Texas Almanac, 1941-1942 Page: 194
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194 TEXAS ALMANAC.-1941-42
supervision of the Federal Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Coastal Fisheries.
Aside from furnishing recreation for thou-
sands of sportsmen annually, the coastal
waters of Texas are basis of a large commer-
cial fishing industry. The total commercial
catch of the fiscal year. 1939-40, amounted to
15,640,233 pounds, according to report of the
State Game, Fish and Oyster Commission.
The shrimp industry is by far the most im-
portant, furnishing more than two thirds of
the volume. Below is catch for the fiscal
year ended Aug. 31, 1940Species- Pounds
Shrimp .....11,568,075
Trout ...... 774,063
Flounder .... 130,258
Redfish ..... 350,321
Drum ....... 668,676
Crabs ....... 12,447
Gafftopsail . 11.341
Squib ....... 3,397
'hlting .... 35.516
Scrap ....... 19,831
Pike ....... 9,755
Mackerel .... 6.756
Red snapper. 965,068Species-
Jewfish .....
Pompano
Sheepshead
Kingfish ....
Grouper .....
Oysters .....
Warsaw ....
Croaker
Sand trout...
Shoemaker ..
Scamp ......Pounds
3,623
8,070
14,856
1,244
61.954
959,504
9,721
5,784
420
456
116Total .....15,640,233
About half of the catch of both shrimp and
fish comes from the bays and half from the
Gulf waters There is a large shrimp indus-
try in Matagorda. Aransas, San Antonio and
Corpus Christi Bays A shrimp-canning in-
dustry flourishes Laguna Madre yields the
heaviest catch of fish from bays, though there
Is a large annual catch in Aransas and Corpus
Christi bays. Smaller catches of both fish and
shellfish are taken from Espiritu Santo,
Copano and Mesquite Bays. The oyster catch
is principally from Matagorda, Aransas and
Copano Bays, though all of the Texas bays
yield some oysters.
Declining Yield.
Patrol boats of the Game, Fish and Oyster
Commission watch the coastal waters fromeleven headquarters points from Rio Grande
to Sabine, assisted by a seaplane patrol, and
a marine biologist is maintained for research,
but the report of the Game, Fish and Oyster
Commission for the year 1939-40 stated that
the coastal fish resources are declining.
Closed seasons on some of the bays, espe-
cially for shrimp, is recommended, also the
opening of more passes between bay and open
Gulf waters to permit rapid mixing of fresh
and saline waters and free passage of fish.
However, the norther beginning Jan. 18,
1940, on the coast and driving temperatures
down far below freezing point and causing
the freezing over of parts of the bays was
cited as one uncontrollable cause of recent
decline in the catch of the commercial
fisheries.
HUNTING LICENSES, GAME LAWS.
Due to the wide diversity of game and
wildlife conditions in Texas, the game laws
of this state are lengthy and subject to many
local applications. Furthermore, they are
amended frequently. The sportsman should
(1) be certain that his information is up-to-
date and (2) that he knows whether there is
special application of the law to the county in
which he Is hunting or fishing. A resident
hunter's license is required of every citizen
of the state ($2), above the age of 17 who
hunts outside the county of his residence.
A nonresident license of $25 is required of
every nonresident citizen and alien. Resident
citizens of Texas must obtain a license ($1 10)
for fishing with artificial lure or bait. A
nonresident license of $5 (or five-day license
of $1 10) is required of all who are not resi-
dents of the state, for fishing with any kind
of bait. However, there are special license
requirements in some Texas counties To
avoid complications, sportsmen should obtain
copies of the game laws, or seek information
from game wardens in the vicinity in which
they hunt or fish.Native Game, Bird and Fish Life of Texas.
Due to its great diversity of climatological
and physiographic conditions, Texas has the
greatest variety of game life of any state It
also has the greatest volume of game life
Notations below on the game, bird and fish
life of Texas are largely from the articles and
bulletins of J G Burr of the State Game,
Fish and Oyster Commission, Austin, Texas.
TEXAS GAME ANIMALS.
Texas' reputation as a hunting ground rests
primarily on its abundance of deer. The
Texas deer kill is as high as 30,000 annually,
according to reports of the State Game, Fish
and Oyster Commission The most numerous
species is the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus
virginianus texanus) which is found through-
out the covered region of the Edwards Pla-
teau, the Brush Country of the border, and
to less extent in the Southeast Texas forest
area It is a sub-species of the Virginia deer
The annual deer kil. of about 30,000 is nearly
all from this species, yet the population is
reported as increasing.
Other Texas deer are the little Sonora deer
(Odocoileus couesi) which is found in the
high valleys of the Chisos Mountains of the
Big Bend, and the mule, or black-tailed deer
(Odocoileus hemionus canus), a fine large
animal which is found in small numbers in
the Big Bend Mountains and along the Rio
Grande for a short distance east of the Pecos.
Antelope.
The antelope (Antilocapra americana) was
once abundant on the prairies of West Texas.
Defenseless on its open range, it was sub-
ject to such slaughter that it was almost
extinct a quarter of a century ago. About
twenty years ago, a continuously closed sea-son was provided by law Since that time,
the number of antelope has increased mate-
rially. but results have not been up to ex-
pectations, and the closed season is i.ain-
tained During 1940 the State Game. Fish
and Oyster Commission was making a special
study of this animal and redistributing it on
ranges that offered greater possibilities for
propagation
Fur-Bearing Animals-Texas Fur Crop.
Low price of furs in recent years has been
the principal reason for a decline in the an-
nual fur crop of Texas, according to the
State Game, Fish and Oyster Commission.
In the fiscal year ended Aug. 31. 1940. a total
of 648,656 furs as taken in Texas, according
to reports of dealers to the commission Total
value was not estimated by the commission,
but it was less than 50 per cent, both in
volume and value, of the fur crop of a decade
ago Furs taken in tne fiscal year 1939-40
were as follows
Muskrat .......287,199 Mink .......... 8,622
Opossum ......171,024 Badger ........ 1,298
Skunk ....... 71,186 Otter ......... 14
Civet cat....... 8,429 Wolf and
Raccoon ....... 32.898 coyote ....... 5,482
Ringtail cat.... 32.491 Bobcat ........ 1.393
Fox ........... 28,620 Total ........648,656
During the last few years the muskrat has
forged ahead of the opossum as Texas' lead-
ing fur-producing animal. It is trapped
largely in the flat, marshy coastal plain be-
tween Sabine and Galveston Bays, w here it is
commercially produced on muskrat farms.
There is some trapping throughout the
Edwards Plateau and the Brush Country of
the border region. A moderate number of
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Texas Almanac, 1941-1942, book, 1941; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117164/m1/196/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.