Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) Longline Monitoring of Adult Finfish in the Texas Territorial Sea

Tom Wagner, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Coastal Fisheries Division, 702 Navigation Circle, Rockport, Texas 78382

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Coastal Fisheries Division staff, in cooperation with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission and Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP), have monitored adult finfish populations in the Texas Territorial Sea (TTS) from 1992 through present. Longlines (366-meters in length) baited with 100 hooks were deployed in TTS waters off Port Aransas for a period of two hours, with sets repeated six time/month during March through May of each year. Catch were enumerated and measured, and live red drum Sciaenops ocellatus were either tagged and released, used as broodstock for TPWD saltwater hatcheries, or otoliths removed for age and growth studies. From 1992 through 1997, forty-four longline sets were completed catching 416 finfish. Red drum (52%), sharks Carcharhinus spp. (22%) and hardhead catfish Arius felis (8%) were the predominant species caught throughout the study period. Routine longline monitoring of adult finfish, such as red drum, provides an effective management tool for fishery managers, especially when sampling protocol is consistent across jurisdictional boundaries.

Copyright © 1999
Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society
Last modified: 03/03/04 04:15:38 PM