Movement of Spotted Seatrout Tagged in Trinity Bay, Texas

Spotted sestrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) were tagged and recaptured to determine migration patterns within the Galveston Bay system In Texas. Based on 54 recaptures of 488 tagged fish, fish tagged In northwest Trinity Bay did not frequent East or West Galveston Bay. Fish moved toward the Gulf of Mexico In late spring and summer, perhaps to feed or as part of a spawning migration, then returned to the tagging site In fall. The fitted relationship between distance traveled (Y) and Julian recapture date (X), Y ° 9.97 + 50.58 I sin [0.988 (X·90)] I, was significant (P \u3c0.01) and explained 37% of the variation In Y. The possibility of one population and a spatial separation of fish Into at least two estuarine groups can not be eliminated