Volume 77
Western Dry Rocks Science Plan: Using Multidisciplinary Science to Examine the Efficacy of a Seasonal Fishing Closure at a Multi-species Spawning Aggregation Site
Authors
Danielle Morley, Jessica A. Keller, Jesse J. Secord, Jack C. Olson, May Lehmensiek, Chelsey A. Crandall, Kotryna Klizentyte, John Hunt, and Alejandro Acosta Download PDF Open PDF in BrowserOther Information
Date: November, 2024
Event: Proceedings of the Seventy-Seventh Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute
City: Gosier
Country: Guadeloupe, French West Indies
Abstract
Many reef fish species form spawning aggregations to increase reproductive success. However, the predictability of these events in time and space makes them vulnerable to targeted fishing (Russel et al. 2011, Sadovy and Domeier 2005). Understanding the ecological importance and vulnerability of spawning aggregations, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission implemented a one-square-mile seasonal fishing closure called Western Dry Rocks, located 16 kilometers southwest of Key West, Florida, in 2021.