawls in 

 Barataria Bay, Louisiana, and adjacent 

 Gulf waters, wrote that B. patronus 

 ". . . was caught much more in the bay 

 than outside waters. Individuals from 

 inside were mostly immature and it is 

 possible that adults were present in 

 larger numbers in the Gulf. During the 

 months of June and July in 1932 and 

 June 1933 the menhaden was scarce 

 inside and was taken more commonly 

 in the Gulf. In 1932 there was a peak 

 in the bay in January. The following 

 year the peak came in December and 

 January and in 1934 it came in January 

 and February. This is ample data to 



17 



