pul 1ed/days since last pulled, and price per pound. Voluntary reporting 
has been used for the latter information, because it was felt that these 
specific types of information would be more reliably reported. Voluntary 
information has been used to estimate total landing for an area by 
statistically extrapolating the percent of voluntary "area fished" 
reports to the landings that did not have this information. Catch per 
unit effort by area can be determined by comparing the number of trips 
reported and the time fished with the pounds of each species caught. 
The estuarine species listed in Table 3 are indicative of those 
produced and caught in Tampa Bay. By using the trip ticket information, 
we can specifically target the bay landings. For example, bait shrimp 
landings in pounds can be extrapolated to 31,619,800 live individuals. 
By using "area caught" information (not shown), we can estimate that only 
about 5,000,000 of those shrimp were caught in Tampa and Sarasota Bays; 
the remainder were caught north and south of the bay. Eight hundred 
trips were needed to catch the 5,000,000 shrimp, or 6,250 shrimp/trip 
worth about 150 dollars to the shrimper. 
Table 3. Some typical species caught in the Tampa Bay region in 1986. 
Species 
Trios 
Pounds 
Dockside Value $ 
Bait shrimp 
4,341 
316,198 
$ 692,473 
Blue crabs 
1,852 
198,025 
74,690 
Cl ams 
54 
5,219 
24,894 
Menhaden 
328 
5,106,083 
255,304 
Mullet 
12,748 
6,842,456 
2,253,528 
Sheepshead 
4,101 
100,193 
33,063 
Spotted seatrout 
7,037 
175,432 
171,923 
Oysters 
1 
103 
31 
The majority of the remaining species in Table 3 were caught in 
the bay region. The major fishery in pounds and value is mullet. An 
Asian market for mullet roe (up to $30/1 b retail) was developed in the 
1970’s and has influenced the value of this fishery tremendously 
(Figure 3). Fishing pressure has also increased, and research is 
currently being conducted on mullet populations. 
Clam and oyster landings are very low in this area, primarily 
because only 15-20% of the potential shellfish areas are approved for 
harvest. The Department of Natural Resources has been systematically 
closing portions of the bay to shellfishing, because these areas do not 
meet state and federal water quality standards for shellfishing. Old 
Tampa Bay was permanently closed in 1979, and portions of the lower bay 
system have been temporarily closed in the 1980’s. Permanent closures 
are expected to increase with continued urban growth around the bay. 
Scallops, which require good water quality, disappeared from the bay by 
120 
