2. Brevoortiapatronns , the Tampa 

 Bay area, Florida to Brazos Santiago, 

 Texas. 



3. BreVOOrtia smithi, Cedar Keys, 

 Florida southward and presumably 

 around the peninsula to the Atlantic. 

 (R. D. Suttkus, personal communica- 

 tion.) 



Menhaden fishing in the Gulf of 

 Mexico is dependent on B, patvonus , 

 and is mostly prosecuted in Louisiana 

 waters. Gulf landings of menhaden 

 increased rapidly with the expansion of 

 the fishing until 1957, when landings 

 were only 65 percent of the 1956 catch. 

 However, 1958 landings increased to 

 about 80 percent of the 1956 record. 

 Apparently the 1957 decrease was 

 caused by factors other than depletion 

 of the population. 



All information agrees with the 

 supposition that Atlantic menhaden 

 spawn at sea, or at least in high salini- 

 ties, and the larvae work in to shore 

 to spend their early life, very often in 

 low salinity or even fresh water. Ap- 

 parently spawning is also governed by 

 temperature. Comparison of surface 

 temperatures (Bumpus, 1957) for re- 

 ported months of spawning along the 

 Atlantic coast indicates that spawning 

 takes place in the Atlantic at about the 

 same temperature in all localities. 

 Thus, the spawning season is during 

 the summer on the New England coast 

 and in the winter off the South Atlantic 

 States. 



There are no records of spawning 

 B, patvonUS and presumably they spawn 

 at sea. Except for one report of ten- 

 tatively identified Brevoortia larvae on 

 the Gulf beach in March and April in 

 south Texas, there are no reports of 

 menhaden larvae on the beach. On the 

 other hand, vast numbers of larvae 

 and juvenile menhaden have been re- 

 ported in the bay waters of Louisiana 

 and Texas. Low -salinity waters un- 

 doubtedly serve as nursery grounds. 



Brevoortia gunteri in spawning 



condition have been reported inCopano 

 and upper Aransas Bays, Texas, 

 in February and March. Spawning B. 



gunteri have been reported from the 

 Laguna Madre, Texas, in February. 



While there may be confusion be- 

 tween both the larvae and the young of 

 two species where their range over- 

 laps, reports oi B. patronus 16-25 mm. 

 long extend from November to June, 

 with minimum sizes at both ends of 

 the period. There is some evidence of a 

 double influx of larvae . Thus the spawn- 

 ing season is long, over the fall and 

 winter and into the spring. B. gunteri 

 seem to spawn in the spring in Texas 

 waters. 



Menhaden eggs and early larvae 

 have not been reported in the Gulf. 

 Presumably, the eggs are bouyant like 

 those in the Atlantic and the larvae 

 remain near the surface, as has been 

 reported in Virginia. 



The slender larvae which enter 

 estuarine waters undergo metamorpho- 

 sis between 20 and 30 mm. standard 

 length in Lake Pontchartrain. Data on 

 growth rates are scarce. A group 

 thought to be Br evoortia gunteri ranged 

 from 88-133 mm. long in April and 128- 

 1 73 mm . long in August in Texas waters . 



A group of Texas Brevoortia 88-103 



mm. long in August had a mode of 128- 

 133 mm. the following May. 



On the Atlantic coast, menhaden 

 undertake extensive migrations up and 

 down the coast with changes in season, 

 during which they are followed by the 

 fishermen, at least on the trip south. 

 Nothing similar is known in the Gulf, 

 probably because it is an east-west 

 coast. 



Large menhaden are not comnnon 

 in the bays and evidently the young 

 fish move out, as they grow up, mostly 

 in late summer and fall. Salinity is a 

 critical factor in the development of 

 larval Atlantic menhaden, with low 

 salinity waters being essential to nor- 

 mal development. In Texas, larvae and 

 juveniles 21-48 mm. long have been 

 found at salinities of 2.0-20.4%o and 

 temperatures of 1 5.5°-3 1 .0° C . In White 

 Lake, Louisiana, menhaden larvae have 

 been found in virtually fresh water. 



24 



