September 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



23 



Landings of spotted sea trout were about the 

 same as 1964. Black and red drum landings 

 decreased. Bluefish landings were 72,300 

 pounds--4 times greater than in 1964. Floun- 

 der landings were 21 percent greater than in 

 1964. 



Mississippi Landings, 1965 and 1964 | 



Species 



1965 



1964 1 



Fish 

 Bluefish. . . . 



Cabio 



Croaker. . . . 



Oty. 

 Lbs, 

 72, 350 

 220 



Value 



8,228 

 18 



Qty. 



Lbs. 

 14, 630 

 900 

 500 



Value 



J. 

 1,463 

 71 

 30 



Drum: 



33, 120 

 32,600 



2,193 



4,783 



45,730 

 49,950 



3,060 

 7,187 



Black. . . . 

 Red or 

 Redfish . . 



Flounders . . . 

 Groupers , . . 

 King whiting 



or kingfish . 

 Menhaden . , 

 Mullet .... 

 Pompano . . . 

 Sea catfish . . 



69,260 

 321,910 



271,130 



278,104,210 



240,800 



60 



20.110 



9,206 

 34,939 



16, 185 



3,972,568 



12,494 



6 



923 



57, 345 

 268, 350 



322,960 



237, 832, 600 



249,530 



200 



16, 650 



7,810 

 29,302 



19,802 



3,131,440 



12,391 



100 



836 



Sea Trout: 



148, 560 

 27, 150 



37, 138 

 1,685 



148, 130 

 26, ISO 



30,522 

 1,399 



Spotted . . . 

 White. . . . 



Sheepshead . . 



Snapper, red.. 



Spanish mack- 

 erel 



Spot 



Unclassified, 

 Industrial 



25, 520 

 2, 365, 320 



3,220 

 5,700 



74,020.900 



1)965 

 589,470 



337 

 342 



1,292,576 



49,300 

 1, 849, 190 



660 

 7,200 



78,425,210 



3,847 

 460, 872 



62 



540 



1,348,925 





355,762,140 



5,985,056 



319, 365, 185 



5,059,659 



Shellfish 

 Crabs, Blue: 



1,692,120 

 1,400 



130,600 

 210 



1,285,980 

 1,700 



81,610 

 252 



Hard .... 

 Soft and 

 peeler . • . 



Shrimp, 



heads-on . . 

 Oysters .... 



8,232,989 

 2,695,265 



2,522,758 

 626,796 



6,416,024 

 4, 828. 600 



1,804,829 

 1,098,736 



Total Shell- 

 fish ... . 



12,621,774 3,280,364 



12,532,304 



2,985,427 



Grand ToUl. 



368,383,914 9,265,420 



331,897,489 



8.045,086 



Note: The catch of oysters and shrinip taken in Louisiana waters 

 but landed in Mississippi is included. Oysters are reported in 

 poimds of meats (8.75 pounds per gallon). All other species 

 are shown in round weight. 



Shellfish: Shrimp landings (8.2 million 

 pounds, heads-on weight) valued at $2.5 mil- 

 lion, increased 28 percent in quantity and 40 

 percent, in value from 1964. Good catches 

 were made from the offshore areas adjacent 

 to Horn and Ship Islands and the inside areas 

 of Mississippi Sound. As in the 1964 season, 

 the summer brown shrimp season in 1965 ac- 

 counted for most of the annual production 

 with 6.2 million pounds landed- -75 percent 

 of the total landings for the year. Demand 

 for shrimp by canners remained strong dur- 

 ing the season and higher prices were paid. 

 Oyster landings of 2.7 million pounds of 

 meats were 44 percent less than in 1964 — 

 the first sharp decrease noted since 1962. 

 Production in the spring months from public 

 and private reefs in Louisiana waters was 



steady, but less than the previous year. Prices 

 for raw oysters increased sharply after the 

 hurricane "Betsy" because dealers were 

 unable to get adequate supplies. At the end 

 of the year prices of raw oysters were 20 to 

 30 percent higher than in the saine period of 

 1964. 



Hard blue crab landings of 1.7 million 

 pounds increased 32 percent above the pre- 

 vious year and marked the third year of in- 

 creased catches. Crab prices were up dur- 

 ing the year and with a good market for crab- 

 meat, processors worked at full capacity. 

 Local canning plants used the surplus meat 

 and had good inventories of canned crab 

 meat by the end of the year. 



Several new vessels joined the fisheries 

 in 1965. Boatyards were busy with orders for 

 a variety of new wood and steel vessels. New 

 vessels were generally large with more 

 engine power and with steel used mainly in 

 the larger -sized vessels. At the end of 1965, 

 the demand for vessel construction was more 

 than boatyards could handle with resultant 

 lags in completion dates and higher prices. 



The commercial fishing industry was 

 greatly affected by hurricane "Betsy," with 

 2 small shrimp and oyster canning plants 

 damaged beyond repair. One petfood plant 

 was damaged and out of operation for nearly 

 6 weeks and a shrimp and oyster unloading 

 facility was destroyed. 



Nautical Charts 



NEW CHART ISSUED 

 FOR CHESAPEAKE BAY: 



Anew small craft nautical chart covering 

 the entire width of Chesapeake Bay between the 

 Patuxent and Little Choptcink River s was issued 

 by the Coast and Geodetic Survey of the Envi- 

 ronmental Science Services Administration 

 (ESSA), U. S. Department of Commerce. The 

 new chart will provide navigators with tide and 

 current tables, weather information, and a tab- 

 ulation of facilities available for small craft. 



The accordion-folded chart spans "the 

 heart of Chesapeake Bay and will aid many 

 of Maryland's 77,000 registered boaters in 

 safely navigating this area" said the chief 

 of the Survey's Marine Chart Division. He 

 added that the new chart will enhance the 



