Administration and Supervision of Contract Drum Removal Program - Marine Fisheries Management in Texas

Harvest of black drum from the bay waters of Cameron and Willacy Counties with contract nets was accomplished from November 1, 1963 through March 5, 1964. Due in part to a shortage of black drum in the contract fishing area, the 1963-64 season closed earlier than in previous years and the 1964-65 season was not initiated. Net checks showed no change from checks made in previous years, and no significant numbers of desirable fish were harmed by any properly conducted contract netting operation. Total drum landings for the 1963-64 season were 268,191 pounds compared to 462,577 pounds (dressed weight) for the previous season. Calculated live weight declined from 685,558 to 344,602 pounds. Over 70 per cent of the 1963-64 harvest was of small choice drum, (1-5 pounds) compared to only 34 per cent of this size in the 1962-63. Value received for the 1963-64 harvest was $20,429.57 and an average of 7.907 cents per pounds compared to $30,315.60 and an average of 7.396 cents per pound for the previous season. The average number of pounds per net day was 50.9 compared to 65.1 for the previous season. In each of the past two seasons, the primary peak of harvest occurred during the middle of January with a second smaller peak occurring in early March.