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Although some anglers regularly deflate swim bladders of demersal fishes being released, it is not known whether this practice actually increases postrelease survival of reef fishes. Benefits of deflating the swim bladder of black sea bass Centropristis striata and vermilion snapper Rhomboplites aurorubens before release were evaluated; survival of fishes deflated with one of two tools was compared to survival of nondeflated controls. Capture depths were 20-22 m, 29-35 m, and 43-55 m. Fishes were deflated with a 16-gauge hypodermic needle (99 black sea bass, 64 vermilion snapper) or with a Sea Grant tool consisting of a sharpened stainless steel canula (119 black sea bass, 64 vermilion snapper). Deflated fish were held in cages and observed in situ for 24 h. Controls (108 black sea bass, 89 vermilion snapper) were first segregated in a live well and then held in situ for 24 h in cages. Deflation, especially with the hypodermic needle, provided very significant reductions in mortality of black sea bass, and benefits of deflation increased with capture depth. Deflation for vermilion snapper was also beneficial, but to a lesser extent. Comparison of control results with a previous study using identical methods suggests that ascent speed may affect survival. Deflation of black sea bass and vermilion snapper by hypodermic needle is recommended for scientists. For anglers the Sea Grant tool may be a better choice; it is commonly used to apply dart-type tags and is readily available from some natural resources agency's tagging programs. Because the results differed for the two species, further study is needed to determine whether to recommend deflation as a standard practice for all reef fishes.

During 1978–1998, 80,558 black sea bass Centropristis striata were caught with blackfish and chevron traps off eastern Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina at depths ranging from 9 to 55 m. Black sea bass were found to live for at least 10 years, but most were ages 1–5. There were latitudinal differences in the size at age, significantly larger size at age occurring in the southern segment (31°20′N to 32°40′N) than in the northern segment (32°41′N to 34°00′N). Males were found in all size‐classes and age‐classes and were most frequently encountered at sizes greater than 220 mm standard length (SL) and greater than age 4 in the southern segment and at sizes greater than 240 mm SL and greater than age 5 in the northern segment. Sexual transition and maturity of females occurred at smaller sizes and younger ages in the southern segment than in the northern segment. Probit analysis indicated that between 1978–1982 and 1987–1998 the size at 50% maturity (L50) for females fell from 137 to 108 mm SL in the southern segment and from 145 to 115 mm SL in the northern segment. The L50 could not be determined for fish caught during 1983–1986 because very few immature individuals were collected. Slight increases in the mean length and catch per unit effort, as well as a decrease in fishing mortality during the 1990s, suggested that the condition of the black sea bass stock had improved, probably due to management actions.

Sectioned sagittal otoliths were used to determine ages of vermilion snapper Rhomboplites aurorubens collected from the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) by trawl, trap, and hook-andline gear during 1979-1993. Annulus formation, validated by marginal increment analysis of ages 1-8, occurred from June to August, the peak spawning period for vermilion snapper. Ages ranged from 0 to 12 years for each sex. No significant difference was found for size at age between males and females. The von Bertalanffy growth equation for vermilion snapper taken during 1979-1981 was TL, = 562{ 1 -exp[-0.202(/ + 0.117)]}, where TL, = total length (mm) at age and / = age in years. The length-weight relationship was w = 2.147 X 10 5 TL--899 , where w = whole fish weight in grams. Weighted mean back-calculated lengths at age, compared by analysis of variance for five 3-year periods, declined from 1979-1981 through 1982-1984 to 1985-1987. but did not change significantly during 1985-1993. The temporal decrease in size at age did not appear to result from gear selectivity, sampling strategies, or the varying depths and latitudes of sampling areas, but reflected changes in growth that may have been caused by ovcrfishing. In general, caution should be used when growth parameters derived from an overfished population are used to evaluate the biological impacts of fisheries management actions.

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ABSTRACl' Swordfish are known to undergo large diel vertical movements from surface waters at night to > 300 m depth during the day. Evidence presented over the past several deeades suggests the lunar cycle affects these vertical migrations. This study collected data concurrently from 7 swordfish throughout 3 consecutive lunar cycles using pop-up satellite archival tags. All individuals demonstrated an inverse relationship between recorded nocturnal depths and lunar illumination.RESUMEN Los peces espadas son reconocidos por experimentar extensas ntigraciones verticales deade ]a superficie durante ]a noehe, hasta aguas profundas (> 300 m) durante el dfa. La evidencia presen!ada durante las pasadas decadas expone que el cicio lunar afecta eslas. Este estudio presenta ]a infurmaci6n que ha sido recopilada recientem.ente de 7 peces espadas durante 3 ciclos lunares consecutivos utilizando etiquetas de archivos que resurgen a ]a superficie y envian toda ]a informaci6n al sat6lite, conocidos en ingl6s como ''pop-up satellite archival tags." Todos los individuos demostraron una relaci6n inversa entre los datos obtenidos para profundidades documentadas en las horas noctumas e.

Seasonal recruitment of larval and juvenile fishes into impounded and non-(Year lI). A total of 53,230 fishes representing over 29 families and at least 64 species was collected. The most numerous species, spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), comprised 55 % of the total catch. Samples from creek stations (Years I and II) and an impoundment station (Year II) showed seasonal changes in diversity and species richness. These seasonal changes were probably due to the transient nature of the numerically dominant fishes. Year I impoundment samples did not show these seasonal fluctuations. A single peak in both the numbers of individuals and species in ichthyoplankton collections at the impoundments occurred in May ] 983 (Year I) when tidal exchange was at amaximum, Otherwise, few fishes were collected at impoundment stations in Year I when flow rates through the water control structures were reduced. Thus, many species that normally would have used this marsh area as a nursery were denied access because trunks were dosed when these species were abundant in the creeks.