Population Studies of the Sports and Commercial Fin-Fish of the Upper Laguna Madre - Analysis of Populations of Sports and Commercial Fin-Fish and of Factors Which Affect These Populations in the Coastal Bays of Texas

Monthly seine samples were made at 10 stations in the Upper Laguna Madre during 1964 in order to investigate juvenile fish populations. Redfish and drum had excellent spawns in 1963-64, the best in the past three years. Spring and fall trout hatches were both good but probably not as large as those of 1963. Few young flounder and no juvenile sheepshead were found. Catch per unit effort of two monthly 2,400-foot drag seine hauls was compared with commercial fish landings. These landings indicated increases in drum and sheepshead populations, steady trout populations over the past two years, and a definite decrease, as much as 50 per cent, was for redfish. A tagging program was conducted and of 1576 fish tagged, 7 tags were recovered. This low rate of tag returns was related directly to a decrease in rewards offered for returned tags.