Volume 65
Conservation and Management of Grouper Spawning Aggregation Sites: Adaptive Strategies Based on Fish Movement Patterns
Authors
Nemeth, R., K. Rhodes, E. Kadison, and J. Martens Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2012
Pages: 301
Event: Proceedings of the Sixty-Fifth Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Santa Marta
Country: Colombia
Abstract
Most large groupers (Serranidae) form annual fish spawning aggregations (FSA) at predictable times and locations (Domeier and Colin 1997); a life-history trait that makes them extremely vulnerable to over-fishing (Sadovy de Mitcheson et al. 2008). Seasonal or permanent fishery area closures can provide effective protection (Nemeth 2005), but defining biologically relevant boundaries is difficult due to limited knowledge of the movement and migration patterns associated with spawning. The aim of this study was to compare the spatial and temporal patterns of movement and migration of groupers at spawning aggregations in the Caribbean and Pacific.