Abstract

The primary goal of fisheries management is to ensure the long-term sustainable harvest of species and minimizing the ecological impacts while at the same time balance the cultural. economic. and food security needs of a jurisdiction. This is often achieved through a relatively complex and scientifically rigorous stock assessment process that results in management recommendations. One of the most important suits of inputs for this involves documenting the age structure of a stock. In the U.S. Caribbean. no current information is available on queen triggerfish population age structure. sex specific and combined growth rates. and age-at-sexual maturity despite the importance of queen triggerfish as one of the top commercially landed reef fish species. The objectives of our ongoing research on queen triggerfish life history are: 1) Investigate age. growth. and mortality across the US Caribbean Island-based management platforms; 2) Document reproductive biology. including size- and age-at-sexual maturity. reproductive seasonality. and reproductive potential/output. To-date. we have collected and processed 2.154 samples from across the U.S. Caribbean 67-473 mm FL. Radiocarbon ageing validation for age estimates from sagittal otoliths resulted in an age range of 0-23 y. Age estimates from over 2000 samples resulted in the following VBGF parameter estimates: L∞ = 435 mm FL; K = 0.14 and t0 = -0.85. The largest and oldest queen triggerfish. including mega-spawner females. occurred in deeper shelf waters (> 30 m depth). Commercial spearfishing efforts mainly target plate-size triggerfish so a reservoir of mega-spawners may exist in deeper waters around the U.S. Caribbean. Our findings provide critical information to assist fisheries managers in evaluating the current stock status of this species.

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