C. E. Bryan

Relative abundance of Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) was monitored before, during, and after a record flood in a Texas estuary. Salinities were reduced to <5 ppt over a large portion of the estuary for 4 months. Eastern oyster mortality was near 100%. Spat set was documented 9 months after flooding ceased and the oyster population had recovered to preflood levels 15 months later, 25 months after flooding ceased. A Ricker recruitment curve was fitted to the spawner-recruit data and explained 20.8% of the variation in number of spat.

Very little attention has been given to the penalty necessary to achieve compliance with fishery management laws. A penalty increase from $200 to $2,500 for shrimping in the area from 7.3-m deep water to the outer limit of the Texas Territorial Sea was imposed in 1981. Brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus) and white shrimp (Penaeus setiferus) commercial catches and shrimping violations were used to determine if this increase reduced illegal shrimping in the closed area. Illegal landings of brown shrimp were reduced. However, violations were not eliminated. The potential profit from violating the...