Trends in Commercial and Recreational Catch of Puffers in Florida
This discussion of trends in commercial and recreational catches of puffer fish on the Atlantic and gulf coast of Florida includes graphs of various data.
Data on recreational catch of puffers is available from the National Marine Fisheries Service Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey. Separate plots of recreational catch and harvest of all types of puffers are presented separately below for the east (Atlantic) and west (Gulf) coast of Florida for 1981–2001. The bars labeled "catch" represent the total number of puffers caught by recreational fishermen each year, including those that were caught and released back into the wild. The bars labeled "harvest" only include those fish kept by fishermen, which is a subset of the total catch. The graphs indicate that large numbers of puffers are caught each year by fishermen on both coasts, but also that the vast majority of these catches are not kept by anglers. Total recreational catch of puffers on the east coast has increased slightly in the last few years, but there is no trend in the number of fish kept by anglers (harvest). On the west coast, there is no discernable trend in either catch or harvest during 1981–2001.
Data on commercial harvest of puffers in Florida is available from the FWC-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Commercial landings for all puffer species combined
is presented for both coasts in the graph below. Landings represent the commercial
catch that is sold, not necessarily the total amount caught. Landings are expressed
in pounds in the figure below. In general, puffers are landed commercially in
significant numbers only on the west coast of Florida and represent a relatively
small fishery. There is no discernable trend in these landings since 1992.
