Abstract

Several western Atlantic grouper species are known to aggregate for spawning at specific times. The tiger grouper (Myctemperca tigris) has been reported to aggregate in the waters between Vieques Island (belonging to Puerto Rico) and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It also has been noted to aggregate off Honduras. Due to the large size of M. tigris, the species is not marketed in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where people prefer fish of small sizes to diminish the chances of ciguatera. This is not the case in Puerto Rico? where this species is marketable despite it’s size. The aggregations of this species initiate 2 days after the full moons of February, March and April of each year. The duration of each aggregation is approximately seven days. The aggregation period is close to the religious tradition of Easter when fish is heavily consumed. This may be one of the reasons for the high demand of exploitation of this species during it’s aggregation, with a good market for sale in Puerto Rico. \Two days before the full moon and seven days after the full moon, for the months of February, March and April of 1995, personnel of the Fisheries Research Laboratory visited Vieques Island. They collected data of the landings and biostatistics of the M-. tigris fishery. During February, approximately 840 individuals were caught and weighed 3,412 pounds. A total of 249 individuals (47 females, 189 males and 13 unknown) were measured and weighed for biostatistical analysis. In March, approximately 1,660 individuals were caught, and weighed 7,554 pounds. A total of 739 individuals (86 females, 739 males and 5 unknown) were measured and weighed for biostatistical analysis. Most individuals were caught using hand lines.\During April no aggregations were reported. Landings data and length frequency analysis are discussed

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