Abstract

Many commercially important groupers (Serranidae) and snappers (Lutjanidae) form large spawning aggregations at specific sites where spawning is concentrated within a few months each year. Although spawning aggregation sites are often considered important aspects of marine protected areas many spawning aggregations are still vulnerable to fishing. The Grammanik Bank, a deep reef (30 - 40 m) located on the shelf edge south of St. Thomas USVI, is a multi-species spawning aggregation site used by several commercially important species of groupers and snappers: yellowfin (Mycteroperca venenosa), tiger (M. tigris), yellowmouth (M. interstitialis) and Nassau (Epinephelus striatus) groupers and cubera snapper (Lutjanus cyanop-terus). This paper reports on the population characteristics of M. venenosa with notes on E. striatus and other commercial species. In 2004, the total spawning population size of yellowfin and Nassau groupers were 900 and 100 fish, respectively. During recent years commercial and recreational fishing have targeted the Grammanik Bank spawning aggregation. Between 2000 and 2004 an estimated 30% to 50% of the yellowfin and Nassau grouper spawning populations were removed by commercial and recreational fishers. These findings support the seasonal closure of the Grammanik Bank to protect a regionally important, multi-species spawning aggregation site.

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