180 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



Table 7.— Yield, in pounds, of the chief species taken in the Texas fisheries 



Species 



1897 



1918 



Red snapper 



Redfish 



Trout 



Sheepshcad 



Flounders 



Spanish mackerel. 



Whiting 



Catfish 



Croaker 



Black drum 



Grouper 



Jewfish 



Mullet 



4,800 



1, 107, 950 



1, 120, 450 



778, 800 



130, 650 



25, 000 



464, 791 



1,144,376 



1,011,620 



467, 504 



218, 025 



40, 710 



45, 000 

 175, 950 



47, 000 

 55, 950 



71, 330 

 136, 700 

 50, 400 

 3,460 

 33, 280 

 60, 850 



2, 067, 987 



898, 450 



1,119,300 



217.330 



240, 900 



63, 830 



41, 700 



75, 000 



58, 050 



157, 400 



40, 170 



65, 720 



18, 800 



2, 252, 000 

 928, 000 



1, 055, 000 

 298, 000 

 140, 000 

 42, 000 

 9,900 

 560, 000 

 159,000 

 381,000 



46, 000 

 20, 000 



1, 243, 002 



1, 336, 535 



1, 613, 370 



197, 662 



162, 361 



41, 354 



35, 970 



262, 000 



197, 560 



1, 873, 440 



20, 840 



39, 970 



53, 27b 



1, 008, 960 



877, 760 



1, 523, 965 



140, 610 



118,395 



78, 920 



11,400 



50, 340 



67, 970 



1, 028, 450 



32, 730 



13,450 



7,540 



i Figures taken from report of the Bureau of the Census; all others from the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries' 

 reports. 



2,000 

 1,750 



,500 

 1,250 



,000 



TROUT 



BLACK DRUM 

 REDFISH 



SHEEPSHEAD 



FLOUNDER 



SPANISH 



MACKEREL 



CROAKER 



YEARS 1890 



1902 



1918 1923 



Fig. 4.— Yield of the Texas fisheries, by species. (Data from the Bureau of Fisheries and the 

 Bureau of the Census.) Figures shown on a logarithmic scale to show relative rather than 

 absolute changes. This has the effect of reducing the figures for each year to a percentage of 

 the previous year's record. The slope of the lines, therefore, indicates the rate of increase or 

 decrease in the yields of the various species 



Outstanding features of the Texas fisheries are the great concen- 

 tration on two or three species of fish, particularly redfish and trout; 

 the remarkable rise and subsequent decline of the red-snapper 

 fishery; the equally remarkable rise in the yield of the black-drum 

 fishery; and the horizontal trend of all other fisheries except that for 

 sheepshead. 



Redfish and trout have formed about half of the total take of all 

 food fish in Texas since the earliest survey. The yield of both of 

 these species has been relatively constant, fluctuating about half a 

 million pounds during the period 1890 to 1923. The trend for both 



