Fishery-independent data from the Federal/State/University cooperative Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) and the National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center were used to generate maps of station locations, sampling effort and distribution and abundance of selected fish, shark and invertebrate species. The map layers for each species were summarized from SEAMAP Fall Plankton (1986-2016), SEAMAP Summer and Fall Bottom Trawl (1987-2018), SEAMAP Reef Fish Video (1995-2017) and NMFS Bottom Longline (2001-2018) surveys. Species specific information may be documented for a single or multiple surveys dependent upon available data.

Summarized data set of brown shrimp catch by grouped subarea and grouped depth from 2002 to 2011.

These data sets include a compilation of aerial line-transect surveys conducted over continental shelf waters of the Gulf of Mexico since 1992. The majority of these surveys are targeted to assess the abundance and spatial distribution of bottlenose dolphins and sea turtles between the Texas/Mexico border and the Florida Keys. Surveys are conducted in high-winged twin engine aircraft flying at altitudes of 600-750 feet. Visual observations of marine mammals, sea turtles, birds, and other species are recorded including species identifications, counts of animals. Surveys are conducted along line transects oriented perpendicular to the shoreline and follow protocols consistent with analysis using Distance approaches to estimate detection probability and abundance. These data have been used to provide abundance estimates for target species in annual Marine Mammal Protection Act Stock Assessment Reports.

Summarized data set of white shrimp catch by grouped subarea and grouped depth from 2002 to 2011

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and Florida State University (FSU), collected the data presented here as part of a larger study of seafloor habitats on the shelf edge of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. It is a pilot study, carried out to demonstrate the utility of geologic mapping to fisheries management issues. This report contains sidescan-sonar mosaics, seismic-reflection profiles, texture and calcium carbonate content of sediment samples and interpretative maps of the seafloor morphology, sediments, and benthic habitats of the study area. The study area is an approximately 150-km2 area along the shelf edge in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. The site is on the eastern side of the DeSoto Canyon and 75 km due south of Cape San Blas on the Florida panhandle. Water depth ranges from about 50 meters (m) to 120 m. It was chosen because reports from fishermen suggested that high-relief rocky outcrops, which are preferred by gag grouper as spawning aggregation sites, would be abundant. The geologic maps help the fisheries biologists select station locations for ongoing monitoring studies and provide a basis for siting of future reserves.

Summarized data set of pink shrimp catch by grouped subarea and grouped depth from 2002 to 2011

In the late 1800s and early 1900s a fishery for Red Snapper developed rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico. Shortly thereafter, recreational fishing for Red Snapper became popular wherever access was afforded to offshore waters. These developments occurred decades prior to organized collection of fishing and landings records. However, due to increasing library digital archiving, previous information regarding historical fishing conditions, landings, and size composition was available from formerly difficult to obtain reports, interviews, and particularly newspaper articles. Thirty-two newspapers from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region were searched providing landings from 3157 fishing trips (93% commercial, 7% recreational) from the years 1874 to 1986. These records document increasing landings of Red Snapper early in the fishery with peak landings-per-trip occurring from circa 1900 to 1915 for U.S. coastal trips and from circa 1910 to 1930 for trips to Campeche Bay, Mexico. By the late 1920s to early 1930s there was evidence of fishery-impacts with reduced catches, decreased average size of Red Snapper and a shift to lower-valued species. Between the mid-1930s to 1950s, the Red Snapper commercial fishery expanded to the outer continental shelf waters off Louisiana and Texas in the northern Gulf of Mexico reaching the areal extent of the present day fishery. After World War II, technologies and exploratory surveys enabled continuing areal expansion and resulted in a period of increased landings from U.S. waters; most notably from the western Gulf of Mexico with peak landings occurring in 1971. Landings decreased through the 1970s and 1980s and reports of fishery concerns and commercial-recreational conflicts followed leading to the implementation of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Management Plan in 1984.

The dataset contains Texas A&M University (TAMU) Gulfcet CTD; XBT; and distribution and abundance of cetaceans (whales and dolphins) data collected along the continental slope in the north-central and western Gulf of Mexico. The data was collected over 9 years spanning from April 2, 1987 through August 30, 1995. Additionally, a 46 cruise data archive of TAMU hydrography asked for by NODC was sent by Dr. Douglas C. Biggs. David Brandon sent NODC GulfCet data as a companion data set. NODC agreed to put this data on a CD-ROM. The data files are divided into two data groups: TAMU-GULFCET and TAMU-OCEANOGRAPHY. Data are reported from 256 CTD and 580 XBT stations in the TAMU-GULFCET section and from 695 CTD and 707 XBT stations in the TAMU-OCEANOGRAPHY section.

The identification of essential habitats for marine species is critical for proper management of populations. Although the species composition of sharks that occur in coastal waters is diverse, descriptions of distribution and habitat use tend to be generalized; distribution has been broadly outlined in which individuals are segregated into different habitats by ontogeny The GULFPSAN survey is a fishery-independent survey that began in 1994 to examine the distribution and abundance of juvenile sharks in coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. It was done adhoc through 2002. In 2003 it began to receive its own funding. The database describes coastal shark abundance and environmental data from St. Andrews Bay to Apalachicola Bay in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.