Volume 59
Tracking Red Snapper Movements around an Oil Platform with an Automated Acoustic Telemetry system
Authors
Mcdonough, M., Cowan, J. Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2006
Pages: 177-182
Event: Proceedings of the Fifty Nine Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Belize City
Country: Belize
Abstract
Understanding the movement and behavior of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) around and among the many oil and gas platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is crucial to the management of this important commercial and recreational species. What role oil and gas production platforms play in the attraction vs. production continuum for red snapper is unknown, but it is certain they have a role at some life history stage. We used the VRAP acoustic telemetry system to track 21 red snapper at a platform in the GOM (28E39.402 N, 090E14.126 W) for a period of two weeks (17-30 May 2006). Fish detections per hour generally decreased over the course of the study, and exhibited a strong periodicity. A Fourier transform analysis showed that red snapper had a 24-hour periodicity to their movements. These results appear to support the hypothesis that platforms function largely as attracting devices