Abstract

Ageing studies of species that are abundant in recreational and commercial fisheries landings provide valuable information about growth and age at maturity. In the southeastern U.S., the Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) process is a driving mechanism behind which species are the subject of ageing studies. Since SEDAR?s incep-tion in 2002, stock assessments have been completed or scheduled for 20 reef fish species in the South Atlantic, 13 spe-cies in the Gulf of Mexico, and 11 species in the U. S. Caribbean. Age-growth studies are time- and labor intensive, and stock assessment demands limit the ability of staff to conduct studies on reef fishes that are less abundant in the land-ings. These species may nonetheless be important for a variety of reasons (e.g., top predators in reef ecosystem, indicators of ecosystem health, valuable trophy fish, and commercial value). Species which occur infrequently in sampled catches require more time to accumulate sufficient biological samples to conduct a proper ageing study. We attempt in this poster to offer a preliminary look at age-growth characteristics of four less commonly occurring species of reef fishes: yellowmouth grouper (Mycteroperca interstitialis), n = 391; yellowfin grouper (Mycteroperca venenosa), n = 277; war-saw grouper (Epinephelus nigritus), n = 188; and cubera snapper (Lutjanus cyanopterus), n = 96. All fish were aged using sectioned otoliths, and growth curves were generated using von Bertalanffy growth models. Information about growth rates of less common species will be critical to the effective management of those species, particularly as more common species come under increasing regulations and harvest restrictions.

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