Abstract

Monitoring year class strength of juvenile snapper could potentially offer an effective fishery independent method for predicting adult snapper abundance. We analyzed juvenile survey data on three commercially and recreationally important snapper species from the nearshore waters of the Middle Florida Keys; Yellowtail Snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus), Gray Snapper (Lutjanus griseus) and Mutton Snapper (Lutjanus analis). These three species support the largest recreational and commercial snapper fisheries in South Florida. However, relatively little is known about the factors that control recruitment and the settlement habitat preferences of these species also is poorly defined. In this study, ten sites were sampled monthly between 2006 and 2016 using a 21.3 meter seine net, in the shallow (< 1.3 m deep), mixed-species seagrass beds of the Atlantic side of the Middle Florida Keys. Snapper recruits were consistently collected throughout the sampling period, monthly density did not vary significantly between years. Recruitment peaked during late summer and fall (August-, October), suggesting that higher numbers of adult snappers were spawning in spring and summer (April to August). Continued evaluation of young-of-the-year snapper abundance is important in predicting recruitment to the commercial and recreational snapper fisheries in the Florida Keys and along the South Florida coast. A critical characteristic of the long?term annual seine survey conducted in the Florida Keys is the ability to identify years of below?average recruitment which, if persistent, can serve as an early warning to managers of potential declines in snapper spawning success or standing stock biomass.

PDF Preview