﻿GULF 
  FISHERIES 
  

  

  209 
  

  

  foreign 
  coasts 
  were 
  landed 
  in 
  Mississippi 
  instead 
  of 
  Florida 
  where 
  the 
  closed 
  season 
  for 
  lobsters 
  

   was 
  in 
  effect. 
  Lobster 
  landings 
  in 
  Florida 
  are 
  prohibited 
  by 
  law 
  during 
  the 
  closed 
  season, 
  regard- 
  

   less 
  of 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  the 
  catch. 
  

  

  Food 
  finfish 
  . 
  Compared 
  with 
  1969, 
  several 
  major 
  species 
  including 
  red 
  snapper, 
  mullet, 
  Spanish 
  

   mackerel, 
  groupers, 
  and 
  fresh-water 
  catfish 
  declined 
  in 
  volume. 
  Red 
  snapper 
  landings 
  were 
  8.5 
  

   million 
  pounds 
  — 
  a 
  decrease 
  of 
  1.0 
  million 
  and 
  the 
  smallest 
  yield 
  since 
  1954. 
  Landings 
  declined 
  

   in 
  all 
  States 
  except 
  Louisiana. 
  The 
  value 
  of 
  $3.8 
  million 
  was 
  $161,000 
  less 
  than 
  in 
  1969. 
  Red 
  

   snapper 
  landings 
  were 
  usually 
  not 
  sufficient 
  to 
  supply 
  the 
  market, 
  and 
  exvessel 
  prices 
  continued 
  

   to 
  trend 
  upward. 
  The 
  average 
  price 
  per 
  pound 
  was 
  45 
  cents--compared 
  with 
  42 
  cents 
  in 
  1969 
  and 
  

   34 
  cents 
  in 
  1968. 
  The 
  higher 
  prices, 
  however, 
  did 
  not 
  increase 
  the 
  profit 
  margin 
  appreciably 
  for 
  

   vessel 
  owners 
  because 
  smaller 
  catches 
  on 
  Gulf 
  of 
  Mexico 
  grounds 
  caused 
  snapper 
  vessels 
  to 
  search 
  

   out 
  new 
  grounds 
  farther 
  afield, 
  off 
  the 
  coasts 
  of 
  Central 
  and 
  South 
  America. 
  These 
  long 
  trips 
  in- 
  

   creased 
  operating 
  costs. 
  Mullet 
  landings 
  were 
  26 
  .5 
  million 
  pounds--10 
  percent 
  less 
  than 
  in 
  1969. 
  

   The 
  average 
  price 
  of 
  8-1/2 
  cents 
  per 
  pound 
  was 
  about 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  in 
  1969. 
  The 
  Spanish 
  mackerel 
  

   production 
  of 
  8 
  . 
  2 
  million 
  pounds 
  was 
  just 
  slightly 
  less 
  than 
  the 
  record 
  landings 
  of 
  the 
  previous 
  

   year. 
  Landings 
  of 
  both 
  groupers 
  (7 
  . 
  5 
  million 
  pounds) 
  and 
  fresh-water 
  catfish 
  (4 
  . 
  3 
  million) 
  declined 
  

   2 
  percent 
  compared 
  with 
  1959. 
  

  

  Compared 
  with 
  1969, 
  landings 
  of 
  several 
  important 
  species 
  increased. 
  Landings 
  of 
  4.9 
  

   million 
  pounds 
  of 
  spotted 
  sea 
  trout 
  worth 
  $1 
  . 
  4 
  million 
  increased 
  6 
  percent 
  in 
  both 
  volume 
  and 
  value. 
  

   The 
  pompano 
  fishery, 
  centered 
  in 
  Florida, 
  reached 
  a 
  production 
  of 
  906,000 
  pounds 
  worth 
  $1.0mil- 
  

   lion 
  — 
  an 
  increase 
  of 
  36 
  percent 
  in 
  volume 
  and 
  59 
  percent 
  in 
  value 
  compared 
  with 
  1969. 
  The 
  aver- 
  

   age 
  price 
  of 
  95 
  cents 
  per 
  pound 
  in 
  1969 
  increased 
  to 
  $1.11 
  in 
  1970. 
  Croaker 
  landings 
  of 
  7.4 
  mil- 
  

   lion 
  pounds 
  worth 
  $989,000 
  were 
  2 
  . 
  2 
  million 
  pounds 
  and 
  $315,000 
  greater 
  than 
  in 
  1959. 
  The 
  trawl 
  

   fishery 
  for 
  croaker 
  increased 
  markedly 
  as 
  fishermen 
  strove 
  to 
  supply 
  the 
  market 
  for 
  croaker 
  cre- 
  

   ated 
  by 
  the 
  declining 
  yield 
  off 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast. 
  

