Marine - Species - Spot

Recreational Fishery in SC

Spot Recreational Fishery Graph

Spot are one of the most popular recreational fish in South Carolina by number and have been ranked the number one recreational species for 21 of the last 32 years. Total catch fro recreationally caught spot declined from the mid-1980’s through 2000. There were a few up year in 2006 and 2008 after which it dropped back to at or below the 10 year average through 2012. Peak years for spot occurred in the 1980’s and early 1990’s but remained below the long term average catch for almost 10 year (1997-2005).

The peak years for spot as a commercial fishery occurred from the mid-1950’s through the mid-1970’s, after which landings dropped to almost negligible levels. Almost all spot captured commercially (97.3%) were caught by shrimp trawlers and sold as by-catch. The drop in commercial spot landings since the 1960’s and 1970’s likely mirrors the decrease in the level of commercial fishing in South Carolina rather than a drastic decrease in the spot population.

The recreational catch data is provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which conducts phone and angler-intercept surveys to monitor angler activities and catches. For more information see: https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/.

The commercial fisheries data is provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which compiles commercial information provided by state agencies. For more information, see: https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/.

Additional Graph Information

Commercial and recreational catches are measured in number of individuals or pounds of fish caught. Changes in catch among years may be the result of changes in abundance, fishing effort, or a combination of the two.

On each graph, the horizontal dotted lines above or below the "10 year average" represent one "standard deviation" unit, which is a measure of how variable the annual data are around the 10-year average. In general, the area between one standard deviation above the mean and one standard deviation below the mean includes approximately 68% of all values. Approximately 95% of observations in the data set are found within two standard deviation units of the average and is referred to as the prediction interval.