Abstract

The gray snapper, Lutjanus griseus, is a temperate-tropical reef fish that is found along the Gulf of Mexico And Atlantic coasts of the southeastern United States. The fishery for gray snapper is rapidly developing in south Louisiana with the advent of seasonal restrictions on the established red snapper, L. campechanus, fishery. We examined the age and growth of gray snapper in Louisiana with the use of cross-sectioned sagittal otoliths. A total of 374 specimens. (202 males, 156 fema1es, 14 juveniles, 2 unknown sex) were opportunistically sampled from the recreational fishery from July 2001 to August 2002. Males ranged in size from 308 to 732 mm TL and from 0.28 kg to 5.6 kg TW while females ranged from 298 to 756 mm TL and from 0.34 kg 10 5.6 kg TW. A combined TL-TW regression for males and females was fit on log transformed data as TW = 1.15 x 10-8 (TL)2.96 (r2 = 0.97). Edge analysis of sectioned otoliths suggests opaque annulus fonnation during the winter months. Age estimates ranged from 3-28 years for males and 2-25 years for females. Von Bertalanffy growth models derived from total length at age are Lt= 654.4{1-e[-0.22(age+O.18)]} for males and 670.2{1-e[-0.19(age+0.28)]} for females. Each model also included 14 unsexed age-O fish to provide points at the lower end of the curve to better reflect early growth.

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