A von Bertalanffy growth curve,
L = 65.47 cm (1 - e-.2005 (t + .4113 yr)),
is derived from published data on spotted seatrout in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and used in constructing a yield-per-recruit contour. Maximum yield-per-recruit is approached as F increases above 1 and age of first entry approaches 3.9 years (14.9 in., 1.1 lb). A linear regression is derived relating average size of capture to gill net mesh size (MS in inches),
L = 1.97 in. + 8.63 MS,
and used along with legal sizes of first harvest to evaluate the impact of current laws in the Gulf states on yield-per-recruit of spotted seatrout