Volume 69
Innovative Use of Drifters and Sound Recording to Locate Grouper Spawning Aggregations
Authors
R.L. Hill., J.C. Doerr, M.T. Scharer, R.S. Appeldoorn, and P.A. Caldwell Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2016
Pages: 329 - 330
Event: Proceedings of the Sixty eigth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Grand Cayman
Country: Cayman Islands
Abstract
When fish, such as groupers, are gathered at transient spawning aggregations, they are more susceptible to overexploi-tation than when dispersed at their home reefs. The hyper-stability of annual aggregations tends to mask the loss of biomass at home reefs (Sadovy and Domeier 2005). Because historical fishing has depleted many grouper stocks throughout the Caribbean, conservation and management measures are needed that will ensure long-term sustainable management for productive fisheries and recovery of threatened populations. These measures may include area closures and seasonal closures of fishing and/or marketing. But, to be effective, management measures must match the temporal and spatial dynamics of the species in need of conservation.