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Age, growth, maturation, and protandric sex reversal in common snook, Centropomus undecimalis, from the east and west coasts of South Florida

2000; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Volume: 98; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

1937-4518

Ronald G. Taylor, James A. Whittington, Harry J. Grier, Roy E. Crabtree,

Fish Ecology and Management Studies

Common snook, Centropomus undecimalis, (Perciformes: Centropomidae) are valuable euryhaline fi shes that inhabit tropical and subtropical estuarine systems of the western Atlantic. They are abundant off the east coast of Florida from Cape Canaveral southward around the peninsula to Cedar Key off the west coast. They also inhabit waters off Galveston, Texas, south to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Gilmore et al., 1983; Rivas, 1986). They are commercially exploited throughout most of their range, except in Texas and Florida where they traditionally have supported large recreational fi sheries (Matlock and Osburn, 1987). Snook are stenothermic: their northern range is limited by the winter 15oC isotherm (Shafl and and Foote, 1983), similar to the distribution of mangroves which is their principal habitat (Marshall, 1958; Gilmore et al., 1983). Genetic studies of the stock structure suggest that in Florida, east coast and west coast populations are separate stocks (Tringali and Bert, 1996). Anglers target common snook because of their fi ghting ability and culinary value (Tucker et al., 1985; Matlock and Osburn, 1987), and concerns about overfi shing have resulted in a long history of regulation of the fi shery off Florida (Bruger and Haddad, 1986). Size limits were fi rst imposed on the fi shery in 1953, and the sale of common snook in Florida has been prohibited since 1956. In 1994, a management goal was established to maintain a minimum spawning potential ratio (SPR) of 40% for Age, growth, maturation, and protandric sex reversal in common snook, Centropomus undecimalis, from the east and west coasts of South Florida