Abstract

Spotted seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, is the most targeted sport fish in Mississippi coastal waters. The growing popularity of spotted seatrout angling on the Mississippi Gulf coast and the subsequent increases in fishing pressure require managers to maintain appropriate size and bag limits if this important fishery is to be sustained. Although the number of anglers on the Mississippi coast has increased each year since 1994, data from fishery-independentmoni1oring and from the Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey (MRFSS) show that population size, age structure, and length frequency distribution of spotted seatrout in Mississippi all display a positive, upward shift. Because catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) data show that daily bag limits probably have little impact on this particular fishery, it is suggested that the minimum size limit is the determining factor in managing the fishery. A comparison of two groups of data illustrate the importance of applying appropriate management restrictions to a fishery in order to sustain a viable population. These groups of data are from the 1990s when the fishery was under what was essentially a 12-inch minimum size limit and later under a 14-inch minimum size limit.

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