Abstract

Ontogenetic migrations of fishes can lead to depth-specific size distributions across habitats occupied during different life stages. For example, Hogfish in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (eGOM) use seagrass beds as juveniles and reefs as adults. In the eGOM, Hogfish residing on deep, offshore reefs (> 30 m depth) are significantly larger than those on shallow, nearshore reefs (< 30 m depth), even within the same age class (Collins and McBride 2011). Since Hogfish are targeted primarily by spearfishers, harvest activity is limited to depths within recreational diving limits (~30 m), and could result in a deepwater refuge for offshore fish (Collins and McBride 2011, Tupper and Rudd 2002). Thus, it is unknown whether the observed depth-specific size distribution is the result of ontogenetic migrations, intense spearfishing with a deepwater refuge, or both.

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