Abstract
Ages of whitebone porgy (Calamus leucosteus) (n = 559) from southeastern U. S. commercial and recreational fisheries from 1975 – 2017 were determined using sectioned otoliths. Opaque zones were annular, forming April – July (peaking in June). Ages ranged from 2 – 19 years, and the largest fish measured 513 mm TL (total length, mm). Body size relationships were: TL = 1.09 FL + 16.07 (n = 469, r2 = 0.97), FL = 0.89 TL – 6.39 (n= 469, r2 = 0.97), W = 2.8 x 10-5 TL2.91 (n = 462), and W = 6.8 x 10-5 FL2.82 (n = 417) where W is total weight (grams, g) and FL is fork length (mm). The von Bertalanffy growth equations were Lt = 365 (1 - e-0.35 (t + 1.37)) (n = 559) for all areas combined, Lt = 365 (1 - e-0.55(t + 0.00)) (n = 185) for fish from North Carolina through Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Lt = 368 (1 - e-0.25 (t + 2.51)) (n = 374) for fish from southeast Florida. Mean size-at-age was significantly different between regions for ages 4 – 9, (92% of total samples). Point estimates of natural mortality were M = 0.22 and M = 0.30 for northern- and southern-region fish, respectively, while age-specific estimates of M were 0.85 – 0.55 y-1 for ages 2– 19 for the northern region and 0.41 – 0.26 (ages 2-14) for southern region fish. This study presents updated life history parameters for whitebone porgy from the Atlantic waters off the southeastern United States.
Highlights
Whitebone porgy (Calamus leucosteus Jordan and Gilbert 1885) is a moderate sized porgy (Family Sparidae) found in the western Atlantic
Recreationally-caught whitebone porgy are predominantly landed from the Georgia-central Florida area (61%), while North Carolina accounted for 17%, South Carolina for 19% and the south Florida-Florida Keys area accounted for only 2% of total landings on an annual basis (Fig. 1)
The North Carolina region accounted for 11% (n = 59), South Carolina contributed 5% (n = 30), the Georgia-central Florida area accounted for 17% (n = 96), and southeast Florida samples totaled n = 373 (67%)
Summary
Whitebone porgy (Calamus leucosteus Jordan and Gilbert 1885) is a moderate sized porgy (Family Sparidae) found in the western Atlantic. The species is distributed in coastal waters of the United States from North Carolina through the Florida Keys and into the Gulf of Mexico to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico (Randall & Caldwell, 1966). Adult whitebone porgy are frequently encountered near sponge-coral hardbottom habitat at depths of 10 – 100 m (Powles & Barans, 1980), and the species associates with soft-bottom habitat (McEachran & Fechhelm, 2005), a characteristic which made it important to trawl fishermen (Waltz, Roumillat & Wenner, 1982) prior to the 1989 trawl ban in federal waters of the U.S South Atlantic (SAFMC, 1988). Commercial fisheries landings from the SEUS were low, totaling 5,000 kg from 1981 – 2015, with 99% of this being attributed to South Carolina
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