Status of the Common Snook (Centropomus undecimalis) in Texas

Authors

Kevin L. Pope, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
David R. Blankinship, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Mark Fisher, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Reynaldo Patiño, USGS Texas Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, Texas Tech University

Date of this Version

11-2006

Comments

Published in Texas Journal of Science 58:4 (November 2006), pp. 325-332.

Abstract

Catch data are summarized for common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) from 1975 through 2004 from the lower Laguna Madre, the only area along the Texas coast where common snook are routinely captured. Catch rates of common snook were low < 1 common snook per gill net set) and varied among years, as did size structure. Based on the catch rate and size structure data, the adult common snook population is characterized by low abundance and erratic recruitment (i.e., missing or extremely weak year-classes are common). Additional comments on the status of common snook in Texas are provided.