Length-Weight Relationships and Sexual Maturity of Goosefish off the Northeast Coast of the United States

Abstract

Because goosefish Lophius americanus arc usually landed “tails‐only” in the U.S. commercial fishery, relationships are required to provide a means to convert tail lengths or weights to total fish lengths. To accomplish this, length‐weight relationships for goosefish inhabiting the waters off the northeastern coast of the United States were calculated. The sexual maturation schedule was compared to the size frequency of individuals landed tails‐only to determine the extent to which the current fishery is landing immature goosefish. Analyses of available maturity data indicate that both sexes begin to mature at about 30 cm total length; males generally attain 100% maturity by about 50 cm and females by about 60 cm. The length at which 50% of the males from both the northern and southern components of the population matured (L50) averaged about 40 cm; L50 for females averaged about 44 cm. Mean lengths at which 75°k were mature (L75) were 45 cm for males and 52 cm for females. Overall L50 (sexes and areas combined) was 42.3 cm, corresponding to a tail length of 28.7 cm from the insertion of the first postcephalic dorsal fin spine to the end of the caudal fin (LPCDS1); overall L75 was 48.6 cm, corresponding to a tail length (from the first postcephalic spine) of 33.0 cm. These relationships may be used to evaluate the size composition and sexual maturity of the landed portion of the population and in the development of management policies to minimize the impact of' fisheries on immature fish.

Biomass assessment of the monkfish Lophius gastrophysus stock exploited by a new deep-water fishery in southern Brazil

“…In addition, spatial and temporal patterns of effort were further associated with observed localized biomass depletions, which may have also contributed to the analyzed catch rate-based indices variation. Such fast depletion processes and slow density recoveries seem reasonable in species of the genus Lophius which are typically slow-moving bottom dwellers, that spend long periods camouflaged in the substrate as an ambush predation strategy and that rarely migrate (Almeida et al, 1995;Hartley, 1995;Azevedo, 1996;Duarte et al, 2001).…”

Summering on the bank: Seasonal distribution and abundance of monkfish on Georges Bank

“…The American monkfish (or goosefish, Lophius americanus ) is an important commercial species that is common along the continental shelf and slope from North Carolina to southern Nova Scotia [ 1 – 4 ]. Monkfish are widely distributed across a range of depths (inshore to >900 meters) and temperatures (0°to 24°C), and they are caught in all sampled depths and temperatures during the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) annual seasonal surveys [ 3 , 5 ].…”

Goosefish Lophius americanus fecundity and spawning frequency, with implications for population reproductive potential

“…: +1 508 495 2244; email: richard.mcbride@noaa.gov §Present address: National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22230, U.S.A. (Rountree et al, 2008), this is a relatively recent phenomenon. Prior to the 1980s, the fishery was small, landings were largely from by-catch or catch was frequently discarded (Armstrong et al, 1992;Almeida et al, 1995;Haring & Maguire, 2008). Lack of information on the fishery, coupled with poor understanding of L. americanus biology, made it difficult to determine the status of the population when management of the species began .…”

“…Lack of information on the fishery, coupled with poor understanding of L. americanus biology, made it difficult to determine the status of the population when management of the species began . Simple metrics, such as declining fish size in commercial landings, led to the implementation of the first fishery management plan for L. americanus (Almeida et al, 1995;Haring & Maguire, 2008;Johnson et al, 2008). Data-poor assessment and management challenges are common with all congeners, which occur in Atlantic, Indian and north-west Pacific Oceans, where the Lophius spp.…”

“…Maturation rates have received more scrutiny in the past than other aspects of L. americanus reproduction (Armstrong et al, 1992;Almeida et al, 1995;Richards et al, 2008). This is probably because maturation rates are critical for stock assessment and they can be estimated readily from survey and catch sampling data.…”