115


Table 13. Estimated species composition of MEY catch of reef fish


State Red Snappera Catch Groupera Catch
 proportion proportion


Florida 2412.4 38.2 3902.7 61.8

Alabama 1332.4 85.2 231.4 14.8

Mississippi 3261.9 92.4 268.3 7.6

Texas 75.2 92.5 6.1 7.5


 TOTAL 7081.9 4408.5

 aCatch is measured in thousands of pounds.



average fishing power per vessel while Alabama vessels with 9.447 have

the most capital intensive average fishing power (Table 14). The rela-

tively capital intensive nature of vessels in Alabama and Texas may

partially explain why the profit per vessel in these states resulting

from harvest of MEY in the fishery would be low compared to vessels in

Mississippi.

 The number of vessels in the GMRFF necessary to harvest maximum

economic yield decreases as the average fishing power per vessel

increases (Figure 14). The rate of decrease in the optimum number of

vessels occurs at a rate of about nine vessels for each 10 percent

increase in fishing power.0 However, total fishing effort, as measured

in terms of standardized vessels corresponding to MEY, increases as



 1Appendix H contains a complete presentation of these results on a
state by state basis.