1963 (in commercially or recreationally viable numbers) and are only 
occasionally found today. 
Menhaden are another species actively sought in the bay. The 
catch was minimal until 1985, when a controversial fishery suddenly 
developed. The recreational fishermen targeting tarpon have complained 
that tarpon no longer feed in the bay as they have in the past, because 
commercial fishermen are catching all of the baitfish, such as menhaden. 
Some research is currently funded to address the baitfish problem, which 
in reality can be accomplished only by understanding the entire 
ecosystem. 
Spotted seatrout landings further demonstrate the utility of the 
marine fisheries trip ticket information. Of the 175,000 lbs landed, 
157,000 lbs were from the bay system. Of the 7,655 trips reporting 
trout, only 278 landed more than 100 lbs, suggesting that trout are an 
incidental catch. In fact, the primary catch is mullet. Of the 278 
trips that apparently targeted seatrout, 111 trips were in January when 
trout can be concentrated in schools. 
The value of this type of information cannot be overstated. It 
provides a tool for management that has never before been available and 
does not exist elsewhere in the southeastern region of the country. 
Recreational catch records are also critically important in complementing 
the commercial fisheries statistics now being collected. Recreational 
data are currently collected by NMFS, but they do not have enough 
regional and local statistical validity to correlate with the trip ticket 
data. Unfortunately, these data remain a much needed informational 
component in the Tampa Bay region. 
Historical NMFS commercial landings can be compiled to observe 
potential trends in individual fisheries. Keeping the limitations of the 
NMFS data in mind, landings for spotted seatrout, Cvnoscion nebulosus . 
and bait shrimp, Panaeus duorarum, are presented in Figure 4. Declines 
in catch are consistent and significant and should be cause for alarm. 
Spotted seatrout have historically comprised an important 
recreational and commercial fishery in the Tampa Bay region. Scientific 
data documenting the reasons for decline in this species do not exist, 
but we can speculate based on existing knowledge of the juveniles and 
adults in the Tampa Bay system. McMichael and Peters (in preparation) 
found that seagrass meadows in Tampa Bay appear to be the primary nursery 
ground for juvenile seatrout. Seventy-eight percent of 1,379 juveniles 
collected were found in seagrass, though less than 40% of the collections 
were made in this habitat. Furthermore, commercial and recreational 
fishermen target seagrass meadows as the most likely source of adult 
spotted seatrout. Seatrout are non-migratory, spending their entire life 
cycle in a given estuary, and thus the Tampa Bay region can be assumed to 
produce and support its own population with minimal external influences. 
Although numerous factors control the spotted seatrout population, a loss 
of 50-80% of the seagrasses in Tampa Bay should affect landings. We may 
also assume that with the loss of seagrasses, the actual production 
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