Life history demographic parameter synthesis for exploited Florida and Caribbean coral reef fishes

Abstract

Age‐ or length‐structured stock assessments require reliable life history demographic parameters (growth, mortality, reproduction) to model population dynamics, potential yields and stock sustainability. This study synthesized life history information for 84 commercially exploited tropical reef fish species from Florida and the U.S. Caribbean (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). We attempted to identify a useable set of life history parameters for each species that included lifespan, length at age, weight at length and maturity at length. Key aspects of the life history synthesis were development of: (a) a database that characterized study details including sampling region, biological and statistical methods, length range of sampled individuals, sample size, capture gears and sampling time frame; (b) reproducible procedural criteria for parameter identification for a given species; and (c) a reliability metric for each parameter type. Complete life history parameter sets were available for 46 species analysed. Of these, only 16 species had parameter sets meeting the highest standards for reliability, highlighting future research needs.

Growth, Mortality and Exploitation Levels of Sphyraena sphyraena (Pisces: Sphyraenidae) and Apsilus fuscus (Pisces: Lutjanidae) in Ghanaian Waters

“…The mortalities in the S. sphyraena stocks were due to fishing rather than natural causes. These agreed with the observations from [12], [27], [36]. Observations made for the A. fuscus population from the Hawaiian archipelago and eastern Australia confirms the report that snappers have low rates of natural mortality [58]- [60].…”

“…Apsilus fuscus is also distributed along West African coast, from Congo to Ghana; and it is exploited by artisanal, recreational and industrial fisheries in many West African nations [7]- [10]. The African forktail snapper is a demersal species which inhabits rocky bottoms [11], deep coral and rock reefs [12]. They are mostly caught in the commercial octopus fishery [13].…”

Simple length‐based approaches offer guidance for conservation and sustainability actions in two Central American small‐scale fisheries

“…For L max and t max the maximum of published numbers was used rather than the median, as these numbers are intended to be the largest or oldest fish ever observed for the species. For Belize, these numbers were then compared to the recent compilation of life history data for fish in Florida and the Caribbean (Stevens, Smith & Ault, 2019). To avoid duplication since most of the numbers in Stevens, Smith & Ault, (2019) were also in FishBase or our references, their numbers were used only in the absence of other data.…”

“…For Belize, these numbers were then compared to the recent compilation of life history data for fish in Florida and the Caribbean (Stevens, Smith & Ault, 2019). To avoid duplication since most of the numbers in Stevens, Smith & Ault, (2019) were also in FishBase or our references, their numbers were used only in the absence of other data.…”

Queen triggerfish Balistes vetula: Validation of otolith-based age, growth, and longevity estimates via application of bomb radiocarbon

“…Queen triggerfish Balistes vetula supports local fisheries in jurisdictions throughout the Caribbean Sea and south of the equator in the Atlantic along the coast of Brazil [13,[15][16][17][18]. Queen triggerfish is a moderately long-lived species [13,19] and attains an estimated maximum size of 500 mm FL [20], although fish exceeding 596 mm FL have been reported from port sampling effort in the Caribbean [21]. Queen triggerfish occurs at water depths of up to 275 m and is associated with reef, rubble, and adjacent sandy habitats [20], where it forages for mainly hard-shelled invertebrates such as urchins, crabs, chitons, and bivalves [22,23].…”