The numbers of larvae found in 

 the bays may vary enornnously fronn 

 year to year. There may be sonne con- 

 nection between the heavy 1956 com- 

 mercial production of menhaden and 

 Reid's report of "staggering" num- 

 bers of larvae in East Bay, Texas, in 

 the summer of the same year. 



There is only one report on the food 

 of Gulf menhaden. It was found that 

 Lake Pontchartrain menhaden fed by 

 filtration and consumed considerable 

 quantities of detritus and suspended 

 bacteria in addition to living plankton. 



Menhaden in the Gulf of Mexico 

 are not known to be chased ashore by 

 predators or to die in recurring sum- 

 mer maladies from unknown causes 

 as they do in the Atlantic. They have 

 been killed in considerable numbers 

 by the red tide in Texas and Florida 

 but these instances are outside the 

 commercial range. Menhaden seenn to 

 be resistant to sudden cold waves which 

 decimate other fishes in Texas and 

 Florida, and none were reported killed 

 in three studies of cold-killed fishes 

 in Florida and Texas. A few menhaden 

 have been reported killed by the cold 

 on the Texas coast. 



Menhaden fishermen on the Gulf 

 catch few other fish, comparable to 

 the situation on the Atlantic coast. 

 The chief menhaden enemies seem 

 to be bluefish, mackerel, sharks, and 

 tarpon. The common shore and shallow- 

 water sports and commercial fishes 

 seem not to subsist to any great extent 

 on larger menhaden, but predation 

 upon small menhaden in the bays seems 

 to be very heavy. 



LITERATURE CITED 



ANDERSON, ANDREW W., and C. E. 

 PETERSON. 



1952. Fishery statistics of the 

 United States, 1949. U. 5. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Statistical 

 Digest 25, 298 p. 



1953. Fishery statistics of the 

 United States, 1950. U. S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Statistical 

 Digest 27, 492 p. 



ANDERSON, ANDREW W., and C. E. 



PETERSON. 



1954. Fishery statistics of the 

 United States, 1951. U. S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Statistical 

 Digest 30, 341 p. 



ANDERSON, A. W., and E. A. POWER. 



1949. Fishery statistics of the 

 United States. 1945. U. S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Statistical 

 Digest 18, 372 p. 



1951. Fishery statistics of the 

 United States, 1948. U. S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Statistical 

 Digest 22, 304 p. 



1954. Fishery statistics of the 

 United States, 1951. U. S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Statistical 

 Digest 30, 341 p. 



1955. Fishery statistics of the 

 United States, 1952. U. S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Statistical 

 Digest 34, 345 p. 



1956a. Fishery statistics of the 

 United States, 1953. U. S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Statistical 

 Digest 36, 338 p. 



1956b. Fishery statistics of the 

 United States, 1954. U. S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Statistical 

 Digest 39, 446 p. 



1957. Fishery statistics of the 

 United States, 1955. U. S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, Statistical 

 Digest 41, 446 p. 



ARTHUR, S. C. 



1931. The birds of Louisiana. Loui- 

 siana Conservation Department, 

 Bulletin No. 20, 598 p. 



BAKER, EMMA (Comp.). 



1955. Full text of the game fish and 

 fur laws of Texas. Texas Game 

 and Fish Commission, Austin. 

 319 p. 



BALDAUF, R. J. 



1954. Survey and study of surface 

 and subsurface conditions in and 

 around Beaumont, Texas. Bio- 

 logical survey of the Neches 

 River in the region of Beau- 

 mont, Texas. Texas A. and M. 

 Research Foundation. [Unre- 

 leased mimeographed report.] 

 184 p. 



25 



