Threatened fishes of the world: Mycteroperca microlepis (Goode & Bean, 1880) (Serranidae: Epinephelinae)

Abstract

Common names: Gag, badejo de areia. Conservation status: Species listed of least concern by IUCN or vulnerable (Morris et al. 2000) and in Brazil is “overexploited” in Sao Paulo State (Sao Paulo 2008). Identification: D XI + 16–18; A III + 10–12; P 16–18; LL 88–96, caudal fin emarginated. Adult females and juveniles are generally brownish grey with dark vermiculations. Males have a distinctive color pattern (black-belly phases) that includes a dark pigment on the abdomen. The maximum length is 120 cm and the maximum body weight is 32 kg (Heemstra and Randall 1993). Distribution: Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico; eastern Brazil and rare in Bermuda. Habitat and ecology: Juveniles occur in estuaries and sea grass beds; adults are usually found offshore on rocky bottom in depths varying from 40 to 100 m. Feed mainly on fishes, crustaceans and cephalopods (Heemstra and Randall 1993). Reproduction: It is protogynous hermaphrodite, with large aggregations in spawning sites (Gilmore and Jones 1992). Females are sexually mature at 5 or 6 year (67 to 75 cm) and sex inversion occurs between 10 and 11 years old (95 to 100 cm). Threats: This is an important grouper in the reef fisheries of the southeast coast of the U.S and in the Gulf of Mexico (Heemstra and Randall 1993) and an intense fishing pressure was responsible for a decline in male population in northern Gulf of Mexico (McGovern et al 1998). It is threatened mainly by overfishing and coral destruction. Conservation action: In Brazil, since 2003, capturing minimum size was established in 30 cm and in Mexico it is included in the federal fishery management plans. Conservation recommendation: Establishment of a non capturing period during the species spawning aggregations; and mass production in experimental fish hatcheries in Brazil (Sanches 2007). Environ Biol Fish DOI 10.1007/s10641-010-9602-4