Structure and dynamics of the fishery 
harvest in Broward County, Florida, 
during 1 989 
James E. McKenna Jr. 
Florida Marine Research institute, Florida Department of Environmental Protection 
100 Eighth Ave. S E , St, Petersburg, FL 33701 
Present Address: Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science 
National Biological Service, 3075 Grade Road, 
Cortland, New York 13045 
E-mail address: 76743. 1 403@compuserve.com 
Abstract .—Florida’s rich fisheries 
are among the state’s most valuable 
resources, attracting the interest of 
fishermen, divers, and others. Commer- 
cial and recreational exploitation of 
these resources has altered the abun- 
dances of some valuable species; con- 
sequently fishery regulations and a sys- 
tem to monitor landings have evolved 
in response. 
Until now, the biological structure of 
the multispecies harvest has not been 
examined. Landings from commercial 
trips in Broward County during 1989 
were used to describe the structure and 
seasonal dynamics of that harvest. 
Cluster analysis classified fishing trips 
into distinct groups associated with dif- 
ferent habitats and gear. Swordfish 
landings dominated this low-diversity 
harvest. There were significant sea- 
sonal changes in the species assem- 
blages landed. However, most species 
associations were weak and negative. 
The observed structure of the Broward 
County harvest reflects the selectivity 
inherent in commercial fishing. It is a 
balance between the differential avail- 
ability of various species to the gear 
used and the market values driving the 
fishermen to select some species and 
discard others. Seasonal changes in the 
harvest structure reflect changes in the 
availability of various species and in 
the fishermen’s ability to adapt to these 
changes by switching to alternate tar- 
get species. The strong biases intro- 
duced by the selectivity of this system 
can obscure events in the natural sys- 
tem and provide little insight into the 
changes in the natural fish community. 
Manuscript accepted 4 September 1996. 
Fishery Bulletin 95:114—125 (1997). 
Florida waters are rich in fish and 
shellfish. Although the greatest di- 
versity is found in coral reef habi- 
tats (Starck, 1968), hundreds of spe- 
cies are found throughout Florida’s 
marine waters (Anderson and Geh- 
ringer, 1965; Herrema, 1974; Gil- 
more, 1977). Statewide, commercial 
landings are reported to the Depart- 
ment of Environmental Protection 
by using 531 different species codes, 
some of which represent groups of 
species. This assemblage is two to 
three times larger than any other 
state’s marine fishery resource. 
Historically, fish communities 
containing commercially valuable 
species have been strongly influ- 
enced by human activities, espe- 
cially fishing (e.g. Cushing, 1961; 
Idyll, 1973; Beddington and May, 
1982; Gulland, 1983; Beddington, 
1986; Sissenwine, 1986; Laevastu 
and Favorite 1 ). Florida’s fishery re- 
source has been intensely exploited 
both commercially and recrea- 
tionally for many years (e.g. Naka- 
mura and Bullis, 1979; Newlin, 
1991). Bobnsack et al. (1994) have 
provided a good description of the 
complexity of Florida fisheries, ex- 
plored the effects of exploitation, 
and discussed the difficulties in in- 
terpreting available landings data. 
The effects of exploiting this multi- 
species resource have been demon- 
strated for a few valuable species 
(Spanish mackerel: Williams et al. 2 ; 
king mackerel: Fable, 1990; spiny 
lobster: Moe, 1991; red drum: 
Goodyear 3 ; billfishes: Anonymous 4 ; 
swordfish: Anonymous 5 ; red grouper: 
Goodyear and Schirripa 6 ). However, 
1 Laevastu, T., and F. Favorite. 1978. The 
control of pelagic fishery resources in the 
eastern Bering Sea. Northwest and 
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National 
Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point 
Way NE, Seattle, WA98115. Proceedings 
report. (Manuscript.) 
2 Williams, R. O., M. D. Murphy, and R. G. 
Muller. 1985. A stock assessment of the 
Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus macula- 
tus, in Florida. Unpublished, third draft. 
Prepared for the Florida Marine Fisheries 
Commission, 2540 Executive Center, Circle 
West, Tallahassee, FL 32301, 65 p. 
3 Goodyear, C. P. 1987. Status of red drum 
stocks in the Gulf of Mexico. Contribution 
report CRD 86/87-34, Southeast Fisheries 
Science Center, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, NOAA, 75 Virginia Beach Dr., Mi- 
ami, FL 33149, 49 p. 
4 Anonymous. 1982. Draft fishery man- 
agement plan, draft environmental impact 
statement, and regulatory impact review 
for the Atlantic billfishes: white marlin, 
blue marlin, sailfish and spearfish. South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 1 
South Park Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, 
SC, report G#27 BF Fmv/k 8/82, 64 p. 
5 Anonymous. 1991. Reference paper on 
1991 swordfish stock assessments by 
SCRS swordfish assessment group. Miami 
Laboratory, Southeast Fisheries Science 
Center, NMFS, NOAA, Miami, FL, rep. 
SCRS/91/16, 193 p. 
6 Goodyear, C. P., and M. J. Schirripa. 
1991. The red grouper fishery of the Gulf 
of Mexico. Miami Laboratory, Southeast 
Fisheries Science Center, NMFS, NOAA, 
75 Virginia Beach Dr., Miami, FL 33149. 
Contribution rep. MIA-90/91-86, 79 p. 
