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Results of the First Yearˈs Tagging of Mullet, Mugil Cephalus L., on the West Coast of Florida
Author(s) -
Idyll Clarence P.,
Sutton John W.
Publication year - 1952
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1951)81[69:rotfyt]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - mugil , mullet , fishery , west coast , fish <actinopterygii> , geography , biology , oceanography , geology
This paper reports results of the first yearˈs tagging experiment on black or striped mullet, Mugil cephalus, carried on by the Marine Laboratory of the University of Miami on behalf of the Florida State Board of Conservation. Mullet support the most important commercial fishery in Florida with average annual landings from 1939 to 1949 of 39,000,000 pounds. Part of this catch is silver mullet, M. curema, but most of it is black mullet, M. cephalus. Mullet were tagged with Petersen tags at 12 locations on the Florida west coast, from Naples to Pensacola. A total of 1,050 tagged fish were released the first year. The total recovery of tags was 26.5 percent, and the maximum recovery for one location was 50 percent. A higher return was made by the fishery from Apalachicola west to Pensacola (37.0 percent) than from St. Marks south to Naples (20.6 percent). This result suggests that there is a more intense fishery in the northwestern part of the state. Most tagged mullet were recaptured within comparatively short distances from the place of tagging, 89.8 percent having travelled not more than 20 miles. The longest migration was 150 miles. A slightly increased tendency to migrate greater distances was shown by fish free the longest period of time, and by fish at large over the winter spawning period. Over 85 percent of fish free during spawning were recaptured within 20 miles of the tagging locality. Doubt is cast by these results on the popular view that Florida mullet undergo extensive migrations. The high rate of return of tags suggests an intense fishery.