  

  Pollution 
  . 
  The 
  discovery 
  of 
  mercury 
  pollution 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  bays 
  and 
  rivers 
  along 
  the 
  Gulf 
  coast, 
  main- 
  

   ly 
  in 
  areas 
  seldom 
  fished 
  commercially, 
  resulted 
  in 
  nation 
  wide 
  publicity 
  that 
  curtailed 
  sales 
  of 
  fish 
  

   and 
  shellfish 
  for 
  a 
  considerable 
  time. 
  

  

  The 
  additional 
  discovery 
  of 
  mercury 
  in 
  swordfish 
  in 
  proportions 
  that 
  exceeded 
  the 
  U.S. 
  

   Food 
  and 
  Drug 
  Administration's 
  definition 
  of 
  safe 
  consumption 
  levels 
  discouraged 
  a 
  promising 
  new 
  

   fishery 
  in 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  Mexico. 
  Findings 
  of 
  the 
  NMFS 
  exploratory 
  fishing 
  program 
  had 
  indicated 
  

   that 
  swordfish 
  were 
  available 
  in 
  the 
  deep 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  Gulf, 
  especially 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  — 
  when 
  

   they 
  are 
  absent 
  on 
  the 
  regularly 
  fished 
  grounds 
  off 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast. 
  Acting 
  on 
  this 
  information, 
  

   a 
  few 
  longliners 
  from 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast 
  entered 
  the 
  fishery 
  in 
  the 
  Gulf 
  in 
  1968 
  and 
  1969, 
  and 
  made 
  

   good 
  catches. 
  Fishermen 
  received 
  excellent 
  prices 
  as 
  fresh 
  swordfish 
  was 
  usually 
  not 
  on 
  the 
  mar- 
  

   ket 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  year. 
  Accordingly, 
  several 
  owners 
  of 
  Gulf 
  shrimp 
  trawlers 
  converted 
  their 
  

   vessels 
  for 
  the 
  longline 
  swordfish 
  fishery 
  and 
  were 
  ready 
  to 
  operate 
  at 
  the 
  time 
  the 
  high 
  mercury 
  

   content 
  was 
  discovered 
  in 
  swordfish. 
  As 
  a 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  discovery, 
  vessel 
  owners 
  lost 
  consider- 
  

   able 
  fishing 
  time 
  and 
  sustained 
  financial 
  loss 
  in 
  converting 
  trawlers 
  to 
  longliners. 
  

  

  Other 
  information 
  . 
  Seasonal 
  variations 
  in 
  landings 
  of 
  fish 
  and 
  shellfish 
  in 
  Florida, 
  Alabama, 
  Mis- 
  

   sissippi, 
  Louisiana, 
  and 
  Texas 
  can 
  be 
  ascertained 
  from 
  the 
  monthly 
  and 
  annual 
  landings 
  bulletins 
  

   published 
  in 
  the 
  Current 
  Fishery 
  Statistics 
  Series 
  by 
  the 
  Statistics 
  and 
  Market 
  News 
  Division 
  in 
  

   cooperation 
  with 
  the 
  respective 
  States. 
  Additional 
  data 
  on 
  many 
  aspects 
  of 
  the 
  Gulf 
  fisheries 
  may 
  

   be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  daily, 
  monthly, 
  and 
  annual 
  reports 
  published 
  by 
  the 
  NMFS 
  Fishery 
  Market 
  News 
  

   Service 
  in 
  New 
  Orleans, 
  La. 
  

  

  Acknowledgments 
  . 
  The 
  following 
  organizations 
  helped 
  collect 
  the 
  data 
  appearing 
  in 
  this 
  section: 
  

   Florida 
  State 
  Board 
  of 
  Conservation, 
  Alabama 
  Department 
  of 
  Conservation, 
  Mississippi 
  Marine 
  Con- 
  

   servation 
  Commission, 
  Louisiana 
  Wild 
  Life 
  and 
  Fisheries 
  Commission, 
  and 
  Texas 
  Parks 
  and 
  Wild- 
  

   life 
  Department 
  . 
  

  

  