448 
Fishery Bulletin 99(3) 
Figure 3 
Monthly length-frequency of ladyfish, Elops saurus, in Tampa Bay. Early- and mid-metamorphic larvae were 
excluded because length decreases as they develop. Bay-wide data for all years (1989-95) from all zones (A-F) 
are plotted, n = number of fish sampled. 
blocknet sets, 4787 trawl hauls, and 587 gillnet sets 
(Table 1). Generally, a new cohort of late-metamorphic 
larvae first appeared in April (Figs. 3 and 4A). Only 13 
early- or mid-metamorphic larvae were collected (26-34 
mm SL) in the bay-wide survey {n = 14 for all Tampa 
Bay samples). Although the arrival of metamorphosing 
larvae (largely late-metamorphic stages) was concen- 
trated in April, isolated individuals 26-41 mm SL were 
collected as early as February (1989) or March (1994, 
1995) or as late as September (1994), October (1993), or 
