Apzil 1951 



Washington 25, D.C. 



VoI.13,No.4 



THE OREGON ^S FISHERY EXPLORATIONS IN 

 THE GULF OF MEXICO, 1950 



(A Preliminary Report) 

 By Stewart Springer* 



INTRODUCTION 



Recognition of the need for more knowledge of the fishery resources of the 

 Gulf of Mexico led to the formation of the Gulf States iiarine ^Isheriea Compact 

 and the development of a pro- ^ 



gram for fishery explorations 

 and research. The U. S. Fish 

 and Wildlife Service is the 

 primary exploratory and re- 

 search agency for the Gulf ^ 

 States Marine Fisheries Com- I 9 

 mission. ^P 



■444 



To conduct the exploratory 

 phases of the program, the l^V 

 Oregon , a conventional steel 

 hull Pacific Coast purse seiner, 

 owned by the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service and operated by the Ex- 

 ploratory Fishing and Gear De- 

 velopment Section of the Branch 

 of Commercial Fisheries, was 

 transferred to the Gulf in Janu- 

 ary 1950. (Figure 1) 



Guided by the recommenda- 

 tions submitted by the Commis- 

 sion, the vessel's initial ex- 

 plorations for tuna, red snapper, 

 and shark were combined with a 

 general reconnaissance of fish- 

 ing conditions near the conti- 

 nental she If from Dry Tortugas 

 to the lower coast of Texas. 

 Following these initial explo- ^ 

 rations, intensive explorations 

 for grooved shrimp were under- 

 taken and are now in progress. 



The fisheries of the Gulf 

 of iJexico produce a substantial 

 portion of the fishery products 

 consumed in the United States. 

 With the exception of the red 

 snapper fishery on the Campeche 



*FISHERY ENGINEER, GULF EXPLORATORY FISHERY PROGRAM, EXPLORATORY FISHING AND GEAR 



F I CURE 1 - USFWS OREGON ON AN EXPLORATORY 



IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. 



OPMENT SECTION, BRANCH OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES, 

 GOULA, MISSISSIPPI 



U. S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



DEVEL- 

 PASCA- 



